ACHPR, Sweden and Germany Convene at the RFLD Dakar Office on the Protection of Women Human Rights Defenders in West Africa Three of the institutional voices that accompany the engagement of West African States in the protection of Women Human Rights Defenders convened on Tuesday, 16 June 2026, at the Dakar Office of the Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD), for a high-level institutional Afrofeminist concertation: the Honourable Professor Remy Ngoy Lumbu, Special Rapporteur of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa, and former Chairperson of the ACHPR; Her Excellency Catharina Cappelin, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Senegal; and the Federal Republic of Germany, represented at two complementary levels — diplomatically by Mrs Henriette Wolf, First Secretary (Political) at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Dakar; and through bilateral cooperation by Mrs Katja Roeckel, Country Director of GIZ Senegal. Read more: rflgd.org/2026/06/16/achpr-s…

RFLD is verified on @CandidDotOrg with the 2025 Seal of Transparency. Our whole profile is public, from our ten programmes to our audited finances. See it: app.candid.org/profile/16733… #Transparency #WomensRights #Africa

Explore Frequently asked questions about RFLD What is RFLD? - Where does RFLD work? - How can I work with or volunteer for RFLD? - What is #IamRFLD? - What open data does RFLD provide? - Which frameworks does RFLD use to hold governments accountable? - How does RFLD include people with disabilities and vulnerable groups? - Is RFLD a registered charity, and how can US donors give? - How does RFLD fund grassroots organisations? - How can my organisation apply for support? - What if I am at risk right now? - How is RFLD governed and held accountable? - How can I partner with or fund RFLD? - Is RFLD legally registered and audited? - Who funds RFLD? - How much of my donation reaches the field? - What are the WAFF Fund and the Africa Grant Portfolio? - What languages does RFLD work in? - How does RFLD keep the people it serves safe? - rflgd.org/faq/

Quarterly TFGBV monitoring across 55 AU member states: RFLD is a pan-African feminist network of 670 member organisations across more than 35 countries. We maintain the African Digital Safety Compendium on technology-facilitated gender-based violence, covering all fifty-five African Union member states, with a focal-point network reporting quarterly from each. It is anchored in ACHPR Resolutions 522, 591 and 620. rflgd.org/the-african-digita…

RFLD will participate in the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Dakar, October 2026, with a focus on protecting women human rights defenders from sexual exploitation and harassment across Africa. Explore our full agenda here : rflgd.org/2026/09/21/rfld-up…

With support from the Sida-funded CHARM consortium, of which RFLD is a member and @DefendDefenders the lead, RFLD convened the Regional Women's Consultations on Civic, Media and Digital Space from 15 to 17 September. The consultations brought together women human rights defenders (WHRDs), women journalists, women-led organisations and grassroots women activists in Benin. Women are on the front lines of defending rights, informing the public and mobilising communities. Yet the spaces where they speak, organise and report, online and offline, are too often shaped without them. These consultations were designed to change that. Over three days, participants came together to: 🔎 Identify the policy gaps that affect women's safe and meaningful participation in civic, media and digital spaces 📝 Develop inclusive, gender-responsive advocacy positions grounded in lived experience 🏛️ Chart pathways to influence relevant national, regional and continental policy processes 🤝 Strengthen regional solidarity networks so no woman defender, journalist or activist stands alone What stood out most was the strength of collective voice. The experiences shared and the positions built together will guide our advocacy in the months ahead. Thank you to every participant for your courage, insight and commitment, and to Sida for making this possible. The work continues. 💪🏾 #WomenHumanRightsDefenders #CivicSpace #MediaFreedom #DigitalRights #WomenInMedia #GenderEquality #Africa #WomensLeadership #RFLD

Appel à candidature : Formation en fact-checking destinée aux jeunes défenseurs des droits humains et membres de la société civile à Kinshasa Magamba Network avec DefendDefenders et le Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD), avec l'appui de Sida. Dans un contexte marqué par la montée de la désinformation et la circulation rapide de fausses informations, Eleza Fact lance un appel à candidatures pour une formation en fact-checking (vérification des faits) destinée aux jeunes défenseurs des droits humains et membres de la société civile à Kinshasa, dans le cadre du consortium NAFASI. Postulez ici: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…

Explore the African Digital Safety Compendium: RFLD's continental reference on technology-facilitated gender-based violence and digital rights. Covering all 55 African Union member states, drawing on RFLD's continental focal-points monitoring network, anchored in the Maputo Protocol; Resolution 522: Protection of Women Against Digital Violence in Africa; Resolution 591: Study on Digital Violence Against Women's Rights; Resolution 620: Access to Data as a Human Rights and Sustainable Development Tool; Malabo Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection; Child Online Safety and Empowerment Policy for Africa; CEDAW: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; and ACDEG: African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance - rflgd.org/the-african-digita…

A reflection of Annex Kemanzi from Pollicy on RFLD West Africa Feminist Data Summit 2026: Understanding Beyond Language pollicy.medium.com/the-west-…

