Author: African Women's Development Fund

Positive Action for Treatment Access, (PATA) has been an AWDF grantee since 2006. PATA works to ensure that every individual with an illness or disease, especially women and girls, have access to treatment, as well as equitable and humane care. AWDF’s most recent support to PATA has included funding a monthly radio programme addressing a range of issues on gender based violence on Eko 86.76Fm in Lagos.

On Saturday 25th May, PATA’s radio show dealt with the issue of rape, which included a lively phone in when the public called to share their thoughts, comments and questions around rape and sexual violence. The resource persons for this edition included Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, AWDF’s Communications Specialist, and Bose Ironsi, the Executive Director of Women’s Rights and Health Project in Nigeria. In conversation with Olabisi Omidire, the show’s hostess, the resource persons explained the definition of rape and clarified that rape is always about power and control. A myth which the resource people continuously rebuffed was the notion that the way a woman dresses could in some way lead to her being sexually assaulted.

As part of the radio programme, a short drama produced for PATA by Omololo Olubode was also aired. Click below to listen to the audio.

An Omololu Olubode drama produced by PATA

 

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is a Pan-African grant making foundation based in Accra, Ghana. To date, AWDF has provided grant-making, capacity building and technical assistance to its network of over 1000 grantee partners in 42 African countries. In Nigeria, AWDF has supported 123 women’s rights and national organisations with over US$2.7 million in grant making. Grantee partners have included the following:

 

Project Alert on Violence Against Women – ‘Project Alert’ has been a grantee partner since 2003, and has benefited from US$177,800 in grant making. This has included supporting the building of ‘Sophia’s Place’, a shelter for women survivors of violence; capacity building support in fundraising and financial management for ‘Project Alert’ staff, as well as the delivery of a 6 month capacity building project on gender based violence for faith based organisations in Lagos State.

 

Ajegunle Community Project (ACP) – Since 2007, the Ajegunle Community Project has received US$77,500 in grant making. This funding has including supporting the training of women politicians, as well as professional development training for women seeking to take up leadership in public office. The Project Manager for ACP also benefited from attending a ‘Certificate Course in Resource Mobilisation’ organized by AWDF in conjunction with Resource Alliance (UK) and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. ACP credits this resource mobilization training for its current success in fundraising from the corporate sector.

 

Women Against Rape, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Exploitation (WARSHE) – WARSHE has received US$109,000 in grant making since 2003. The organisation provides psychosocial, financial and legal support to survivors of violence. A huge part of WARSHE’s work has involved educating young people about violence against women and young girls, as well the steps one can take if you have suffered from gender based violence.

 

Monitoring and evaluation visits are an essential part of AWDF’s work, and enables the organisation to engage directly with grantee partners, offer direct technical assistance, learn about key issues affecting grantees and women in the community, region or country, and is invaluable for tracking the success and impact of the work being done by African women’s organisations.

Final draft Version 1.0

DECLARATION OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE OF WOMEN STAKEHOLDERS ON PAN AFRICANISM, RENAISSANCE AND AGENDA 2063

Preamble

1) WE, African women drawn from African Union Member States, Civil Society Organisations, Women Pan African Movements, Women’s Rights Organisations, Academia, Diaspora Organisations, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the private sector and UN Agencies met in Addis Ababa-Ethiopia from 12-13th May to consult, define and strategise on women’s priorities on Pan Africanism, Renaissance and Agenda 2063.
2) RECALLING the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, Article (1) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against women (CEDAW); the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality, the African Union Gender Policy and the Decade for African Women(2010-2020) and various regional and international Legal instruments on Women’s Rights;
3) RECOGNISING that African women and their Diaspora sisters played a critical role in the evolution of Pan Africanism, through their contributions to the anti-slavery, anti-colonial and liberation struggles. Through their efforts, women ensured that the struggles for freedom, dignity, development, peace and self-determination also addressed our aspirations for women’s emancipation, gender equality and women’s empowerment. Their aspirations found expression in the formation of strong women’s movements across Africa and the Diaspora that resulted in the development and progressive adoption of legal frameworks, policies and programmes;
4) ACKNOWLEDGE that the struggle of African women is part of a worldwide struggle of all women; that women’s emancipation is at the heart of the question of humanity itself and it is therefore universal in character;
5) CELEBRATING the key roles that African women’s movements, organisations, networks have played in advancing the liberation of Africa from colonisation and Apartheid in the pursuit of equality, peace and development for African people locally, continentally and in the international arenas, throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century.
6) RECOGNISING the role played by the pioneers of the Pan African Women’s Organisation (PAWO).
7) REALISING that over the last fifty years, Africa recorded progress in economic and social development, improving the status of women, consolidating democracy and the creation of institutions to unite and develop Africa. However, we have not yet realised our dream of an integrated, peaceful, people-centred and prosperous continent that embodies gender equality and women’s empowerment;
8) STRESS THE NEED for Africa to move with determination, boldness and dedication to eradicate poverty, underdevelopment, inequality, conflict, and disease, as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity/African Union (OAU/AU).

