The importance of rural women in social economic development can not be over emphasised. Improving their livelihoods constitutes a significant productive and transformative factor for the advancement of the entire African region. The African Community of Practce (AfCoP) convened online discussions among its members to identify success stories and strategies for successful livelihood development for rural women in Africa; challenges and opportunities for advancing their livelihoods; and identify key human and institutional capacities needed to enhance them. This knowledge brief summarises the outputs from the discussion. One of the key messages from the discussion was the need for building capable and effective states founded on equity and strong accountability systems for
equal participation of women and men in African development. Some success stories highlighted from the discussion included; the affirmative action and capacity building for rural women in Malawi; Livelihood empowerment through access to education in Uganda and Mozambique. It was learned that, the emerging communities of practice such as AfCoP-MfDR and its national chapters present compounded opportunities for women empowerment including those in the rural areas. The brief recommends strengthening the AfCoP’s partnerships in the continent for pursuing rural women`s livelihoods development.
