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Bread and Butter #5: Legal Literacy as Integral to Rural Women’s Land Rights
Bread and Butter #5: Legal Literacy as Integral to Rural Women’s Land Rights
The concept of land is one that has been described as the cornerstone of economic development. According to Odeny (2013), land is one asset that farmers, pastoralists and other communities base their livelihoods. Land is also a significant component of business assets, which play significant role in business investment strategies. Thus, securing land rights can have a profound impact on economic development of any group of people.
This study situates land located in rural areas as both a means of agricultural production, livestock rearing and a place for gathering natural products that play an important role in local economies such as woodcutting, wild harvesting, grazing, fishing and hunting inter alia. In most cases, particularly among indigenous people, land is a source of identity and cultural heritage.
Read the second article in the second series here:
Legal Literacy as Integral to Rural Women’s Land Rights
Return of our Knowledge Product: Bread and Butter Series
Return of our Knowledge Product: Bread and Butter Series
We look to continue envisioning a future Africa that ensures women’s and girls’ sustainable livelihoods, meaningful labour, and full socio-economic autonomy.
Launched by AWDF in October 2018, the Bread and Butter Series is a knowledge product that culminated from the African women’s economic futures convening held in Accra in the same year. Twenty-seven (27) activists, academics, development workers and knowledge producers extensively discussed and engaged in workshop and group activities to build sound advocacy strategies aimed at shaping sustainable economic futures for African women. The convening was informed by AWDF’s fourth strategic plan Shaping the Future, and its accompanying Futures Trends Analysis Report which highlight evidence-based socio-economic trend implications projected for women and girls on the continent.
Read the first article in the second series here:
African Feminist Futures – Macro-economic Pathways
The expression “bread and butter” refers both to the ways in which individuals come to sustain themselves usually through paid work and individuals’ practical, every day needs and concerns. The economic futures convening was a first step in a journey to better support future-oriented strategies that engender African women’s economic justice and security. Since then, we have continued to work with dynamic African feminist writers to conceptualise, research, document and publish critical and radical perspectives about theirs and the experiences, contributions, needs and opportunities of African women and girls at micro and macro-economic levels.
Covering a range of topics from macro-economic policy pathways to the actual implication of distribution of economic resources at household level, this knowledge series affirms that African women’s economic issues are both internalised and challenged in everyday acts of resistance and solution-building. Moreover, that like never before, it is critical to, among other things, demystify economics as a white, male and Western concept that is out of reach for African women.
The Bread and Butter knowledge series uphold that all African women understand the consequences and solutions for oppressive neoliberal capitalist economic models and seek to encourage their voices as economic actors, thinkers and shapeshifters.
We invite your readership and engagement with the real “bread and butter” issues that women and girls face in Africa through the opinion pieces, research essays and narratives compiled in this series. And as you do, we look to continue envisioning a future Africa that ensures women’s and girls’ sustainable livelihoods, meaningful labour, and full socio-economic autonomy.
We hope that this series will engender new conversations about how we support African women to pursue economic justice and security. We also hope to contribute to a larger conversation about how philanthropic institutions regionally and globally can better support African women’s economic interests, as described by African women, themselves.
Do you have feedback on any of the Bread and Butter articles? Please email our Knowledge Management Specialist, dinnah@awdf.org
Bread and Butter #2: Advancing Resources for Rural Women Farmers
Bread and Butter #2: Advancing Resources for Rural Women Farmers
From 13-15 September 2018, the African Women’s Development Fund convened activists, scholars, researchers and policymakers to build a thoughtful, progressive and transformative vision for the Future of African Women and the Economy under AWDF’s Economic Justice and Security thematic area. This convening investigated the various ways that African feminists are engaged in critique, analysis and the re-visioning of African economies to provide justice and security for African women. The convening is part of a larger movement-building process and ongoing conversation around resourcing African women’s economic justice and security at AWDF. The Bread and Butter series is a multifaceted knowledge production project that springs out of the convening, reflecting AWDF’s commitment to providing feminist analysis of African women’s organising. The article below is the second Article of the series.