Towards Agenda 2063
9) SUPPORT the vision of an Africa that is integrated, prosperous, people-centred, at peace with itself, and asserting its place in the global community;
10) RECOGNIZE that neither peace nor prosperity will be fully realised without the participation and emancipation of African women.
11) ACKNOWLEDGE the value of investing in women, given the role they play in families, communities and societies, translates directly into human and social development;
12) FURTHER RECOGNIZE that women constitute more than half of Africa’s population, that over seventy five percent of our population is young and the potential and opportunities this presents for speeding up the realisation of the African Agenda;
13) COMMEND the African Union for the initiative to consult with all sectors of society, the African citizenry and the Diaspora as well as Member States, RECs and AU Organs to develop a continent-wide Agenda 2063;
14) EXPRESS our determination to ensure that the voices of women, not only those who participated in the workshop, but from all countries, the Diaspora, all walks of life and generations are heard as we frame this agenda;
15) DETERMINED to take bold actions to transform our continent and to actively mobilise women for collective participation and action to advance Agenda 2063.

 

HEREBY DECLARE AS FOLLOWS:

That our aspirations for a peaceful, integrated, people-centred and prosperous continent mirrors the vision of the founders of Pan Africanism. In pursuance of these aspirations, we

1. COMMIT to the transformation of gender inequality in the economy; the creation of wealth and the promotion of sustainable, participatory and equitable economic development and growth through opportunities for women:
a. In agriculture, pastoralism and agro-processing,agro-business including the development of agricultural research and sciences;
b. Land rights, ownership and inheritance rights, and the development of vibrant rural economies;
c. Improve the quality and packaging of our value added products, and ensure effective branding and marketing of African products to compete in domestic and global markets;
d. Promote gender sensitive financial and non-financial business development services;
e. Promote women’s access to and control of productive assets, including land, finance and other resources;
f. Invest in the scaling up of African women entrepreneurship to generate employment, create wealth and sustainable livelihoods;
g. Enhance women access to knowledge, ownership, and the production of technology, research and innovation for value addition and development;
h. Accelerate Africa’s infrastructure revolution, including the rapid expansion of energy; transport; adequate, affordable and decent shelter; water and sanitation; and ICT infrastructure that is modern, sustainable, responds to women’s needs and with the participation of women;
i. Promote women’s trade including access to markets, removal of legal and social barriers to women’s participation in trade and facilitate intra-Africa trade;
j. Contribute towards the integration agenda, encouraging free movement of peoples, goods and services, promote harmonised inclusive and gender sensitive policies and interventions with a view to encourage women owned businesses that are regional, continental as well as global;
k. Sustainable management of natural resources in a transparent and accountable manner, to ensure more equitable distribution of proceeds, towards value-addition and beneficiation for industrialisation and the development of communities and infrastructure. In this regard, we must strengthen women’s participation in decision-making, ownership and control of natural resources;
l. Mitigate the negative impacts of natural and man-made disasters on women and girls through the implementation of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies;
m. Ensure that women and gender variables are factored in economic analysis, economic modelling, economic policies and their implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
n. Mobilise the diverse voices of women, including feminist economists, grassroots development and community activists, academics and intellectuals in the development of alternative economic models to promote sustainable, gender sensitive and equitable economic development and globalisation.

