WINNIE BYANYIMA

When we talk about women's economic empowerment, we should be careful that we're not just giving women more to do.

Governments, the investor and business community, and civil society organizations and public representatives need to work together to ensure the necessary foundations are in place to align private finance to guarantee sustainable and equitable development and poverty reduction.

When men and women, boys and girls, are denied the right to education, the right to own land, the access to basic services like healthcare and clean water, a fair price for the crops they grow, a fair wage for the work they do, or the right to be part of making decisions that affect them, the result is poverty.

My life has been varied, involving many jobs, but I have always been impatient with injustice.

My own life values were shaped in great part by my mother, who instigated women's clubs in my village. Women were able to organize and stand together. What inspired me most about their work was the power it gave them to assert their rights and the rights of their daughters, be it education or property inheritance.

Development cooperation between nations is very important because it is one of the building blocks of shared peace, prosperity, and human rights for all. It is one of the antidotes to the poison of xenophobia.

Taxing companies, particularly successful multinational companies, is one of the most progressive forms of taxation.

Fundamental is the need for governments to protect the space for citizens to claim their rights, organize, and express themselves.

We need to harness the boundless energy and creativity of our youth.

Crucially, African governments must ensure they prioritize the eradication of tax evasion and tax avoidance.

A global tax body would give all countries - not just the rich and powerful - an equal say in how the global rules on taxation are designed.

Rather than working for all, power and public policy is increasingly influenced by wealthy elites that are able to bend the rules - and hijack democratic institutions - to their favour.

The people standing up most strongly for our democracies should be celebrated, not prosecuted - be it those countless human rights defenders who defend all our rights or the brave whistle-blowers who expose tax dodging.

The concentration of wealth in the hands of the few threatens the ability of ordinary people to raise their voices and have a say over how our societies are run.

I grew up in a country that was in a civil conflict for most of my childhood and adolescence. I saw violence and lived as a teenager through the time of a brutal dictator called Idi Amin. I fled and became a refugee.

Tax abuse is a scourge on our global community, but especially for Africa.

Whatever I do, it will be fighting for social justice.

Africa's young population could be a huge economic asset if inequality were addressed.

Cutting down a forest for timber adds to GDP, but what we don't record is the loss to our wealth in terms of natural resources.

A tax system is important because of what it can pay for, but also for how it works. When we pay taxes, we expect something back from the state; it strengthens the relationship and accountability between us and our governments. It also pays for what private finance shouldn't: our needs for healthcare, education and social security.

The high price of medicines is crippling healthcare systems and denying people access to the treatments they so desperately need.

The conniving, rich oilmen that were so desperate to prevent and frustrate the Paris Agreement found cheerleaders in Mr. Trump and his party. They choose to protect their profits from a flailing fossil fuel industry over human lives and a clean, inclusive future for us all.

The move to a zero-carbon future is unstoppable.

Our economic system has enabled companies and individuals to use their power and influence to capture and retain an ever-increasing share of the benefits of economic growth while the benefits for the poorest in society have shrunk.

That a country has a strong civil society is, I believe, particularly necessary for good development.