SOAWR

Today marks 22 years since the adoption of the @_AfricanUnion women's rights treaty: the Maputo Protocol! Join us in celebrating this tool, which gives us the power to reiterate: our rights are non-negotiable! ✊🏿bit.ly/MaputoAt22 #MaputoAt22

Hon. Janet Sallah-Njie, chairs the final agenda item for #DAY1 at the #ACHPR87OS: Panel on Commitment to Compliance: Lifting Reservations to Realise the Full Promise of the Maputo Protocol & Launch of the Framework on Lifting Reservations of some Provisions of the Maputo Protocol

Hon. Comm. Sallah-Njie declares the adoption of the Advocacy Framework for Withdrawing Reservations to Some Provisions of the protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa

Cadre de Plaidoyer pour le Retrait des Réserves à Certaines Dispositions du Protocole à la Charte Africaine des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples relatif aux Droits des Femmes en Afrique @EqualityNow_AF achpr.au.int/fr/special-mec…

Advocacy Framework for Withdrawing Reservations to some Provisions of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa @EqualityNow_AF achpr.au.int/en/special-mec…

In Banjul for #ACHPR87OS? 🎙️Be part of a live recording of our All Things Maputo Protocol podcast with Nyokabi Njogu & Ramatoulie Jallow, with a chance to share your perspective too! 📍 Thematic Room 3 🗓 15 May | 🕜 1:30 PM @achpr_cadhp #ACTtoEndViolence #MaputoProtocol

This week, CEHURD represented by @AJRuth3 participated in a Strategic Litigation training in Nairobi, Kenya organized by @equalitynow and the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (@SOAWR) Coalition. This training aimed at strengthening SOAWR members’ capacity to use #StrategicLitigation to advance Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, particularly in line with Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol. During the training, members had an overview of the Maputo Protocol, were re-oriented on Strategic Interest Litigation highlighting its objectives, advantages, litigation cycle, case identification, client suitability, evidence gathering, locus standi, timing, forum selection among others. Members were also trained on funding and collaboration for strategic litigation, advocacy and stakeholders engagements during strategic litigation, impact and implementation of outcomes of strategic litigation, risks and ethics among others. Members were also given an opportunity to think through at least one case they could litigate as an organization in line with the #MaputoProtocol and presentations were made in this respect with feedback given and commitment made by organizations to see through the filing and litigation of the select cases. It was an impactful training that will go a long way in advancing litigations in line with the Maputo Protocol.

Recent headlines have reignited debate on spousal property rights in Africa. How are women’s contributions to marriage valued, and are laws delivering justice? Join us, @IGEDAfrica, @EqualityNow_AF & @AFLN_Africa to discuss! 📅 21 April 🕒 11:00 GMT 👉 bit.ly/GC6-Toolkit-La…

"We don't want your pity, we want your political courage." Today marks 3 years of the civil war in #Sudan. Take the time to listen to this full, important conversation bit.ly/SOAWR-Podcast with the @Sihanet team. #ACTtoEndViolence #KeepEyesOnSudan

🚨 Are you attending #CSW70? Join us in New York for two side events during the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women! This year, CSW70 is centering on access to justice, a timely theme as women in the #HornofAfrica continue to push for their rights. That is why SIHA Network will be hosting two critical discussions: 1️⃣ Countering Anti-Gender Backlash: Pathways to Law, Policy Reform, and Access to Justice 🗓️ Date: 10 March 2026 ⏰ Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM EST 📍 Location: Council of Churches UN Office, New York (Drew Room) Our first panel will explore the rise of anti-gender backlash across the Greater Horn of Africa and its impact on women’s rights, civic space, and gender equality. We will also discuss how feminist actors in Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan are using law, policy reform, and strategic litigation to defend rights, expand access to justice, and strengthen gender-responsive legal systems. 🔗 Register here: forms.office.com/Pages/Response… 2️⃣ Reinvigorating the Path to Justice and Accountability: Strengthening Strategies for Prosecuting Sexual and Reproductive Violence as Genocide in Darfur 🗓️ Date: 12 March 2026 ⏰ Time: 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM EST 📍 Location: Council of Churches United Nations Office, New York (8th Floor) This side event will explore how sexual and reproductive violence in Darfur has been used strategically against women and girls from native African communities such as the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa. We will also discuss how feminist legal strategies, grassroots documentation, and international accountability mechanisms can advance justice and reshape the understanding of such violence as a core component of genocide. 🔗 Register here: forms.office.com/Pages/Response… If you can’t be there in person, you can still join us online—register on the links above. Join us and circulate across your networks—let’s work together for justice and gender equality! ------------------------------- @musawah @awdf01 @ISDAOSankofa @DoriaFund @DutchMFA @GBVnet @Int_IDEA @MalalaFund @NLcivilsociety @OpenSociety @PAXvoorvrede @SOAWR @Swiss_Khartoum @TrustAfrica @UAFAfrica @UNTrustFundEVAW @woman_kind @NLinSudan @Halayalkarib @gatesfoundation @QF @govdotie @FordFoundation @Sida @ngowgwps @democracynow @ObamaFoundation @ClintonFdn @equalfamilylaws @Purposeful_org @UN_Women @unwomenafrica @kajakallas @EU_SUDAN @eu_echo @eu_eeas @LegalActionWW @GAC_Corporate