1) COMMIT TO ACHIEVE Gender EQUALITY by the end of the Decade of African Women, by
a. Advocating for equal representation and participation of women in all institutions of society, public, civil and private and for the removal of all forms of discrimination based on gender;
b. Advocating for full gender parity by the end of the Decade
c. Promoting women’s role in leadership and governance through policies such as affirmative action and quotas; electoral law and campaign financereforms; women’s participation in political parties; mentoring and advocacy as well as the inclusion of the gender parity principle in national constitutions;
d. Mentoring young women to build capacity, self confidence and support their engagement, representation and participation in key policy and decision making institutions and structures;
e. Positioning African women; build solidarity and capacity in-order to influence and exercise power in strategic decision making spaces at the local, national, regional and global levels;
f. Promoting inter-generational dialogue, solidarity and leadership;
g. Promoting democratic and ethical governance leadership across all sectors in Africa;
h. Strengthening the accountability of governments and institutions in promoting gender equality;
i. Positioning women within the decentralised governance agenda and local governance
j. Recognising the importance of political will and sustained commitment from our political, social, economic, civil society, spiritual and cultural leadership across the continent for the implementation of Agenda 2063;

2) PROMOTE, PROTECT and ADVANCE Women’s Human Rights, by
a. Grounding the African women’s agenda on rights framework to ensure individual and collective accountability for women’s rights and gender equality;
b. Upholding the rule of law and access to justice by repealing all laws and legal obstacles that undermine women’s full citizenship and constitutional rights and by realigning national legal frameworks with the continental and international legal commitments by adopting enforcement measures;
c. Strengthening justice systems at national and continental levels to ensure they are responsive to women and girls needs and rights;
d. Advocating for the full ratification, domestication and implementation of the Protocol to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights and other regional and international instruments as critical to the protection and promotion of women’s rights;
e. Promoting and support women’s knowledge of their rights and the law as well as their access to legal aid;
f. Promoting women’s rights, gender equality and awareness in society through the integration of citizen and women’s rights in the school curriculum and civic education;
g. Supporting and work with youth and men champions of women’s rights and gender equality;
h. Strengthening regional and international cooperation in protecting women’s rights and access to justice in instances where citizens are not within the immediate jurisdiction of their countries; protect immigrants and tackle the growing rate of trafficking of young girls and women across Africa;
i. Engaging and developing the capacity of legislators, administrators of justice as well as the legal practitioners across the continent in effectively protecting, promoting and advancing African women’s rights at national and continental levels;
j. Promoting a multi-sectoral approach to accelerate the ratification, domestication and implementation of existing commitments on women’s human rights;
k. Continueing to actively engage women’s human rights organisations and experts in the development and implementation of the African Agenda 2063;

3) PROMOTE PEACE, SECURITY AND GENDER JUSTICE and

a. Move beyond militaristic notion of security and shift towards human security
b. Advocate for the reduction of military spending and for the re-allocation of freed resources to socio economic development priorities;
c. Mainstream gender across the African Union Peace Support Operations, security, law enforcement and justice organs;
d. Demand full and equal participation of women in peace and security structures, missions, interventions and representation in key decision making positions on conflict prevention, management, resolution, peace-building and transitional justice processes in line with the AU policies and instruments as well as United Nations Peace and Security Resolutions on women peace and security;
e. Develop and adopt a continental African framework on women peace and security;
f. End persisting violence against women and girls and end impunity in conflict and post-conflict situations;
g. Guarantee the security of women during and post elections;
h. Address the escalating rate of domestic violence and increase safety measures for women in public and private spaces;
i. Institutionalise psychosocial and economic support to survivors including reparations for victims and survivors as well as addressing post traumatic stress disorder resulting from violence and armed conflict;
j. Support the provision of services to survivals of conflict and ensure comprehensive witness protection;
k. Encourage peace education amongst all sectors of society, especially for young men and women;
l. End the proliferation of arms, child soldiers, drugs, human trafficking, and the protection of the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons;
m. End all forms of institutionalised and socialised violence against women, underage girls and young women; especially child marriage and female genital mutilation;
n. Build the capacity of the police, judiciary and traditional leaders to transform harmful and cultural socialisation and practices to deal with victims of abuse and rape;

 

