Africa has made the promises. We campaign until women feel them.
Courts have ruled for women. States have ratified the Maputo Protocol. Defenders keep speaking out. RFLD’s three campaigns take these commitments from paper to practice, country by country, with our member organisations in the lead.
The gap between the law and women’s lives
Africa has one of the strongest legal frameworks for women’s rights in the world. The Maputo Protocol, adopted on 11 July 2003, guarantees rights that many other regions still debate. Regional courts have delivered landmark judgments for women.
Yet a judgment can wait years for a government to act on it. A ratified treaty can stay outside national law, with no budget line and no case in court. Women who demand these rights are often threatened for doing so. RFLD’s campaigns close that gap. Each one rests on a public RFLD tool, on evidence gathered by our members and on sustained work with the institutions that hold the power to act.
A right that is never enforced is a promise. Our work is to make it a fact in the lives of women and girls.
Campaign 01Rulings into Rights
Des décisions aux droits
African courts and commissions have already decided in favour of women. The campaign makes sure these decisions are carried out. We track judgments and decisions of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the ECOWAS Court of Justice that concern women’s rights, and we press the states concerned to implement them.
Open the Decisions and enforcement moduleDecisions that still wait for action
The Court found that Mali’s Family Code breached the Maputo Protocol on the minimum age of marriage, consent to marriage and inheritance, and ordered the state to amend its law.
The Court found that the ban on pregnant girls attending school violated their rights and ordered the policy to be revoked.
The module records what each state was ordered to do, what it has done and what remains outstanding, so that progress can be checked by anyone.
The problem
Regional rulings have no police force. Implementation depends on political will, and follow-up by civil society is often thin once the media attention fades.
What we do
- Document every decision on women’s rights and the measures ordered
- Brief ministries, parliaments and national human rights institutions
- Report non-compliance back to the African Commission and the Courts
What success looks like
States publish implementation plans, amend the laws concerned and report on progress, and women see the change in how they marry, inherit and go to school.
Our ask: a public implementation plan, with a timeline and a responsible ministry, for every regional decision on women’s rights.
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Campaign 02Maputo on the Ground
Maputo sur le terrain
Ratification is where the work begins. The Maputo Protocol changes women’s lives once its provisions are written into national law, funded in the national budget and applied by judges. Maputo on the Ground follows each of these steps, starting in the five countries where RFLD is registered, and uses the Maputo Barometer to show where each country stands.
Explore the Maputo Protocol HubStarting where we are registered
All five countries have ratified the Protocol. Each faces its own gaps, which the Barometer helps identify.
In the law
We compare national law with the Protocol, article by article, on issues such as the minimum age of marriage (Article 6), health and DSSR (Article 14) and inheritance (Article 21), and propose amendments where the law falls short.
In the budget
We look for the budget lines that turn commitments into services, and work with parliamentary finance committees so that rights receive funding in the national budget.
In the courts
We support lawyers and judges in citing the Protocol, and we follow cases where it can be invoked, so that the treaty becomes part of everyday legal practice.
The tool behind the campaign
The Maputo Barometer scores how far each state has taken the Protocol into law and practice. Its next edition is due on 11 July 2027, the anniversary of the Protocol’s adoption.
Reporting to the African Commission
Article 26 asks states to report on the measures they take. We support member organisations in preparing shadow reports so that the Commission hears from women as well as governments.
Our ask: in each of the five countries, a costed plan to bring national law, budgets and court practice in line with the Maputo Protocol.
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Campaign 03Safe to Lead
Libres de mener
Women human rights defenders face threats online and offline, often from people close to them as well as from the state. Safe to Lead campaigns for national laws and protection mechanisms that recognise the specific risks women defenders face, and that work in practice.
Read the AU mechanisms guideWhat already exists
One of the first national laws in Africa on the promotion and protection of human rights defenders.
A national law on the protection of human rights defenders, adopted on 27 June 2017.
A law on human rights defenders adopted in January 2018, which provides for a protection mechanism.
At continental level, the African Commission created the mandate of a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in 2004 and adopted a resolution on the protection of women human rights defenders in 2016.
The problem
Most African countries have no national law on defenders. Where a law exists, the mechanism it promises is often not funded, not staffed or not known to the women it should protect.
What we do
- Assess existing laws with member organisations
- Propose texts where no law exists
- Push for mechanisms with a budget, clear referral routes and women in their governance
Where we take it
We bring evidence to the African Commission’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, to national human rights institutions and to the partners who fund protection.
Our rule: RFLD never names or shows a defender at risk without her written consent. Threats can be reported safely through our secure reporting portal.
Support this campaignEvidence first, then pressure where decisions are made
All three campaigns follow the same method. It builds on our Observer Status with the African Commission, our data tools and the reach of a network present in more than 35 countries.
Gather evidence
Members document the situation in their country. Our open data tools turn it into findings anyone can check.
Set clear asks
Each campaign names what must change, who must act and by when.
Engage decision-makers
Ministries, parliaments, courts and national human rights institutions at home. The African Commission and the African Court at regional level.
Track and report back
We publish progress and setbacks, and return to the institutions until the commitment is met.
Key moments ahead
Campaign actions are timed to the moments when decision-makers are listening.
Safe to Lead focus on the protection of women defenders, online and offline.
Safe to LeadRFLD brings African evidence on women’s rights to the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
All campaignsPublication on the anniversary of the Protocol’s adoption, with country findings for the five registration countries.
Maputo on the GroundStatements, panels and shadow reports under our Observer Status N°553.
Rulings into RightsSafe to Lead
Ways to join the campaigns
Member organisations
Lead the campaign in your country, share evidence and join national advocacy teams.
programs@rflgd.orgPartners and funders
Support a campaign or a country. We share plans, budgets and results openly.
Talk to usIndividual supporters
Your gift helps members travel to the African Commission and keeps our data tools open.
GiveHow we protect the women we work with
Consent before visibility
No name, photo or story of a defender at risk or a survivor is published without written consent. Locations of closed sessions are not published.
Members in the lead
National campaigns are led by member organisations who know their context. RFLD brings regional access, data and accompaniment.
Verified facts
Every figure we publish comes from an official source or an RFLD document. Our data tools show their sources.
Accountability
We report on what each campaign achieved and what did not work, on this page and in our annual report.
Frequently asked questions
Who can join a campaign?
Any RFLD member organisation can join. Partners, journalists and individual supporters can take part in the ways described above. Write to programs@rflgd.org to start.
Why start with five countries for Maputo on the Ground?
RFLD is registered in Ghana, Senegal, Benin, Nigeria and The Gambia, where we have offices and legal standing. The campaign will extend to other countries in the network as members take it up.
Does RFLD go to court itself?
RFLD supports member organisations and lawyers, and follows the implementation of decisions. Where litigation is the right route, we work with partners who specialise in it.
How can a defender report a threat?
Through RFLD’s secure reporting portal. Reports are handled confidentially and nothing is published without consent.
How are the campaigns funded?
Through RFLD’s institutional partners and individual donors. Partners can support a single campaign or country. Write to gbenagnon.john@rflgd.org to discuss it.
Turn Africa’s commitments into change women can feel
Stand with 1,143 member organisations across more than 35 countries.