We have often heard that the future of Africa is in the hands of women. We see them working in the field, building houses, selling vegetables in the markets, etc., almost always with one child on the back and another at the feet. It's a story that we're known about, but it's mostly told as a sad story. A person without a name appears again and again in a different place but always with the same intention: the need to get out of poverty. These images are the real reflection of that person, but they're not their life. Surely there will be more in the story. Who is that woman? Where does it draw the force, what does it push it from? Do you have community? Behind the faces of many women there is a much more meaningful and comprehensive story. So in the face of those narratives that respond to a Western stereotype, we can say that we have what Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie calls "The Risk of a Single Story."

In order to understand the history of each African woman, one has to take into account the context in which it occurs: in many images rural women appear and, at the same time, we have data about the dynamic growth of African cities. Today 472 million people live in these cities, a figure that, according to the UN Habitat, will double within 25 years. If we look at the urban realm, we will see a positive image of African women, which is part of the narrative Africa Rising: businesswoman, politician and leader, represented in the Parliament of Rwanda (50/50) and internationally recognized as Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, currently director of the NBE-Emakumeak. We can say, "In the end, an African woman!" We also love the stories of activist women, like Wanghari Mathaai, who went from being a poor girl in the countryside to being a Nobel Peace Prize, unerasable to some, easily recognizable to many. We are very grateful for these wonderful women who are great examples and models for the new generation of young women across the African continent.

But there is a situation much closer to reality for most women on the continent: women living in slums. On those urban outskirts, African women, as important as the others, struggle every day to develop a life. These women account for 70 per cent of women living in urban settings. These Slum and the suburbs come together and surround all the big cities of sub-Saharan Africa. Life is hard for many of the women who inhabit it. Many of them are single or widowed, or have left behind poor family conditions in the rural home. Many others are heads of families. The work is concentrated mainly on vegetable sales or laundry fairs, which means that children stay at home with their older siblings or in unsuitable conditions. Again, it would be easy to accept this superficial interpretation, but if analyzed more closely, a surprising unexpected perspective appears, that of women who, through the creation of the community, have begun to perform various tasks. The process of creating and consolidating the community is a powerful tool that facilitates the mobilization of women's groups for the creation of networks and cooperatives, which help others through microfinance, to undertake business or to transform neighbourhoods for the benefit of the whole community. The power of the Ubuntua: I'm because we are!

An example of this is the ZIHOPFE federation of Zimbabwe, created in slum and run by women. It is currently expanding at the national level and thanks to the technical support of the local NGO Dialogue on Shelterren, it has brought together representatives of local governments and grassroots communities at one table to address issues related to neighbourhood improvement plans and, more importantly, gender specific issues. It is these women who mobilize, lead and never give in. Another example is the group of women called Wise Women who live in the well-known slum of Kibera (Nairobi). This group decided to change its situation in the water sector and, with the work of agent and leadership in their communities, has managed to ensure a better supply. If we look deeper, we would see the poorest women in the African slums also innovative, and also the women entrepreneurs. Technology, thanks to mobile phone and access to multiple applications, has revolutionized the lives of many inner-city women, who are now able to create business, access funding and be safe when moving at night.

The important thing is that behind it is a woman with a strong sense of hope, pride and dignity, who has a new awareness of the place she occupies in this interrelated globalized world, and who is the new African woman facing her poverty situation.

We have described examples that we often do not hear or read. A normal and, in many cases, poor, empowered African woman who, despite the difficulties, helps other women do the same. The stories of these women are replicable and with them the majority of African women can be identified. They are also women who act as social agents, the backbone of their communities and have the capacity to promote development in their neighborhoods and cities. They too are examples of the great African!

Article written by Marcelle Mardon of Zimbabwe, resident in Euskal Herria, for the Pro-Africa Group, on the occasion of Africa Day.