Ethiopia's Minister of Women and Social Affairs, Shawit Shanka, told a gathering of African political leaders in Addis Ababa that the continent will not reach its full development potential as long as women remain on the margins of political and economic decision-making. She made the case during the joint opening session of the 2nd African Political Parties Summit 2026, which convened alongside the Africa Women Political Leadership Forum 2026 and the African Youth in Politics Forum 2026, according to allAfrica.com. The minister used the platform to press governments and parties to treat women's equal participation as a precondition for growth rather than an optional goal.
Why it matters
The summit brought together political parties from across the continent, giving the minister an audience of the institutions that decide who runs for office and who shapes policy. allAfrica.com reports that Shawit framed women's exclusion as a direct drag on development, arguing that no continent can fulfill its potential while leaving half its people out of the picture. Her remarks place the question of women's representation inside the broader debate over how Africa manages rapid economic and political change.
Women as producers, not just recipients of aid
Shawit pushed back against the habit of treating women primarily as the targets of assistance programs. According to allAfrica.com, she described women as producers, innovators, leaders and contributors to peace and development in their own right. She argued that investing in women pays off across several fronts at once: economic transformation, democratic governance, social cohesion and sustainable development.
That framing carries through to how she described Ethiopia's own approach. The minister said the country's development strategy rests on Medemer, a principle built around working together and combining efforts. Within that framework, she said, women are equal partners in the country's transformation and help design it, rather than simply receiving its benefits. She presented Ethiopia's experience as evidence of what political will and sustained effort can produce, not as a claim that the country has solved the problem.
Political parties told to open their doors
The minister was specific about where change has to happen. allAfrica.com reports that she called on political parties to bring more women into their internal structures, their leadership ranks and their candidate selection processes. Without that, she said, representation in decision-making stays symbolic rather than meaningful. She argued that expanding women's leadership depends on committed political will and institutional follow-through, especially inside parties themselves.
Shawit also pointed to the governing Prosperity Party under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, saying the administration has committed to empowering women and that the Medemer philosophy shows women can lead at any level.
She placed these arguments in a wider context of upheaval. Africa, she said, is being reshaped by geopolitical shifts, new technology, demographic change, climate pressure and changing economic ties. Countries should try to steer those forces through far-sighted leadership, institutions that can absorb shocks and coordinated action, rather than reacting after the fact.
The minister closed by asking African countries to work toward a continent where women hold political office in equal numbers, have real economic power and are shielded by strong institutions. She said every girl should be able to aim at becoming a leader, an entrepreneur, a scientist or a policymaker without gender or circumstance standing in the way. She then formally opened the joint forum, calling for broader collective effort on women's political leadership.
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Watch for whether the parties represented at the summit translate the minister's call into concrete changes to their candidate lists and internal leadership ahead of upcoming elections.
