21 International Women of Power and Achievement

Saturday Mar 1, 2008 – By Sylvia Arthur

March is International Women’s Month and while we here at Clutch celebrate our women all year long, we thought we’d highlight twenty-one extra special sisters who are doing big things to make a difference all over the world. Whether in law, politics, the media or civil society, each of these women are working hard to change the world in their own unique way.

So, in honor of our sisters around the world we celebrate their successes, in no particular order, and draw inspiration from their achievements as if they were our own.

1. Judge Akua Kuenyehia (Ghana)
Judge Kuenyehia is one of three female African judges at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague, Holland and is also its first vice-president. The ICC prosecutes and bring to justice those responsible for the worst crimes—genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes—committed anywhere in the world. A former lecturer in criminal law, gender law and international human rights law at the University of Ghana, Judge Kuenyehia has co-authored several books and influential papers on how law is interpreted and implemented in Africa.

4. Asha Rose-Migiro (Tanzania)
Asha-Rose Migiro is a Tanzanian lawyer and politician who, on January 5, 2007, was named Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. She was formally appointed and assumed office on February 5. Before her appointment, she was Tanzania’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Another Tanzanian, Prof Anna Tibaijuka, who serves as a UN under-secretary general and the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlement Programme, was the highest ranking African woman in the UN system prior to Rose-Migiro’s appointment.

6. Baroness Amos (UK)
Valerie Amos was born in Guyana but rose to become Leader of the UK’s House of Lords and Lord President of the Council. When she was appointed Secretary of State for International Development in 2003 she became the first black woman to sit in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Later she was nominated to become the European Union special representative to the African Union by Prime Minsiter Gordon Brown but after an independent selection process, Belgian diplomat Koen Vervaeke was chosen to represent the EU in Addis Ababa.

8. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (Liberia)
Affectionately known as the Iron Lady, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf became Africa’s first female head of state when she was elected president of Liberia in 2005 aged 67. With a political career spanning over thirty years, Johnson-Sirleaf was sentenced to ten years in prison before being allowed to leave the country as an exile. During the 1980s she served as Vice President of both the African Regional Office of Citibank, in Nairobi, and of (HSCB) Equator Bank, in Washington as well as other senior positions with international organizations including the World Bank. Johnson-Sirleaf has been credited with bringing stability to a previously war-torn country.

9. Miriam Makeba (South Africa)
How many women can be linked so vociferously to both the African struggle for independence and the American civil rights battle? Otherwise known as Mama Africa, Makeba received a Grammy Award for an album that dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under Apartheid. But after an impassioned testimony before the United Nations Committee Against Apartheid, her records were banned in South Africa and her South African citizenship was revoked. Her marriage to Black Panthers leader Stokely Carmichael in 1968 caused controversy in the United States, and her record deals and tours were cancelled. The couple moved to Guinea, where they became close with President SÃ©kou TourÃ©. Makeba separated from Carmichael in 1973, and continued to tour. She served as a Guinean delegate to the United Nations, for which she won the Dag HammarskjÃ¶ld Peace Prize in 1986.

10. Luisa Diogo
Listed as one of most powerful women in the world by Forbes magazine, LuÃsa Dias Diogo has been prime minister of Mozambique since February 2004, the country’s first woman to do so. Before becoming prime minister she was minister of planning and finance, and she continued to hold that post until February 2005. Mozambique, which at its independence in 1975 was one of the world’s poorest countries, is gaining popularity for its remote beach resorts. Another boon: The finance ministers of the Group of Eight nations agreed to cancel an estimated $55 billion of debt owed by 18 poor African nations, including Mozambique.

11. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria)
As the first female Finance Minister in Nigeria, and then briefly Foreign Affairs Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was the first woman to hold either position and attacked corruption to make the country more desirable for foreign investment and job creation. Now as a director of the World Bank and head of the Makeda Fund, she works for change in all of Africa. During her tenure as Finance Minister, she got the government to unlink its budget from the price of oil, its main export, to lessen perennial cashflow crises, and got oil companies to publish how much they pay the government. Okonjo-Iweala is a former World Bank vice president who graduated from Harvard and earned a Ph.D. in regional economics and development at MIT.

14. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
Award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977. She earned a degree in communication and political science at Eastern Connecticut State University, and during her senior year she started working on her first novel, “Purple Hibiscus”. The book has received wide critical acclaim: it was shortlisted for the Orange Fiction Prize (2004) and was awarded the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book. Her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, is set before and during the Biafran War. Chimamanda divides her time between Nigeria and the United States and is pursuing graduate work in the African Studies program at Yale.

15. Angelique Kidjo (Benin)
Grammy-winning singer Angelique Kidjo released her last album Djin Djin in 2007, which featured guest appearances by, among others, Carlos Santana, Alicia Keys and Branford Marsalis. She has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2002 and founded The Batonga Foundation, which gives girls a secondary school and higher education so they can take the lead in changing Africa by granting scholarships, building secondary schools, increasing enrollment, improving teaching standards, providing school supplies, supporting mentor programs, exploring alternative education models and advocating for community awareness of the value of education for girls.

