AU chief urges women to make waves in blue economy

More efforts should be made to train women and make them part of the whole value chain of the blue economy, African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Friday during the ongoing AU Extraordinary Summit on Maritime Security, Safety and Development in Africa held in Lome, capital of Togo.

"We should challenge the culture in the maritime sector that is prejudicing against women," Dlamini-Zuma said, noting that women have long been assigned with merely "services roles" on vessels such as cleaning, cooking and making beds.

The first woman ever to lead the AU said women should not be standing behind successful men, but should develop "side by side" with men and be successful people themselves.

She praised the progress made by women in the maritime sector, citing several women role models in countries like South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia who have made it to important positions on vessels such as commanders, but lamented that the progress has been "negligible."

Dlamini-Zuma added that though Africa has huge potential in ocean resources due to its proximity to vast seas, its ownership and utilization of the maritime space is "minimal."

"Blue economy is considered the new frontier of development. Though Africa is located at the frontier, we are not taking advantage of this as much as we should," she said.

On Saturday, the last day of the summit, a landmark charter on the safety, security and development of the African maritime space is expected to be signed, a document the AU Commission chairperson said "has shortcomings."

"The Charter mainly focuses on safety and security issues, not development," she said.

She called on delegates to make suggestions and help AU draw up an annexure to the Charter in the future, which responds to the development side of the maritime space. Endit