Written by: Dinnah Nabwire, Knowledge Management Specialist, AWDF

Brief following the launch of the report Women and NCDs in Africa: Mapping the scale, actors and extent of rights-based work to address the impact of NCDs on African women.

Many people think that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) disproportionately affect men and richer populations especially those in the Global North. However, research shows that NCDs are increasingly becoming a leading cause for death and disability among women in low- and middle-income countries, disproportionately affecting those in the lowest socioeconomic groups, with direct negative implications to development, human rights and social justice.

Professor Ana Mocumbi, the co-chair of The Lancet Commission on NCDs and injuries, made these observations during her keynote address at the AWDF launch of the report Women and NCDs in Africa: Mapping the scale, actors and extent of rights-based work to address the impact of NCDs on African women during a virtual event at the Women and Girls Africa Summit.The report which is available in both English and French is a compilation of findings from a continent-wide study in all 54 countries to assess the scale and key gendered concerns around NCDs with a focus on cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and mental health. It also maps key actors and the extent of rights-based work on NCDs in Africa. An executive summary of the report is also available in both English and French and provides a synthesis of the key findings.

Click here to read the post-session article.

By: Pudu Blamoh, Communications Intern, AWDF

Having read Shel Silverstein’s much-acclaimed children’s book The Giving Tree years ago, I reflect now and can’t help but compare the characters in that book; the tree and the boy, to women and the world respectively. The Giving tree tells the story of a boy who grows to become a man, and a tree; personified “she”, who lean on each other (or more accurately who have a parasitic relationship). This story is largely acclaimed and also largely criticised for its teachings of selfishness, selflessness, and greed. The tree gives too much, and the boy takes it all until the tree is nothing but a stump in place of a strong trunk and flowery branches that once shaded and harnessed the wind.

Whenever I read this book, I am tempted to open a window and toss it out, thinking to myself ‘What utter nonsense!’. To add to my ire, it ends with the words “…and the tree was happy”. I ask myself, who can be happy after giving all of themselves until they are literally a stump to be sat on? Who is expected to give to this extent? Why do these expectations even exist? Why didn’t the tree just say no?

The answer to these questions follows swiftly since the tree is personified as a “She”.

Women and girls are expected and taught to give this way. We are taught to give our time, energy, care, and emotional strength in abundance, to the detriment of our physical and mental health. It begins when caregiving is built into play during our formative years. For many African women, it heightens when domestic labour is gendered and falls to them in their youth, simply because it is socially seen as a girl skill, necessary for securing a husband and therefore a successful future.

Going through the story of the Giving Tree, it was chilling to learn that what is naturally occurring in the tree becomes commodified for the development of a world ‘she’ did not get to partake in and represent herself. It is a reminder of how despite the rise in status and authority of women globally, we are still often left on the side-lines when decisions are being made that affect our well-being and ability to grow as individuals.

The one thing I will give to the Giving Tree is that ‘she’ gave of her free will. ‘She’ gave because ‘she’ chose to give, that is not always the case for women globally.

Oftentimes, these ‘commodities’ including the bodies of women and girls are stolen; like land illegally mined, trees illegally logged, and forest uncaringly burned. The humanity and rights of women and girls are too easily disregarded and commodified for the benefits of their communities, countries, families, or enemies.

Until much recently this has been the disposition of our world towards women and girls; you are inherently valued for your ability to reproduce and grow our species, and for your ability to care, empathise, nurture, while balancing the burdens and well-being of homes and societies.

The global perception of women being the weaker sex certainly hasn’t helped. That ‘weakness’’, real or imagined, has translated into more hesitant ‘yes’, coerced acquisitions, and outright abuse of women and girls to situations and people who only wish to take advantage. A lower position on the social economic ladder, and poor/no education takes more agency from women and girls, rendering their ability to negotiate for self-care, mental health and resources virtually non-existent.

Men are the number one perpetrators and enablers of sexual, emotional, and physical violence against women and girls, on both familial and societal levels. I will not qualify that statement with most/some because, this fact is too often glossed over when we discuss and list statistics of Gender based violence against women.

According to WHO, 1 in 3 women globally experience physical/sexual violence from their partners and non-partners. To contextualise this, let’s say that there’s 7.5 billion people on this planet, 49.5% of them are women, meaning women account for 3.88 billion humans. 1 in 3 women, approximately 1.4 billion humans, have been physically or sexually abused. China has the world’s largest population with 1.39 billion citizens. If all the humans in China were women, according to this statistic, every single one of them would have either been physically or sexually abused by their partners or non-partners.

