Author: African Women's Development Fund

The EWF/SAYWHAT South Western Region Coalition is made up of three Zimbabwean organisations and led by the Emthonjeni Women’s Forum. The coalition was formed to address sexual harassment in tertiary institutions and workplaces and to address violence against women and girls and women’s rights. With the Leading from the South grant, the coalition will engage women’s groups within various labour movements and student representative councils to advocate for policies to protect women and young women from sexual harassment and protect employees and students who report cases of abuse.

Emang Basadi Association (EBA) was started in 1986 by a group of concerned citizens (mainly women) who felt that issues of women and gender were not adequately reflected on the development agenda in Botswana. The organisation’s mission is to raise awareness through lobbying, advocacy and capacity building and provide legal aid and counselling services for the empowerment of women. EBA was awarded a renewal grant to be used as core grant. Part of the funding would also be used to consolidate the results achieved in the first phase of the project including popularising the findings of the research report on the representation of women in politics in Botswana, creation of a platform for women politicians from all political parties and advocating for a greater involvement of women in politics and governance.

Education as a Vaccine (EVA) was founded in 2000 to equip young people with the information and skills to tackle the AIDS epidemic when formative research revealed that a majority of young people lacked the basic life skills necessary to prevent the HIV infection. With the Leading from the South grant, the organisation will advocate for measures to ensure the safety and security of women in tertiary institutions and advocate for the review and implementation of sexual harassment policies, protocols and programmes at the University of Ibadan and the University of Abuja.

CBDF was formed by organisations that promote human rights and women’s rights in particular. From 1998 to 2002, 15 organisations implemented a project on the rights and citizenship of women in French-speaking Africa with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). At the end of the project, these organisations decided to form a coalition to consolidate their achievements under the project. Under the Leading from the South project, the organisation will use the grant to carry out a countrywide advocacy campaign with sensitisation meetings for decision makers, religious leaders and community members to increase the women’s participation in decision making processes to 30% as prescribed by law.

Cercle d’Aide Femme Enfant (CAFE) was set up in 2004 by a group of young dynamic Togolese women to promote the status of women and children. It is a national organisation and it seeks to contribute towards the improvement of the living conditions of women and children in deprived areas in Togo. With the Leading from the South grant, the organisation will engage strategic political stakeholders and lobby for quotas in decision making positions for young women after the February 2020 electioneering process in Togo.

Cause Rurale was set up in 1999 to combat extreme poverty, promote sustainable development and fight rural inequalities especially violence against rural and peri-urban women and girls. With the Leading from the South grant, the organisation will address severe human rights abuses of women and girls cross-border migrants at the DRC-Angola border by border guards and other uniformed officials by building the capacity of relevant CSOs and officials of the security agencies.

Zambia National Women’s Lobby (ZNWL) was formed in 1991 by a group of women gender activists to support Zambian women and girls to proactively take up leadership roles and actively participate in the development of the nation through capacity building, policy advocacy and lobbying. With the Leading from the South grant, the organisation will lobby for the inclusion of women in leadership and decision-making processes in political parties by ensuring that the political parties develop and implement gender equality plans.

WARDA was founded to campaign and advocate on issues affecting women’s lives, in particular violence against women and women experiencing multiple social and economic disadvantages. With the Leading from the South grant, the organisation will enhance access to justice for Somali women and girls with trainings for representatives of legal and uniformed professions on gender equality as well as discussions around strengthening the effective implementation of gender-responsive laws and policies.

Union Feministe Libre was founded by a group of Women in 2016 on the second anniversary of a sexual harassment case won in court, in order to advocate for women and LGBTQI+ rights. With the Leading from the South grant, the organisation will organise the annual feminist UFL Academy to enable activists to successfully carry out advocacy campaigns at the national level, engage more young people in the movement and ultimately a strong movement in the North African Region with greater cohesion.

The Society of Women Graduates was founded in 1974 to empower female graduates in the Gaza Strip through capacity building development programs, skill rehabilitation, education, awareness-raising, job placement and advocacy for their rights by creating local, regional and international partnerships. With the Leading from the South grant, the organisation will increase women’s equitable representation in local committees at the Municipal level in the Gaza Strip by training and motivating community women and municipal authorities to promote women’s rights including promoting women’s participation in local government committees.