FEMNET

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FEMNET
Formation1988;37 years ago (1988)
Type INGO
PurposePromoting women's development
Location
Official language
English, French
Chairperson
 Emma Kaliya
Executive Director
Memory Kachambwa [1]
WebsiteWebsite is currently compromised. Do not visit.

FEMNET, also called the African Women's Development and Communication Network, is an organization established in 1984 to promote women's development in Africa. FEMNET helps non-government organizations share information and approaches on women's development, equality and other human rights.

Contents

Activities

FEMNET was established by Eddah Gachukia, Njoki Wainaina, and Norah Olembo in 1984 to co-ordinate African preparations for the Third World Conference on Women held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1985. As part of their role to organize African women to attend the conference, the three women registered FEMNET and drafted its constitution. [2] : 10, 46  The inaugural chair was Gachukia, who worked with Olembo, Wainaina, Sara Hlupekile Longwe, Pamela Kola, Mama Koite Doumbia to recruit women to plan the NGO Forum for the conference. [2] : 46, 48–49  The organization is based in Nairobi. FEMNET has worked with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the World Conference against Racism and the African Union (AU). Areas of focus with the AU have included the protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council and the New Partnership for African Development. [3]

FEMNET ran its first gender-training workshop in 1990 in Kenya, working with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The workshop helped to train trainers, and FEMNET refined the approach and developed material based on results. FEMNET ran training sessions in the 1993–1999 period in Swaziland, Zambia, the United States and Malawi. They were supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). FEMNET ran Train the Trainers sessions in 2000 for partner organizations in South Africa, Uganda and Ghana. Gender-based trainers have worked in many other countries in Africa. [4]

FEMNET has found that it is critical to involve men in the fight for gender equality. Male gender trainers have had great influence in introducing gender awareness in sectors such as developmental research where gender concerns had previously been neglected. It was assumed that raising awareness of gender issues would be extremely difficult in Swaziland, with its strongly patriarchal traditions. In fact, as a result of FEMNET assistance through UNFPA, high-level policymakers became sensitized to gender issues and measures to address gender concerns were included in key national plans. Malawi, where FEMNET has worked with UNFPA and UNICEF, has been another country where great progress has been made in training and sensitizing political leader, agencies, and other organizations. [4]

In July 2008, FEMNET coordinated the official launch in Nairobi of the United Nations' Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign in Africa. As of 2010, FEMNET was active through membership and local organizations in more than 37 African countries. [5]

In 2013 FEMNET's President Emma Kaliya, who is from Malawi, spoke out on behalf of FEMNET regarding a case of gang rape in Kenya. The victim, "Liz", was later confined to a wheelchair while her attackers were sentenced to cut some grass and then released. Kaliya noted that the case was attracting international attention. The authorities were said to be rearresting the men involved. Women from 21 countries joined a protest march and a million signed a petition demanding that not only the attackers but also the police who mishandled the case should be imprisoned. [6]

FEMNET's "Decolonizing The Internet" meeting in Zambia in 2022 DTIEastAfrica 5520.jpg
FEMNET's "Decolonizing The Internet" meeting in Zambia in 2022

In May 2017 FEMNETS President, Emma Kaliya, was re-elected unopposed at a meeting in Nairobi. The new board included treasurer Nancy Kinanu Gitonga from Kenya and the elected secretary was Charity Binka, from Ghana. Other members were Bibyshe, Takubusonga Mundjo, Patricia Munabi, Rafa Machava and Amany Asfour who were each from a different African country. [7]

In September 2022 FEMNET organised a conference in collaboration with "Whose Knowledge" to discuss "Decolonizing The Internet" in Zambia. [8]

Former executive directors

Former chairpeople

Other women associated with FEMNET

References

  1. ↑ "Meet Ms Memory Kachambwa, the new FEMNET's Executive Director". The Standard . 26 June 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Wainaina, Njoki (2012). Kagoiya, Rachel (ed.). Her Story – Our Journey: Advocating for the Rights of African Women (PDF). Nairobi, Kenya: African Women Development and Communication Network. OCLC   894251617. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2024.
  3. ↑ L. Muthoni Wanyeki (October 2004). "The African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET): Experiences of Feminist Continental Organising". Feminist Africa. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  4. 1 2 Njoki Wainaina. "FEMNET". Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "The African Women's Development and Communication Network". GEAR. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "Kenya Protesters Demand Justice for Gang Rape Victim". Voice of America. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  7. ↑ "Kaliya reelected unopposed as pesident of Pan African Womens Development and Communications". 17 May 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  8. ↑ Femnet (8 March 2024). "Decolonizing The Internet East Africa - Podcast Ezin". FEMNET. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "Profile of an ICT Champion: Sara Hlupekile Longwe". Women's Networking & Support Program. 16 July 2007. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "FEMNET Immediate Chairperson Mama Koite Doumbia wins the 2011 FAMEDEV Gender Award". FEMNET. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  11. ↑ Komusana, Sunshine Fionah (12 October 2022). "Resistance & Connection: an African Feminist Perspective for Decolonizing the Internet". African Feminism (AF). Retrieved 16 February 2025.
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