Nigerian entrepreneur and gender advocate, Favour Tuzzi Atuzie, has called for reparative justice through land rights, fair wages, and structural reforms to address the historic and ongoing marginalisation of African women.

Atuzie said reparations must go beyond financial compensation to include truth-telling, economic inclusion, and recognition of women’s roles in Africa’s liberation movements.

In a statement Thursday marking this year’s Pan African Women’s Day, she highlighted the vital roles women played in liberation movements across Africa, from Algeria to Angola, while expressing concern over their continued exclusion from historical records and leadership positions after independence.

According to Atuzie, this year’s Pan African Women’s Day theme, ‘Advancing Social and Economic Justice for African Women through Reparations,’ reflects the wider call for systemic redress and for African women’s voices to be placed at the heart of the continent’s progress.

“Reparations are not just about cheques. They’re about truth-telling, and truth, for African women, has often been edited out or brushed aside,” Atuzie stated.

Atuzie, who heads Lightbulb Consults, put forward four main demands: governments should treat gender-equitable policies as moral obligations, institutions must robustly support women-led solutions, communities should prioritise dignity over glorified suffering, and women must reclaim their space, voice, and agency.

Stressing the need for economic inclusion, fair pay, and land rights for African women, she said “reparations mean economic inclusion, pay equity, land rights, funding for women-led innovation.”

“But they also mean narrative justice; the rewriting of syllabuses, the re-scripting of leadership rooms, and the reclamation of what was stolen, from story to soul,” Atuzie added.

Reflecting on the 1962 establishment of the Pan-African Women’s Organisation (PAWO) in Dar es Salaam, the statement called for renewed efforts to strengthen women’s leadership across Africa.

She urged African women to rise and reclaim their rightful place in shaping the continent’s future.

“63 years later, the room looks different, but the fire must remain. African liberation cannot happen without women leading it.

“The lioness is writing now. She’s building businesses, leading peace negotiations, and raising sons who will not repeat the sins of silence. This continent will not become whole without us,” she added.