Author: Tarisai Nyamweda

In 2024 women girls and gender diverse people bore the brunt of the often mentioned polycrisis.  In Africa armed conflict instability , climate change and economic hardships intensified and anti-gender and anti-rights ideologies ad movements grew bolder- all while the world reeled from live images of genocide and incessant tales of curtailed rights around the world.  African women, girls, and gender diverse people were affected in tangible ways as were the feminist movements that work to champion their rights . The world felt as it  were only inches away from falling apart…

At AWDF we kept going and continued to implement our ten year strategic framework Lemlem.

We are thrilled to share with you our annual report for 2024 which highlights significant milestones over the year

We invite you to read the stories, data and highlights  that showcase our work. Download the report  HERE.

The Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence kicks starts from 25 November – 10 December. This year, the commemoration takes place under the banner Unite to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls.

As part of the Sixteen Days of Activism campaign, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is excited to invite you to join  a conversation on Ending Technology Facilitated Sexual Violence: Feminist Perspective and Approaches.

Event details:

Date: 3 December 2025

Time: 11.00 am – 13.00pm (GMT)

Location: Zoom

Registration Link: https://bit.ly/48eYhPv 

The event will bring together women’s  rights and feminist organisations and activists, donors, and other actors working to address Technology Facilitated Sexual  Violence.

We invite all partners to share widely with their networks so we can deepen the conversation and strengthen  our collective call t to ending

The African Women’s Development Fund seeks the services of a Namibia based events and logistics company to support the 5th African Feminist Forum to be held in Windhoek, Namibia,  in August 2026.

Background

AFF 2026 will bring together approximately 250 African feminists and women rights activists from across the continent and diaspora. The Forum will commemorate 20 years since the first AFF was held in Accra in 2026 and will provide space to reflect, celebrate and re-imagine the future of African feminist movement-building. To ensure a seamless convening experience for participants and partners, AWDF seeks the services of a Namibia based events and logistics company  with demonstrable experience in organising large-scale, high-profile conference, especially those rooted in social justice or feminist movements. The selected company will work closely with the AFF Secretariat at AWDF and the AFF 2026 Steering Committee to plan and manage all logistical and event- related aspects for a smooth delivery of the Forum.

Scope of Work 

The events and logistics company will be responsible for supporting the full cycle of event planning and coordination, including (but not limited to):

– Pre-event planning and advise;

– Event coordination and onsite management;

– Post- event.

Duration of the assignment 

This assignment is expected to run from December 2025 – September 2026, covering the preparatory phase, implementation, and post-event close-cut period. The company/team should demonstrate:

– Proven experience in managing large scale conference or convening (200+participants), preferably with the feminist, development or non-profile sector .

– Strong logistical networks and vendor relationships within Namibia.

– Demonstrated capacity to coordinate international participants’ logistics (visas, transport, accommodation, etc.).

– Experience providing audio visual, translation, interpretation and event design service, or managing third-party providers.

– Commitment to feminist values of respect, accountability diversity, inclusion and solidarity.

– Excellent organisational communications and problem-solving skills.

– Commitment to fair labour practices, including fair compensation, non exploitation of casual or temporary workers, and maintaining a safe working environment free from harassment and discrimination.

– Demonstrated adherence to feminist and ethical standards in vendor management, including policies on harassment, discrimination, conflict of interest and risk management.

– Evidence of environmentally  responsible practices and approaches to sustainability within event planning.

Application Methodology

Interested event and logistics companies are invited to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) that includes:

– A company profile – outlining experiences in organising large-scale events, past clients (especially feminist or social justice organisations), and key personnel who would lead this assignment.

– Proposed approach – a short narrative (no more than two pages) describing how the company envisions supporting the planning coordination and execution of the AFF 2026 Forum, including suggested timelines and management structure.

– Preliminary budget estimate – an indicative cost breakdown for delivering the full scope of work described in this TOR, including coordination, logistics management, staffing and vendor oversight. (Final costs will be confirmed after detailed scoping with AWDF).

