AWDF’s 5th CEO Forum on Leadership and Communications for Women Leaders of Women’s Rights Organisations in Africa took place in Nairobi, Kenya between 10 -12 August 2015. The three-day convening brought together 21 vibrant women executives from 8 organisations across Africa, including Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. The program featured two […]

Introduction Attempts to address the gender dimensions of governance, peace and security in Africa are often plagued by several undermining tendencies. One tendency is that gender and, derived from this, women’s concerns are presented as a standalone issue by an active women’s movement. This is done without thorough engagement with the entire peace, security and […]

Introduction There have been some significant gains for women in Africa over the past 15 to 20 years. Women are taking positions of leadership in increasing numbers in political, economic, legal and social fields. In Rwanda, women constitute 64% in parliament, ranking it as the leading nation globally for representation by women in a legislature. […]

AWDF is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Afua Naa Lamle Viana Owoo, our first Communications Specialist who passed away in London on January 5, 2016 from breast cancer. Naa Lamle joined AWDF in October 2001 and led communications and media work for the Africa Launch in November 2001. She directed AWDF’s first […]

January 14, 2016 – Today, the World Health Organization (WHO), declared the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia and says all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa. It’s a day to celebrate, yet the consequences of this outbreak – the worst the world has ever […]

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is happy to announce a new initiative led by the young feminists of our organisation. Happening this December, The Young Feminists Gathering (YFG) is a space of learning, engagement, solidarity and creativity for women between the ages of 18-35. YFG will take place each month at the AWDF Resource […]

By Aisha Ali (A Tribute to Abused Women)   Sunshine, Sunshine, Shining Through Lighting up, the sky so blue Sunshine, Sunshine, is it true The tears you cry are red in hue? Smiling, Smiling, a cheery face Shining through from a secret place Hidden from view, beneath the surface A twisted, painful ugly furnace Crying, […]

Beneath Her Veil Beneath her veil lay eyes filled with fear Of man and his ways, of evil bred within good Of what lay ahead of her, what fate had dealt her A world that turned against her, blamed her, maimed her Condemned to a death so bloody, an end so violent A memory tainted […]

The Intrigue By Hilda Twongyeirwe This is a true story of Yemo (Not true name due to sensitivity of details in the story from Ethiopia) from Ethiopia. It was first published by FEMRITE – Uganda Women Writers Association in Beyond the Dance in 2010 and republished by Un-cut Voices Press, Germany, in Taboo in 2015. […]

Read the original interview published on the Canadian Museum for Human Rights blog Kidist Belete is the founder of Developing Families Together (DFT), an Ethiopian grassroots organization that works in women’s empowerment, orphan protection, HIV & AIDS prevention and care, and community development . She has contributed a lot to empowering women economically and socially […]