International African Women’s Day 2026
Dear Sister Mediators,
On this day when the world celebrates African Women, I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the African Woman Peace Mediator.
As I pay tribute to your courage and commitment, you are the ones who, despite threats, war, famine, insecurity, the hardships of life, exhaustion and sacrifice, choose to stand firm in order to protect life and the future.
Your strength does not lie in weapons, but in words, in listening, in dialogue, in motherhood, in protection, in love, in the heart of a mother, a sister, a daughter and a wife, in the ability to transform tears into hope. Your spirit of sacrifice is a story that deserves to be told: you give your nights, your days and your personal ambitions so that others may live in peace. You are the invisible heroines carrying Africa toward a horizon of reconciliation.
And if our communities are still standing today, it is because of your sacrifices, sometimes the ultimate sacrifice. It is because of the price paid, often unwillingly, with your blood and your lives.
Today, that same Africa which once refused to recognize the greatness and rightful place of its daughters now understands that without them, it remains lost, powerless, and without direction or strength in the face of today’s challenges.
Dear Sisters,
Our mothers and grandmothers played a vital role in the process of women’s emancipation. Their legacy must never be diminished in our hands. Their memory is a seed of peace: it compels us to continue the struggle, never to give in to discouragement, and to believe that together we can change the destiny of our peoples.
Let us rise and remember this:
Mediation is not an individual undertaking, nor is it a private matter.
It is, and will always remain, a collective struggle, a mission that can only be accomplished through the combined strength of us all.
No single woman can achieve it, regardless of the resources at her disposal. But together, united in solidarity, sisterhood and sacrifice, we can build lasting peace.
Being a mediator is not simply about carrying the title. It means being willing to sacrifice personal ambitions, set aside selfishness and our differences, offer our time and energy for a common cause, and then accept giving a part of ourselves so that peace may become possible.
Mediation demands a quiet sacrifice from us: the sacrifice of pride, of individual glory, in order to embrace a collective cause. It requires us to give of ourselves, to make ourselves available, to carry the pain of others as though it were our own, and to transform that pain into pathways toward reconciliation.
Not everyone can become a mediator, but only those who are prepared to sacrifice part of their comfort, ambitions and pride in order to build peace. It is in this selfless commitment that the greatness of our mission resides.
But let us also remember this:
The silence that characterizes us is a form of complicity in the face of the suffering affecting our region. Remaining silent allows injustice to take root. Whatever our means or capacities, we have a duty to use the resources available to us: our voice to denounce injustice, our presence at dialogue and exchange meetings, our time to continue learning, and our willingness to engage in voluntary action. For every gesture, however modest, is another stone laid on the path to peace.
Today, I call on us to renew our commitment and rekindle the flame of solidarity and sacrifice. Together, by setting aside our personal and private interests, we can build a unity that transcends our differences, an Africa where women mediators are the pillars of hope. We can do it, and we must do it, for the future of our children.
Dear Sisters,
May this International African Women’s Day remind us that our strength lies in our unity; our courage lies in our sacrifice; and our victory lies in our ability to work together, collectively.
With faith and with love for our peoples, let us continue writing this story in which women mediators are the silent heroines of peace.
I pay tribute to all those women who build bridges for peace and peaceful coexistence among communities across Africa.
I pay tribute to all those women who have lost their lives in the name of peace.
I pay tribute to all those men committed to peace and justice who stand alongside women.
Me Caddy ADZUBA
General Coordinator, CFAMP / Coalition of African Women Peace Mediators