UN CSW69: Thought Leaders Call for African-Led Research to Advance Gender Equality

Rebecca Ejifoma

Experts have urged stakeholders to prioritise African-led empirical research as a key driver for accelerating gender equality and social inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa.

They made this call during a parallel session at the 69th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), titled “Accelerating Agenda 2030: Unlocking Gender-Responsive and Innovative Solutions in Africa Through Research.”

It emphasised systemic barriers and data gaps that hinder progress in gender equality.

The Founder of The Blooming Mum, Dr. Basirat Razaq-Shuaib, said the reliance on anecdotal evidence in decision-making undermines the transformative potential of inclusive research.

Quoting Nigeria’s National Beijing +30 review, she noted that only 30 per cent of researchers in sub-Saharan Africa are women, underscoring their underrepresentation in academia and higher education.

She noted the dominance of Eurocentric methodologies and donor-driven agendas that marginalise African perspectives.

Razaq-Shuaib, also the founder of The Winford Centre for Children and Women, challenged participants to reposition inclusive, collaborative, and empirical research as a catalyst for accelerating gender equality.

She also called for methodologies and sustainable solutions grounded in local realities.

Her words resonated with other panelists like the Executive Director of the Policy Innovation Centre, Dr Osasuyi Dirisu, who underscored the need for intentionality in research adopting gender-responsive approaches.

She stressed the importance of embedding simple innovation in research design, ensuring gender-balanced teams, projecting gender-responsive impacts using data, and adopting scalable solutions.

“Insights give us power—they show what works, what doesn’t, and how we can shape inclusive policies and services,” she said, acknowledging research as a tool for empowerment and transformation.

The panel discussion, moderated by Laud Ebenezer Freeman, emphasised the disconnect between global policy aspirations and grassroots realities.

Dr Jane Doka of the Open University, UK, warned that the gap undermines the effectiveness of policies designed to empower women and girls, advocating for local ownership of research to ensure meaningful impact.

The Chief Magistrate in the Judiciary of Uganda, Caroline Kabugho, shared this sentiment, calling for increased funding for empirical research and the inclusion of male allies in gender equity efforts.

In assessing “If we are simply trumpeting little gains in the achievement of gender equality,” the Founder of She Forum Africa, Ms. Inimfon Etuk, posed a poignant question, “What is the true value of life for the African woman today?”

Etuk reflected on the journey so far while celebrating the courage and resilience of African women.

In her address, she stressed the need for strategic engagement and the inclusion of lived experiences-driven research in policy making. “Business as usual won’t deliver Agenda 2030,” she warned.

Dr Margaret Ebubedike, a researcher at the Open University UK, advocated for disrupting traditional research methodologies by amplifying community voices.

She illustrated this with her work in the Lake Chad region, where participatory approaches positioning women and girls as co-creators of knowledge, led to policy action addressing trauma and psychosocial support for young girls in conflict zones.

Unanimously, the panel called for an improved attitude to inclusive, collaborative research as a driving force for accelerating the achievement of gender equality.

The event echoed a common resistance to global pressures to downplay gender equality efforts, ongoing international funding cuts, and the unjust narrative that transformative solutions cannot emerge from Africa.