Championing the African feminist movement through the charter of feminist principles/Soutenir le mouvement Feministe Africain a travers la Charte de Principes Feministes.

• Author: Wanjugu, Magdalene
• Position: Interview

A key outcome of the 3rd International Feminist Dialogues (FD) held from 17-19 January 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya was the launch of the African Charter of Feminist Principles. he Charter which was created at the African Feminist Forum (AFF) held in Accra, Ghana on 15-19 November 2006, was unanimously adopted as a catalyst for strengthening and building the feminist movement in Africa as well as an accountability and peer review tool.

A fundamental recommendation was the need to popularise and disseminate the Charter as a critical tool for strategically building the African feminists movement. With this in mind, FEMNET held an online interview with one of the AFF participant, Ms. Mary Wandia (Action Aid International) with an aim to shed more light on the Charter and share essential information.

FEMNET: The Charter is quoted as "a breakthrough in African Feminism" and feminists worldwide have been urged to rally behind it and support it. Why do you think this is so?

Mary Wandia: The Charter is not only a breakthrough in African Feminism but Global Feminism. The African Feminist Forum (AFF) was a space where African feminists engaged in the process of internal reflection, reconnection with one another and with the movement; a space free of the 'ifs' and 'buts' that have for so long fractured the agency of the women's movement and diverted its energies. Infact, the Charter affirms African Feminists' "commitment to dismantle patriarchy in all its manifestations in Africa. We remind ourselves of our duty to defend and respect the rights of all women, without qualification. We commit to protecting the legacy of our feminist ancestors who made numerous sacrifices, in order that we can exercise greater autonomy". The Charter is an inspirational as well as an aspirational document. It also offers African Feminists and their organisations an accountability mechanism for feminist organising on the continent; a tool for peer review amongst African feminist organisations and as a critical and strategic movement building tool.

FEMNET: Different mediums such as radio, television, and websites will be used to disseminate and popularize the Charter. What other alternatives would you propose be used to make sure that the information on the Charter is accessed by most feminists groups especially rural women?

Mary Wandia: Translation of the Charter into local languages is the fastest way to disseminate it as well as debating it and adopting in women's meetings and organisations across Africa. National follow up forums have been planned in 2007 in 3 countries so far, namely Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria. The idea is to contextualise the deliberations at national level and to create national mechanisms for devolving the information and learning it at local levels within each country. As agreed at the AFF...