Glo/CNN African Voices showcases Bineta Diop

African Voices will this weekend feature human rights activist, Bineta Diop, as its special guest. Diop, who is the only female co-chair at the World Economic Forum in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, is expected to speak on a variety of issues.

The Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, African Union will speak to African Voices, a 30-minute magazine programme on CNN International, sponsored by national telecommunications operator, Globacom, this weekend.

Diop is the founder and Executive Director of Femme Africa Solidarity through which she promotes women-led initiatives for peace building and conflict resolution on the continent.

She has led numerous peace-building initiatives in Africa with a focus on the protection of women during armed conflicts and their inclusion in peace processes.

She also led teams to observe elections in post-conflict areas such as Liberia, and facilitated women’s participation in peace negotiations, notably in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In 2003, Diop played an instrumental role in the African Union’s decision to embrace gender parity principle with the election of five female Commissioners out of ten. As a result of her advocacy efforts together with others, the African Union adopted two landmark legal instruments to protect women namely, the Protocol to the African Charter on Women and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women (Maputo Protocol) and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa.

The activist was in 2010 elected as co-chair of the Civil Society Advisory Group, alongside Ms. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, which was established to advise the UN High-Level Steering Committee on the 10th anniversary of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

Diop has received several awards and has participated on various international boards.

In recognition of her achievements, TIME magazine named her in the 2011 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

This week on African Voices, Diop shares her story and talks about her mission to empower women to take on a leading role in Africa’s development.

She is also expected to share her vision and determination to help women become agents of change in some of Africa’s most fragile regions.

Viewers can watch her on CNN at 9:30 a.m. on Friday; 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and 5:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.