International Day of Democracy | 15 September Democracy thrives when every voice counts. On this International Day of Democracy, RFLD reaffirms its commitment to advancing inclusive, participatory and accountable governance where women and girls can meaningfully shape decisions that affect their lives and communities. We believe that stronger democracies require protected civic spaces, equal participation, respect for human rights and the meaningful leadership of women. Together, let us strengthen democratic institutions, amplify diverse voices and build societies where justice, equality and inclusion are not ideals, but realities. #InternationalDayOfDemocracy #Democracy #WomenLeadership #CivicSpace #HumanRights #GenderJustice #InclusiveGovernance #RFLD

Supported by Sida and implemented by RFLD l 15 - 17 September 2026 l Benin Women Consultation on advocating for normative, inclusive and progressive policy changes that expand and strengthen civic, media and digital space

Le RFLD sponsorise 40 femmes et défenseurs des droits humains pour participer à la 89e Session ordinaire de la Commission africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples. La session se tient à Dakar, en République du Sénégal, du 8 au 21 octobre 2026. La délégation vient de treize pays : Bénin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigéria, Niger, Sénégal, Maroc, Gambie, Cameroun, RD Congo, Angola, Kenya et Afrique du Sud. Où nous retrouver pendant la session : - 8 octobre. Forum de participation des ONG - 10 octobre. Session de travail à huis clos sur l'outil d'intégration du genre - 12 octobre. Panel public : des lois qui protègent, sans faire taire - 13 octobre. Panel public : femmes en politique et violences facilitées par la technologie - 14 octobre. Atelier technique régional sur les VBGFT devant les mécanismes continentaux - 14 octobre. Panel public : défendre sans s'exposer - 15 octobre. Panel public : le bureau de sécurité francophone et lusophone Notre bureau de Dakar coordonne la délégation. Nous sommes à la Cité Keur Gorgui, Immeuble « AW 06 », 5ème et 6ème étage. Si votre organisation organise une activité à Dakar pendant la session, la salle de notre bureau est à votre disposition pour vos réunions et side events. Écrivez à programs@rflgd.org, ou contactez Mme Bathor Seck, notre Représentante Pays. Merci à la Foundation for a Just Society, à la Packard Foundation, à Sida et à la GIZ pour leur soutien à cette délégation. #IamRFLD #CADHP89 #Dakar

RFLD is sponsoring 40 women and human rights defenders to attend the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The session runs in Dakar, Republic of Senegal, from 8 to 21 October 2026. The delegation comes from thirteen countries: Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Morocco, The Gambia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Angola, Kenya and South Africa. Where to find us during the session: - 8 October. Forum on the Participation of NGOs - 10 October. Closed working session on the Gender Mainstreaming Tool - 12 October. Public panel: laws that protect, not silence - 13 October. Public panel: women in politics and technology-facilitated violence - 14 October. Regional technical workshop on TFGBV before the continental mechanisms - 14 October. Public panel: defend without being exposed - 15 October. Public panel: the francophone and lusophone safety desk Our Dakar office is coordinating the delegation. We are at Cité Keur Gorgui, Immeuble "AW 06", 5th and 6th floors. If your organisation is running an activity in Dakar during the session, you are welcome to use our office hall for your meetings and side events. Write to programs@rflgd.org, or contact Mrs Bathor Seck, our Country Representative. Our thanks to the Foundation for a Just Society, the Packard Foundation, Sida and GIZ for supporting this delegation. #IamRFLD #ACHPR89 #Dakar

RFLD has published its inaugural reference report, State of African Francophone Feminist Movements. It is the first edition of what will become an annual publication. The report establishes that francophone African feminist organisations are structurally underfunded relative to their anglophone counterparts, and that the reasons are traceable rather than accidental. Four structural causes of the funding gap · 1 Linguistic infrastructure : Discovery networks, convenings, application portals and reporting templates all operate in English. 2 Compliance frameworks: Calibrated to US and UK institutional conventions that francophone organisations have had fewer opportunities to build toward. 3 Donor convention and culture : Leadership, peer networks and strategy frameworks remain predominantly anglophone-coded. 4 Missing intermediary infrastructure : Francophone-led intermediaries have never been resourced at the scale their anglophone equivalents reached. We wrote it because the question of francophone African feminist movements has for too long been treated as a secondary footnote in a conversation framed by anglophone references, and because the organisations in our network have been describing the same conditions from different geographies for years without a shared document to point to. Download it here : rflgd.org/wp-content/uploads…

Staff Message : Happy Birthday Boss Dossi Sekonnou Gloria AGUEH - RFLD Africa Director

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 : rflgd.org/maputo-protocol/

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 across six offices and 35+ countries of active programme delivery.

As a co-host of the convening from 25–27 Aug 2026, RFLD contributed to a critical regional conversation on the future of civic action, solidarity & coordination across Africa. RFLD joined civil society organisations, human rights defenders for the VUKA Africa Regional Roundtable.

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

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. #CIVICUS #RFLD #CivicSpace #CHARMAfrica #NAFASI #VukaCoalition #Accra #WestAfrica

#IamRFLD 🌟 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: 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. 🎤#CELEFBénin2026 #RFLD