Benin is where RFLD was founded and where most of its 2026 grantees work. It is also where the effects of the aid cuts were felt first. RFLD’s 2026 data report, Funding Feminist Movements in Francophone West Africa, includes a snapshot of each of the eight countries it covers. This article looks at Benin, using the report’s data and RFLD’s own grants.
Civic space: obstructed
The CIVICUS Monitor rates civic space in Benin as obstructed, with a score of 49 out of 100. Women’s organisations can still register and receive funds, but the margin for public criticism has narrowed.
A funding base hit by the US withdrawal
Funding for women’s organisations in Benin has come from bilateral partners, including the United States until 2025, as well as France and Germany. When the United States froze foreign aid in January 2025, RFLD itself lost US$1 million in planned funding for that year and faced three project terminations. Many of its members lost more.
France’s retreat adds to the pressure. French aid to women’s rights organisations fell by 71% between 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, and the 2026 French budget cuts bilateral development commitments by 52.4%. Germany remains engaged through the SEA-T programme, funded by BMZ and implemented by GIZ.
Where RFLD’s 2026 grants go in Benin
Benin accounts for most of RFLD’s 2026 grants. Under the SEA-T institutional strengthening programme, WoLSI trains 40 community women leaders in local governance. ONG SID carries out legal and community advocacy on rural women’s land and inheritance rights, in Benin and Niger. EAH Bien Être provides psychosocial support and peer-helper training for 60 women defenders, in Benin and Mali.
Association BIOWA builds digital resilience for 50 women defenders facing online harassment, in Benin and Senegal. JFAD runs a regional feminist leadership academy for 60 young women aged 18 to 25, in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire. AgroMEC-Benin safeguards indigenous women’s traditional knowledge on a multilingual platform, in Benin and Togo. SIANSON and Radio Ekaaro Ejiire prevent gender-based violence through community radio and safe referral.
Three other grants support digital rights and community media in Benin. EAH Bien Être received US$25,000 for digital democracy and digital rights knowledge. JERESTAURE received US$42,000, the largest single grant in the portfolio, for the digital resilience and collective protection of civic actors facing online threats. Radio Ekaaro Ejiire received a direct grant of US$10,500.
What the Benin portfolio shows
The Benin grants cover rights that funders rarely support, such as land and inheritance or the safety of women defenders. They also reach beyond Cotonou and Porto-Novo to rural communities, through community radio and local leaders. All are small grants, suited to organisations whose budgets are often below US$30,000 a year.
The concentration of grants in Benin reflects RFLD’s roots and its Porto-Novo hub. It also shows a risk. A country where civic space is obstructed and where the main bilateral donors are withdrawing could see its women’s movement weaken quickly if regional intermediaries also lose funding.
The legal framework
Benin has ratified the Maputo Protocol, the African instrument on women’s rights. RFLD’s Maputo Barometer tracks how the country implements it. Article 26(2) of the Protocol requires states to allocate budgetary resources for women’s rights. RFLD’s report asks the government of Benin, like other governments of the region, to create a national funding window for women’s organisations, with transparent criteria and annual reports.
What donors can do in Benin
Benin remains one of the more open countries in the region, which makes it a place where donors can still invest in the long-term strength of women’s organisations. RFLD asks donors to give multi-year, flexible grants there and to accept proposals and reports in French. Organisations in Benin that wish to join RFLD can do so on the membership page.
Women leaders in local governance
Several Benin grants focus on women’s participation in public life. WoLSI’s training of 40 community women leaders in local governance responds to a long-standing gap: women remain a small minority among elected local councillors in Benin, and those who are elected often lack support. Training in budgeting and in the rules of local councils helps women take part in decisions on water and health services.
JFAD’s regional feminist leadership academy, for 60 young women aged 18 to 25 in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire, prepares the next generation. Investing in young women leaders is one of the most durable ways to strengthen movements, provided the funding lasts long enough for the academy to build alumni networks. Six-month grants are a start. RFLD will advocate for longer grant periods in future phases.
Key figures
- 49 out of 100: Benin’s CIVICUS score, rated obstructed.
- US$1 million: planned US funding RFLD lost in 2025.
- US$42,000: the largest RFLD grant in 2026, to JERESTAURE in Benin.
- 60: women defenders receiving psychosocial support through EAH Bien Être.
About the report
This article draws on RFLD’s data report Funding Feminist Movements in Francophone West Africa: 2026 Data (RFLD/DR/2026/03), published on 4 October 2026. Read the summary, download the English edition or the French edition. Sources cited in this article are listed in full in the data report.
