Afrofeminist Initiative for Human Rights Development in Francophone West Africa
Implemented by the Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement under the SEA-T programme, Society, Equality, Africa, Transformation. Building durable infrastructure for francophone civil society and protecting women human rights defenders.
major activities
people took part
covered by the project
organisations supported
countries reached
HUB countries
Change that is led by Africa, because it comes from local communities rather than being imposed on them
Between September 2025 and July 2026, RFLD delivered training, regional advocacy, protection of defenders and coalition building across francophone West Africa. The initiative closes the reporting period with two convenings in Porto-Novo, the pan-African Advocacy Nexus and the West Africa Feminist Data Summit, and with a permanent digital HUB now serving 29 francophone countries.
The Francophone Africa HUB
The HUB is the main durable achievement of the period. It answers the shrinking of civic space, the growth of digital threats against defenders, the language barrier and the fragmentation of francophone initiatives. Since launch it records around 2,000 connections each month across 29 francophone African countries.
- Certified learning pathways on the Maputo Protocol, CEDAW, Resolution 1325, climate justice and Afrofeminist leadership.
- An observatory and data centre documenting threats against defenders, in particular digital threats.
- Three working functions: connector for networking, shield for protection, amplifier for regional advocacy.
HUB launch webinar
Timeline of activities
Nine major activities delivered between September 2025 and July 2026, read from the most recent to the oldest. Figures below record documented reach: the people present, those whose participation the project covered, and the countries touched.
West Africa Feminist Data Summit 2026
Around one hundred delegates from 21 countries worked over three days under the theme of decolonising data. The summit produced eight policy briefs, a ratified Regional Feminist Data Agenda and a cross-border data collective.
Advocacy Nexus 2026
A francophone pan-African convergence of women defenders from eight countries. Participants adopted a shared advocacy method and two continuity tools, the Defender's Passport and the Solidarity Card, with commitments at 30, 90 days and 12 months.
Afrofeminist consultation on the protection of women defenders
A high-level consultation held at ministerial and diplomatic level, with the ACHPR Special Rapporteur, the Ambassador of Sweden, the Embassy of Germany and GIZ Senegal. It was covered by around thirty articles in 28 outlets across six countries, in French, English and Arabic.
Trainings on women's political participation
A cycle of national trainings across three capitals, delivered through nine modules by eight trainers. In Benin, twenty additional women leaders funded their own attendance once the covered cohort was full, a direct measure of demand.
Launch of the Francophone Africa HUB
Permanent regional infrastructure for training, documentation and networking, endorsed by the ACHPR, GIZ and civil society. It now records around 2,000 connections each month across 29 francophone African countries.
Intensive session on advocacy and feminist governance
Two national capacity-building sessions delivered simultaneously in Benin and Togo, grounded in CEDAW, the Maputo Protocol and Resolution 1325, read through an Afrofeminist and decolonial lens. Four signed attendance sheets record disaggregated data.
Regional consultation with the ACHPR Special Rapporteur
A consultation with the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders that opened concrete follow-up: three organisations applying for ACHPR observer status and four coalitions preparing communications and parallel reports.
85th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR
An RFLD delegation delivered an oral statement before the Commission, moderated an NGO Forum session and co-organised three side events on early warning, defender protection and the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Start-up, scoping and formation of the project team
The first month was devoted to operational scoping and to forming the dedicated team, with five posts filled across project management, finance, communications, monitoring and evaluation, and gender and advocacy analysis.
Documented reach at a glance
| Period | Activity | Location | Documented reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 to 30 July 2026 | West Africa Feminist Data Summit 2026 | Porto-Novo, Benin | 100 participants, 21 countries, 3 SEA-T participations covered |
| 13 to 15 July 2026 | Advocacy Nexus 2026 | Porto-Novo, Benin | 34 present, 30 covered, 8 countries |
| 16 June 2026 | Afrofeminist consultation on the protection of WHRDs | Dakar, Senegal | Ministerial and diplomatic level, 30 articles |
| 19 to 23 May 2026 | Trainings on women's political participation | Dakar, Porto-Novo, Lomé | 110 present, 90 covered |
| 20 January 2026 | Launch of the Francophone Africa HUB | Online | 29 countries, 2,000 connections per month |
| 15 and 16 December 2025 | Intensive session on advocacy and feminist governance | Porto-Novo and Lomé | 60 participants, 30 per country, 12 expert presentations |
| 10 to 12 November 2025 | Regional consultation with the ACHPR Special Rapporteur | Dakar, Senegal | 41 present, 40 covered, 14 countries |
| 19 to 25 October 2025 | 85th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR | Banjul, The Gambia | Delegation of 4 people, 3 side events |
| September 2025 | Start-up, scoping and formation of the project team | Porto-Novo, Benin | Team of 5 people assigned to the project |
Figures record cumulative participations for the period, not unique individuals. HUB connections measure usage and are counted separately.
Documentation gallery
Recordings from the initiative's convenings, consultations and trainings across Dakar, Porto-Novo, Lomé, Banjul and the online HUB launch. Select a tile to play.
Featured recording
HUB launch webinar
Results and progress
The initiative's logical framework rests on four objectives. Five of the ten planned activities were due by 31 July 2026, and all five were delivered.
