While it is heartening to see more women occupy positions of influence in African Governments, systemic societal gender inequality remains deeply entrenched. 52 million African girls and young women are still missing the chance to go to school. Protection and solutions for millions of refugees, asylum seekers, stateless and internally displaced women and girls on the continent cannot be attained by merely setting aspirational goals, I call for profound transformational change to equip all African women and girls in the area of education, livelihoods and resilience so that they can fully play their role as peacemakers and nation builders.