March is always a charged month in our calendar — a time to reflect, connect, and reignite our collective commitment to gender justice. This International Women’s Month, the message was clear: Accelerate Action. From the global stage at CSW69 in New York to powerful gatherings across the continent and diaspora, women showed up and spoke out — reclaiming space, asserting voice, and naming both the progress and the pushback.
At the heart of it all? The unwavering leadership of Black women.
From UN Women’s urgent reminder that gains are fragile, to the powerful words of Executive Director Sima Bahous calling us to “ignite the spirit of the Beijing Declaration once again,” it’s clear we are at a crossroads — and we choose action.
At Harambee~Ubuntu Pan-African and Feminist Philanthropies, this month marks significant momentum. The initiative will soon be an independent entity grounded in Pan-African and feminist values. The ecosystem is not only imagining new possibilities — we are building them. https://www.uaf-africa.org/blog/reimagining-pan-african-and-feminist-philanthropies-envisioning-abundance/
The timing of such an initiative could not be better, africans acting proactively and not reactively. Stay tuned for the new website launch and our session at the African Philanthropy Conference in Cairo, July 27–28. Save the Date!
“A first for Africa: women at the helm. Across the continent, we are witnessing history being made. Namibia now stands as the only African country led by both a woman President and Vice President, with key ministries led by women — a bold move toward gender parity in governance and a commitment to social change.” Africa Briefing
A POWERHOUSE: In London, Black feminist brilliance lit up the room at a Sidensi-curated conversation, in collaboration with The British Library – Women Black Women Lead: Power in a Changing World. Dr Wangui WaGoro founded Sidensi in 1986: Moving words, moving worlds: Promoting intercultural dialogue through translation and traducture. Featuring the legendary Diane Abbott MP Professor Carole Boyce Davies and Jessica Horn moderated by Fatimah Keller, the message was powerful: Black women have not been documented and therefore, naturally they have been invisibilised. Documenting our stories is part of our resistance. Our legacies matter. Our mothers shaped revolutions — let’s write them into history. The audience was just as powerful including icons such as Tokunbo Ismail Managing Partner and Co-founder Alitheia Identity Manager’s US$100m Fund and Abena Amoah Managing Director of Ghana’s Stock Exchange. photographer: PALASSOCIATES. The event based on recently published books on Black women’s and feminist leadership was followed by book signing. The books are: Diane Abbot: A Woman Like Me; Jessica Horn: African Feminist Praxis, and Professor Carole Boyce Davis: Black women’s Rights
Meanwhile, the WOW Festival celebrated their 15th anniversary which brought together 4,000 people to celebrate women, girls, and non-binary folks — Angela Davis joined in conversation on love, activism, and imagining futures rooted in justice and care.
And at CSW69 marking 30 years since the Beijing Declaration, African feminists, led by movements likeAWDF, FEMNET and the Africa regional caucusreminded the world: we are here, we are organized, and we are done waiting. Even as we face pushback from regressive forces, we are adapting, resisting, and reaffirming our power in community.
So, as we move forward, we carry with us the clarity of this moment: we are the ones we’ve been waiting for — and we are not waiting anymore.