A huge caveat for this data is that it was collected from surveying only 80 out of 195 countries in the world. Violence against women is a plague that has been largely under reported and its effect on individuals is even more understudied and under-contemplated in the development of policies nationally, regionally, and globally.

Multiple threats of violence confront women and girls when we move through the world, rape; sexual harassment in workplaces, church, mosques, schools etc; human trafficking; FGM; child marriage; verbal harassment; and extortion, the list goes on. These threats of violence are almost always inevitable, and further heightened by poverty, war, illiteracy, disability, sexual orientation, lack of familial support, and marital status.

Awareness of the threat of violence is a survival instinct, but women need to be equally aware of how to care for their physical as well as mental health in the face of these stressors.

As we embark on this year’s 16 Days of Activism campaign against all forms of gender-based violence, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) seeks not only to create awareness about the effects of GBV, but also to create space for better mental health care and wellness for women and girls.

Here are my tips for wellbeing and mental health as we navigate the many threats and dangers that confront us, based on our gender alone.

If you are a woman/girl and are reading this, make space for your well-being and health in your life. Don’t be like the Giving Tree. Share your wealth of resources and abilities with your world, but please don’t exhaust yourself in a bid to nurture everyone else’s dreams, goals, activities, and proclivities. When given the chance, choose to nurture your mental health, when not given the chance, make space for your mental health.

If or when you find yourself in a situation where you are pressured to share your body, livelihood, and intellect, you have a right to say no.

Your life, your choice!

If or when you are exposed to sexual, emotional, physical violence, report your abuser until you are believed, and action is taken against them. Enlist allies where possible. Also know that just as physical scars can heal, mental ones can be healed as well. Use care when communicating with yourself and seek professional mental health care/resources.

You may have been traumatised, but you survived, and you can thrive!

If or when you feel burdened to give beyond the scope of your ability, health, or wellness, by a partner, job, child, friend, or situation; use your voice and advocate for yourself. Your silence causes their voices to drown out your concerns.

If you are a woman reading this, look within yourself, and look around you, notice the state of the women you see.

Are they thriving? Are you thriving? Do you and your sisters give or have more parts of yourself stolen than you can afford to part with.

Are you protecting, nurturing, educating, and advocating for yourselves towards a billowing oak tree, or a sorry stump with no fruits, leaves, branches, and flowers?

In avoidance of a barren landscape of womanhood and girlhood that is littered with stumps and logs, in imitation of the Giving Tree, let’s work towards cultivating ourselves into forests of trees. Let the path for women and girls be one that nurtures growth and development into maturity. It is better to give out of an abundance by choice rather than be cut down by the stressors and takers of the world.

Finally, to the sisters who find themselves in situations, relationships and environments that birth more pain, dependency and despondency, look outward: there are women young and old to guide your path to hope and healing. There are more road maps and signs being put up every day for your sake, to lead you beyond the traumas of violence and abuse.

(This piece is also published on Medium)

AWDF is honoured to be sponsoring the Women and Girls Summit (WAGS), which takes place virtually from November 16-18, 2020, and aims to prepare women and girls as leaders in key industries to ensure that Africa realises its full potential on issues ranging from entrepreneurship to the impact of climate change, to reproductive health, to developing socially responsible enterprises.

The AWDF session, Non-communicable diseases and African women’s health futures: A feminist research-based call to invest in sustainable solutions will examine the scale and key gendered concerns around NCDs with a focus on cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and mental health; the key actors and extent of rights-based work on NCDs on the continent.

Our Director of Programmes, Pontso Mafethe is one of the speakers at the summit under AWDF’s co-hosted session to launch findings of research on Women and Noncommunicable diseases in Africa. The session will be moderated by Global Health Council Executive Director and President, Loyce Pace and joined by key speakers; Dr. Ana Mocumbi (Lancet NCDI Poverty Commission), Dr. Beatrice Wiafe (Ghana NCD Alliance and CEO Breast Care International) and Dr. Johanna Riha (Epidemiologist, Researcher).

The session speakers were carefully selected to draw on their rich experience and expertise in utilising these research and current context to inform debate and investments for the sustainable futures of women’s health in Africa.

