{"id":5564,"date":"2026-08-06T12:01:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T12:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.powershiftafrica.org\/in-the-news\/enhancing-women-rights-for-a-more-resilient-continent-ng"},"modified":"2026-10-28T09:27:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T09:27:28","slug":"enhancing-women-rights-for-a-more-resilient-continent-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/in-the-news\/enhancing-women-rights-for-a-more-resilient-continent-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"Maputo Protocol: Enhancing African women\u2019s rights for a more resilient continent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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African women have been practicing adaptation long before it became a global policy priority under international climate negotiations. | PSA Media<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY NDIVILE GUGUSHE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2026, Africa commemorated the 23rd anniversary of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples\u2019 Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Famously known as the Maputo Protocol, and adopted in 2003, the framework\u00a0marked a watershed moment in the continent\u2019s history, recognising African women\u2019s rights to equality, dignity, participation, health, education, land, inheritance, economic opportunity, freedom from violence and meaningful participation in public life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than two decades later, the context in which People\u2019s rights must be realised has fundamentally changed, if not drastically expanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change has emerged as one of the most defining challenges of our time, with\u00a0women disproportionately impacted as the crisis threatens not only ecosystems and economies but also the hard-won gains made in advancing women\u2019s rights. Fair distribution of labour, equality of wages, access to formal, protection against early marriage, reproductive health and hygiene are some of the gains under threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question before us, therefore, is whether Africa\u2019s climate adaptation efforts are sufficiently grounded in the rights and leadership that the Maputo Protocol envisioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer is simple and straightforward; a lot of bridging between the realities faced by African women and the fundamental aspirations of the Maputo Protocol must\u00a0happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change is often discussed through the language of rising temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions, and extreme weather events. While these are important, they often obscure the lived realities behind the statistics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For millions of African women, climate change is experienced in very practical ways. It is a longer journey to collect water after prolonged drought; the loss of crops that feed and generate household income; the increased unpaid care responsibilities when disasters strike, children fall ill, or elderly relatives requiring additional support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change also manifests\u00a0through\u00a0the heightened risk of Gender-Based Violence arising out of displacement following floods, cyclones, and other climate-related disasters; and water stress that strains personal hygiene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The scope of impacts stretches beyond just a temperature rise and sets in motion multiple other impacts that may not be covered through overhead statistics. It is more than just an environmental crisis. It is a social justice and a human rights challenge which must be tackled as such \u2013 with women at its centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, women are inherently vulnerable to climate change, because its impacts expose and amplify long-standing structural inequalities such as unequal access to land, finance, technology, education, climate information services and decision-making spaces. These inequalities mean that\u00a0women often\u00a0have fewer resources to prepare for, respond to and recover from climate shocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The climate crisis did not create gender inequality. It was there. What it has done\u00a0is magnify it. Even so, the dominant portrayal of women is that of victims of climate change in a framing that overlooks these structural factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, African women have been adapting for generations. Long before adaptation became a global policy priority under international climate negotiations, women were already developing practical solutions to changing environmental conditions. They have been conserving\u00a0indigenous seed varieties, managing scarce water resources, restoring degraded landscapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women have also been working to diversify\u00a0their livelihoods, organising savings groups, strengthening food security, preserving\u00a0biodiversity and passing invaluable Indigenous knowledge from one generation to the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adaptation Finance Must Benefit Women<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

African women haven\u2019t\u00a0been\u00a0waiting to be rescued by climate policies. From homes to farms, and communities,\u00a0women lead adaptation efforts in different capacities. Their leadership is, however, often invisible, undervalued, and significantly underfunded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As governments and development partners increase investments in climate adaptation, they must confront the nagging question: Who actually benefits from adaptation finance?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the compelling climate leadership that women, in their diversity have demonstrated, financing climate change does not directly reach them at a scale\u00a0that can support transformation of their livelihoods, scale up their ventures and attain socio-economic freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Despite their deep knowledge and trusted relationships within communities, women\u2019s organisations continue to face significant barriers in accessing climate finance directly. That is dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If adaptation of finance fails to reach those who are already leading resilience efforts, it risks reinforcing existing inequalities rather than transforming them. Adaptation cannot simply become another technical intervention measured only by the number of infrastructure projects completed or hectares of land restored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It must also be measured by basic but consequential facts; whether women have secure land rights, girls remain in school after climate shocks, women farmers have access to climate information services and technology, and women-led organisations receive direct funding, and their voices genuinely influence adaptation planning and implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, adaptation should be assessed not only by what is built, but by the level of vulnerabilities reduced and resilience strengthened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The right to food becomes increasingly important as agricultural production is threatened by drought and changing rainfall patterns. The right to health is tested by heat stress, disease outbreaks, and climate-related disasters. The right to water becomes central in regions facing prolonged water scarcity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s rights to land and property are essential foundations for investing in climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable livelihoods. The right to participate in public decision-making is critical as governments develop National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and other local and national resilience frameworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viewed through this lens, the Maputo Protocol is not simply a women\u2019s rights instrument but also a framework for climate justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too often, adaptation projects are designed for communities rather than with communities. Local people are consulted after decisions have already been made. Scientific knowledge is prioritised while Indigenous and local knowledge is treated as secondary. Women are often invited to participate but are rarely positioned as decision-makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This approach limits both effectiveness and sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adaptation is strongest when it is built on local knowledge, recognises community leadership and values the lived experiences of those directly affected by climate change. This also requires embracing an intersectional approach as women are not a homogeneous group. Rural women, Indigenous women, young women, women with disabilities, older women and women living in informal settlements experience climate risks differently. Effective adaptation can only be achieved by responding to these diverse realities rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2018Leaving no one behind\u2019\u2019 is not simply a development slogan but a prerequisite for climate resilience. As we celebrate 23 years of the Maputo Protocol, therefore, we should go beyond reflecting on our progress so far and start to imagine what the next twenty-three years should look like for African women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Africa\u2019s future climate resilience depends on more than infrastructure, technology, and finance. It depends on governance that places women\u2019s rights at the center of adaptation planning, policies that secure women\u2019s access to land, resources, and climate finance, and recognising Indigenous and local knowledge as valuable tools to sources of innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also depends on investing directly in women-led organisations\u2019 that are already building resilience from the ground up and, most importantly, understanding that adaptation is not simply about surviving climate change. It is about transforming the inequalities that the crisis continues to expose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adaptation is not only about protecting the environment but the people as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the vision of a climate-resilient Africa cannot be achieved without gender equality and justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we celebrate twenty-three years of the Maputo Protocol, we must reaffirm a simple but profound truth: securing and enhancing women\u2019s rights is one of the strongest foundations for a resilient Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ndivie Gugushe is a Project Coordinator and Co-founder of GenderCC, South Africa<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Maputo Protocol challenged Africa to recognise women as equal rights holders. Today\u2019s climate crisis challenges us to honour that vision by ensuring that every adaptation policy, investment and decision strengthens those rights rather than leaving them behind.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":5565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[28],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-5564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-news","tag-adaptation"],"acf":{"url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5564"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9510,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564\/revisions\/9510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5564"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=5564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}