4) PROMOTE Human Development by

a. Investing and improving the quality of education and training systems, and strengthen efforts towards gender equality in education by the end of the African Women’s Decade;
b. Promoting a skills revolution to drive Africa’s modernisation, sustainable industrialisation, green economy and agricultural revolution for the acceleration of infrastructural and economic development;
c. Strengthening our health systems through gender equity in access to and awareness of health care, women’s sexual reproductive health rights and choices, and ensure drastic reduction in child and maternal mortality in all our countries;
d. Strengthening social policy and social security protection of the vulnerable, women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities and marginalised communities;
e. Recognizing the role of community, sectoral and grassroots organisations and networks in contributing to mobilisation, capacity building and social capital for development;
f. Committing towards the mobilisation of women in rural, peri-urban and urban areas, and harness the knowledge and contributions of grassroots women;
g. Accelerating the implementation of Africa’s commitments on health, especially the elimination of major killer diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Cancer;
h. Improving access to reliable, safe and affordable modern and sustainable sources of energy;
i. Strengthening data collection systems to ensure quality data for gender planning, monitoring and evaluation of initiatives, programmes on gender and the empowerment of women;
j. Supporting quality and relevant tertiary and vocational education and training, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics for girls and young women;
k. Recognising and harness the existing expertise and provide opportunities for employment in the region including the use of indigenous language.

 

5) PROMOTE Science and Technology, Research and Innovation and

a. Promote the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes on science, technology, engineering and mathematics and technology education for girls and boys;
b. Accelerate women’s access to and control of technology to reduce their care burden and release them to unleash and realise their potential;
c. Promote the innovative use of science and technology to advance women’s economic opportunities and for the eradication of poverty and the development of infrastructure and industrialisation;
d. Build, develop, document and protect African indigenous knowledge and culture, as a driver of and contributor to innovation.

6) ADVOCATE FOR Cultural transformation, Pan Africanist values, Renaissance and
a. Celebrate and develop the positive aspects of our indigenous African knowledge, cultures and institutions that promote women’s status, our African identity and our unity in diversity;
b. Promote and renew women-cantered Pan African unity and values including solidarity, service and self-determination and reliance;
c. Build new generations of Pan Africanist through cultural exchange, youth service programmes, arts and culture amongst African youth, including the Diaspora;
d. Encourage all countries to teach African history, Pan Africanism and Renaissance in schools and educational institutions, so as to foster people-to-people integration and promote the establishment of Pan Africanism and African Renaissance Chairs at universities;
e. Invest in and promote African cultural products and industries with the view to strengthen African identity, unity, diversity and gender equality;
f. Strengthen African cultural industries that create opportunities for women including artists, crafters, musicians, filmmakers, dancers, traditional healers and designers;
g. Review and document cultural norms, values and practices that promote or impede women’s empowerment, gender equality and women’s rights, and influence positive change and development of African cultures;
h. Engage with traditional authorities, including women cultural leaders to address traditional and cultural practices impacting women’s empowerment, gender equality and women’s rights;
i. Promote targeted approaches to transform household gender relations;
j. Engage African media to ensure that the diversity of African women’s stories are told the African way by African women;
k. Strengthen our continental media houses, to become vibrant, Pan African and primary sources of news and entertainment for Africans;
l. Establish a Pan African women multi-media network to drive Agenda 2063;
m. Promote the development of Pan African cultural products and content using new technologies to promote African identity, positive gender identity and equality as well as African heroines and heroes amongst our children;
n. Promote pride in our African identity, and take charge of the narrative of who we are, our past and our future, and our place in the world;
o. Strengthen our linkages with the African Diaspora and mobilise the Diaspora in support of Africa’s renaissance and prosperity;
p. Promote unity amongst African nations to enable them to compete on the global stage;
q. Preserve, protect and promote the use of African languages as an important part of African heritage and identity.