Bread and Butter Article 2: Advancing Resources for Rural Women Farmers by Sylvia Nalubega
Women are the primary food producers globally. Within the continent of Africa, 57% of total female
employment is within agriculture. The continent’s future of food security in the face of climate change will be largely centered on the resources afforded rural women farmers. However, gender inequality perpetuates biases in resources allocated to rural women farmers and their communities. ARUWE understands that the future of food security depends on a holistic, rightsbased approach to addressing gender inequality. Central to expanding the economic opportunities for rural women is access to financial services. In this article, Sylvia Nalubega (ARUWE Uganda) provides a case study analysis of ARUWE’s work, demonstrating how rural women’s access to
finance is a necessary component in securing food on the continent. ARUWE Uganda champions
rural women and supports their movement as they advocate for their rights to financial resources.
For the full Article please click the link below:
Statement from the Participants of AWDF’s 2018 Economic Convening on the Future of African Women and the Economy
Statement from the Participants of AWDF’s 2018 Economic Convening on the Future of African Women and the Economy
At the end of 2018’s AWDF’s Economic Convening the participants composed a statement. This statement from the participants of the convening, outlined their priorities and recommendations for securing African women’s economic futures.
Please click HERE to read the statement
The Bread and Butter Series: Growth for Whom? A Pan African Feminist Reflection on Macro Level Economic Policies
The Bread and Butter Series: Growth for Whom? A Pan African Feminist Reflection on Macro Level Economic Policies
The first article in our Bread and Butter series was written by Crystal Simeoni from the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), convenors of the African Feminist Macroeconomics Academy. The article provides a feminist reflection on current neoliberal macro level economic policies in Africa and how they affect women’s lives. The writer argues that current definitions of women’s economic empowerment are too narrow to offer impactful strategies. This follows from increasing analyses that, in as much as Africa’s economies grow, so does inequality between her people. Simeoni argues that current neoliberal macroeconomic frameworks will continue to exacerbate the problem.
Please click HERE to read the article.
African Women’s Economic Futures Convening : Statement on African Women’s Economic Justice
African Women’s Economic Futures Convening : Statement on African Women’s Economic Justice
On September 13th – 15th, 2018, AWDF convened 27 activists, academics, development workers and knowledge producers to strategise and prioritise African women’s economic futures. This convening culminated from AWDF’s fourth strategic plan Shaping the Future, and the accompanying Futures Trends Analysis Report which highlighted the socio-economic implications of anticipated trends in Africa for women and girls. Over three (3) consecutive days, we had extensive conversations, workshop and group activities that helped us build sound advocacy strategies for African women’s economic futures. As an institution committed to resourcing African women’s movements, AWDF believes that this convening was the first step in a journey to better support future-oriented strategies to engender African women’s economic justice and security.
Bread and Butter is the post-convening knowledge series which aims to document the dynamic, critical and radical perspectives of African women thinking about their economic futures. The expression “bread and butter” refers both to the ways in which individuals come to sustain themselves usually through paid work and individuals’ practical, every day needs and concerns.
We begin our Bread and Butter series with a statement from participants of the convening, outlining our priorities and recommendations for securing African women’s economic futures.
The statement was drafted during the convening and finalized a few weeks after by the Drafting Group. Each participant contributed their own expertise to produce a holistic approach to the issues and concerns presented. While the statement attempts to provide a comprehensive analysis and list of recommendations, we encourage other African feminists to expand and operationalize this statement, with proper citation of the original statement. We hope that you find the statement useful to your own strategies.