– At least three reference or samples from comparable events managed within the past five years.

EOIs should be submitted electronically to consultants@awdf.org  with the subject line: “EOI: Event and Logistics Support – AFF2026, Namibia.” 

Deadline for submission: 19 December at  23:59 (GMT).

AWDF strongly encourages applications from companies led by women, queer and  gender diverse people, and people living disabilities. In keeping with AWDF’s values and commitment to inclusive practice, companies with demonstrated approaches to equity, diversity and inclusion are especially encouraged to apply.

Read full Terms of Reference HERE

Feminist organising in Portuguese speaking African countries has historically operated on the periphery of global and regional feminist discourse constrained by linguistic isolation post colonial authoritarianism and systemic funding inequities .

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) recently commissioned a mapping study to understand  the state of feminist and women’s rights movements across Portuguese- speaking African countries including

Angola

Cape Verde

Equitorial Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Mozambique

São Tomé and Principe

The report offers rich analysis of how feminist actors, formal and informal, young and intergenerational rural and urban organism under conditions of restrictions, linguistic marginalisation and economic fragility. Despite these constraints feminist organising in Portuguese- speaking Africa is dynamic and deeply rooted in community resilience creativity and care.

To push forward the agenda on gender justice,  feminist and women’s rights activists in the region  are focusing on fighting GBV , organizing and advocating for bodily autonomy access to safe abortion menstrual dignity  comprehensive sexuality education

They are also focusing on economic freedom  as they increasingly raise their voices about women’s exclusion from formal financial systems and social protection . They are pushing for reforms  on women’s leadership and political participation as they remain significantly underrepresented  in key decision making spaces

With gender diverse people highly marginalized across the region and often criminalised or culturally stigmatised , a fe feminist groups are beginning to openly include gender diverse people in their advocacy .

Finally climate feminism is on the rise especially in climate vulnerable areas like Cape Verde and Northern Mozambique . feminist actors are connecting environmental justice with creating work , displacement and food security  highlighting the gender impact of the climate criss and need for community led adaptation strategies .

Look out for the Mapping report launch in 2026

In 2006, African feminists gathered in Accra, Ghana, to articulate a collective vision for liberation and movement-building across the continent. From that convening, the African Feminist Forum (AFF) was born as a space for reflection, strategy, and connection guided by the Charter of Feminist Principles for African Feminist and the organisational development tool. Over the past 20 years, it has nurtured generations of activists and organisations, shaping the language, values, and practice of African feminism. 

The world is on fire. In Africa and around the world, girls, women and womxn of all identities and experiences are bearing the brunt of political and economic crises, the erosion of democracy, and a vicious anti-gender backlash. African feminist activists, organisations and movements are stepping up despite drastic funding cuts. We are hearing this again and again: to be an African feminist in these times is exhausting and isolating but also powerful and connective. Whether on the continent or in the diaspora, African feminists need alignment, connection and solidarity. 

For us, this means one thing: it is time to bring back the AFF. It must remain a vital anchor for our collective resistance and hope. 

Since its inception, the AFF has provided feminists from across the continent with three invaluable gifts: the African Feminist Charter and its accompanying organisational development tool as a groundbreaking values alignment tool; Four continent-wide in-person convenings (Ghana in 2006, Uganda in 2008,  Senegal in 2010 and Zimbabwe  in 2016);  and opportunities to organise in National Feminist Forums (NFF) and strengthen national mobilisation in countries like Liberia in and Uganda. 

Twenty years later, the volatile times we are in call us to build on this legacy. As the Steering Committee of the AFF, jointly with the African Women’s Development Fund (acting as the AFF secretariat), we are delighted to share these two announcements:

Save the date for the 5th in-person African Feminist Forum convening in Windhoek, Namibia, from 17-19 August 2026.                                                                                                                           

This is a response to the shared need for spaces where African feminists from across Africa and the diaspora can connect, re-energise, heal, and strategise to chart a collective path towards the feminist futures we dream of and deserve. Deciding to host a convening during a funding crisis is not a decision we took lightly. We look forward to a gathering that is focused, inclusive and generative – and count on your participation and solidarity. The Forum will provide a range of funding options, including limited travel and participation support as well as self-funded tiers, to make space for diverse forms of participation.More details will follow in the coming months. For now, mark your calendars!

