𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑤𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛’𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑙𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 ?
A great deal of money circulates in the field of development—but what about funding specifically dedicated to feminist organizations? 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬?
Here are three observations I’ve made following various meetings and research over the past few weeks:
– Feminist organizations from Central Africa are rarely included in the agendas of feminist donors;
– Leaders of feminist organizations from Central Africa are too often absent from international forums, which are, however, crucial for increasing their visibility and strengthening their networks;
– Within Central Africa itself, other disparities must also be noted: for instance, I have heard that certain nationalities are automatically deemed less (or non-) competent by donors and project managers when it comes to seeking collaborations within the subregion or funding local organizations’ projects;
– Feminist research in Central Africa remains very marginal compared to what is being done, for example, in Senegal, Kenya, South Africa, or Nigeria. It is mainly carried out by a handful of academics. In fact, this form of research doesn’t even exist yet in most francophone universities;
– Women’s and feminist organizations in Central Africa are among the least dynamic on the continent—especially when compared to their counterparts in West Africa.
What can be done to restore the image of this subregion within the feminist movement? Are these organizations ultimately bearing the brunt of the political image of their respective states?
