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As the world marks the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a growing number of feminists inside and outside of government are pioneering new approaches to policy that are tailored to address the issues of the day and advance new ground in the global quest for gender equality and the fulfilment of women’s human rights.

Today’s most pressing issues, and the solutions that are envisioned, are not radically different from those addressed at Beijing. The context, however, has changed. Despite measurable progress in girls’ education, maternal health and, increasingly, the repeal of discriminatory laws, there are new and dynamic challenges that threaten to reverse progress and rollback rights.

At this moment of increased nationalism, populism and misogyny, it is time to call out backlash and call in new allies and champions for gender equality and women’s human rights, using all the tools at our disposal. Feminist foreign policy is one tool that shows promise for taking a much-needed, intersectional and often multilateral approach to women’s rights, simultaneously addressing urgent issues such as climate change, peace and security, inclusive growth, global health and poverty alleviation.

Read more here

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Alors que le monde célèbre le 25e anniversaire de la Déclaration et du Programme d’action de Pékin, un nombre croissant de féministes, tant parmi les gouvernements qu’à l’extérieur, sont à l’avant-garde de nouvelles approches politiques conçues pour répondre aux problèmes et faire des avancées dans la quête mondiale pour l’égalité des genres et la réalisation des droits fondamentaux des femmes.

Les problèmes actuels les plus urgents et les solutions envisagées ne sont pas radicalement différents de ceux traités à la conférence de Pékin. Cependant, le contexte a changé. Malgré des progrès mesurables dans certains domaines, tels que l’éducation des filles, la santé maternelle et, de plus en plus, l’abrogation des lois discriminatoires, nous faisons aujourd’hui face à de nouveaux défis qui menacent d’annuler les progrès accomplis et de faire reculer les droits.

En cette époque où le nationalisme, le populisme et la misogynie s’accroissent, il est temps de dénoncer les réactions hostiles et de chercher de nouveaux/elles alliés/es et défenseurs/euses de l’égalité des genres et des droits fondamentaux des femmes, en utilisant tous les outils à notre disposition. Alors que les défenseurs/euses de la justice de genre du monde entier se préparent à honorer l’héritage de Pékin et à lancer la prochaine génération d’engagements pour faire progresser l’égalité des genres, la politique étrangère féministe est un outil qui semble prometteur pour l’adoption d’une approche nécessaire, intersectionnelle et souvent multilatérale des droits des femmes, abordant simultanément les questions pressantes, telles que le changement climatique, la paix et la sécurité, la croissance inclusive, la santé mondiale et la réduction de la pauvreté.

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BACKGROUND TO THE CONSULTANCY

As part of our capacity building and donor advocacy roles, AWDF has embarked on a process to encourage African women’s funds, allied philanthropic actors, and the African women’s organisations that we support to engage with the growing field of knowledge production and programme development and implementation around evidence-based prevention of violence against women. In partnership with Raising Voices we have produced a primer for African women’s organisations that helps explain the key research, evidence and the language used to frame evidence-based prevention of violence against women.

As follow up to this we are now looking to develop a guide to knowledge production and evidence generation for African women’s rights organisations. Through this initiative we aim to help increase African women’s organisations ability to contribute to the citable literature around evidence-based prevention of violence against women, grounded in an African feminist politics.

LOCATION

• This consultancy is desk based and will not involve travel

DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

• The assignment shall be for up to 12 working days including submission of final document.

Qualified African women candidates are encouraged to apply.

Submissions must be received no later than 23^rd March 2020

For details on mode of application, please click here

AWDF requires the services of a Bi-Lingual Communications Assistant for a short term contract. The consultant must have at least two years of experience in the field of public information, online marketing or similar environment. The assignment shall be for a period of 6 months.

Competencies:
Fluency (written and spoken) in English and French
Knowledge of graphic design will be an asset
Excellent communication skills – written and oral
Good knowledge of key social media platforms (including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)
Ability to prioritise work to meet goals and objectives within acceptable time frame
Sound knowledge of women’s rights issues

For more details about this position and how to apply; click here

Deadline: 28th February 2020

1. About AWDF

The African Women’s Development Fund was established in June 2000, as an Africa-wide philanthropic, grant making initiative to support the realisation and fulfilment of African women’s rights through funding of autonomous women’s organisations on the continent. AWDF believes that if women and women’s organisations are empowered with skills, information, sustainable livelihoods, opportunities to fulfil their potential, plus the capacity and space to make transformatory choices, then we will have vibrant, healthy and inclusive communities. To achieve this, AWDF mobilises financial, human and material resources to support local, national, and regional initiatives for transformation led by African women. AWDF is mandated to fund in all 54 African countries.

