Women Leaders Network for Development - RFLD

01/09/2026

Twenty-three years after the Maputo Protocol was adopted, 46 African Union states have ratified it. Seven signed and went no further. Two have done neither.
Our Maputo Protocol Hub tracks every signature, ratification and deposit date across all 55 member states, reconciled against the African Union Treaties Depositary. It also carries three published guides in English and French, with translations and professional audio recordings in Haoussa, Zarma, Yoruba and Goun.
If your advocacy needs a date, an article or a status you can defend in a room, it's there.

Explore here : https://rflgd.org/maputo-protocol/

31/08/2026

We are celebrating RFLD Senior Leadership Team composed of different nationalities (Beninese, Senegalese, Congolese, Nigerian, Ivoirian, Ghanaians etc...) : RFLD is delivered by a team of feminist practitioners, lawyers, researchers, financial experts, and grassroots organisers across six offices and 35+ countries of active programme delivery.

30/08/2026

As a co-host of the convening from 25–27 August 2026 in Accra - Ghana, RFLD contributed to a critical regional conversation on the future of civic action, solidarity and coordination across Africa.

RFLD joined civil society organisations, human rights defenders, youth leaders, feminist actors and regional partners for the VUKA Africa Regional Roundtable.
The first day provided an important space for participants to collectively examine the evolving civic-space landscape and the interconnected challenges confronting civil society across the continent.
Among the key concerns raised were the growing legitimacy crisis facing civil society organisations; restrictive laws and the manipulation of legal frameworks to suppress dissent; surveillance and repression of civic and youth-led organisations; structural shifts in the funding landscape; coordination fatigue among progressive movements; youth tokenism and the need for meaningful participation in decision-making; digital repression and emerging AI-related risks; weak public institutions and declining political and digital literacy; as well as the growing need for stronger narratives and greater local ownership of development and resource decisions.
Conversations pointed to a more fundamental question:
How can African civil society move from fragmented and reactive responses towards stronger, proactive and coordinated collective action?
For RFLD, this question is particularly significant. It speaks directly to our commitment to advancing women's rights, meaningful youth participation, human rights and an open, inclusive and resilient civic space across Africa.
It also resonates strongly with our engagement in the NAFASI project, particularly its focus on strengthening policy and governance, digital resilience and truth, and network power and sustainability to defend and expand digital civic space across Africa.
The VUKA Roundtable is therefore more than a space to diagnose the challenges confronting civic action. It is an opportunity to strengthen relationships, deepen solidarity, share knowledge and explore practical pathways for collective action.
The question before us is not only: What is happening to civic space?
It is: What are we prepared to do together to protect, reclaim and expand it?

26/08/2026

RFLD has published the African Digital Safety Compendium, a continental reference on TFGBV and digital rights covering all 55 African Union member states.
The African Digital Safety Compendium
Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is monitored, mapped, and anchored in a continental legal framework.

Explore it here: https://rflgd.org/the-african-digital-safety-compendium/

Menu About Us Who We Are Our People Strategy 2023 -2028 Our Partners Our Impact Program Overview Grant Portfolio WAFFF Fund Key Projects Packard Partnersip PAWELE Program Sida CHARM Africa AmplifyC…

26/08/2026

Le Compendium Africain de Sécurité Numérique du Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD) est une plateforme de référence dédiée à la lutte contre les violences basées sur le genre facilitées par la technologie (VBGFT)

Menu About Us Who We Are Our People Strategy 2023 -2028 Our Partners Our Impact Program Overview Grant Portfolio WAFFF Fund Key Projects Packard Partnersip PAWELE Program Sida CHARM Africa AmplifyC…

24/08/2026

Watch Shupikai Gwabuya, Network and Engagement Coordinator at CIVICUS, message during her visit to the RFLD Africa Office in Accra.

24/08/2026

Today the RFLD office in Accra welcomed Shupikai Gwabuya, Network and Engagement Coordinator at CIVICUS, together with colleagues from the CIVICUS team.
We used the visit to take stock of the work we already carry together. RFLD sits with CIVICUS in two consortia, CHARM Africa and NAFASI, and both have given us a concrete way to accompany women's rights organisations and grassroots movements across Africa at a moment when civic space is under real pressure.
We also spoke about the Vuka Coalition for Civic Action, where RFLD serves on the Steering Group for the 2025 to 2028 term. What makes Vuka worth the investment of time is that it keeps the defence of civic space anchored in the experience of organisations doing the work on the ground rather than in statements drafted far from it.
Partnership is easier to announce than to maintain, and days like this one are how it actually gets maintained.

24/08/2026

🌟 Cette année, le RFLD finance CELEF 2026. ALLONS À LA DÉCOUVERTE DE LA MARRAINE DU CELEF-BÉNIN 2026: Mme Dossi Sèkonnou Gloria AGUEH: Sa biographie ici: https://rflgd.org/our-people/
Le CELEF-Bénin (Camp de l'Éveil du Leadership et de l'Entrepreneuriat Féminin) est un programme de mentorat et d'immersion organisé par l'initiative WoLSI (Women's Leadership for Sustainable Impact).
Objectifs du Programme: Promouvoir le leadership féminin et l'entrepreneuriat au Bénin.
Donner aux jeunes femmes les outils pratiques pour réussir dans les affaires et la société.
Offrir un cadre d'immersion et de mentorat avec des personnalités inspirantes.
Expérience transformatrice de 5 jours pour révéler le potentiel des jeunes filles.
Profil : jeunes filles âgées de 18 à 25 ans, ambitieuses et engagées. 🎤

22/08/2026

💡 Explore RFLD's website and our work across our five offices : Nigeria | Benin (Francophone Hub) | Senegal (Francophone Hub) | Ghana (Africa Office) | The Gambia (ACHPR Liaison)
♻️ RFLD is a network of 670 member organisations across 35+ African countries.
📂 Our ultimate goal: An Africa where women and girls, Vulnerable Groups and people with disabilities exercise their rights fully, participate meaningfully in the decisions that affect their lives, and live free from violence.

22/08/2026

Le RFLD sera à Dakar pour la 89e Session ordinaire de la Commission africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples.
Du 9 au 15 octobre, nous tenons une session de travail à huis clos, un atelier technique régional et quatre panels publics en marge de la session.
Ce que nous y portons :
— La protection des défenseures des droits humains, et les représailles qui frappent celles qui parlent. Les violences de genre facilitées par la technologie. 38 % des femmes des États membres de l'Union africaine ont subi une forme de violence en ligne. La moitié ne dispose d'aucune protection légale spécifique. Des lois qui protègent au lieu de faire taire : protection des données, lois sur la désinformation, coupures d'internet en période électorale. Les guichets d'assistance francophone et lusophone, et ce qu'il faut pour les faire tenir.
2026 marque les quarante ans de l'entrée en vigueur de la Charte africaine.
Programme complet et modalités de participation : https://rflgd.org/rfld-at-89th-achpr-ordinary-session/