The African Queens and Women Cultural Leaders Network (AQWCLN) is a voluntary network of female cultural leaders across

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

that seeks to advocate for the advancement and improve the lives of women and girls across the continent.

History

The AQWCLN was formed in September 2013 when more than forty queens, queenmothers and other female cultural leaders from sixteen different African countries met in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, Uganda, supported by

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and foc ...

and the African Union. The Network was established in response to the 2012 "

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

Call to Action" at a meeting hosted by the GlobalPower Women Network Africa, which sought to establish meaningful networks with religious, traditional and cultural leaders in the implementation of programs to protect and promote the rights of women and girls in the African Union. The launch was hosted by Queen Sylvia Nagindda of

Buganda Kingdom Buganda is a Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Buganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala. The 14 m ...

and

Queen Best Kemigisa Queen Best Kemigisa Akiiki (born 1967) is the Queen Mother of the Tooro Kingdom, based in Fort Portal city, Uganda. She is mother to Rukirabasaija Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Amooti Rukidi IV, the reigning Omukama of Tooro. Early life She is the d ...

, the Queenmother of Tooro Kingdom. The network has chapters in various African countries including

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

, and

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

Commitments

The AQWCLN has resolved to eradicate negative cultural practices, especially female genital mutilation and early marriages. They have issued calls for the release of the victims of the

Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Pr ...

as well as other girls kidnapped by Boko Haram.

Notable members

Queen Sylvia of Buganda Sylvia Nagginda (born 9 November 1962) is the current Nnabagereka or Queen of Buganda, a historic kingdom in modern-day Uganda. Background Nagginda was born in England in 1962 to John Mulumba Luswata of Nkumba, Entebbe and Rebecca Nakintu Muso ...

Nana Adwoa Awindor Nana Adwoa Awindor is a Ghanaian television host and the Development Queenmother of Afigya-Kwabre district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. In 2013, she was elected the First President of the Continental Executive Board of the African Queens ...

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.facebook.com/aqwcln/ (Facebook) Organizations established in 2013 Women's rights organizations Pan-African organizations Feminist organizations in Africa