Women’s rights and feminist movements in Africa received a boost this week. On a visit to Sierra Leone, the Canadian Minister of International Development, Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced a $7 million (CAD) partnership with the African Women’s Development Fund, as part of the Canadian government’s recently announced $150 million ‘Women’s Voice and Leadership’ initiative.

At a meeting in Freetown on 14 August 2018, with women’s rights and peace and security civil society organisations, Minister Bibeau stated that in Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, ‘women are not seen as victims but as survivors and agents of change’. As such, AWDF is excited to be a part of the Voice and Leadership initiative, with an initial focus on transnational and regional activity.

Spanning five years, this project will allow AWDF and African women’s rights organisations to further strengthen their impact on the achievement of women’s rights and social justice through greater support, profile and networking of African women’s voices, participation and leadership. This initiative will join with other AWDF work, supporting African women’s rights organisations and movements through grantmaking, technical assistance, advocacy and knowledge generation.

Watch for further information about this initiative in the near future.