Dozens of empowerment programs organized globally each year

In October, Anna Nyarai Kaniwa joined some 60 women from 11 countries across three continents for a two-week virtual workshop on female leadership and capacity building.

Led by Chinese university professors, the participants took part in thought-provoking discussions about topics such as women's participation in grassroots governance, their approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, and female entrepreneurship.

Even though the workshop, organized by China Women's University in Beijing, could only be held online due to travel restrictions resulting from the pandemic, Kaniwa, a 32-year-old from Zimbabwe, said the event was an "eyeopener".

She said it provided her with theoretical and practical experience, and she learned a lot about mainstream gender equality.

"The training gave me the basis to know myself better, and above all, the belief that I can contribute something as an individual," said Kaniwa, who was awarded a master's in women's leadership and social work at the university in 2018, and works as a research officer for consulting company Datalyst Africa.

"It also gave me the skills to empower women at grassroots level for individual and national development," she said.

The workshop, one of dozens of women's empowerment programs organized globally by China each year, was part of wide-ranging measures announced in 2015 by President Xi Jinping at a UN summit on gender equality and female empowerment.