By Vimbai R. Nyika Growing up, we used to play a game where we would divide ourselves into two teams. One team would hold hands to form a defence line, while each member of the opposing team would run towards it to try to break through. The runner would always start by carefully observing the […]
Zim: Solidarity, our strongest defence against backlash Read More »
By Dr. Corey Sarana Spengler-Gathercole Across the African continent, we are witnessing a dangerous rise in the policing of women’s bodies and the silencing of voices that challenge patriarchal control. From attempts to roll back reproductive rights to renewed hostility toward LGBTQI+ communities, the backlash against equality has become one of the defining struggles of
SA: How Sex Work movement is breaking the silence Read More »
By Rita Tiriboyi Gender Links and many other feminist organisations, including individual gender advocates, have long engaged in robust advocacy for women’s empowerment. This includes equipping women to take up leadership roles across many areas. However, it looks like the patriarchal community was not ready for these developments. The reaction to most empowerment initiatives is
Zimbabwe: Men as allies in ending GBV Read More »
By Zintle Khobeni There was a time when speech itself was a form of rebellion. When the Xhosa people created a playful, yet strategic code called Isidubada, a language designed not merely to entertain, but to confuse those who listened with ill intent. It was a tool of survival. Through Isidubada, our ancestors could talk about serious
South Africa: The feminist revolution spoken in code Read More »
By Zintle Khobeni De Lange It feels like only yesterday when I had my first experience of the Ocean island of Madagascar, , as a WOSSO Fellow, together with other activists, we gathered for the SADC Civil Society Forum and the Souther Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF) Gathering — standing shoulder to shoulder with activists, feminists,
Madagascar: A cry for dignity, not disorder Read More »
East London is a city where the sea is restless – and so are we, the women who refuse to be silent. Every wave that crashes along this coastline reminds me of our persistence. Here, I work with a feminist organisation that unsettles the status quo. And here, as a Muslim woman, I’ve learned that
South Africa: When the backlash rises, so do we Read More »
I was nineteen, scrolling through videos late one night, when I found her. A woman I’d never met, speaking directly into her phone camera about something I thought I was facing alone. She was talking about HS, hidradenitis suppurativa, in raw and educational detail. Her experience was more severe than mine, but hearing her voice,
Mauritius: Letters we needed to read – Dear Belle Read More »
Antananarivo, Madagascar; The Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO) fellowship marked a historic milestone with the graduation of its first cohort on 20 August 2025, celebrating the achievements of 14 dynamic young women from Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Kingdom of Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe). The fellowship, funded by the British Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth
Southern Africa: WOSSO Fellows graduate! Read More »
Johannesburg, South Africa, 1 August 2025: In the face of rising backlash against gender equality and women’s rights, Gender Links (GL) has launched the #PushForward4Equality campaign – an urgent and collective call to action across Southern Africa and beyond. The launch comes at the start of Women’s Month and ahead of the SADC Heads of State
Women’s Month: #PushForward4Equality Read More »
Feminist movements are increasingly turning to digital tools to amplify advocacy, strengthen networks and deepen impact. In the recent Powering Feminist Action Through Digital Tools Learning Hub hosted by the Renewed Women’s Voices in Leadership (RWVL) programme, grantees came together to exchange experiences and explore practical ways to harness technology more effectively. The session highlighted concrete examples of how
WVL: 3 Digital Tools empowering feminist action Read More »
