President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has emphasised that Africa cannot celebrate its first women leaders and stop there.
She said this is because the continent's progress will be measured by how many more women rise to leadership and whether they leave the path easier for those who follow.
Her message was delivered at the opening of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Center for Women and Development's Amujae High-Level Leadership Forum in Dakar, Senegal.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah joined current and former African leaders, policymakers and women trailblazers at the forum dedicated to shaping the next generation of women leaders across the continent.
The gathering marked the induction of the fifth cohort of the Amujae Initiative, with 15 women leaders dissecting ways to strengthen leadership and mentorship.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah used the platform to shift the conversation beyond breaking barriers, saying electing women to high office is only the beginning.
"We ought never to become satisfied with being first and neglect the work needed to ensure that we are not the last. The mere presence of women in leadership roles does not signify the completion of women's empowerment. Representation must translate into improving livelihoods for both women and men. The doors that have opened for us must remain open. Where there are no doors, we must help create them.”
Nandi-Ndaitwah traced her rise to generations of Namibian women who challenged barriers long before she occupied the country's highest office.
She reminded the delegates that every milestone carries a responsibility to widen opportunities for the next generation.
“My accession to the presidency is an achievement that belongs to generations of women who refused to accept that there were places in our society where women did not belong. It belongs equally to the young girl who is now able to look at the highest office in our country and know that there is no ceiling on her contribution to Namibia. Milestones should never become resting places, and we must continuously strive upward because there is always more to gain.”
Nandi-Ndaitwah also paid tribute to former Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, whose election as Africa's first democratically elected female President inspired women across the continent.
The Amujae Initiative, as the flagship programme of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Center for Women and Development, prepares African women to step confidently into leadership and contribute to a continent where their becomes the norm rather than the exception.
The Dakar forum continues with high-level discussions on governance, diplomacy, health and artificial intelligence.