International Women Human Rights Defenders Day – Overview and Profiles of 12 African NGOs

Today is International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, which has been celebrated on 29 November since 2006.

Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) are all women and girls who defend human rights, people of all genders who defend the rights of women and girls, and all people who defend the rights to be free from discrimination and violence based on gender and sexuality.

International Women Human Rights Defenders Day acknowledges the vital role WHRDs play in advocating for human rights, gender equality, and social justice worldwide. It underscores the importance of gender equality in human rights advocacy and highlights the specific challenges WHRDs face due to their gender. It serves as a platform to advocate for the protection, support, and empowerment of WHRDs, ensuring their safety and well-being as they engage in their crucial work. It also aims to inspire other activists and individuals, encouraging them to stand up for human rights and defend those who are vulnerable or marginalised. The day falls within the annual international campaign of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which runs from 25 November to 10 December.

While celebrating International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, it is worth noting that the situation of WHRDs is far from desirable. The actions of WHRDs, by their very nature, challenge patriarchal power structures, harmful social norms and stereotyped gender roles. As a result, WHRDs are confronted by violence, harassment and even imprisonment simply for taking a stand for equality and human rights. In addition to the risks faced by all human rights defenders, WHRDs are confronted by additional challenges driven by deep-rooted discrimination against women and perceptions about their appropriate roles.

Africa presents a particularly challenging environment for WHRDs. Many countries lack adequate legal protection for WHRDs. Despite notable efforts to address specific challenges, the implementation of institutional frameworks remains slow and inconsistent, hindering efforts to combat violence against women and girls. The rise of gender-based violence through online harassment has exacerbated the risks WHRDs face, while the ever-increasing restrictions on civic space also add to the challenges confronting WHRDs.

International Women Human Rights Defenders Day is, therefore, an occasion to reiterate the challenges impacting WHRDs and call for more robust protection mechanisms.

International Women Human Rights Defenders Day 2023 coincides with the Africa WHRD Convention, held from 28-30 November in Johannesburg, South Africa. Celebrating WHRDs' triumphs and acknowledging their challenges, under the theme, "Recognising the Struggles and Triumphs of Women Human Rights Defenders: Reflecting on Our Lived Realities and Forging Sustainable Strategies for the Future", the event aims to spotlight the critical and transformative role African WHRDs play in championing women's human rights and fundamental freedoms. Specifically, delegates will reflect on the current challenges and prospects facing WHRDs, including proactive, holistic protection methods, celebrate the tenacity and accomplishments of WHRDs from across Africa and beyond, and collaboratively envision and design pathways for a brighter, more equitable future where WHRDs' effective participation, inclusion and leadership in all spheres of life is assured.

In addition to the important contribution of this event, many African organisations focus on WHRDs as part of their primary or secondary focus.

The following African NGOs play a critical role in supporting WHRDs and responding to issues impacting their work in different parts of the continent:

African Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD Initiative) (South Africa / Africa)

?The WHRD Initiative is a WHRD-led collective dedicated to safeguarding WHRDs in Africa. It embodies lived experiences, amplifies deliberately silenced voices, and celebrates the transformative impact of WHRDs, transforming vulnerability into strength and adversity into action.

Formerly registered in March 2023, the WHRD Initiative’s mission is to enhance the visibility and fortify the protection of WHRDs across Africa and beyond. It envisions a just and inclusive Africa where WHRDs are acknowledged, protected, and have their agency enhanced. It aspires to a future where WHRDs can conduct their mandates unimpeded, their voices resonate powerfully in every corner of society, and their impact is palpable in the fabric of a more equitable Africa.

The WHRD Initiative is committed to dismantling the systemic barriers and unique challenges WHRDs face, advocating for their recognition and holistic safety, and enabling them to continue their invaluable work across diverse human rights causes. Utilising an Afro-feminist and intersectional approach, it provides direct, integrated support and sanctuary for WHRDs to thrive.

The WHRD Initiative spearheads a trans-local to transcontinental movement building and learning endeavour, protecting, healing, and empowering WHRDs at all intergenerational levels and fostering a meshwork of active solidarity and resilience. It empowers WHRDs by facilitating the sharing of best practices and promoting experiential learning, enabling them to rise above challenges and shape human rights narratives from grassroots communities to the breadth of the African continent. By championing the rights of WHRDs, it illuminates the path towards a just and inclusive Africa where women defenders’ contributions are valued and respected, their rights upheld, and their resilience celebrated.

The WHRD Initiative’s specific activities and interventions in support of WHRDs centre around advocacy and strategic Influence; capacity development, empowerment and leadership; research, knowledge generation and thought leadership; transnational networking, solidarity and partnerships; sustainable and integrated support services; innovation, digital inclusion and economic empowerment; mental health, well-being and collective care; and community engagement, education and social transformation.

