Category: News

11 October 2025 marks International Day of the Girl. From classrooms to community halls, AGE Network Nigeria shows that when a girl lifts her voice, a nation begins to listen.

In Nigeria, AGE Network  is dismantling barriers that hold girls back  from child marriage and gender-based violence to economic exclusion and lack of access to education.

Education at the Core and economic Empowerment

Through scholarships, mentorship, and school retention programmes, AGE Network  ensures girls not only enter school but also thrive and complete their studies. By training girls in digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and vocational skills, AGEN equips them with independence and pathways to leadership.education alone is not enough in a context where economic exclusion continues to silence girls’ ambitions.

That is why AGE Network  invests in economic empowerment as a companion to education. By equipping girls with digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and vocational skills, AGEN enables them to build independence and resilience. These skills become stepping stones toward leadership, giving girls the tools to not only survive crises but to lead change in their families, communities, and nation.

Advocacy & Voices of Change

AGE Network  creates platforms for girls to speak for themselves — from producing advocacy videos to engaging policymakers.

“When I speak about child marriage, I know I am speaking for thousands of girls who cannot.”
— AGE Network beneficiary

Girls across Nigeria are stepping forward as advocates for change:

• “The girl I am is focused. The change I lead is helping girls avoid teenage pregnancy and achieve their dreams.”
  — Alex Hannah, girl’s advocate at AGE Network
• “The girl I am is bold. The change I lead is ending sexual exploitation so every girl is safe in school.”
  — Joseph Destuny, girl’s advocate at AGE Network
• “As a climate leader, the change I lead is keeping my community clean and safe for tomorrow.”
  — Mfonlso Kingsley, girl’s advocate at AGE Network

Watch all the testimonies for Happy International Day of the Girl 2025 here

Bintou Mariam Traoré

On 11 October 2025, International Day of the Girl, Boxgirls Kenya reminds us that a punch can break silence, a pen can rewrite history, and a girl’s voice can spark a movement.

Boxgirls Kenya has shown that boxing is not just about sport ,it is a powerful entry point for girls to claim voice, visibility, and leadership. Their work has evolved from the ring to national advocacy, and each output reflects the bigger mission: enabling girls to tell their own stories and transform limiting narratives.

Lulu Magazine (2024)

Written entirely by girls, Lulu Magazine is more than a publication—it is a declaration of authorship.

“When I write, I feel like my voice matters. I know another girl somewhere will read this and dream bigger,”
— Young contributor, Lulu Magazine

What began in Nairobi has now reached schools across Kenya and is traveling globally, proving that girls are not only subjects of stories, but authors shaping narratives beyond borders.

🔗 Read Lulu Magazine | Instagram

The Bloody Truth (Documentary & Campaign)

As the documentary highlights:

“According to the 2019 population and housing census, the population of Kenya is 47,564,296, and females represent 24,014,716 (50.5%). This means that a significant number of women and girls menstruate every month and therefore face challenges related to unsafe and inappropriate sanitation and hygiene.”

This groundbreaking documentary exposed the harsh realities of period poverty. Girls revealed how the lack of sanitary products forced some into unsafe practices or even transactional sex.

“We just want to learn without shame,”
— Girl featured in The Bloody Truth

The outrage sparked the Uzuri Project, a nationwide advocacy campaign that pushed menstrual justice onto the national agenda and demanded free sanitary products in schools.

🔗 Watch the documentary

Coach Sophia’s Journey (Video Story)
Sophia’s story embodies Boxgirls’ spirit of resilience. Once constrained by cultural and religious restrictions, she broke barriers to become a boxing coach.

“My father gave me reasons why I could not do boxing—because I’m a Muslim and because boxing is a male-dominated sport. Still, under his nose I kept training. At the end of the year, I told him Boxgirls Kenya had paid my scholarship. He asked me, ‘What did you say Boxgirls do again?’”
— Coach Sophia, Boxgirls Kenya

Her journey inspires a new generation to see beyond imposed limits and claim leadership in their communities.

Perita, a young “mini-coach” and beneficiary, explains:

“Because of boxing, the coach has taught me proper hygiene as a girl. We’ve even been given pads by our coaches. We’ve been told how to take care of ourselves so we don’t engage in things like early pregnancy that can cause us to drop out of school. I can control myself and not engage in bad company.”

🔗 Watch Sophia’s story 

Bintou Mariam Traoré

11 October 2025, International Day of the Girl: ADO REPORTERS  shows that every article, every video, every testimony is not just a story told but power reclaimed. In Benin, young feminist reporters are reshaping the media landscape, proving that to be young and female is to be powerful and unstoppable.

 Civic Engagement & Accountability

ADO REPORTERS  use media to challenge decision-makers, demanding transparency and better conditions for girls’ education and participation. Their online campaign on civic engagement drew wide attention, inspiring youth across Benin to recognize their role as change-makers.
🔗 See the campaign on Facebook

Testimonies of Courage

On YouTube, ADO REPORTERS    shares personal stories of girls who have faced discrimination yet found courage through journalism to speak out. Each testimony is an act of resistance, reminding communities that girls’ lived realities are political and must shape policy.
🔗 Watch testimonies on YouTube

 Mobilizing Against Anti-Rights Movements

At a time when anti-rights groups are gaining momentum across Africa, ADO REPORTERS    mobilizes young feminists to defend hard-won gains and resist regression. Their campaigns confront backlash head-on, amplifying voices that refuse silence.
🔗 See campaign on Facebook

“Before, I thought my voice did not matter. Today, I know my story can change my community.”
— ADO REPORTERS   participant

 Why It Matters

Through ADO REPORTERS   , girls are no longer invisible subjects of development reports; they are active reporters of their realities and narrators of feminist futures. On this International Day of the Girl 2025, their voices remind us that storytelling is not just about visibility, it is about transformation.

