FEMNET, also called the African Women's Development and Communication Network, is an organization established in 1988 to promote women's development in Africa.
FEMNET helps non-government organizations share information and approaches on women's development, equality and other human rights.
Activities
FEMNET was originally set up in 1988 by national women's networks to co-ordinate African preparations for the
Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China, in 1995.
The organization is based in
Nairobi,
Kenya.
FEMNET has worked with the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the
World Conference against Racism and the
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
(AU).
Areas of focus with the AU have included the protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa of the
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the
Economic, Social and Cultural Council
The Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) is an advisory body of the African Union designed to give civil society organizations (CSOs) a voice within the AU institutions and decision-making processes. ECOSOCC is made up of civil societ ...
and the
New Partnership for African Development.
FEMNET ran its first gender-training workshop in 1990 in Kenya, working with the
United Nations Children's Fund
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
(UNICEF) and the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The workshop helped to train trainers, and FEMNET refined the approach and developed material based on results. FEMNET ran training sessions in the 1993–1999 period in
Swaziland
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
,
Zambia, the
United States and
Malawi. They were supported by the
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF and the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
FEMNET ran Train the Trainers sessions in 2000 for partner organizations in
South Africa,
Uganda and
Ghana.
Gender-based trainers have worked in many other countries in Africa.
[
FEMNET has found that it is critical to involve men in the fight for gender equality. Male gender trainers have had great influence in introducing gender awareness in sectors such as developmental research where gender coirncerns had previously been neglected.
It was assumed that raising awareness of gender issues would be extremely difficult in Swaziland, with its strongly patriarchal traditions.
In fact, as a result of FEMNET assistance through UNFPA, high-level policymakers became sensitized to gender issues and measures to address gender concerns were included in key national plans.
Malawi, where FEMNET has worked with UNFPA and UNICEF, has been another country where great progress has been made in training and sensitizing political leader, agencies, and other organizations.][
In July 2008, FEMNET coordinated the official launch in Nairobi of the United Nations' ]Gender Equality Architecture Reform
The Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign was a network of over 300 women's, human rights and social justice groups around the world.
The GEAR campaign urged UN Member States and the UN Secretariat to move swiftly forward to create a ...
(GEAR) Campaign in Africa. As of 2010, FEMNET was active through membership and local organizations in more than 37 African countries.
Former executive directors
*Njoki Wainaina
Njoki Wainaina is a gender and development consultant from Kenya. She was the first executive director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), formed in 1988.
Career
Wainaina became involved in gender and developme ...
, founder
*Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki
Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki (born 1972) is a Kenyan political scientist, human rights activist, journalist, and the current Regional Director of Open Society Foundation's Africa Regional Office. Wanyeki is the former Regional Director of Amnesty Interna ...
*Dinah Musindarwezo Dinah Musindarwezo is a Rwandan feminist and pan-African women's rights activist. She is director of policy and communications at Womankind Worldwide, and the former Executive Director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FE ...
Former chairpeople
* Sara Hlupekile Longwe, winner of the 2003 Africa Prize for Leadership.
*Mama Koite Doumbia Mama Koite Doumbia is a Malian and a member of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union, representing West Africa.
Mama Koite Doumbia holds a higher diploma in youth training.
She was elected chairperson of the African Women' ...
, winner of the 2011 FAMEDEV Gender Award.
References
{{reflist , 30em, refs=
[{{cite web
, url=http://www.un-instraw.org/download-document/492-opening-essay-by-njoki-wainaina-femnet.html
, title=FEMNET
, author=Njoki Wainaina
, access-date=24 September 2011
, url-status=dead
, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401221312/http://www.un-instraw.org/download-document/492-opening-essay-by-njoki-wainaina-femnet.html
, archivedate=1 April 2012
]
Women's rights in Africa
Women's organisations based in Kenya