This transformational event will create a group of change agents in their own communities, passionate about driving and implementing actions that will help countries in Africa across the development continuum.

Click here to register for the Women and Girls Africa Summit 2020

And here to attend AWDF’s session on Women and NCDs in Africa.

Note: You have to register for the summit first to be able to join the side event.

There has been growing concern across Africa by activists and policymakersalike around the question of land rushes (especially after the 2007-2008 land rush) often framed as “land grabs” (see Oya 2013b, Dieng 2017), and their implications for local communities. This “global land rush”n,emerged in the turbulent context of socioeconomic and political transformations. While the drivers, scale and actors in this renewed interest in land (and labour) are still contested, a body of knowledge interested in its differentiated impact and outcomes, as well as political reactions to these deals, is still growing (Hall et al 2015). It is important for us to consider however that land deals “do not occur in a socio-economic or political vacuum” (Oya 2013b: 1550). They are interventions connecting capital with labour with previous and ongoing dynamics of place-making resulting in uneven, unfinished processes of social change. Not only do land deals re-shape the places in which they
occur, they are also an expression of capitalist expansion across the globe. Feminist, postcolonial and decolonial scholars have contributed to acknowledging that mainstream models with their limited interpretation of ‘the economic’ are grounded in gendered cultural values and norms, though the recognition of this has been late and partial (Barker et al 2003, Pollard et al 2011, Zein-Elabdin 2016).

This article compares two case studies¹: an export horticulture estate and a scheme funded by an international financial institution in communities based in the delta of the river, in Northern Senegal. These communities are experiencing the boom of commercial horticultural farming and rural labour markets after the 2007-2008 land rush whose effects sediment with and build on previous dynamics of social differentiation. In this article, I challenge the tendency to over-focus on either narratives emphasizing dualisms such as ‘insiders vs outsiders’ or prioritising economic (and gendered) outcomes of ‘land grabs’.

“Read the full article here

Pontso has over 25 years of experience working in social justice, particularly women and girl’s rights in Africa; themes and contexts that have both impacted and inspired her personally and professionally. She is a keen supporter of the leading contribution that African women and their organisations across the world make to the feminist transformation of women’s rights in Africa and worldwide. Her track record includes successful work addressing violence against women, women’s leadership, and economic strengthening with diverse organisations including Action Aid, Comic Relief, International Planned Parenthood Federation, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and as a freelance consultant. She also has decades of experience in strategy development and delivery, programme development and implementation, philanthropy and grant making, resource mobilisation, training and facilitation and people and project management.

Pontso has been a member of Steering Committees for The Red Umbrella Fund and The Girl Generation, is a Board member of EMpower – The Emerging Markets Foundation and Make Every Woman Count, and was selected twice as one of the BBC 100 Women.

Women’s ways lead us to the solutions the planet and the people need

Peasant and working-class women in Africa bear the brunt of climate-destroying ‘development’ projects which grab, pollute and destroy their natural resources, undermine cultural and historical ties to territories, exploit their labour (paid and unpaid), and violate their bodies and health. And women form the core of struggles to defend the land, lives, livelihoods and future of their families and communities. Their struggle is one that defends a way of life and an existence that cannot be replaced. This is their development alternative. Yet, women have limited voice and authority in decision- making about development at all levels of society. We note the ways in which African peasant and working-class women care for, replenish and reproduce nature and humans.

This article by Margaret Mapondera, Trusha Reddy and Samantha Hargreaves examines the ecological and climate crisis as a critical dimension of the manifold threats facing the planet and most of its peoples today.

Read the article here

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We are hiring to fill vacancies for the under-listed positions with persons who are innovative, passionate about women’s rights in Africa, excited about African feminism and embrace African women’s diversity.

1. Programme Officer – Special Initiatives (Download Terms of Reference here)
2. Communications & Fundraising Assistant (Download Terms of Reference here)
3. Knowledge Management Assistant (Download Terms of Reference here)
4. Capacity Building Officer – Maternity Cover (Download Terms of Reference here)

If this is you, please download the attached TOR’s and send in your application.

How to Apply: Qualified and interested persons should send a cover letter indicating their relevant skills and experience and CV of not more than 3 pages by email to:

The Human Resources Manager at jobs@awdf.org with application for the position being applied for indicated as the subject line.