AfricanDefenders (Uganda / Africa)

AfricanDefenders (Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network) is a network of five African sub-regional networks dedicated to promoting and protecting HRDs. The secretariat of AfricanDefenders is hosted by DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) in Kampala, Uganda.

Established in 2009, AfricanDefenders seeks to strengthen the work of HRDs throughout Africa by reducing their vulnerability to the risk of persecution and enhancing their capacity to defend human rights effectively. Through initiatives like the Ubuntu Hub Cities initiative, AfricanDefenders facilitates temporary relocation for HRDs facing threats, violence, and extreme pressure due to their work while ensuring their well-being and enabling them to continue their work. The initiative also offers medical support, legal counselling, security enhancement, and psychosocial support to at-risk HRDs. Additionally, AfricanDefenders implements an emergency protection fund for WHRDs in conflict contexts.

AfricanDefenders leverages its United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) status and observer status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) to amplify WHRDs' efforts, submitting parallel reports and facilitating their participation in United Nations Human Rights Council and ACHPR sessions. AfricanDefenders collaborates with UN Special Procedures to support the work of WHRDs on the continent, including establishing regional WHRD networks.?

AfricanDefenders’ Safe Sisters digital security training programme focuses on enhancing information security expertise among women in civil society and media, addressing online violence and cyber-harassment. AfricanDefenders also uses its online presence to spotlight WHRDs' work through campaigns and conducts research on human rights issues, forming the basis of its advocacy initiatives.

Chikulamayembe Women Forum (CKWF) (Malawi)

CKWF is a group of diverse WHRDs from the Rumphi district in Malawi. Established in 2007, its mission is to advance women's and girls' rights and fight all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls and other vulnerable groups, including LGBTIQ communities.

CKWF's main programmes promote and secure the realisation of women and girls rights, build the resilience of people living in poverty whilst strengthening women-led livelihood preparedness and emergency response, enhance civic participation and state accountability for the redistribution of resources and delivery of equality gender-sensitive public services, and lobby and advocate for policies and laws that protect and promote women and girls.

CKWF is a member of Women Human Rights Defenders Malawi.

Coalition des Femmes Defenseures des Droits Humians (CFDDH) (DRC)

CFDDH aims to strengthen the security and improve the work of WHRDs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through their work, WHRDs are exposed to threats such as death, assassination, intimidation, kidnapping, poisoning, torture, rape and sexual violence, as well as retrograde customs that do not promote women's rights and female leadership.

Established in Goma in March 2021, CFDDH's vision is to create an environment where WHRDs can conduct their work without hindrance. Its mission is to prevent rights violations, protect WHRDs and implement advocacy actions to promote and improve their work.?

CFDDH operates in several provinces of the DRC, including Ituri, Haut Katanga, North Kivu and South Kivu.

CFDDH's membership consists of 47 organisations and three independent women advocates, while the membership applications of another 28 organisations are currently under consideration.

Defenders Coalition (Kenya)

Defenders Coalition is the national coalition of HRDs in Kenya. Established in 2007, its mission is to champion the safety, security, protection and well-being of HRDs. It addresses prevailing systemic violations, oppression and attempts at de-legitimising the work of HRDs.

Many HRDs across the world have been subject to violations of their human rights. In Kenya, the case is equally the same. HRDs are increasingly attacked for standing for what is right. The attacks include harassment, smear campaigns, intimidation, psycho-social attacks, threats, torture, ill-treatment, negative profiling, unlawful arrests and detention, killings and enforced disappearances. The perpetrators of these attacks include both State and non-state agents. Of deep concern to the Coalition are WHRDs working on issues of sexuality, gender roles, and women’s place in the community, as well as marginalised groups such as indigenous populations, sex workers, LGBTI communities, youth and women. WHRDs are, however, also at greater risk of SGBV and gender-specific risks such as assault, social discrimination, intimidation, slandering, online harassment, domestic violence and burnout.

The Coalition believes every individual is entitled to rights, personal liberties, security, and social justice. It recognises that supporting HRDs is central to realising universal respect for human rights and implementing international human rights protocols that contribute to a safe and just world.

The Coalition provides skills training to strengthen the capacities of HRDs to work more effectively and advocates for favourable legal, policy and institutional environments to reduce their vulnerability to the risk of persecution and or harm. It also focuses specifically on the work of WHRDs, which includes all women and girls who work to protect and promote human rights, all people who defend the rights of women and girls, and all people who defend the rights to be free from discrimination and violence based on gender and sexuality. It convenes the #NiMama-Net, a national network of WHRDs in Kenya that consolidates efforts of feminist groups, WHRDs, and gender and minority rights groups to advocate for gender justice and women’s rights by building skills in advocacy and documenting rights violations, enhancing personal safety and offering timely intervention on safety and well-being for at-risk WHRDs.

