SOAWR

SOAWR, short for Solidarity for African Women's Rights, is a pan-African coalition of civil-society organisations focused on advancing the rights of women and girls. Established in 2004, the coalition works across more than 30 African countries and has been described as bringing together more than 80 organisations. Its central policy framework is the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, commonly called the Maputo Protocol. The coalition's work extends beyond general awareness-raising. SOAWR advocates for governments to ratify the Maputo Protocol, supports domestic incorporation of its provisions into national law, monitors implementation, documents progress, and builds the capacity of activists, lawyers, and community organisations to use the instrument in advocacy and litigation. Its agenda covers a broad range of women's rights issues reflected in the protocol, including equality, access to justice, sexual and reproductive health and rights, protection from violence and harmful practices, economic and social rights, political participation, and the rights of women living with HIV/AIDS. SOAWR became particularly associated with the early continental campaign surrounding the Maputo Protocol. Its advocacy contributed to efforts that helped the treaty enter into force relatively soon after adoption. The coalition has also used public mobilisation and communications initiatives, including the Text Now 4 Women's Rights mobile campaign, to encourage African citizens and governments to support ratification. Over time, its focus expanded from securing formal commitments to promoting practical implementation in countries that had already ratified the protocol. Capacity building is another major part of SOAWR's model. Since 2010, the coalition has supported training for more than 150 lawyers from 32 African countries on strategic litigation and the use of the Maputo Protocol. It has also produced legal and policy resources, including a guide on using the protocol in legal action and a ten-year assessment titled Journey to Equality. These resources have been made available in several African Union working languages, widening access for legal practitioners, campaigners, and policymakers. The coalition collaborates with African Union institutions, United Nations agencies, international nongovernmental organisations, and regional civil-society networks. Its partnerships have included work with the African Union Commission's Women, Gender, and Development Directorate, UN Women, UNDP-linked regional initiatives, Equality Now, and organisations involved in gender-justice programming. Such relationships support policy dialogue, research, national mobilisation, and engagement with regional economic communities. In 2023, SOAWR helped coordinate activities marking the twentieth anniversary of the Maputo Protocol's adoption. These activities included diplomatic engagement in Addis Ababa and Nairobi, a Nairobi commemoration, preparation of a report and declaration for future African Union and international forums, and the launch of the 20 for 20 Solidarity Awards. The awards recognised individuals and organisations contributing to normative change, access to justice, women's rights, sexual and reproductive health, prevention of gender-based violence and harmful practices, political participation, inclusion, and young women's leadership. SOAWR is not a consumer-facing commercial brand. It is best understood as an advocacy coalition and civil-society platform whose institutional identity is built around legal reform, accountability, movement strengthening, and implementation of a continental women's-rights treaty. Its work is evaluated primarily through policy change, treaty ratification, legal capacity, public mobilisation, and improvements in the application of women's-rights standards.

SOAWR was established in 2004 as a coalition to promote and protect women's rights across Africa through the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. The protocol, generally known as the Maputo Protocol, provides a continent-wide legal framework addressing equality, violence against women, harmful practices, reproductive health, political participation, economic and social rights, and access to justice. During its early years, SOAWR concentrated on accelerating adoption and entry into force of the protocol. The coalition conducted advocacy with governments, African Union institutions, and civil-society actors, helping build political support for ratification. It also used grassroots and public-communications approaches, including the Text Now 4 Women's Rights mobile campaign, to connect ordinary mobile-phone users with the treaty campaign. According to the coalition's documented achievements, the protocol entered into force eighteen months after adoption, a notably short period for an African Union human-rights treaty. After the protocol became operational, SOAWR's agenda broadened. Rather than treating ratification as the endpoint, it promoted domestic implementation, national mobilisation, monitoring, and documentation. Coalition members worked to translate regional commitments into national laws, policies, court arguments, and community action. The organisation also sought to strengthen the knowledge and advocacy methods of its member groups so that they could use the protocol in national and regional settings. Legal empowerment became a significant strand of this work. From 2010 onward, SOAWR supported training for more than 150 lawyers from 32 African countries on strategic litigation using the Maputo Protocol. It published a practical guide on using the protocol for legal action in Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese. The coalition also contributed to the development of General Comments concerning Article 14(1)(d) and (e), provisions dealing with aspects of the rights of women living with HIV/AIDS. These activities positioned SOAWR as both an advocacy network and a technical resource for lawyers and rights organisations. The coalition's work has been carried out through partnerships with African Union bodies, United Nations agencies, international nongovernmental organisations, and regional networks. It has collaborated with the African Union Commission's Women, Gender, and Development Directorate and UN Women on approaches encouraging governments in twelve African states to apply multisectoral methods to implementation. SOAWR has also been identified as a stakeholder in Oxfam gender-justice programming and as a collaborator with Equality Now on regional research concerning gender equality and international law. UNDP-linked work has referenced the coalition in connection with efforts to advance gender equality and women's empowerment. SOAWR has periodically assessed progress through publications and advocacy tools. Journey to Equality: 10 Years of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa reviewed implementation progress over the protocol's first decade. The coalition's work has also been discussed in international-law scholarship, including analysis linking advocacy by SOAWR and other actors to developments in gender parity within African regional courts, alongside wider legal and cultural change. The twentieth anniversary of the Maputo Protocol in 2023 provided a major platform for renewed advocacy. SOAWR organised or supported diplomatic dialogue in Addis Ababa, advocacy visits in Nairobi aimed at states that had not ratified the treaty, and a two-day Nairobi commemoration in July. It prepared a report and declaration intended for subsequent African Union summits and international conferences. The 20 for 20 Solidarity Awards recognised twenty people and organisations in ten fields, including normative reform, access to justice, sexual and reproductive health and rights, prevention of gender-based violence and harmful practices, political rights, inclusion, and young women's leadership. As of 2023, 43 of 54 eligible African countries had ratified the Maputo Protocol. SOAWR's continuing role is therefore centred on closing remaining ratification gaps and improving enforcement and practical implementation in ratifying states. Its institutional identity remains that of a pan-African coalition rather than a commercial product brand, with influence derived from member coordination, evidence, legal advocacy, public mobilisation, and engagement with continental policy institutions.