 

7) MOBILISE resources for Africa’s transformation and

a. Explore, promote and sustain innovative ways of domestic resource mobilisation, including review of tax systems, public and private investment policies and pension funds towards African development;
b. Promote African philanthropy to ensure ownership of the African development agenda.
c. Upscale allocation of resources for gender related and women’s empowerment interventions, and advocate for the equitable allocation of national and continental resources across genders;
d. Encourage effective, equitable and accountable use of resources, manage the resources in the interest of current and future generations; and act against corruption, pilfering of national resources and illicit outflows from the continent;
e. Advocate for the allocation, redistribution of public and private resources towards priorities that are critical to women’s empowerment and development, and ensure women’s participation in these processes;
f. Foster home-grown public-private partnerships to broaden domestic resource base, and encourage domestic investment by public and private sectors.
g. Institutionalise gender parity and gender mainstreaming in African institutions such as the African Union and its organs, African Development Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa;
h. Define the rules of engagement in development cooperation and aid, foreign investments, relationship with the global financial architecture so that they align with African development, gender equality and women’s empowerment priorities;
i. Ensure that the proceeds of the continent’s natural resources are utilised for development, industrialisation, women’s empowerment, and positive legacies for future generations.

 

8) ENSURE broad-based participation, foster Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships, and

a. Ensure effective engagement and ownership of Agenda 2063 by all stakeholders at all levels of implementation;
b. Foster strong women’s networks, alliances and grassroots movements to implement Agenda 2063;
c. Strengthen the mechanism for mutual transparency and accountability;
d. Foster a culture of information sharing and effective coordination among women within and across Africa and the African Diaspora.

 

9) SET MILESTONES towards the realisation of AGENDA 2063 and

a. Acknowledge that Agenda 2063 is a long term continental vision, and its realisation will require short and medium-term milestones and strategies, so that we assess progress on the way;
b. Ensure that African women’s input and priorities are captured in the post 2015 development agenda, so that it reinforces milestones towards the realisation of Agenda 2063, and that the global agenda supports Africa’s transformation and development;
c. Achieve gender mainstreaming in all milestones, as well as specific gender targets and indicators;
d. Set up a comprehensive knowledge management strategy promoting and tracking the intersection between post MDGs and Agenda 2063 processes and milestones.

THEREFORE RESOLVE TO TAKE THE NEXT STEPS

a. Present at the upcoming 50th Anniversary Summit these aspirations of women, and advocate for the inclusion of the proposals in the 50th Anniversary Proclamation;
b. Undertake, individually and collectively, to engage women in our countries and the Diaspora to participate in the debate and formulation of Agenda 2063 and its milestones;
c. Urge Member States, RECs, the Diaspora region, civil society, and the broader women movements and networks to organise similar women stakeholder workshops at country and regional level on Agenda 2063;
d. Develop an Action plan for the Implementation of the concrete strategies proposed at this Consultative workshop with a view to enrich the Agenda 2063 framework and to accelerate the realisation of the objectives of the Decade of Women in all our countries and across the continent;
e. Develop a communication and information plan to popularise this Declaration with a view to encourage widespread participation and ownership by women of Agenda 2063.

 

We commit as African women, as gender activists and Pan Africanists to continue to play a transformative role in our families, communities, grassroots movements, organisations, educational institutions, work places, parliaments, media houses, farmers’ and business associations, judicial systems, security forces, diplomatic missions, religious platforms and in all spheres of our lives, to work for a just, peaceful and prosperous Africa and world.

Adopted on this thirteen day of May 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Demonstrate leadership, be inclusive, recognise the power vested in grantmakers, and build African narratives.

These were the 4 key themes that emerged from a meeting of social justice philanthropic organisations convened by Trust Africa in October, 2012.

Read the PDF of the full report by clicking the link below:

Final Report: Developing a collective framework and agenda to advance social justice philanthropy in Africa and the Arab region

Learn more: AWDF Resource Mobilisation Bootcamp[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]En mai 2013, AWDF a organisé un Boot Camp à Kampala, en Ouganda, qui a réuni 26 de ses bénéficiaires représentés par 27 employés pour soutenir de manière pratique le développent de leurs projets de stratégies de mobilisation des ressources. RM stratégies forment un élément essentiel des efforts des récipiendaires d’AWDF à mobiliser des ressources pour leurs organisations.

Dans le cadre de base du mandat d’AWDF d’assurer la durabilité des organisations des droits des femmes, AWDF, à travers le bootcamp, a réaffirmé son engagement à soutenir ses bénéficiaires dans leurs efforts de mobilisation de ressources. Les participants provenaient d’organisations d’Ouganda, du Kenya, d’Ethiopie, du Zimbabwe, du Ghana et du Nigeria.