AWDF’s current strategic plan “Shaping the Future” (2017-2021) focuses the organisations work around investments to build the best possible future for women in Africa. As an organisation AWDF is committed to changing the narrative around Africa women, and highlighting African women’s agency, expertise, leadership and ability to transform societies towards justice.

2. Background

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) recognises the role effective information technology (IT) plays in the development of any business. To ensure that it has an IT infrastructure that is supportive of its current and future business activities and promotes safety of its data, AWDF is looking for an IT expert who would audit its current IT capacity and guide the organisation through modernisation of its systems and approaches.

3. Purpose of the Assignment

The overall goal of the IT expert through this assignment is to;

Audit AWDF’s current IT operations, policies and procedures.

This process is aimed at understanding AWDF’s current IT strengths and weaknesses to map out where the opportunities for growth are. The IT audit will;

• Examine and evaluate the organisation’s information technology infrastructure
• Evaluate the systemsand processes in place for data security and business continuity
• Determine whether the current IT controls protect AWDF’s assets and ensure data integrity in line with the organisation’s overall goals.
• Determine risks to AWDF’s information assets, and help identify methods to minimise those risks.
• Examine whether the organisation’s informationmanagement processes are in compliance with current IT-specific laws, policies and standards.
• Determine any inefficiencies in IT systems and provide associated recommendations.
• Diagnose challenges relating to the operation of all software, computer equipment, peripherals, operating systems and the networking environment and provide relevant advice.
• Advise on way forward to protect the organisation’s data
• Submit a comprehensive report on the assignment detailing strengths, issues identified and recommendations to address weaknesses identified.
• Develop a draft IT strategy and policy for AWDF

For the entire TOR please click here

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At AWDF, grant making is a courteous, caring, professional and transparent process that reflects our feminist values of respect, inclusive diversity, stewardship and professionalism, integrity and transparency.

OUR WHISTLEBLOWING SYSTEM is aimed at preventing, detecting and investigating fraud, corruption, misconduct and malpractice. It encourages staff and other partners to raise concerns about possible fraudulent or corrupt behaviour rather than overlook them for fear of retaliation.

READ OUR WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY HERE

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To mark 16 Days of Activism this year, AWDF and her grantee partners are lending a voice to support the global campaign on ratification and implementation of the new ILO Convention 190 and recommendation 206 to end gender based violence in the world of work.

Under the thematic area of Body and Health Rights, AWDF has supported a number of women’s rights organisations in Africa to mobilise for the protection of women’s rights and an end to violence in the informal economy and in domestic work.

African women are the backbone of African economies, performing labour to sustain themselves, their families, communities and countries. However, this labour often takes place in precarious conditions, with low pay, lack of recognition or protection, and frequent violations of women workers’ human rights.

The Institute for Social Transformation, Uganda with the support of AWDF is working to strengthen the voices, visibility, and collective organising power of women in four selected markets in Uganda.

Informal markets are of high interest to politicians and government officials, who derive easy money and support and therefore influence decisions such as who occupies leadership positions in such spaces. Women cannot easily occupy the most influential positions (e.g., Chairpersonship) because they are perceived to be incapable or temperamental.

The intervention by IST resulted from a research conducted in 2016 which revealed that there is no clear regulatory framework for informal markets in Uganda. This has exposed market women to violence and exploitation and yet they are the majority market occupants (80%). The study also revealed that 59% of market women interviewed had experienced some form of violence with the most prevalent form being physical violence at 47%.

IST empowered over 300 market women within the four selected markets with capacity support and mentorship which provided market women with relevant knowledge in managing their businesses and also to advocate for favourable local government market policies and working environment. Hear their testimonies:

“After the training I received from IST, I was able to educate 9 women and together we formed a savings group that contributes 5,000 Shs per day per member for purposes of accumulating capital for each other through cash rounds.” Naura Miriam- Nakawa Market

“Before the training I sold tomatoes and was satisfied with the sales but after the training, I realised the need to expand the business so I used some of the profits from the tomato business to enrol for training in liquid soap making. Today I am a happy person, I am not scared even if the price of tomatoes goes down because I know I have a backup income thanks to IST,” said a market entrepreneur from Kalerwe freedom market.

“The training has enabled me to gain confidence to speak to customers and to confront market authorities if I feel I am not being treated fairly. Previously, I would just sell the items quietly but today while the customer buys, I keep telling them about why they should buy from me, and I even ask them for their contact so I can follow up to check if they liked the product,” Hellen, a market entrepreneur from Busia market.

