Picture of RFLD’s Delegation currently in Banjul for the 85th ACHPR ORDINARY Session (17 – 27 October 2025)
On this Africa Human Rights Day, the Network of Women Leaders for Development (RFLD) stands in solidarity with millions of women, girls, and marginalized communities across our continent who continue to fight for dignity, equality, and justice. As we commemorate the adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: the promise of human rights in Africa remains unfulfilled, particularly for women and feminist movements who bear the heaviest burden of democratic decline.
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights remains one of the most progressive human rights instruments in the world, inspiring national bills of rights, constitutional reforms, and a comprehensive framework of protocols addressing the rights of women, older persons, people with disabilities, and displaced populations. Through instruments like the Maputo Protocol, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, and the Kampala Convention, the African Union has constructed an impressive legal architecture for protecting human dignity.
Yet infrastructure without implementation is merely aspiration. Despite these elaborate policies and the tireless efforts of the African Union and its organs, the reality on the ground tells a different story—one of shrinking freedoms, escalating violence against women defenders, and systematic exclusion of those who dare to demand accountability.
Seven Crises Threatening Women’s Rights and Democratic Space
1. Democratic Freedoms Under Siege
2. Civic Space in Freefall
3. Human Rights Violations Targeting Women Defenders
4. Digital Repression: A New Frontier of Control
5. Gender Inequality: A Crisis of Mathematical Certainty
6. The Funding Desert: Resources That Never Arrive
7. Technology and Hope: Seeds of Transformation
RFLD has contributed to advancing gender-based violence legislation in multiple countries through strategic litigation and policy advocacy that have resulted in concrete legal reforms that save lives, while our Dònuèsè Data Center collects and analyzes gender-related data, providing invaluable resources to human rights defenders and supporting evidence-based advocacy for gender equality—because in an era of misinformation, reliable data is a form of resistance.
Our Call to Action: Rights Cannot Wait
On this Africa Human Rights Day, we issue an urgent call to all stakeholders:
To African Governments:
- Immediately end harassment, intimidation, and violence against women human rights defenders
- Repeal restrictive laws that shrink civic space and criminalize legitimate expression
- End internet shutdowns and digital censorship during political processes
- Implement the African Charter and its protocols in letter and spirit
- Ensure equal representation of women in all decision-making bodies
To the African Union and Regional Bodies:
- Strengthen monitoring and accountability mechanisms for member states
- Provide technical and financial support to countries implementing human rights reforms
- Elevate women’s voices in peace and security architecture
- Make gender equality a non-negotiable criterion for regional integration
To International Partners and Donors:
- Direct resources to women-led organizations and grassroots movements
- Support flexible, multi-year funding that enables sustained organizing
- Prioritize the safety and security of women human rights defenders
- Challenge rather than accommodate shrinking civic space
To Civil Society and Movements:
- Build stronger coalitions across movements and borders
- Document and publicize human rights violations systematically
- Support one another through solidarity networks and mutual aid
- Continue to innovate, resist, and refuse to be silenced
To Citizens Across Africa:
- Exercise your rights even when governments try to restrict them
- Support women leaders and defenders in your communities
- Demand accountability from your representatives
- Teach the next generation that rights are not privileges—they are non-negotiable.
The Africa We Are Building
We envision an Africa where:
- Every woman can speak truth to power without fear of violence or reprisal
- Civic space expands rather than contracts, welcoming diverse voices and perspectives
- Technology serves liberation and connection, not surveillance and repression
- Resources reach those doing the work, not those controlling access
- Laws protect the vulnerable rather than shield the powerful
- Democracy is measured not by elections alone, but by the lived experience of citizens between them
- Gender equality is not a distant goal, but a present reality
This vision is not utopian—it is achievable. RFLD’s track record demonstrates that with adequate resources, strategic organizing, and unwavering commitment, transformation is possible.
Our Promise
The Network of Women Leaders for Development pledges to continue standing with women and marginalized communities across Africa in their struggle for dignity, equality, and justice. We will not be intimidated into silence. We will not accept that rights delayed are anything other than rights denied. We will not abandon our sisters facing violence, harassment, and persecution.
On this Africa Human Rights Day, we recommit ourselves to the vision enshrined in the African Charter: a continent where every person—regardless of gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity, or ability—can live in freedom, dignity, and peace.
The promise of the African Charter is our inheritance. Its realization is our responsibility. The time to act is now.
For more information: ADMIN@RFLGD.ORG
Network of Women Leaders for Development (RFLD)
Building Movements. Expanding Rights. Transforming Africa.
#AfricaHumanRightsDay #ShrinkingSpace #WomensRights #FeministAfrica #CivicSpace #RFLD #MaputoProtocol #AfricanCharter
Issued on October 21, 2025, on the occasion of Africa Human Rights Day
