Africa-Press – Botswana. Africa Disrupt CSW came into being as a necessary response to the shrinking space for African feminists and civil society at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
The 4th Africa Disrupt CSW69 conference recently painted Gaborone in bold hues as women gathered in the city to review the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd Special Session of the General Assembly.
In a powerful display of solidarity, attendees donned the colours of the Disrupt campaign – Purple, Orange, and Green, each assigned to a different day to symbolise the strength, resilience and diversity of African women.
But this was not just a celebration; it was a statement, a disruption of the status quo, and a demand for change.
Exclusionary processes
Africa Disrupt CSW was born out of necessity, a response to the shrinking space for African feminists and civil society engagement at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
The annual gathering in New York has long been hindered by restrictive visa policies, high travel costs, and exclusionary processes that disproportionately affect African women. This alternative platform ensures that African voices are not lost.
Said Memory Kachambwa, Executive Director of FEMNET, in an interview: “Africa Disrupt is an alternative platform curated for African girls and young women in all their diversity to have a collective voice ahead of CSW. It’s a safe space where they get to consolidate their demands and recommendations to be presented at the global scale as one voice.”
From obstacle to opportunity
Since its inception in 2022, Africa Disrupt CSW has transformed barriers into breakthroughs. What began as a countermeasure to systemic exclusion from immigration hurdles to pandemic restrictions has now evolved into a recognised space for advocacy.
Significantly, whether or not African women and girls make it to New York, their demands and contributions shape the global conversation on gender equality.
This year’s conference focused on key objectives, including developing advocacy strategies to influence the revitalisation and implementation of the CSW69 political declaration, sharing the Africa CSO and Youth Position Statement on Beijing+30 to strengthen regional and global advocacy and drafting an implementation framework to monitor African governments’ commitments to gender equality.
Disrupting the future
The outcomes of Africa Disrupt CSW69 were not just recommendations but blueprints for action, a Draft Implementation Framework, a strategy for CSW revitalisation, and concrete advocacy tactics to ensure African women’s voices echo across national, regional and global platforms.
As the global community prepares for the CSW69 session in March 2025, Africa Disrupt has already made one thing clear: African women are not waiting for permission to lead. They are rewriting the rules, reclaiming their space, and colouring the future of feminism in their own shades of power.
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