Women's leadership

Julia Gillard’s conversation with CAMFED’s CEO, Angie Murimirwa, charts the journey of a girl financially struggling to stay in school in rural Zimbabwe to a leader at the very top of our organization, who has just been honored with the Africa Education Medal.

CAMFED's Angie Murimirwa and Lydia Wilbard attended the Women Deliver 2023 conference to share their expertise at a number of sessions, including in the Education Zone hosted by the Global Partnership for Education and Echidna Giving.

Eliza Chikoti from Malawi and Natasha Lwanda from Zambia traveled to represent our movement at a leadership symposium for a select group convened by the Obama Foundation.

On February 11, we marked International Day of Women and Girls in Science by celebrating the members of our CAMFED Association who are breaking boundaries to become qualified healthcare professionals in their communities across Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Hear from some of the young women who are graduating from secondary school to become respected role models and advocates for health equality and girls’ education.

Soledad O’Brien, CEO; Journalist; Producer; and Philanthropist sits down with Angeline Murimirwa, Executive Director – Africa, CAMFED (2021 Prize Laureate) at the 2022 Hilton Humanitarian Symposium and Prize Ceremony themed “The Power of Perseverance,” in Beverly Hills, California. Angeline talks about how that power is embodied by the CAMFED Association of women leaders – who face challenges like COVID-19 and climate change head on, to keep girls safe and learning. 

On November 13th, CAMFED Tanzania met with 31 members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Social Welfare and Community Development.

At the meeting, former Learner Guides Diris Martin and Stumai Kaguna, who now train others, joined Lydia Wilbard, National Director of CAMFED Tanzania.

Together, they spoke about the program and the changes in their own lives and those of the children Learner Guides support. 

Girls’ education champion and former First Lady Michelle Obama marked International Day of the Girl with the launch of a new Global Girls Alliance, and welcomed our young women leaders in the CAMFED Association. Mrs. Obama and CAMFED Association leaders – who are powerful and passionate girls’ education activists working across rural Africa – have long partnered around the belief that champions at the grassroots are best positioned to make girls’ education a reality for the poorest girls.

On International Women’s Day, Angeline Murimirwa, CAMFED Executive Director – Africa, joined an inspirational panel chaired by Anne McElvoy, Senior Editor of The Economist, with HRH The Duchess of Sussex (in her new role as Vice-President of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust),  CAMFED Patron the Hon Julia Gillard AC, singer-songwriter and global activist Annie Lennox OBE, model and activist Adwoa Aboah, and Chrisann Jarret. They discussed the hurdles that remain for women and girls globally, and called on the audience to act now for gender equality. 

The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) has launched a new report and policy note on ‘Transformative political leadership to promote 12 years of quality education for all girls.’ Prepared by the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre at the University of Cambridge, the paper addresses the urgent need to identify ways in which high-level political leadership can be mobilized to generate concrete action for girls’ education, and includes data from CAMFED’s program.

From July 10th-15th in Johannesburg South Africa, the Obama Foundation’s Leaders: Africa program brought together 200 emerging leaders from 45 countries across the continent, exploring new ways to take on the biggest challenges in their communities. Angeline Murimirwa, CAMFED Executive Director - Africa, joined a discussion on leadership with Tsehaitu "Tubi" Retta, Deputy Director of the Obama Foundation, exploring how all of us benefit when girls receive access to quality education.