By Tolani Aromonlate
African women rights groups at the weekend launched the Pan-African Feminist Solidarity Network (PAFSO Network) as a platform for feminist advocacy across the African continent.
The launch if PAFSO Network was one of several decisions reached at a continent-wide convening organised by Nigeria’s foremost gender advocacy group, Baobab for Women’s Human Rights.
The PAFSO Network launch took place during the December 10, 2025 “Sisterhood Beyond Borders” event that drew participation from feminist groups across Africa, as well as the Office of the AU Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (SRRWA).
The event was organised to coincide with International Human Rights Day and the final, culminating day of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
“Amid the global rollback of women’s rights, we face difficult conflicts. Now, more than ever we must choose collaboration over division.” said Janet Salleh-Ndjieh, the AU special Rapporteur on women in Africa.
She said while debate is important, feminist groups must safeguard their quality power over regression.
” Let us honour diverse perspectives while remaining united around a common purpose. Advancing justice and equality is only possible through intentional collective action,” she said.
Her position was reinforced by most of the speakers at the event.
“Ending Violence against Women is a decolonial and Pan African feminist mission, ” says Caroline Ageng’o. “We must hold duty bearers accountable and confront the colonial legal systems and patriarchal norms that have made violence seem acceptable, lawful and even profitable – through the Maputo Protocol, AU-CEVAWG and national laws.”
Some of the key mandates of the PAFSO Network include to mobilize coalitions to demand the full enforcement of continental instruments, such as the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG).
The network will also work to transform the Pan-African Feminist Solidarity Pledge into an annual advocacy mandate focused on survivor-centered justice.
It will also help to amplify the leadership and voices of young feminist advocates within continental policy spaces.
“The network aims to bridge the gap between progressive policy frameworks and the reality of impunity within member states of the African Union, ensuring feminist solidarity translates into measurable political action,” said a statement by the Executive Director of BAOBAB, Yeye Bunmi Dipo-Salami.
“By centering the 16 Days theme of ending technology-facilitated violence, this gathering frames our call to end all forms of sexual violence—online and offline—as a political failure requiring comprehensive legal and programmatic intervention.
” This focus gains renewed urgency in the wake of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG), adopted by the AU Assembly in February 2025. However, nine months after its adoption, the Convention still awaits its first ratification by an African Union member state. This gap between aspiration and action reflects the broader struggle to translate commitments into change.”
