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We'll be honest.

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Women in most of Africa get the short end of a pretty short stick. [People pulling sticks]

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Keep in mind, though, that when Americans talk trash about other countries' women's

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rights records, the rest of the world thinks it’s like a D student criticizing others

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for getting F's.

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Americans might talk a good game about not being sexist.

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But Mozambique beat us to having a female head of government with Prime Minister Diogo [Prime Minister Diogo giving a speech]

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.

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Mali, Liberia, the Central African Republic, Madagascar, and others have all had female

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leaders too.

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Still, Africa has definitely had its struggles with women’s rights. [People playing tug of war]

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Just like everything else in Africa, the development of women's rights came to a screeching halt

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under colonialism, and it took a while to get things moving again.

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Colonial governments had a hard enough time with all those men complaining about oppression,

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so they weren't in a hurry to allow women any rights.

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In fact, when Britain took direct control of Sierra Leone and Igboland , [Britain puts leashes on Sierra Leone and Igboland]

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they abolished women's voting rights in local elections.

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Guess that’s what they meant by "bringing civilization" to Africa.

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Maybe they should've stuck to bringing tea…

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At the end of WWII, the only country in Africa where women were allowed to vote was South

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Africa.

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And even then, it was only white property-owning women.

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So that left out…oh, we don't know…the majority of women in the country. [Disappointed looking women at polling station]

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After WWII, decolonization activists got the push for women's suffrage revved up again.

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The countries where decolonization movements packed the most punch were the places that [Boxing glove punching map of Africa]

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gave women the vote first.

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There was most of French West Africa…

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Kenya…

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And Ghana…

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But the rest of Africa had to decolonize before their women could have rights.

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One of the first acts of many independent African countries, like Sierra Leone, Rwanda,

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Uganda, and Nigeria, was to finally give women the right to vote.

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We imagine they wore their "I Voted!" stickers with pride.

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And nowadays, there are no African countries where men can vote, but women can't. [Woman casting votes all over Africa]

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Sounds pretty good, right?

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But voting is only a small part of the battle here.

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Women are still more likely to be victimized by armies or the police.

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Domestic violence against women is even worse than in the West.

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Women earn far less money for what is often way harder work. [Man holds very large check and woman holds small check]

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And, of course, certain tribes still practice controversial rituals such as female circumcision…better

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known as genital mutilation.

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And just when we were feeling optimistic….

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But because we don't want to leave you with those less-than-fun facts, let’s look on

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the bright side.

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In Africa, women have become the main focus of many aid programs… [Crying woman being comforted]

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Both because they're so much more likely to be discriminated against, and because they're

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more likely to be the ones taking care of the kids.

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Supporting women now supports the next generation of both men and women. [Family sat together on sofa smiling]

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Also, women's rights, access to health care, and education level all go hand in hand with

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more use of family planning and lower fertility rates.

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So pushing women's rights now can help stop overpopulation and nip future poverty in the [Bar chart with women's rights outweighing overpopulation]

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bud.

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A rich guy with a time machine could also solve future poverty, but women’s rights

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seem like a better bet. [Man stood next to a time travelling car]

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