Be part of the African Feminist Charter refresher process.

The Charter of Feminist Principles for African Feminists and the organisational development tool are our shared political compass. It emerged at a moment when few common agreements or languages named what African feminisms offer or how to popularise and practise them, which made the Charter and the organisational development tool both groundbreaking and unifying for our organising. Over the years the Charter has anchored forums, revived networks and deepened conversation across movements and ecosystems by providing clear principles that many have used as a touchstone for strategy, solidarity and practice. At the same time, our context and movements have evolved, and relational ruptures and exclusions remind us to widen leadership and repair community with intention. This has necessitated the need to reflect on how the Charter remains relevant in proactively anchoring feminists and movements twenty years after its formulation in 2006.

We will commission a participatory process to refresh the Charter. This will be by convening diverse African feminists to reflect, re-articulate and validate principles through facilitated safe spaces, creative methods and peer review, culminating in accessible tools and a public launch that sustains collective accountability. Please expect to hear more about the consultative processes which will be used to review the Charter and the organisational development tool and more details on the AFF 2O26. 

Watch out for further information on the AFF website and social media platforms, as well as AWDF’s website. Please send your questions, ideas, offers to support and contribute to aff@awdf.org 

The AFF Steering Committee:

• Awa Fall Diop
• Iheoma Obibi
• Eunice Musiime
• Korto Williams
• Françoise Moudouthe 
• Nataka Gmakagni
• Mutyaba Gloria 
• Shamillah Wilson 
• Alya El Marakby
• Florence F /Khaxas

The Financing for Feminist Futures Conference recently drew to a close in Madrid, Spain and the urgent core message was: Why does the feminist movement, which holds the wisdom, also hold the biggest resource deficit? This is the #MadridParadox.

The conference which took place from 8-10 October 2025, brought together bold feminist voices, perspectives and expertise from across the world to discuss and shape financing for gender justice and feminist movement.

To join in influencing and shaping discussions on financing for feminist futures, the Leading From the South (LFS) Consortium was proudly represented by our team—Anisha Chugh (CEO, Women’s Fund of Asia), Laura Leonelli (Co-Director, Fondo de Mujeres del Sur), and Ramatoulaye Mballo (LFS Coordinator, AWDF).

Our LFS Mandate:

Since 2017, LFS has moved over €88 Million to 1,014 Southern Women’s Rights Organizations. Our ground-breaking approach centers the agency and leadership of the Global South.

In the face of dramatic aid cuts and polycrisis, we affirmed three key takeaways for resilience:

• From Grants to Fiscal Justice: We must move beyond dependency and interrogate the global systems. The challenge is not just about funding, but about re-imagining how progressive taxation and domestic wealth can serve our movements.
• Un-learn the Binary: Reform (working within the current system) and regeneration (building something new) are complementary, not exclusive. We must scale up our work while finding seats in unusual spaces where the money is.
• Capitalising on Radical Trust: The next political moment requires us to make radical trust our primary form of capital, institutionalizing accountability that is led by and for the movements. We must honor and invest in our existing wisdom: mutual aid and gifting circles.

We are not just holding the line; we are building a new political moment rooted in the autonomy and knowledge of the Global South.

Find out more about the work and impact of LFS in funding Global south feminist movements HERE

When we talk about African women, girls and gender diverse people, too often, the world hears stories about us and not by us. We need to think differently about who tells the story and how.

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF)  CEO, Francoise Moudouthe, recently featured  in a Podcast conversation together with other feminist leaders from Africa including, Graca Machel, a global advocate for women and girls rights and a member of the Elders and Satta Sheriff, a climate justice and child rights advocate representing the next generation of African change makers to talk about investing in funding and building movements that centre women’s voices in telling women stories .