Reminder - #CSW70 is around the corner! SIHA Network will be hosting two side events at the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, bringing forward timely conversations on access to justice for women from the Greater Horn of Africa: 1️⃣ Countering Anti-Gender Backlash: Pathways to Law, Policy Reform, and Access to Justice 📅 10 March 2026 | 🕥 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EST 📍 Church Center of UN Office, New York (Drew Room) 🔗 Register: forms.office.com/Pages/Response… 2️⃣ Reinvigorating the Path to Justice and Accountability: Prosecuting Sexual and Reproductive Violence as Genocide in Darfur 📅 12 March 2026 | 🕧 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST 📍 Church Center of UN Office, New York (8th Floor) 🔗 Register: forms.office.com/Pages/Response… From confronting anti-gender backlash to advancing accountability for sexual and reproductive violence in Darfur, these events will highlight how women in the region use feminist legal strategies, strategic impact litigation and grassroots documentation as pathways for justice. Register to attend in person or virtually and share with your network! #SIHAatCSW70 ---------------------------- @musawah @awdf01 @ISDAOSankofa @DoriaFund @DutchMFA @GBVnet @Int_IDEA @MalalaFund @NLcivilsociety @OpenSociety @PAXvoorvrede @SOAWR @Swiss_Khartoum @TrustAfrica @UAFAfrica @UNTrustFundEVAW @woman_kind @NLinSudan @Halayalkarib @gatesfoundation @QF @FordFoundation @Sida @ngowgwps @democracynow @ObamaFoundation @ClintonFdn @equalfamilylaws @Purposeful_org @UN_Women @unwomenafrica @kajakallas @EU_SUDAN @eu_echo @eu_eeas @LegalActionWW @GAC_Corporate @govdotie

Celebrating the legendary Faiza Jama Mohamed for #IWD2026! A true source of inspiration to me, Faiza’s leadership as #MamaMaputoProtocol built the very ground we stand on in the fight for justice. Thank you for your grit, grace, and mentorship. #GiveToGain #WomensRights

There’s a unique power in hearing someone’s story in their own words, there is an honesty, emotion and perspective that no statistic or report can capture. “Letters from Eritrea: Women Reflect on their Access to Rights and Services” (2020) offers exactly that: personal and deeply introspective testimonies from five women who emigrated from Eritrea. Their stories reveal the daily struggles, systemic neglect, and the courage it takes to seek safety and dignity in the face of government failures. These narratives provide a rare window into lives shaped by resilience and the difficult choices many women are forced to make. 📖 Discover their voices, understand their experiences, and reflect on the realities that drive people to leave their homeland at great personal risk here: issuu.com/halayassin/doc… ------------------------- @SOAWR @unwomenafrica @musawah @GBVnet @RaisingVoices @AfricaAW @Af4HA @feministconsci1 @Nagaad_Network @SWDC_ORG @UNWomen @UNTrustFundEVAW @AfriFeminists @awdf01 @DutchMFA @FRIDAfund @MalalaFund @TrustAfrica @UAFAfrica @woman_kind @EthioHRC @Article35_ET @unwomenAU