Le camp d’entraînement a été facilité par Resource Alliance en partenariat avec AWDF.

En savoir plus: AWDF Resource Mobilisation Bootcamp[/tp]

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]AWDF as part of its investment into its long term sustainability is pleased to announces the availability of premises to rent. Details are as follows:

A five bedroom house located at Plot no. 78, Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon, Accra, Ghana (near Galaxy international school), It has a swimming pool and a standby generator.

Rent is negotiable.

All interested persons should contact Grace Amenyogbeli, Human Resource Manager, via telephone +233-302-521257; or via e-mail: grace@africlub.net/awdf[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]AWDF dans le cadre de son investissement dans sa viabilité à long terme est heureuse d’annonce la disponibilité de locaux à louer. Les détails sont comme suit:

Une maison de cinq chambres situé au Plot no. 78, Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon, Accra, Ghana (près de Galaxy international school), il a une piscine et un générateur de secours.

Le loyer est négociable.

Toutes les personnes intéressées doivent communiquer avec Grace Amenyogbeli, directeur des ressources humaines, par téléphone +233-302-521257; ou par e-mail: grace@africlub.net/awdf [/tp]

 

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Podcast with Thokozile Makhanya, Board Member of Biowatch a public interest organization that publicises, monitors and researches issues of genetic modification, and promotes biological diversity and sustainable livelihoods. In this podcast Thoko speaks about the importance of resisting the use of genetically modified organisms, the importance of farmers rights and food sovereignty. Please click link below to listen to the podcast.

Podcast featuring Thokozile Makhanya, Biowatch, South Africa[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Un podcast avec Thokozile Makhanya, membre du conseil de Biowatch une organisation d’intérêt public qui publicise, surveille et analyse les enjeux de la modification génétique, et favorise la diversité biologique et les moyens de subsistance durables. Dans ce podcast Thoko parle de l’importance de résister à l’utilisation d’organismes génétiquement modifiés, l’importance des droits des agriculteurs et la souveraineté alimentaire. Veuillez cliquer sur le lien ci-dessous pour écouter le podcast.

Podcast avec Thokozile Makhanya, Biowatch, Afrique du Sud[/tp]

 

(Thoko was interviewed by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Communications Specialist, AWDF)

We the undersigned participants at a strategic meeting on Women’s Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods, held in Cape Town on 3-4 May under the auspices of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), wish to communicate the following key messages from our deliberations to the World Economic Forum-Africa meeting “Delivering on Africa’s Promise”, 8-10 May 2013

 

We welcome the new positive image of “Africa Rising,” and stand proud of the achievements of the continent’s women and men against overwhelming odds. As partners in the efforts to ensure that Africa’s growth is sustainable and is in the interest of the continent and its peoples, we wish to bring to the attention of this meeting, the following concerns in the hopes that they will form a part of the deliberations:

 

We remain sceptical that real progress for Africa’s one billion people—the majority of whom are women–will change radically through policies centred unremittingly on markets and profits, and based predominantly on the extraction of mineral resources. African people’s needs and interests—particularly those of women—are not part of this narrow economic vision. As African women, we are only too aware that:

 

 

1. From colonialisation to globalisation, African women have been brutally marginalised from Africa’s economic activity. The colonial economic model, which dominates “development” planning to this day, deliberately destroyed indigenous African systems of production, which were based on careful custodianship of our natural resources for present and future generations. As a result, African women’s economic contribution, skills and knowledge have been devalued and relegated to the “informal economy.” The result has been that even now, economic growth and the so-called “promise of Africa” have had little relevance to the vast majority of Africa’s women.

 

1. Women’s wealth in Africa has been intimately tied to traditional forms of communal resource ownership in which communities have evolved equitable and sustainable systems of wealth creation and distribution. These same communal systems have protected and enriched Africa’s greatest assets: a natural heritage second to none, with abundant water, forest and land based resources, as well as bounteous plant, marine and animal life. The definition of Africa’s wealth and economy in limited terms of GDP obscures the true value of the continent’s real capital.

