Participating in the African Climate Summit within the Regional Climate Week in Nairobi was an unrivaled opportunity to actively and meaningfully engage with other civil society organizations, government bodies and UN agencies on issues pertaining to climate change and its inextricable effects on our community and environment, most especially on women, adolescents and young people, children, and the ecosystem.
Along the margin of the African Climate Summit was the launch of the African Women and Gender Constituency as feminist organizations and climate champions convened on Sunday, September 3rd, 2023, in Nairobi. Wfac alongside other pan African feminist organizations: FEMNET, WEP Nigeria, Akina Mama wa Afrika, Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment (SWAGEN), & Gender for Climate Change all played a crucial role in the thought leadership as well as co-designing and establishment of the Africa Women and Gender Constituency. The Africa Women and Gender Constituency seeks to share knowledge and exchange learnings, mobilize, and galvanize efforts and commitments from both civil society representatives, government and UN agencies in the fight for women’s just representation and inclusion in climate change response processes of mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage and financing. Throughout the launch were interventions from bold feminist organizations who shared their engagements and experiences in advancing climate action from their respective communities; the challenges and opportunities in their engagements and meaningful participation, while also listening to the remarkable efforts and contributions by governments and other UN agencies across the continent. It is worth mentioning that, in this launch of the African WGC, many imperative questions were raised on the lack of women’s meaningful engagement and participation in climate change response processes and how they continue to face marginalization, even though they are the most vulnerable and affected by climate change. Some of the issues of concern raised by the feminist climate change champions at the launch sought to respond to; how can women work collectively together? What is required for climate change finance to reach African women? How women’s realities fit into the context of climate change, in terms of calling for debts’ cancellation? How can women foster for a clean representation of marginalized women in conversations on policy development and energy transition? One of the main key concerns also raised at the launch was the fact that, most grassroots women not being well versed with climate change and financing, which grossly hinders and constrains their meaningful engagement and participation.
As we pondered on these questions that sought to guide the African WGC active and meaningful participation in climate action and feminist gender justice in climate change responses, plenary sessions were underway with some fierce African feminists showcasing how some communities across Africa and in Nigeria suffer from the effects of climate change drawing from loss and damage, with a clear connotation on how it brings out our nature as African women and feminists. In the plenary, panelists threw more light on the need for women’s active and meaningful participation in climate change response processes of; loss and damage, food security, leadership and decision making, reclaiming direct access for communities and civil society organizations in new loss and damage finance to ensure that local voices are also part of the solution, further reiterating the importance of women’s participation in climate financing decision making as food is a basic need for every woman.
Sharing on the plenary, UN Women highlighted on how they’ve sustained and continued conversations on amplifying women’s voices and access to food security, economic empowerment, and climate action. Encouraging women’s involvement and meaningful participation in private spaces. While waiting for the arrival of Honorable Aisha Junwa Katana from the State department of Gender and Affirmative Action, participants where further enlightened on the need to advance inclusiveness and feminist action in the fight against climate change, as part of the mandate of the Women and Gender Constituency, and how inclusiveness and feminist action reflects on the role of women and gender constituencies in Africa and beyond.
The arrival of the Honorable Cabinet Secretary marked the launch of the Africa Women and Gender Constituency, who expressed her profound joy and gratitude to all feminists and women’s rights advocates and champions in the room for such an incredible move towards advancing gender and climate justice in Africa and beyond. The secretary began by sharing with all participants the state of Kenya in terms of gender policy mainstreaming and existing programs to advance women’s resilience, adaption, and economic empowerment. Though the launch of the women charter in Kenya, committing to the women of Kenya, the implementation of this policy and other policy frameworks is low and there is stronger need for an intentional recommitment to the positive implementation of these existing policies. Quoting the Gabonese President in his speech “make noise” the honorable cabinet secretary emphasized on the need to “making necessary noise”; calling on all women and gender champions to take up the baton in making women’s voices heard, and meaningful participation enhanced at the climate summit, claiming this African Climate Week in Kenya is for all African women. In her speech, she further reinforced the dream of an African continent without borders; a dream where Africans can freely move without visas under our pan African spirit of ubuntu. Following her speech marked the official launch of the Africa Women and Gender Constituency on the margin of the African Climate Summit set to begin the following day at the Kenya International Convention Centre, where the continent will convene to discuss and review progress and challenges in accelerating climate action in Africa.
The full day event reenergized and reaffirmed commitments by women rights activists and feminists collective ahead of the climate summit and week, to raise the bar in terms of amplifying women’s voices and meaningful participation in climate change responses as this reflects the needs of African women, and the advancement of gender equality climate justice for all.