By: Rose Buabeng, Programme Officer for Anglophone Africa, AWDF

The year was 2006. HIV-activist Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo, known to the public only as Khwezi, faced off against Jacob Zuma, then the deputy-president of South Africa, in court. She had accused him of rape. She stood her ground amidst death threats from Zuma’s supporters, harassment from the ANC Women’s League and widespread torment from the ruling party. She was not alone in her stand. The 1-in-9 Campaign was born during this particularly turbulent, triggering time in South Africa. Zuma, who would go on to become President of South Africa, was acquitted on the charges against him. The organisation, however, continued to support survivors of sexual violence in navigating the social landscape and the criminal justice system. According to popularly cited statistics, one in three women will experience sexual violence in her lifetime. According to the South African Medical Research Council, only one in nine rapes are reported to authorities. It was, initially, the latter group that the organisation supported.

Mpumi Mathabela is the 1-in-9 Campaign coordinator. She says despite the impact they were making through their work within the criminal justice system, there came a day when they realised that that was not enough. “Our name is a statistic from that time period – the time of Zuma and Khwezi – and it was a work that was incredibly impactful. We got to a point where when people did not see us outside court they would call and ask where we were.” More needed to be done.

“Only one in nine women report their rape to the police. So one woman reports. One woman we go to court with. One woman we push for the justice system to do its job. One woman. Just one in nine.”

Sheshakes her head. “But what about the other eight…” The question hangs in the air as the magnitude of the statement sinks in.

“What happens to the other eight? Are they silent?”

The answer, she says, is of course not. “They are simply speaking out in their own ways. We have progressed from working with that one in the criminal justice system to branching out to the other eight too. This is our shift. We are reintroducing and redefining feminist movement building, but we are not just focusing on the one woman who makes it to court anymore.”

To read the rest of this incredible profile and see how 1 in 9 is helping impact the lives of survivors, click here.

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Gertrude Bibi Annoh-Quarshie, affectionately called Bibi has been appointed the Director of Operations Effective August 2019. Until this appointment, she was the Finance Manager of AWDF, overseeing the financial planning, review, monitoring, reporting and risk management functions of the organisation.

As Director of Operations, Gertrude says she is excited about the opportunity to be leading and directing the finance, human resource and administrative functions of AWDF to ensure that they are of the highest quality. She will be responsible for designing, developing and implementing short and long term strategies aimed at optimising AWDF’s general support systems and complex financial management systems.

She is a feminist, passionate about women’s rights and the pursuit of dignity, equality, respect and justice for African women and girls. Integrity and ethical leadership are at the forefront of her personal and professional values, influencing her day-to-day decision making and actions.

Bibi has over 15 years of experience in strategic finance, leadership and management. She is a Chartered Accountant and has an MBA in Finance.

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En août 2019, Gertrude Bibi Annoh-Quarshie, affectueusement appelée Bibi, a été nommée Directrice des Opérations. Avant ce poste, elle était responsable des finances de l’AWDF, supervisant les fonctions de planification financière, d’examen, de suivi, de rapport et de gestion des risques de l’organisation.

En tant que directrice des opérations, Gertrude se dit enthousiasmée par l’opportunité de superviser les activités financières, administratives et celles liées aux ressources humaines de l’AWDF afin de s’assurer qu’elles sont de la plus haute qualité. Elle sera responsable de la conception, de l’élaboration et de la mise en œuvre des stratégies à court et à long terme visant à optimiser les systèmes d’appui et les systèmes complexes de gestion financière de l’AWDF.

Elle est une féministe, passionnée par les droits des femmes et la poursuite de la dignité, de l’égalité, du respect et de la justice pour les femmes et les filles africaines. L’intégrité et le leadership éthique occupent la première place dans ses valeurs personnelles et professionnelles influençant ainsi donc ses décisions et ses actions quotidiennes.

Bibi a plus de 15 ans d’expérience en finance stratégique, leadership et gestion. Elle est comptable agréée et détient un MBA en finance.[/tp]

The rates of violence against women have reached pandemic levels across the world. It is estimated that 1 in 3 ever-partnered women above the age of 15 have, at some point in their lives, experienced some form of physical or sexual interpersonal violence. In some parts of Africa, the prevalence rate is almost double that of the global average at 65.6%¹. The far-reaching physical, emotional and economic impact of this violence on the lives of African women cannot be overstated. However now, more than ever before, bringing violence against women to an end is a tangible possibility.

At this critical moment, there has been a shift to focus on evidence-based prevention of this violence against

women with programmes producing quantifiable results that reflect the magnitude of their impact in this area.

African feminists – and the political lens with which they approach the issues – have been essential to prevention work, pioneering efforts to bring violence fuelled by gender inequality and patriarchal power to an end. With international interest in this field growing, AWDF saw the need to convene African practitioners and donors to look at ways of galvanising the efforts of African feminists operating at every level to advance the work and even more firmly establish African feminism as the centre.

To read the rest of the report click this link.