Closing Date: 6 November 2020

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for additional information and interviews.

In line with AWDF’s Mission, qualified African women are encouraged to apply.

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Nous invitons des personnes innovantes, passionnées par les droits des femmes en Afrique, le féminisme africain et croyant en la diversité des femmes africaines à poser leurs candidatures pour les postes ci-après :

1. Administratrice de Programmes – Initiatives spéciales (Téléchargez les termes de référence ici )
2. Assistante en Communications et Mobilisation des ressources (Téléchargez les termes de référence ici)
3. Assistante Gestion des Connaissances (Téléchargez les termes de référence ici)
4. Officier – renforcement des capacités – Contrat à courte durée (Téléchargez les termes de référence ici)

Intéressez? Veuillez télécharger les termes de référence et envoyez–nous votre demande.

Comment postulez : Les personnes qualifiées et intéressées doivent envoyer une lettre de motivation indiquant leurs compétences et expériences ainsi qu’un CV de 3 pages maximum par e-mail au responsable des ressources humaines à l’adresse jobs@awdf.org en indiquant comme objet la candidature pour le poste à pourvoir.

Date de clôture : 6 novembre 2020

Seuls(es) les candidats(es) présélectionnés(es) seront contactés(es) pour des informations complémentaires et des entretiens.

Conformément à la mission de l’AWDF, les femmes africaines qualifiées sont encouragées à postuler

NB : Les Termes de Reference ne sont disponibles qu’en Anglais.

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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

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The Board of Directors at the African Women’s Development Fund is pleased to announce Françoise Moudouthe as the newly appointed, incoming CEO of AWDF.

In 2018 the current CEO of AWDF, Theo Sowa encouraged the Board to initiate a thoughtful executive leadership transition at the organisation. The transition plan that followed led to an international search by an independent Executive Search company, culminating recently in the appointment of Françoise Moudouthe.
A pan-African feminist with roots in Cameroon, Françoise Moudouthe is passionate about advocating for women’s rights and fostering sisterhood within African feminist movements. She is the founder of Eyala, a bilingual platform that amplifies the voices and lived experiences of African feminists. Having played an instrumental role in incubating Girls Not Brides, the global civil society partnership to end child marriage, and in spearheading its growth in Africa, Françoise has most recently worked as an international consultant, focusing on strategy, advocacy and movement-building for gender justice in Africa. She is a Board member of the Malala Fund and Womankind Worldwide.

“I am honoured to join AWDF, an organisation with an extraordinary legacy of redefining feminist movement-building and philanthropy in Africa and globally. I look forward to working with the AWDF team, grantee partners, and the wider African feminist movement, to nurture and support dynamic feminist activism in Africa in the years to come,” says Françoise.

Ndeye Sow, AWDF Board Chair added that “while it is always sad to say goodbye to the type of visionary leadership shown by Theo as she grew and consolidated the work of our organisation, the Board of AWDF are delighted with the choice of Françoise to take over the leadership of AWDF. We know that her vision and passion will take AWDF even further on the amazing leadership journey started by Bisi Adeleye Fayemi, carried on through Theo Sowa and now in the hands of Françoise Moudouthe. We look forward to her leadership journey at AWDF.”

Françoise will join AWDF in the second week of November 2020. After a transitional period where she and Theo will work together as incoming and outgoing CEO, Theo will step out of AWDF in mid-December.

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Les membres du Conseil d’Administration de l’AWDF » ont le plaisir d’annoncer la nomination de Françoise Moudouthe au poste de Directrice Générale de l’AWDF.

En 2018, l’actuel Directrice Générale de l’AWDF, Theo Sowa, a sollicité les membres du Conseil d’Administration à initier une transition de leadership au sein de l’organisation. Le plan de transition élaboré après cette demande a conduit au lancement d’une recherche sur le plan international, d’une nouvelle Directrice Générale. Ainsi, les membres du conseil ont contracté une société indépendante de recrutement des cadres qui s’est chargée du processus de recrutement et donc aboutissant récemment à la nomination de Françoise Moudouthe.