The Coalition is managed by committed, passionate and capable professionals, comprising staff, volunteers from regional and thematic adjudications and a Board of Trustees. Its membership includes Kenyan human rights organisations and individual HRDs. The Coalition is a member of various regional and international networks, including Defend Defenders and CIVICUS - World Alliance for Citizen Participation, and has observer status with the African Commission for Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR).

Defenders Protection Initiative (DPI) (Uganda)

DPI is dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights, good governance, the rule of law, peace, and democracy. Established in 2013, it offers tailored, practical and contextualised security and safety options to civil society in Uganda with a primary focus on HRDs.

DPI is driven by a passion for mitigating the impact of threats that HRDs face as they promote and protect human rights. It prides itself on employing unique and innovative approaches to contributing to a safer working environment for civil society in Uganda. DPI’s work is informed by its experience in security and safety, which accrues from both professional and personal interests, technical partnerships with security professionals and networking with civil society. It believes in a continuous learning cycle where both DPI and its partners learn from each other through participatory approaches.

Recognising the risks facing HRDs in Uganda, DPI facilitates various processes to assist individual HRDs or their organisations in times of need. By conducting premise assessments, post-incident reviews, and security advisory services, it responds to the unique cases of attacks on HRDs. DPI’s Digital Security Clinic provides walk-in and appointment-based support services in response to any digital security-related incidents.

DPI believes in the power of strategic partners and has established mechanisms to facilitate joint responses to security incidents while leveraging various institutional capacities. It has created six thematic security working groups focussing on broad response issues such as Digital Security, Extractives and Land, Women, Sexual Minorities, Journalists, and Governance and Democratization. These groups provide an opportunity for analysing and understanding the key issues affecting a specific group of HRDs and responding accordingly instead of generic assessments and responses.

DPI runs a Strategic Security Programme for WHRDs, focusing on effectively strengthening their capacity to manage security, safety, and protection in their work. It also provides timely and comprehensive rapid responses to resolve protection and security matters WHRDs face.

Ethiopian Women Human Rights Defenders Network (EWHRDN) (Ethiopia)

EWHRDN's primary objective is to promote and protect the rights of WHRDs, women's human rights and gender equality in Ethiopia.

Established in October 2021 and hosted by the Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC) , its core programmes and activities revolve around advocacy, capacity building, and networking. These initiatives aim to support, promote and empower WHRDs by conducting risk analysis and assessments, providing psychosocial services for WHRDs at risk, promoting mental health and self-care, establishing referral linkages, and implementing public reporting strategies.

EWHRDN comprises over 80 members, including a diverse range of individuals and organisations committed to advancing women's rights in Ethiopia. The network, through its members, seeks to enhance the capacities of WHRDs in the region, enabling them to effectively address specific gender issues and advocate for the advancement of women's human rights and gender equality at local, national, regional, and international levels, as well as in various contexts.

These members encompass legal professionals, humanitarian workers, academia, psychologists, healthcare workers, gender experts, community leaders, and others who collaborate to address various issues affecting women in Ethiopia.

Protection International Africa (PIA) (Kenya / Africa)

Protection International supports individuals, organisations, networks and communities whose right to defend human rights is violated through threats, judicial harassment, stigmatisation or other forms of repression. Each country and region tailors its approach to the context of the defender or group of defenders at risk.

PIA is the regional hub for all of Protection International's work in Africa. Registered in Kenya, it was officially launched in December 2019 in Nairobi as part of Protection International's bold and ambitious decentralisation programme in which continental hubs drive the organisation's work worldwide. PIA also has a legal establishment with staff and ongoing projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a focal point in Tanzania and various projects in different parts of Africa.

PIA has been at the frontline of responding to the needs of WHRDs in distress, mainly from East Africa, and collaborates with other HRD protection service providers to offer emergency support to WHRDs across Africa.

PIA builds the capacities of WHRD collectives on various topics, including organisational development, network building and strengthening, security policies development, advocacy skills, engaging international and regional human rights mechanisms, monitoring and documentation, and workplace wellness and well-being. It acts as a fiscal and physical host to WHRD collectives and initiatives, and supported the establishment of a WHRD collective in DRC that it collaborates with to host an annual awards ceremony for local WHRDs.

PIA facilitates peer mentorship and knowledge-sharing between WHRDs in different countries. It has organised exchange visits between WHRD collectives from East Africa and those in South Africa, which resulted in WHRDs gaining new skills from each other and joint advocacy actions between different countries. PIA has also facilitated consultations between African WHRDs and UN Special Mechanisms, including the UN Special Rapporteur on HRDs , UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association and the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances , to highlight their cases and call for international solidarity.