• 2023

  Maputo Protocol twentieth-anniversary programme

  [1]SOAWRen.wikipedia.org

  SOAWR organises diplomatic, advocacy, research, and commemorative activities in Addis Ababa and Nairobi.

• 2023

  20 for 20 Solidarity Awards

  [1]SOAWRen.wikipedia.org

  The coalition launches awards recognising twenty contributors to women's-rights advancement and Maputo Protocol implementation.

• 2014

  Ten-year implementation assessment

  [1]SOAWRen.wikipedia.org

  SOAWR publishes Journey to Equality, reviewing the first decade of the Maputo Protocol and the progress of implementation.

• 2010

  Strategic-litigation training expands

  [1]SOAWRen.wikipedia.org

  SOAWR begins the period in which it trains lawyers from African countries to use the Maputo Protocol in strategic litigation.

• 2004

  SOAWR is established

  [1]SOAWRen.wikipedia.org

  Solidarity for African Women's Rights is formed as a coalition advocating women's rights and the Maputo Protocol across Africa.

A pan-African civil-society coalition positioned at the intersection of women's-rights advocacy, regional treaty implementation, legal empowerment, and movement-building.

• Advocacy program · 2004

  Maputo Protocol advocacy and implementation support

  SOAWR's core programme promotes ratification of the Maputo Protocol in states that have not adopted it and supports implementation in states that have. Activities include government advocacy, national and community mobilisation, progress tracking, documentation, and engagement with African Union institutions.

• Legal resource

  A Guide to Using the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa for Legal Action

  A practical guide designed to help lawyers and rights advocates use the Maputo Protocol in legal action and strategic litigation. The guide was published in Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese, supporting access across the African Union's official working-language communities.

• Research publication

  Journey to Equality: 10 Years of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa

  A comprehensive assessment of progress during the first decade of the Maputo Protocol. The publication examines the treaty's significance and implementation trajectory and functions as an advocacy and accountability resource for civil-society organisations and policymakers.

• Mobile advocacy campaign

  Text Now 4 Women's Rights

  A mobile-phone-based public mobilisation campaign intended to engage thousands of African users in support of women's rights and Maputo Protocol ratification. It illustrates SOAWR's use of accessible communications tools alongside formal policy advocacy.

• Recognition programme · 2023

  20 for 20 Solidarity Awards

  An anniversary recognition programme honouring twenty individuals and organisations in ten categories, including access to justice, economic and social rights, sexual and reproductive health, political rights, inclusion, and young women's leadership.

• 2023Maputo Protocol 20th-anniversary activities

  Ethiopia · Kenya · Africa

  A programme of diplomatic dialogue, advocacy visits, public commemoration, research, and coalition activity marking twenty years of the Maputo Protocol.

  Outcome. The programme renewed attention to ratification gaps and implementation and produced material intended for later African Union and international forums.

  Source
• Text Now 4 Women's Rights

  Africa

  A mobile advocacy initiative that used text messaging to involve African mobile-phone users in support of women's rights and Maputo Protocol ratification.

  Outcome. The campaign engaged thousands of mobile users and contributed to SOAWR's broader public mobilisation strategy.

  Source

• 2023

  Launch the 20 for 20 Solidarity AwardsOther

  Background

  The twentieth anniversary of the Maputo Protocol created an opportunity to recognise contributors to its advancement.

  Action taken

  SOAWR launched awards across ten categories and honoured twenty individuals and organisations at a Nairobi gala.

  Aftermath

  The programme publicly highlighted legal, political, community, and youth leadership supporting women's rights across Africa.

  Source

• 2004

  Build a coalition around the Maputo ProtocolStrategy

  Background

  Women's-rights organisations needed a coordinated continental mechanism to promote adoption and practical use of the African Union's women's-rights protocol.

  Action taken

  SOAWR established a multi-organisation coalition combining government advocacy, public mobilisation, legal capacity, monitoring, and implementation support.

  Aftermath

  The coalition became a recognised civil-society actor in efforts to advance ratification and implementation across African states.

  Source

• 2023

  SOAWR marks the twentieth anniversary of the Maputo Protocol[1]SOAWRen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Other

  The coalition organised anniversary activities including diplomatic dialogue, advocacy visits, a Nairobi commemoration, and preparation of a report and declaration on the protocol's future implementation.

• 2023

  SOAWR launches the 20 for 20 Solidarity Awards[1]SOAWRen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Other

  The awards recognised twenty individuals and organisations across ten categories for contributions to women's rights and advancement of the Maputo Protocol. The winners were honoured at a Nairobi gala in July 2023.

• 2023

  SOAWR's coalition work supports Maputo Protocol implementation[1]SOAWRen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  By 2023, 43 of 54 eligible African countries had ratified the Maputo Protocol. SOAWR's work has included advocacy for ratification, domestic implementation, monitoring, and legal capacity-building.

1. 1SOAWRen.wikipedia.org
2. 2SOAWR official websitesoawr.org