Please click HERE to read the statement
CEO Forum Report: The Grand Finale
CEO Forum Report: The Grand Finale
Feminist organisations have been at the forefront of women’s and girl’s rights advocacy and action across Africa and the Middle East. Often working in
challenging socio -economic and political contexts with limited organisational capacity and ever-increasing demands, women’s organisations help bridge the public service delivery gap, while redefining conventional ideas and practices on the rights and roles of women in society, the economy, and policymaking. How do these women’s organisations continue to push the envelope on impact
while embarking on feminist movement building? How do they remain innovative and relevant in ever-changing women’s rights, development and professional landscapes? How do they stay accountable as they tackle Africa’s challenging socio-economic and political issues?
To address the capacity building needs of African women’s organisations, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) spearheaded the creation of the CEO Forum. Designed by African feminists, the CEO Forum seeks to build individual and collective leadership and skills of senior, mid -level and emerging women leaders and executives. Participants benefit from networking, technical skills acquisition and professional capacity building, alongside in-person and virtual coaching over a specified timeframe. The coaching process involves practical exercises and feedback for the continuous evolution and growth of African feminist leaders. To date, 60 feminist leaders and activists have been coached.
From 4th to 6th October, 2018, 30 representatives of grantee women’s organisations joined coaches Hope Chigudu, Paula Fray, and Yene Assegid and the AWDF team at Accra’s Best Western Hotel for a period of sharing, reflection, learning and evaluation on the CEO Forum’s successes, shortfalls and impact. The gathering marked the eighth edition and grand finale of the CEO Forum and featured past and prospective coachees working in 14
African and Middle Eastern countries, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lebanon, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra
Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
See below for the event report:
Theo Sowa named among 100 most influential in global gender policy
Theo Sowa named among 100 most influential in global gender policy
In recognition of her contribution to shaping gender policy around the world, AWDF CEO Theo Sowa has been listed among the top 100 influencers of global policy.
Apolitical, a global platform for public servants and policymakers to stay informed about policy and the public service, announced its compilation of the 100 most influential people in gender policy around the world, citing Theo for her work in Philanthropy! This accolade recognises her incredible efforts, both at AWDF and in her own personal capacity, to make the world a better, kinder, and freer place for women.
For the full list of actors please click HERE
A New Strategic Direction: AWDF’s 4th Strategic Plan
A New Strategic Direction: AWDF’s 4th Strategic Plan
Shaping the Future was developed out of research and exploration around how AWDF and the African women’s rights organisations and activists that we resource can contribute to building a future for Africa that reflects the equality and justice that lie at the heart of our continent’s progress. We invested in a process to gather data on future trends for African women, compiled in the report Futures Africa: Trends for Women by 2030. We then used this empirical base to craft an imaginative process of generating scenarios- four stories of what the future could look like for African women and women’s rights if different political power dynamics and social, economic, technological and environmental trends play out.
This is the first foresight initiative focusing indepth on gender dynamics, women’s rights, and questions around the roles African women play in actively creating just futures for Africa. By designing a strategic framework based on this forward-thinking analysis, AWDF seeks to create a plan that allows for greater innovation and ways to maximise the impact of our work and that of the brave African women’s organisations and movements that we support. Our commitment is to work together to build the best possible futures for the African continent.
6th CEO Forum Report
6th CEO Forum Report
AWDF’s leadership development and coaching programme is aimed at building a cadre of African women leaders with feminist consciousness to promote women and girls’ rights in Africa. This programme targets young African women leaders because they represent our future, and deserve our investment in their human capacity development to enable them engage effectively as our leaders on women’s rights issues.
This 6th CEO forum, like previous years, is the first event of the intensive nine-month leadership coaching project. The forum is a unique space to inspire and encourage leaders to focus their minds on the coaching process and activities and embrace the new changes that will come from this experience for the benefit of their organisations and communities. The forum is also a space where leaders for the first time meet and interact with coaches assigned to them, engage and network with stakeholders on the project, question and agree on strategies on the way forward. As leaders embark on this important journey, we encourage them to be bold, courageous, conscious, and to take care of self and community and stand in solidarity with fellow women and girls.