Bintou Mariam Traoré

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

In the face of rising backlash against gender equality and women’s rights, Gender Links (GL) has launched the #PushForward4Equality campaign – an urgent and collective call to action across Southern Africa and beyond.

The campaign which kickstarted at the beginning of South Africa’s Women’s Month and ahead of the SADC Heads of State Summit  in August – comes at a critical moment to demand regional leadership on gender justice. The campaign will also build momentum toward the G20 and W20 summits later this year, where global commitments to women’s rights face mounting pressure.

This year marks 30 years since the landmark Beijing Platform for Action, the global blueprint for advancing the rights of women and girls in all their diversities. While the past three decades saw significant advances – legal reforms, policy advances and changing social norms – this progress is increasingly under threat.

Across the world, including in Southern Africa, conservative forces are mounting regressive legislative efforts, promoting discriminatory narratives and coordinating attacks on feminist movements and civil society. Backlash doesn’t just slow progress – it puts women’s freedom, safety and autonomy at risk. Recognising and countering it is one of the most urgent challenges facing gender justice movements today.

The #PushForward4Equality aims to counter these regressive trends by spotlighting powerful stories of resistance, amplifying voices and galvanising collective movement-building. It is a call for united action – to push forward, together.

“We are living in a time where hard-won rights are under threat,” said GL Special Advisor Colleen Lowe Morna. “The #PushForward4Equality campaign is our rallying cry – to resist, to rise, and to reclaim space through solidarity, storytelling and sustained advocacy.”

The campaign is powered by collaboration with Gender Links’ extensive network of regional partners, including the SADC Gender Protocol Alliance, Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO), the Marang Fund, African Women in Dialogue (AfWID), media organisations and others. The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) through Leading from the South supports the campaign’s focus on deepening advocacy, advancing digital strategies and strengthening feminist movement-building across the region.

Read more about the #PushForward4Equality here.

Article courtesy of Gender Links

Francoise Moudouthe CEO of the  The African Women’s Development Fund recently challenged the philanthropic sector to rethink its role in today’s crisis driven world. Speaking during the opening plenary of  the recently ended Philea Forum 2025, Moudouthe observed the contrast between how the  philanthropy sector and feminist movements are navigating the current ongoing crises differently. She observed philanthropy’s sense of “panic” and contrasted it with the resilience and adaptability of African feminist movements  who are approaching this moment from a distinctly different approach that,

“...we’ve been here before, We’ve experienced this loss of life, loss of rights, loss of resource, loss of allyship. We’ve survived it and we’ve built back and we’ll do it again…”

Drawing from African feminist movements’ experiences, she shares what it takes to meet this  moment using  three transformative lessons from the movement  that she believes philanthropy can learn from African feminists. She notes that philanthropy needs to centre justice – social and gender justice are the foundations for the change we want to see. Secondly, to centre movements  as they are best placed to make justice happen and lastly to undertake feminist philanthropy

Watch more from Moudouthe’s submission at the Philea Forum 2025 below

For more information about the Forum visit philea.eu

Celebrating Arielle Enninful: A Heartfelt Thank You

After nine exceptional years on the AWDF Board, we bid farewell to Arielle Enninful as she steps down from her role as Board Treasurer. Her dedication, expertise, and unwavering commitment have been instrumental in the growth and impact of AWDF.

As Board Treasurer, Arielle provided meticulous financial oversight and maintained the highest standards of governance and transparency. Beyond her fiduciary responsibilities, she has been a strategic advisor whose insights have guided critical organisational decisions and shaped AWDF’s evolution.

Françoise Moudouthe, CEO 

“Arielle has been an exceptional partner in AWDF’s journey. Her financial expertise provided the solid foundation we needed to grow our impact, but it was her strategic insights and genuine care for our mission that made her truly invaluable. She didn’t just manage our finances—she helped us navigate critical decisions with wisdom and integrity.”

Taaka Awori, Board Chair:  

“In nine years of service, Arielle exemplified everything we hope for in a Board member. Her meticulous attention to governance, combined with her thoughtful contributions to our strategic direction, made every Board meeting more productive. She brought both professional excellence and authentic commitment to our shared vision.”

Dr. Hilda Tadria, Founder:

“Arielle understood from day one what AWDF stands for and what we’re trying to achieve. Watching her steward our resources with such care while never losing sight of the communities we serve has been truly inspiring. She’s helped ensure that our financial foundation is as strong as our mission. She brought grace and a great smile, both of which  I hope to match one day.”

Gertrude Bibi Annoh-Quarshie, Director of Operations :

“On behalf of the entire operations team. I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Arielle for 9 years of strategic guidance, commitment and care. Arielle’s listening, collaborative approach, and financial acumen made even the most complex investment, budget, and financial management discussions seamless and productive. She found ways to support our programmatic goals while maintaining fiscal responsibility. Arielle’s leadership style has left a lasting impression that will continue to inspire us.”

As Arielle’s Board tenure comes to a close, she will continue to be part of the AWDF community. The strong financial foundation and governance framework she helped establish will continue supporting our work for years to come.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Arielle for her extraordinary service and wish her continued success in all future endeavours.