16. Wangari Maathai (Kenya)
In 2004 Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.” In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots environmental non-governmental organization, which has now planted over 30 million trees across Kenya to prevent soil erosion. In December 2002, Professor Maathai was elected to parliament with an overwhelming 98% of the vote. She was subsequently appointed Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife in Kenya’s ninth parliament.

17. June Arunga (Kenya)
June Arunga is a journalist and law graduate. She wrote and presented the 2004 BBC documentary on Africa, The Devil’s Footpath and was the co-presenter with the former president of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings in 2005 BBC documentary Africa: Who is to Blame? She previously studied law at the University of Nairobi in Kenya and directed youth programs at the Inter-Region Economic Network- (IREN-Kenya). June is a Member of the Board of Advisors for Global Envision a pro-market organization in the United States and Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a public policy non-profit.

20. Alek Wek (Sudan)
Sudanese supermodel Alek Wek fled to Britain to escape civil war in 1991 and was discovered at an outdoor market in London in 1995 by a model scout. She has appeared in ads and walked the runway for high-profile fashion designers including John Galliano, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Ermanno Scervino. Wek launched a range of designer handbags, Wek 1933, and is a member of the U.S. Committee for Refugees’ Advisory Council, helping to raise awareness about the situation in Sudan, as well as the plight of refugees worldwide. Last year, she released an autobiography, documenting her journey from a childhood of poverty in Sudan to the catwalks of Europe.

21. Naomi Campbell (UK)
Although best known these days for her antics off the catwalk, let’s not forget that British-born supermodel Naomi Campbell blazed a trail in the 1990s by becoming the first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue (international editions). To date, Campbell has graced the covers of over 500 magazines worldwide. She’s also managed to outlast most of her supermodel peers by continuing to be in demand on the catwalks of Europe and America. Her charity work, particularly with former South African president Nelson Mandela, though largely unreported, is testimony to her strength of character and determination.

J. Lynn says:

March 1, 2008 at 10:58 am

Such an amazing an inspiring article. So many of these women I did not know about. I was so proud to discover them! Keep up the excellent work!

↑ Reply

FT says:

March 1, 2008 at 1:38 pm

Yeah, i love this. Thanks for representing Asha rose, (yeaah to Tanzania, yeah to ma aunty)!! She is one of the coolest, most intelligent strong and hardworking women I have seen. Such a great choice of powerful women!!Excellent clutch.

Bianca says:

March 1, 2008 at 8:05 pm

It is so telling that all Clutch could offer us about Condoleeza was “she can’t be ignored.”
We never should ignore or forget the incredible ways this woman has failed this country.
I hope she meets her maker. I hope she gets back everything she has given, ten-fold.
And I hope when she does, she’s wearing those f***ing Ferragamo heels she just couldn’t resist.

Kerry says:

March 1, 2008 at 10:40 pm

Another great article Clutch! I didn’t know half of the women listed and I am excited to Google them to find out more. Please keep this up. I look forward every month to your new issue. And Sylvia I love love your articles sis!

ceecee says:

March 2, 2008 at 11:06 pm

What an impressive and inspiring list!!
Thanks for the history lesson, this makes me proud to be a woman of color!!

Jamati Online | 17 Africans on the 21 International Women of Power And Influence List. says:

March 3, 2008 at 2:00 pm

[...] Africa), and Wangari Maathai (Kenya). To see the complete list, visit Clutch Magazine’s website. They are truly phenomenal women who make us proud to be African! COMMENT [...]

June Arunga - Torino, Italy « Kenyan Jewels says:

March 3, 2008 at 2:04 pm

[...] Bruno Leoni, in Italy. To learn more about all the awardees, visit Clutch Magazine’s website. Yes, just another Kenyan doing what comes [...]

mn says:

March 3, 2008 at 8:08 pm

i admire all the women on this list but i must say ellen johnson sirleaf’s rating has dropped for me. to think she’d have allowed that dreadful AFRICOM to be based in her country. that’s an unforgivable betrayal, not just to her people, but to all of africa!

dna says:

March 4, 2008 at 7:16 am

Just THANK YOU for not showcasing Tyra Banks. These are women that our young girls should look up to!

Cola says:

March 4, 2008 at 3:42 pm

Great article. I will be sharing this article with my daughter!

Keysha E. says:

March 4, 2008 at 10:04 pm

Excellent List! Many women I am very familiar with!

Thanks Clutch!

Maria says:

March 5, 2008 at 12:44 pm

Thank you for this Sylvia, It’s good to know that these amazing women have made a contribution to the betterment of all. Each one of them had to fight to make it and glad that there are not too many “entertainers” just to prove that we have much more to offer.

LaShanda Henry says:

March 7, 2008 at 4:09 pm

This is a really great list. Very timely. I added a link to it on ‘What Black Women Think’ – msoyonline.com – This is definitely worth sharing.

hbsoul says:

April 5, 2008 at 7:32 pm

Great list with a lot of global representation, and thank you for not attempting to put them in order. But…while her charity work is admirable, I have some suggestions on other people that could have replaced Naomi Campbell. Michaelle Jean of Haiti/Canada, Lateefah Simon of San Francisco, Senator Piedad Cordoba of Colombia, Susana Baca of Peru, or Edwidge Danticat of Haiti/NYC all would have been excellent additions.