Human rights institutions strengthened
Greater capacity to translate international commitments into national legislation, carried by the Dakar consultations and the participation in the 85th ACHPR session.
Advocacy and awareness
Stronger mobilisation and visibility for women's rights, carried by the HUB, the Advocacy Nexus, the Data Summit and press coverage.
Vulnerable groups
Targeted programming and support mechanisms, carried by the December 2025 session and joint submissions in preparation in Benin and Senegal.
Democratic participation
Women equipped for direct democratic engagement, carried by the May 2026 trainings, 90 covered and 110 present.
Achievement at 31 July 2026
logframe activities due delivered, 5 of 5
participants against the target due, 245 of 220
organisations supported against target, 114 of 100
HUB monthly users against target, around 2,000
Stories of change
Individual
After the Advocacy Nexus, defenders locked their devices, ended password reuse and moved to encrypted tools. The Defender's Passport records commitments at 30, 90 days and 12 months, so persistence can be verified.
Relational
The Solidarity Card turns informal mutual assistance into a named chain of alert, verification, protection, advocacy and international solidarity, shared by defenders from eight countries.
Community
In Benin, 50 women leaders produced action plans grounded in their own areas. The presence of six representatives of the National Institute for Women linked community organisations directly to a national public institution.
Institutional
Three organisations have applied for ACHPR observer status and four national coalitions are preparing communications or parallel reports for the ACHPR and the Universal Periodic Review.
Deliverables produced
Forty outputs held by RFLD and available to GIZ on request.
durable platform, the HUB
protection tools for defenders
advocacy and normative documents
methodological and training tools
Fields of intervention
Seven programmatic fields addressing the interconnected challenges facing African women.
Rights and representation
Advocacy for the Maputo Protocol, bodily autonomy and greater leadership of women in governance, from local councils to parliaments.
Learn moreCivic space and democracy
Defending civil liberties, protecting women activists and ensuring inclusive electoral processes in an era of shrinking civic space.
Learn moreEconomic power and climate justice
Addressing the meeting point of economic marginalisation and environmental vulnerability, promoting land rights and green resilience.
Learn moreGovernance and media
Building civil society capacity for budget monitoring and training journalists in gender-sensitive reporting.
Learn moreHuman rights protection
Documenting violations, seeking justice through regional bodies and providing legal aid for women human rights defenders.
Learn morePeace and security
Advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda by training women mediators and supporting survivors of conflict-related violence.
Learn moreElimination of harmful practices
Community-led campaigns to end female genital mutilation, child marriage and harmful widowhood rites, replacing them with empowering rites of passage.
In preparationWest Africa Francophone Feminist Fund
A comprehensive, intersectional range of issues. Applicants may select several themes.
Urgent action
Up to $5,000
Rapid response for legal defence, medical costs for injured activists and secure emergency relocation.
Decision in 5 daysCapacity building
Up to $20,000
Core funding for organisational development, salary support, audits and strategic planning.
Periodic callsAdvocacy
Up to $30,000
Support for evidence-based campaigns, legislative work, policy research and coalition building.
Periodic callsLBT+ inclusion
Up to $30,000
A dedicated envelope for LBT+ organisations often excluded from traditional funding streams.
Periodic callsEligible thematic areas
Voices
Perspectives from across the continent on the SEA-T initiative and RFLD's leadership.
About the initiative
The context
Francophone West Africa is going through a difficult political period. Several countries in the intervention area are experiencing military transitions, legislative restrictions on civic association and rising threats against journalists and defenders. Women who defend rights face a twofold constraint, the repression of civic space and gender-based violence, now extended into the digital sphere.
A linguistic difficulty compounds this. Regional resources, trainings and funding circulate mainly in English, so francophone organisations reach ACHPR and United Nations mechanisms late and remain under-represented in continental decision-making spaces. The initiative addresses both difficulties together.
The approach
- • Participatory methods, so civil society actors set the agenda.
- • Positive and durable transformation for marginalised communities.
- • A comprehensive, intersectional strategy for organisations, journalists and activists.
The SEA-T programme
RFLD works within the Society, Equality, Africa, Transformation programme supported by GIZ, which collaborates with local and regional civil society to promote social transformation and citizen participation. The model recognises the expertise, autonomy and initiative of African partners rather than imposing external solutions. By combining financial and technical support with regional exchange, it fosters change that is led by Africa and durable precisely because it comes from local communities.
Within the programme, RFLD co-chairs the SEA-T Programme Advisory Council. In that capacity it reports on the implementation of its initiative and helps align the programme's direction with the priorities put forward by Afrofeminist civil society.
Safeguarding and ethics
A survivor-centred approach to data, protection modules in every training, listening spaces during convenings and written consent for the use of images collected since December 2025.
Data protection
Nominal participant lists are reserved for reporting to GIZ and its funder. Any wider circulation uses a pseudonymised version that keeps countries and numbers while removing names and organisations.
8 target countries
Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo
30 months
2025 to 2028
Implementation
By RFLD, funded by BMZ with technical support from GIZ
Our partners
BMZ
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
GIZ GmbH
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
RFLD
Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement