Young Achievers Awards 2026Saturday 7 November, Mercure Northampton

Get tickets
African Women’s Empowerment Forum Charity
Join free

Photo credits

The women on our home page.

African women have always changed the world. We celebrate these women for their work. Their photographs do not mean they are members of AWEF or endorse it.

  1. Wangari Maathai

    Kenya. First African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Photograph by Antônio Cruz/Agência Brasil, CC BY 3.0 BR, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  2. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

    Nigeria. First woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization.

    Photograph by World Trade Organization, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  3. Miriam Makeba

    South Africa. “Mama Africa”: singer and voice against apartheid.

    Photograph by Bernard Gotfryd, Library of Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  4. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

    Liberia. Africa’s first elected woman head of state.

    Photograph by United States Institute of Peace, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  5. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    Nigeria. Author of We Should All Be Feminists.

    Photograph by Fronteiras do Pensamento, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  6. Graça Machel

    Mozambique. First education minister of independent Mozambique.

    Photograph by Zahur Ramji/Mediapix/World Economic Forum, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  7. Sahle-Work Zewde

    Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s first woman president.

    Photograph by J. Marchand, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  8. Leymah Gbowee

    Liberia. Led the women’s movement that helped end Liberia’s civil war.

    Photograph by Fronteiras do Pensamento, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  9. Angélique Kidjo

    Benin. Grammy-winning singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

    Photograph by Library of Congress Life, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  10. Fatou Bensouda

    The Gambia. First woman and first African to be chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

    Photograph by Max Koot Studio, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  11. Lupita Nyong’o

    Kenya. Academy Award-winning actor.

    Photograph by Philip Romano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  12. Nawal El Saadawi

    Egypt. Physician and writer who fought for women’s rights for over fifty years.

    Photograph by Bengt Oberger, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  13. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

    South Africa. Led UN Women and was South Africa’s first woman Deputy President.

    Photograph by UK Department for International Development, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  14. Tsitsi Dangarembga

    Zimbabwe. Novelist and filmmaker, winner of the PEN Pinter Prize.

    Photograph by Rudolf H. Boettcher, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  15. Amina J. Mohammed

    Nigeria. Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

    Photograph by International Maritime Organization, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  16. Kirsty Coventry

    Zimbabwe. First woman and first African to lead the Olympic movement.

    Photograph by BugWarp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  17. Julienne Lusenge

    DR Congo. Champion for survivors of sexual violence and Aurora Prize laureate.

    Photograph by Jindřich Nosek (NoJin), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  18. Margaret Busby

    Ghana. Britain’s first Black woman book publisher.

    Photograph by Andy Mabbett, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  19. Joyce Banda

    Malawi. Malawi’s first woman president.

    Photograph by Lindsay Mgbor/UK Department for International Development, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  20. Esther Mahlangu

    South Africa. First woman to paint a BMW Art Car, taking Ndebele art worldwide.

    Photograph by Claudia_midori, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  21. Oumou Sangaré

    Mali. The “Songbird of Wassoulou”, who sings for women’s freedom.

    Photograph by Diario de Madrid, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  22. Hauwa Ibrahim

    Nigeria. Human rights lawyer awarded the Sakharov Prize.

    Photograph by Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  23. Yvonne Chaka Chaka

    South Africa. The “Princess of Africa”: singer and campaigner against malaria.

    Photograph by World Economic Forum, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  24. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti

    Nigeria. Led the Abeokuta women’s revolt and fought for women’s right to vote.

    Photograph by Unknown photographer, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

  25. Lillian Ngoyi

    South Africa. Helped lead 20,000 women against apartheid’s pass laws in 1956.

    Photograph by Azola Dayile, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and shown in black and white.

The portrait of Cllr Faith Gakanje-Ajala, AWEF’s founder, belongs to AWEF. If you are one of these women, or represent one, and would like a photograph changed or removed, email info@awef.org.uk and we will act promptly.