FEMNET, also called the African Women's Development and Communication Network, is an organization established in 1984 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 established by

Eddah Gachukia Eddah Wacheke Gachukia (also Eddah Waceke Gachukia; born 13 July 1936) is a Kenyan educationist and entrepreneur. She is a co-founder of the Riara Group of Schools that includes Riara University. Early life Eddah was born on 13 July 1936. Work ...

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 ...

, and

Norah Olembo Professor Norah Khadzini Olembo (10 June 1941 – 11 March 2021) was a Kenyan biochemist and policy developer, who helped establish standards for use of biotechnology in Kenya. She was the first African to become a professor and chair of the bi ...

in 1984 to co-ordinate African preparations for the Third World Conference on Women held in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, in 1985. As part of their role to organize African women to attend the conference, the three women registered FEMNET and drafted its constitution. The inaugural chair was Gachukia, who worked with Olembo, Wainaina,

Sara Hlupekile Longwe Sara Hlupekile Longwe is a consultant on gender and development based in Lusaka, Zambia. She was the chairperson of FEMNET between 1997 and 2003. She is the author of the Longwe Framework for Gender Analysis. Longwe describes herself as a radical fe ...

, Pamela Kola,

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 Wome ...

to recruit women to plan the NGO Forum for the conference. The organization is based in Nairobi. FEMNET has worked with the

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the principal organs of the United Nations. CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gen ...

, the World Conference against Racism and the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union 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 African Union. The b ...

(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 African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (also known as the Banjul Charter) is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent. It emerged under ...

, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council 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 the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to childre ...

(UNICEF) and the

Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA; in French: ''Agence canadienne de développement international''; ''ACDI'') was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was me ...

(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, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

. They were supported by the

United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a United Nations System, UN agency aimed at improving reproductive health, reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, incr ...

(UNFPA), UNICEF and the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

(USAID). FEMNET ran Train the Trainers sessions in 2000 for partner organizations in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. 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 concerns had previously been neglected. It was assumed that raising awareness of gender issues would be extremely difficult in Swaziland, with its strongly

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

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

, founding member *

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 ( ...

Former chairpeople

, founding member and inaugural chair (1984-1992) *

, winner of the 2003 Africa Prize for Leadership. *

, winner of the 2011 FAMEDEV Gender Award.

Other women associated with FEMNET

* Sandra Kwikiriza

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=usurped , 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 Organisations based in Nairobi 1984 establishments in Kenya