SouthernWomen (South Africa / Southern Africa)

SouthernWomen is the gender, equality and social inclusion arm of the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (SouthernDefenders) . Established and launched in 2022, it promotes gender-specific protection for WHRDs in Southern Africa.

SouthernWomen's strategic programmatic themes align with SouthernDefenders' and focus on resilience and capacity development, effective and holistic protection of human rights defenders at risk, and research, advocacy and visibility. It continues consolidating its presence and programmatic interventions within the Southern African region through established national-level human rights defender networks.

SouthernWomen was born out of the realisation that WHRDs are more at risk of suffering certain forms of violence and other violations, prejudice, exclusion, repudiation and specific obstacles than their male counterparts. Over time, it has been observed that women make up so few of the reported cases of violations against human rights defenders as they do not define themselves as human rights defenders. As a result, they are less likely to consider their security a priority and reach out for help. Moreover, when attempting to extend support for WHRDs, it was soon realised that the support and protection mechanisms were not comprehensively covering their needs. SouthernWomen, therefore, provides a platform that allows WHRDs to articulate their specific needs better to boost their resilience and agency as they continue defending the marginalised in society.

It is also critical to note that the reference term for WHRDs at SouthernDefenders is inclusive of sexual and gender identity human rights defenders who identify as women, hence SouthernWomen.

Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD) (Malawi)

WHRD is a network of women in Malawi that promotes women's rights, cognisant that women are disproportionately affected by gender inequality in all critical political, economic and social spheres. It also recognises that women are often systematically excluded from participating in HRDs' work.

Established in October 2022, the network's mission is to protect WHRDs in Malawi to ensure they can perform their work without security fears. It was created to address the lack of a structure for WHRDs and the lack of legislation on WHRDs in Malawi. The network is currently in the process of being registered under the Companies Act and also intends to register under the Trustees Incorporation Act. All members are WHRDs in Malawi.

Since its establishment, the network has made steady progress. It has organised a solidarity march, with funding from Oxfam Malawi, to increase its visibility and also benefitted from training by Frontline Defenders on visibility and protection for WHRDs. It works closely with structures such as the Office of the Ombudsman and the Human Rights Commission on critical issues related to WHRDs. At the regional level, it forms part of the African Women Human Rights Defenders Initiative, and works with WHRD networks in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda on mentorship and capacity-building initiatives.

Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD) (Somalia)

WHRD is a network of women human rights defenders advocating for women's rights in Somalia. Established in 2022, its mission is to educate, empower and strengthen the capacities of WHRDs to influence communities to give women equal rights in all areas of public and private life, including education, employment and political participation.

The network has been pivotal in addressing discrimination and inequality and advancing civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It is at the forefront of social movements advocating for genuine social change that benefits everyone. A critical part of its work focuses on promoting and protecting WHRDs living and operating in challenging circumstances.

The network's membership includes both organisations and individual members. It is also a member of the? East African Women Human Rights Defenders Network (EAWHRDN) and collaborates with local and regional organisations and its members to raise awareness of violence against women and girls.

Women Human Rights Defenders Hub (Kenya)

The Women Human Rights Defenders Hub (also known as The Hub) is a feminist initiative led by WHRDs in Kenya that advocates for women’s rights, provides safety and support to WHRDs voluntarily, and establishes feminist networks of WHRDs through community organising.

The Hub exists to secure the well-being of WHRDs and respond to the challenges they face in their work. It supports WHRDs engaging in advocacy on violence against women, advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, and championing economic justice for WHRDs.

The Hub envisions a world in which fundamental human rights and freedoms are universally recognised and respected by all and where everyone has the right to defend these rights and freedoms without fear of threats or attacks. It supports WHRDs through holistic protection programmes that invest in their self-care, well-being and empowerment. It also advocates for an environment of gender justice where WHRDs are respected and protected, and living in dignity without fear of reprisals.

The HUB’s programmes enable WHRDs to build their collective and individual capacities for managing their protection effectively by focusing on the four pillars of safety and security, livelihood support, wellness and well-being, and mentorship.

The Hub consists of a team of professional volunteers and staff supporting women and girls who face violations in their communities. It brings together gender experts, legal experts and a counsellor who offer pro-bono services to victims and survivors of human rights violations, including GBV. Essential services include support to survivors, direct support to first responders who connect survivors and victims of GBV to services, wellness clinics, debriefs to first responders and survivors of GBV as a way of dealing with the traumas that come with violations, and strengthened networks of first responders at the community level to continue supporting local members.

These profiles showcase the critical contributions of NGOs in support of WHRDs in various African countries. However, this is not an exhaustive list of African NGOs involved in such issues, and many other NGOs also provide stellar work in countries and communities across the continent.