“The only kind of pain that is intolerable is pain that is wasteful, pain from which we do not learn.“ Audre Lorde For more than a 1,000 days, Sudan has been engulfed in a devastating war. Throughout this period, women and girls have been subjected to widespread and systematic violence. Yet, much of what they endured have remained unheard and undocumented. “+1,000 Days of War on Women” is a documentary series that centers these voices. It examines the impact of Sudan’s conflict on women and girls, moving beyond numbers and headlines to the realities forced into silence. This first part of the series focuses on testimonies from El Fasher, North Darfur, following the fall of the city to the RSF on October 26, 2025, capturing what women and girls endured. The violence inflicted on women and girls in Sudan is not an unavoidable consequence of war. It has been enabled by impunity and sustained by silence, thus allowing the cycle of violence to continue. By documenting these stories, we affirm that remembering is inseparable from accountability, and that breaking cycles of violence begins by refusing to let survivors’ voices disappear. #1000DaysOfWarOnWomen #KeepEyesOnSudan #KeepEyesOnDarfur --------------------------- @UN_Sudan @UNDP_Sudan @UNOCHA_Sudan @DWAG6 @DNforHR @AfricanCentre @USEmbassyKRT @AfricaAW @UKinSudan @RepSaraJacobs @Af4HA @_Nalafem @BSonblast @noonforwomen @el_karama @feministconsci1 @SudanHRH @NidalSaad4 @yassmin_a @Sarajalilo @Moh_Gamea @SimsimAlbadri @HkZuk @AfriFeminists @DutchMFA @fidh_un @GCR2P @CIHRS_Alerts @ISHRglobal @UNTrustFundEVAW @unwomensudan @NLinSudan @DefendDefenders @Halayalkarib @ngowgwps @Roaarabi2 @JamesCopnall @DavidLammy @antonioguterres @AyinSudan @_AfricanUnion @sudan_doctors @sudan_war @SecRubio @Swiss_Khartoum @AmbRamsoekh @RadioDabanga @SOAWR @woman_kind @Shiroug_art

2025 was a year of powerful feminist action and impact across the Horn of Africa. To document this journey, SIHA Network is inviting applications from experienced Consultant Report Writers to develop its 2025 Annual Report. This is an opportunity for a skilled writer with a strong background in women’s rights, gender equality, and advocacy to translate complex programmes into clear, compelling narratives. 🔗 Apply by 4 February 2025: sihanet.org/job/consultanc… #FeministJobs #HiringAlert #ConsultancyOpportunity -------------------------------------------- @SOAWR @GBVnet @JustDerby @HiringCare @NOOR_Comms @devnetjobs @jobsviatweet @TausiFem @AfricaNngo @CCGD_KE @PeshPoni @IntlLegalJobs @Setaweet1 @TheGirlGen @women_ewla @newa_ethiopia @hrcoethio @steve_ougo @musawah @Halayalkarib @Golama_Isies @Roaarabi2 @TheRealOlaDiab @BSonblast @iReelMuaz @NidalSaad4 @MCPRJobs @JobNoticeUG @greatugandajobs @ZimVillage @ssyspc @hrcsomaliland @tirsity @FardusMDheere @taggy @felogene @Interview_Her @noonforwomen @ahmadshomokh @HkZuk @Girifna @Winiomer @ShawgiMD @errfnern @feministconsci1 @Sarajalilo @m7rhman

SOAWR wishes you a happy holiday season! We look forward to returning in 2026 to continue to work together to achieve our vision: that African women fully enjoy their rights as provided for under the #MaputoProtocol.

How are African governments held accountable to end violence against women & girls? In SOAWR’s first-ever video podcast episode, Madame Hannah Forster (@AcdhrsOrg) shares insights on the ACHPR, the #MaputoProtocol, & why accountability matters. 🎥 youtu.be/kd0qH0Qvy5o

#HRD2025 As part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign, @AfAafrica joined the National Human Rights Commission, Owerri, the Ministry of Women Affairs, and other various civil society organisations for an awareness walk in celebration of World Human Rights Day 2025 and in commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. #16DaysOfActivism #HumanRightsDay2025 #WomensRightsAreHumanRights #EndGenderBasedViolence #EqualityForAll #AlliancesForAfrica @FemnetProg @SOAWR

📢We've extended the deadline on applications to our 2026 Research & Communications Internship! If you're passionate about advocating for women's rights through research and digital advocacy, we'd love to hear from you by 19 December 2025! More info: mewc.org/index.php/abou…

Intersectionality reminds us that violence is never experienced in isolation. Gender, class, age, disability, identity, and digital access all shape how harm is felt and how justice is denied or delivered. In digital spaces, these overlapping identities intensify the harm: targeted abuse, discriminatory algorithms, unequal access, and the silencing of voices that sit at multiple margins. To end violence, we must see every layer and address every layer. That is intersectionality. That is UNMUTED. #ACTtoEndViolence #SRHRDialogues #16DaysOfActivism

In this time when parts of the manosphere normalize hostility toward women, the voices of responsible men matter even more. Men who choose accountability help shift the culture and challenge the patterns that make digital spaces unsafe. #WRAPANG #16DaysOfActivism #Manosphere