AdvocAid is a feminist organization providing holistic access to justice, legal representation, legal empowerment and post-detention support to women and girls who come into contact with the law in Sierra Leone. The women and girls AdvocAid works with include the most vulnerable and marginalized women, including sex workers, women working in the informal economy, survivors of abuse, and juveniles. With this background in mind, this case study focuses on women’s incarceration in Sierra Leone and how women’s rights can be improved using feminist advocacy. This advocacy is a priority area of ..read more

by Magdalene Thomas When I was growing up as a young girl in a family of four, I was taught to believe and have confidence in myself. I managed to have sufficient information and wisdom from my caretakers and mother on how to protect myself.  I recall one afternoon after school hours, playing alone with stones counting one from another, when I received an invitation from one of the neighbors’ houseboys who needed assistance with arranging the clothes in the room. I did not think much of it nor did I refuse as I was showing respect to an elder especially a man. I went.  However, I was ..read more

Last week, several media houses including Spark TV and KFM reported on His Grace Stephen Kaziimba’s pastoral visit to some schools in Wakiso district. The visit came ahead of celebrations to mark 50 years of the diocese of Kampala in Wakiso district. The media houses highlighted the fact that His Grace had put aside cash rewards, an initiative meant to reward girls who were found to be virgins after an assessment. This is not the first time a ‘power holder’ in Uganda has made comments of this nature. In 2017, a report from Daily Monitor showed that the L ..read more

By Elizabeth Kemigisha  Advocacy Manager –FIDA Uganda  And Safina Virani Co- Founder and Co- Director –Frauen Initiative Uganda. Breastfeeding mothers typically receive ill treatment when they attempt to breastfeed in public; being told to cover up or move away from a public area although breastfeeding is a norm. Breastfeeding mothers, like any other women and human beings, have an absolute right to access public spaces while embracing all significant aspects of their personhood, and yet the lived realities of these mothers are marked by inequality and a lack of autonomy.  My re ..read more

by Sharon Kipsang The consequences of patriarchy ripple through all levels and corners of society. We are aware of the consequences and unaware of others. Patriarchy is defined as a social or political system that has chosen to identify men as superior to women. This enables an unjust system that promotes violence against the latter gender in all spaces, be it at home, the workplace, streets, online or even inside religions. Patriarchy serves men with toxic entitlement towards women.  All women have experienced some form of patriarchy, whether they are aware or not. Most times it manifest ..read more

By Preta Peace Namasaba Uganda is a predominantly patriarchal society– socioeconomic, political and cultural power is generally held by men. Although the system is slowly changing, with women taking up positions of power, the patriarchal systems that oppress women continue to live on.  From my experience as a feminist, I have come to the conclusion that patriarchy is deeply embedded in us as members of society. It is in what we say or don’t say, the clothes we wear and are shamed for wearing, the decisions we make and those we forfeit.  In an environment where feminist movements are ..read more

Education as a Vaccine (EVA) Executive Director Toyin Chukwudozie speaks to #ChallengingPatriarchy participants. The post Toyin Chukwudozie on #ChallengingPatriarchy first appeared on Advocacy Accelerator ..read more

I have seen for myself and on documentaries in the media how children beg for alms and others hawk on the roads of Accra. This is equally evident in other major cities in Ghana and other African countries. Of course, these children are exposed and vulnerable to diverse societal dangers because it is unsafe for them to be criss crossing busy roads as a means of survival. One day en route home from work, in the busy city of Accra, when I saw these children through the window of a vehicle, it triggered a train of thoughts in my mind; I wondered what had happened to the rights every child had to e ..read more

We’re immensely proud of the young feminists in the Challenging Patriarchy programme! Whether they’re starting their own grassroots intiatives, volunteering, or influencing decisionmakers, these changemakers are forging feminist futures in Africa.  The Challenging Patriarchy programme is a 12-month capacity strengthening initiative for young feminists in East Africa. The programme aims to build a cohort of young feminists through enhanced feminist advocacy capacity strengthening, who understand and challenge patriarchy as it affects their lived realities. Learn more about the programme he ..read more

Too close for comfort?  Uncovering the odious roots of ‘normalised’ dehumanisation of domestic workers By Elizabeth Kemigisha  Photo Credit: Zanele Muholi- ”Massa and Mina(h)”- 2008 Domestic workers enter the sphere of private lives of others, where they perform essential care work in conditions that are mostly unregulated and hidden from public view. In the process, they tend to face dehumanising abuse. The most disturbing part is that this abuse is normalised and accepted by a society that sympathises with the ‘discomfort’ wealthy and middle-class people experience in having ..read more