Françoise Moudouthe est une féministe africaine d’origine camerounaise qui se passionne pour la défense des droits des femmes et la promotion de la sororité au sein des mouvements féministes africains. Elle est la fondatrice d’Eyala, une plateforme bilingue dont l’ambition est de libérer la parole féministe en Afrique. Françoise a joué un rôle déterminant dans la création de Girls Not Brides, le partenariat mondial de la société civile visant à mettre fin au mariage des enfants, dont elle a dirigé l’action en Afrique pendant près de six ans. Plus récemment, Françoise a travaillé comme consultante internationale sur divers projets de plaidoyer pour les droits des femmes et de renforcement des mouvements féministes en Afrique. Elle siège aux Conseils d’Administration du Malala Fund et de Womankind Worldwide.

« Je suis honorée de rejoindre l’AWDF. Depuis sa création il y a vingt ans, l’AWDF a joué un rôle déterminant dans le renforcement du mouvement féministe et de la philanthropie en Afrique et dans le reste du monde. Je suis ravie de pouvoir travailler avec l’équipe de l’AWDF, ses partenaires bénéficiaires, et l’ensemble du mouvement féministe africain, afin de soutenir et de redynamiser l’activisme féministe sur notre continent. »

Ndeye Sow, Présidente du Conseil d’Administration de l’AWDF a ajouté que «s’il est toujours triste de dire au revoir au type de leadership visionnaire montré par Theo alors qu’elle développait et consolidait le travail de notre organisation, les membres du Conseil d’Administration de l’AWDF sont ravis du choix de Françoise pour prendre la gestion de la direction de l’AWDF. Nous savons que sa vision et sa passion emmèneront l’AWDF encore plus loin dans cet incroyable parcours de leadership commencé par Bisi Adeleye Fayemi, poursuivi par Theo Sowa et maintenant entre les mains de Françoise Moudouthe. Nous attendons avec impatience son parcours de leadership à l’AWDF. »

Françoise va rejoindre l’AWDF dans la deuxième semaine de novembre 2020. Theo quittera l’AWDF en mi-décembre après une période de transition au cours de laquelle elle et Françoise travailleront ensemble en tant que PDG entrant et sortant.

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Vibrant Canvas is the world told by African women, created and founded in their experiences.

In 2019, AWDF granted more money to women’s organisations than in any previous years, and we supported the largest number of grantees in our herstory, strengthening their organisations’ systems, skills and cultures. We convened, produced and shared knowledge, hosted artists and claimed power in a chorus of feminist voices. We stretched across Africa – North, South, East and West, and further into the Middle East. We grew, in scale and scope. We saw and created change in process and outcome.

For AWDF, 2019 meant expansion with connection, it meant a deepening of the work for equality and justice and an engagement in the interconnected realities of womanhood. AWDF and its partners gathered the pieces, collected colour, stretched the canvas and painted for the telling of a story. We revealed a world, and created new designs in glimpses into the world of the future.

Vibrant canvas is a look into the world made by African feminists over the course of 365 days in 2019.

Please click here to read the Summarised version of the Report

For the Full version of the Report, please click here

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La Toile Dynamique : Réalité des femmes africaines créée et fondée sur leurs expériences.

En 2019, l’AWDF a accordé plus de subventions aux organisations de femmes qu’au cours des années précédentes. Nous avons soutenu le plus grand nombre d’organisations bénéficiaires de subventions de notre histoire, et avons aussi renforcé leurs systèmes, leurs compétences et leurs cultures.

Nous avons organisé des rencontres, produit et partagé des connaissances. Nous avons accueilli des artistes et ensemble, (dans un seul accord tout en unissant nos voix en tant que féministes) avons réclamé le pouvoir. Nous sommes répandues partout en Afrique – Nord, Sud, Est, Ouest, et au Moyen-Orient. Nous avons grandi avec une ampleur considérable. Nous avons vu et créé des changements dans le processus d’obtention des résultats.

Pour l’AWDF, 2019 a signifié une croissance avec connexion, un approfondissement du travail pour l’égalité et la justice et un engagement dans les réalités interconnectées de la féminité. L’AWDF et ses partenaires ont rassemblé des informations, choisi la couleur, tendu la toile et l’ont peinte pour raconter une histoire. Nous avons révélé un monde, et créé de nouveaux dessins pour pouvoir découvrir le monde du futur.

La Toile dynamique, réalisée par les féministes africaines, est un regard sur le monde couvrant 365 jours en 2019.

Pour lire la version simplifiée du rapport annuel 2019, cliquez ici

Pour la version complète du rapport annuel 2019, cliquez ici

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