Hi everyone, for two weeks we have celebrated women who have led African countries in the past hundred years. This celebration is not just of the women but also the countries that have gone beyond a certain mindset. Countries which are truly progressive.

So, our last celebrant to close the series, is Joyce Hilda Banda of Malawi and boy did she make an unforgettable difference! She spent only two years and wrote her name in gold.

Joyce Banda joined politics in Malawi in the early 2000s. By 2006, she had become a minister of foreign affairs and later minister of women’s welfare. She threw herself into every office under her.

Banda was a woman with a mission. That mission was to ensure that the lives of Malawian women was much better than before she became a high ranking government officer. In 2009, Ms Banda became the vice-president of Malawi.

This, did not slow her down. Joyce was even more fired up. She continued the campaign against FGM, fought for economic independence of women and promoted more education for women.

Furthermore, she agitated for justice for sexually assaulted women and girls. Three years into her tenure as vice-president, her president passed away. She became the President. Commander in chief of the armed forces of Malawi. The number one citizen of the country.

And immediately, she cemented policies for her agitations. Joyce Hilda Banda made FGM illegal. She made child marriages illegal. She approved policies that made the lives of her citizens easier by improving Malawi’s international relations.

Hilda Banda spent only two years as president, yet she effected many positive changes. Ms Banda made Forbes list of forty most powerful women in the world.

Though we listed her last, Joyce is most certainly not the least of leading African women. Thank you for your service to humanity.

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