Women Activists Regroup Over Fight For Gender Equity

An intergenerational group of women activists in West Africa convened recently in Abuja to rest and regroup as part of efforts to unite their voices and actions towards the fight for gender equity in the region.

At a four-day retreat tagged ‘Rooted and Woven’, an initiative of Tech Her, ‘The Young and Feminist Solidarity Climate Project’ supported by Ford Foundation, attracted 32 women from Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal, spanning generations of – boomers, millennials and Gen Z’s – between ages 80 to 22, parleyed on the need for rest- as a form of care, and sought a middle ground between the older and younger generations, in their fight for gender equity, in an ever evolving world.

Generally, feminism holds a different meaning in various parts of the world. The term “feminist” also means different things to other generations of females who coexist in a particular entity at a given time. Hence, in Africa and Nigeria, the issues fought for by women in the 1920s and 1960s are different from those being fought for by millennials and Gen Z females.

The challenges that plague women/feminism in West Africa range from Female Genital Mutilation to sexual and gender-based violence, the exclusion of women from political spaces, domestic violence, and intimate partner violence to tech-facilitated gender-based violence. There is also the unwillingness to see women’s rights enhanced, in addition to, the unwillingness of female gender activists to make way for their younger counterparts in the spaces of decision-making.

“Women are constantly advocating, pushing, pulling, talking and struggling. We thought why not create an arena, an opportunity for these women to not just rest but meet each other. A feminist from Ghana meets a feminist in Nigeria, they are able to collaborate across cultures. Also, when a feminist from Nigeria goes to Ghana or Senegal, she already knows someone there. This makes our organizing a lot more fruitful, our movement and solidarity more seamless.

“We prioritised joy at this retreat. The women got made up, took silly pictures, did yoga, planted trees, painted and had aromatherapy. All these were curated for them to find joy, and to just chill.

“This is not a traditional activity funded by donors. A lot of donors will say ‘go into communities, do this or that’. We believe that rest is a form of resilience, and that rest is resistance. For us to continue the fight and the work that we do, people must recharge. I am grateful to the Ford Foundation for understanding the need to listen to our idea and saying, “You know what, this is needed at this time,” said Chioma Agwuegbo, Executive Director of Tech Her.

Commending Tech Her for the initiative, Ford Foundation Programme Assistant, West Africa, Chizulu Uwolloh, said, ‘The Young Feminist Climate Solidarity project’, also funded by the foundation, was in response to its 2021 funded study on feminists convening in Africa. The study revealed crucial details regarding the sustainability, funding and digital violence faced by young feminists in Africa.

With the recent introduction of climate change into the initiative, Uwolloh expressed optimism that the participants would leave the conference, not only rested to continue the fight for gender equality, but with an understanding of the intersectionality of feminism, and the united purpose of women activists/feminists, whether young or old.

“Feminism is intersectional, and cuts across various fields and walks of live – health, economy, environment.

Mikki Kendall, author of ‘Hood Feminism’ said “every woman issue is a feminist issue”. We want the women to leave with his message. We should not separate one issue from another because they are often connected.

“I think it’s also about realising that we are on the same team. We are not fighting separate battles, but the same battle. So, we must unite our efforts and fight together.”

Speaking to LEADERSHIP at the event, participant Bose Ironsi (Nigeria), Team Lead, Women’s Rights & Head Project, Ireti Resource Centre, Lagos, said the event had been a time of reflection for her, and a moment of recognising that the work they (older generation feminists) have done matters.

For Ironsi, whose generation fought for equal pay for women, and women’s bodily integrity, “to see what’s happening today, where women are saying, “I earn more than the man”, and the current interrogation of the patriarchal belief system that holds that one gender is more important than the other, and efforts to change this narrative, is a plus.”

Dr Sabina A. Mensah, National Focal Person for the Gender and Energy Network in Ghana, urged Africans to view gender not as determined by biology, but rather as a system of socially defined rules, attributes, attitudes, and relationships between men and women, shaped by economic, environmental, natural, and traditional resources.

Mensah further urged older and younger women activists to observe patience with one another – for effective organising, collaboration and progress.

“The older generation is a bit slow in taking action, while the younger generation is fast in taking action. There is a need for patience on the part of the older feminists to show the younger ones the right way to understand and support them. On the other hand, the younger ones should have the patience to listen to and observe their predecessors to help them move even faster.”

Senegalese participant Tamara A. Dieng treasured the connections she had formed at the retreat.

“I am leaving with a lot of knowledge and contacts, including Tech Her, that I think will help further my feminism journey to achieve my goals”.