Hosted by Adelle Onyango, Kenyan media personality and young change maker, on the Global Dispatches Podcast a special series on Future of Africa, the conversation was a deep dive into  investing in women’s agency and centering our own voices in the telling of our stories..

Moudouthe challenges donors and policymakers to back feminist movements with  flexible and sustained funding. She notes that investment is not always financial. It is about creating access and opening platforms. Looking into the future she calls for three things:

Coordination – Building on the solidarity we have

Sustainability- securing resources and

Movement building through strengthening collective power

Listen to this intriguing conversation as Moudouthe tackles the issue of building movements across the  African continent and reimagining women’s stories.

Podcast source: Global Dispatches Podcast

Are you interested in shaping  how women’s rights,  feminist and gender justice movements are resourced?  This opportunity may be for you. Apply by 23 September 2025. 

Background

As a Pan-African feminist fund, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) resources, strengthens and upholds women’s rights and feminist organisations and movements across Africa to make gender justice a reality for all on our continent and worldwide. Over the past 24 years, AWDF has awarded approximately USD 100 million to women’s rights and feminist organisations throughout Africa (and in selected Middle Eastern countries through one of our initiatives). Through its grantmaking, programmatic, and advocacy work, AWDF has supported work that has led to changes in law and policy, social norms, narrative, and movement-building for gender justice.

To champion our work on resourcing, we  are looking for a Programme Manager, Resourcing Movements who understands this work with deep political clarity and practical experience in responsive, flexible and agile grant making.

Role Purpose

In this role you will :

• Lead the strategic direction and daily functions of the Resourcing Unit, playing a key role in conceptualising and implementing AWDF’s grantmaking strategies, initiatives and processes. 
• Provide thought leadership on grant management, and cultivates meaningful relationships with grantee partners and feminist movement actors, while also contributing to regional advocacy, fundraising efforts, and learning agendas grounded in African feminist knowledge and practice.
• Supervise the Resourcing team and collaborates with Programme Managers for Nurturing Movements and Impact and Learning to ensure alignment and coherence in programme strategy and delivery.
• As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), the Programme Manager participate in organisation-wide decision-making processes and helps to uphold AWDF as a healthy, accountable, efficient and values-aligned organisation.

Application process

Qualified and interested persons should send the following documents:

• A cover letter of not more than 2 pages to the Human Resources Manager explaining their interest and excitement in applying for the position to work for AWDF, highlighting their experience and competencies demonstrating the alignment to the role.
• A CV of not more than 3 pages outlining their educational qualifications and employment records with key achievements in relevant positions held.
• Applications for the vacancy should reach AWDF no later than Tuesday, 23rd September 2025. Due to our limited capacity, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for additional information and interviews.

To read more and apply for this position CLICK HERE

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS 23 SEPTEMBER 2025

Our partners continue to create inspiring spaces for feminist organising and leadership development across the continent. The Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT), with funding from AWDF through Leading from the South, brought together 50 young feminist activists for their National Young Feminists Conference under the theme “Claiming Space, Shaping Futures.” Participants explored digital feminism, economic justice, climate change, and political leadership through workshops, poetry, music, and storytelling. The conference reinforced that Ghana’s feminist future must centre on inclusion, care, and collective power.

Read reflections from participants:

https://tinyurl.com/mpkeshpy

https://tinyurl.com/yc7kwzjy

Read more about NETRIGHT here

Have you heard of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls? 

The Convention was adopted in February 2025 during the 38th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government. The Convention aims to provide a comprehensive framework for addressing and eliminating violence against women and girls in Africa.

Join Akina Mama wa Afrika, Fos Feminista, and The Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa as we unpack the convention and reflect on what this convention means for African women, girls, and gender-expansive persons in all their diversity. 

When: Aug 27, 2025  12:00 pm WAT/ 1:00 pm SAST/ 2:00 PM EAT  

Register here: https://shorturl.at/ctsWD