Every year, International Women’s Day rolls around, and with it comes the usual fanfare—social media posts celebrating “strong women,” corporate messages filled with carefully chosen words, and, of course, flowers. Bouquets are handed out in offices, petals fill our timelines, and companies pat themselves on the back for “appreciating” women. But for millions of African women, these gestures mean nothing.
Flowers do not put girls in school. Flowers do not provide access to sanitary products, reproductive healthcare, or justice for survivors of violence. Flowers do not put food on the table, change discriminatory laws, or stop employers from underpaying and overworking and sexually harrasing women.
African women are tired of flowers. We want action.
For many African women and girls, managing a period is not just an inconvenience—it is a crisis. In Nigeria for example, an estimated 37 million women and girls experience period poverty, meaning that they are unable to access or afford menstrual products like pads and tampons, but also pain medication and underwear while In Kenya, research has found that 95% of menstruating girls miss between one and three school days a month, and 70% report that this negatively affects their academic performance.
This is not a minor issue. It is an educational, economic, and social crisis. Yet, instead of real solutions, we are offered symbolic gestures. Instead of ensuring that sanitary products are freely available in schools, workplaces, and public facilities, governments issue statements about “empowering women.” Instead of investing in the production of affordable menstrual products, companies launch campaigns about how much they “value” their female employees. Instead of breaking taboos and normalizing conversations about menstruation, many communities still treat it as a shameful, hidden topic.
If governments and corporations truly care about women, they will start ensuring that no girl misses school because she cannot afford a basic necessity.
Reproductive Health Should Not Be a Luxury
In sub-Saharan Africa, access to reproductive healthcare remains a distant dream for millions of women. Every year, more than 200 million women globally cannot prevent pregnancy through modern contraceptive methods. In Africa alone, nearly 50% of pregnancies are unintended, and the consequences are devastating.
Millions of women are forced to carry pregnancies they did not plan for, often in societies where access to healthcare, financial independence, and social support is limited. Worse still, due to the criminalization of abortion in many countries, an estimated 35 million unsafe abortions take place annually—putting countless women’s lives at risk.
And yet, while we continue to fight for bodily autonomy, we are met with empty words. Instead of ensuring that contraceptives are widely available and affordable, governments create restrictive policies that limit access. Instead of comprehensive reproductive health education, we are shamed for seeking information about our bodies. Instead of safe and legal abortion options, we are forced into dangerous back-alley procedures.
This International Women's Day, we do not need performative action. We need governments to fund reproductive healthcare, educate communities about contraception, and repeal oppressive laws that deny women the right to make decisions about our own bodies.
Across Africa, gender-based violence remains a daily threat for millions of women. Whether at home, in the workplace, or on the streets, women are harassed, assaulted, and abused—often with no recourse to justice. Survivors who speak out are met with disbelief, blame, or silence.
Perpetrators, especially those with money or power, walk free. Laws exist, but enforcement is weak. Courts are slow, expensive, and often biased against women.
Despite the overwhelming prevalence of violence against women, the response is painfully inadequate. Governments offer speeches instead of policies. Corporations release PR statements about “creating a safe environment for women” while failing to address sexual harassment in the workplace. Community leaders speak of “honoring women” but refuse to hold abusers accountable.
The cycle continues. Survivors are left to pick up the pieces of their lives, unsupported and unheard. And as they struggle to move forward, they are handed flowers—as if that will erase their pain.
What we need right now is concrete action. We need stronger legal protections, properly funded shelters, counseling services, and law enforcement officers trained to handle gender-based violence cases with care and urgency. We need workplaces that prioritize our safety, not just our productivity. We need communities that will not protect abusers in the name of tradition or status.
We Are Done with Symbolic Gestures
This International Women’s Day, the message is clear: We are tired of being celebrated without being supported. Enough with the flowers, sweet words, or corporate pledges that lead to nothing. We need change. We need policies that protect us, education that empowers us, and systems that work for us not against us.
Flowers wilt. Gestures fade. But real action—real commitment, will last.
It’s time to do the work.
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