 

1. The fuel of Africa’s economic growth and development is its food system. Food systems in Africa rely on indigenous local products.The 2010-2011 report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation on ‘The State of Food and Agriculture’[1] indicates that in Africa 50-80% of agricultural labour is provided by women. Africa’s primary food security systems are at threat from the process of relentless land degradation, dispossession, privatisation and large scale land grabs. Furthermore, these local food production systems are threatened by the loss of women’s indigenous knowledge necessary to preserve our rich ecosystems, seeds and animal biodiversity. However, women farmers are being driven out of the food economy under the relentless drive towards exclusively large-scale commercial agriculture. The impact of these approaches to our environment and to our complex ecosystems cannot be stressed enough. It is time for urgent action now.

 

We urge African political and business leaders participating at the Regional Africa World Economic Forum 2013 to broaden their understanding of an “emerging Africa” beyond extractive industry driven GDP. A balance must be struck between nurturing real African economies—where we “produce what we consume and consume what we produce”—and slavishly aligning our production systems to the requirements of external powers. As African women, we wish to end the cycle of exclusion and marginalisation that has characterised Africa’s location in the global economy, and our participation as citizens within it.

 

As a group of African feminists, women’s rights and social justice activists passionate about the realisation of the rights of all Africans we commit ourselves to work with women, decision makers, business people and thought leaders across the continent to reimagine and work towards Africa’s transformation guided by principles of sovereignty, self-determination, equity and justice.

 

Signed:

African Women’s Development Fund (Regional)

African Women’s Economic Policy Network (Uganda)

Biowatch (South Africa)

Busia Community Based Services (Kenya)

Economic Justice Network (South Africa)

Gaia Foundation (International)

Grassroots Organisation Operating Together in Sisterhood (Kenya)

Land Access Movement of South Africa (South Africa)

Positive Women’s Network (South Africa)

Rural Women’s Movement (South Africa)

SOS Addis (Ethiopia)

Surplus People Project (South Africa)

Tanzania Gender Network Program (Tanzania)

The African Biodiversity Network (Kenya)

The Association of Uganda Professional Women in Agriculture and Environment (Uganda)

The Mupo Foundation (South Africa)

Wheat Trust (South Africa)

Women and Resources in Eastern and Southern Africa (Zimbabwe)

Women’s Leadership and Training Programme (South Africa)

 

Press Enquiries

 

Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah (AWDF Communications Specialist)

Tel: +233 302 521 257

Email: nana@africlub.net/awdf

Website: www.africlub.net/awdf

 

Between 2001 and 2012, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) disbursed US$4,247,740.24 in grant-making to women’s rights and national organisations across the African continent. The majority of this funding has supported small community based women’s groups like Ngallu Djiguene in Senegal which in 2005 received a grant of US5,000; Anfoega Kaolin Processing Group which in 2006 received a grant of US$5,000 and SOS Addis in Ethiopia which in 2012 received a grant of $20,000.

Support provided by AWDF has enabled African women to live more dignified lives. Beneficiaries of AWDF’s grantee partners tell us that support for economic security has enabled them to sustain livelihoods, educate children and pay medical bills. Take Denise Adebiyi for example who has benefited from the work of Association Femme et Vie (AFV) in Benin. In November 2012, Denise shared with an AWDF monitoring and evaluation team how ARV’s micro credit scheme enabled her to invest in her vegetable farming business. She also participated in the literacy programme run by the organisation. This has helped her improve the quality of her business as she can now read and write in the local language. According to her, the living conditions of herself and her family has changed drastically and her profit base has also increased considerably.

 

In spite of the support that AWDF and other partners give to women like Denise it is clear that much more needs to be done to create more equitable societies where African women have fair access to economic resources, capital and food security.

As part of AWDF’s efforts to share learning amongst individuals, organisations and experts working on issues of economic empowerment and livelihood, on the 3^rd and 4^th of May 2013, the organisation will bring together researchers, policy makers, donors and grantee partners for a strategic meeting on ‘Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods’ in Cape Town, South Africa. The theme for this meeting is ‘Equity, Power and Livelihoods’. In the context of renewed international attention on economic growth in Africa, it is important that the economic empowerment of women is recognised as central to women’s equality and crucial to broader development goals such as economic growth and poverty reduction.

 

 

 

 

Download the guide here: VIOLENCE_AGAINST_WOMEN