PRESS RELEASE
30TH NOVEMBER 2025, BANJUL: The African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) joins the global community in commemorating Women Human Rights Defenders Day, a moment dedicated to honouring the courage, resilience, and transformative leadership of women who defend human rights across Africa.
For decades, ACDHRS has worked alongside Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs), recognising their crucial role in advancing peace, justice, and equality. Across borders and communities, women continue to lead advocacy efforts, confront discrimination, and protect the rights and dignity of the most vulnerable, often at great personal risk. Today, we pay tribute to their unwavering commitment and reaffirm our solidarity with them.
ACDHRS’ engagement with WHRDs has focused on strengthening their leadership capacities, enhancing their safety and visibility, and ensuring their meaningful participation in governance and peacebuilding processes. Through targeted capacity-building, intergenerational dialogue platforms, grassroots sensitization, advocacy campaigns, and robust monitoring and evaluation, the Centre has supported women and young women to claim their rights and contribute to democratic development and social cohesion.
Our initiatives have empowered women at the community, national, and regional levels, bridging the gap between legal frameworks and lived realities. By localizing women’s rights instruments, facilitating dialogue among activists and policymakers, promoting cross-border collaboration, and amplifying the voices of rural, young, and marginalized women, we have strengthened the ecosystem that enables WHRDs to thrive.
As we mark the Day, ACDHRS acknowledges the progress made but also the persistent threats and challenges faced by WHRDs, including shrinking civic space, insecurity, discrimination, and limited protection mechanisms. We therefore call on governments, regional bodies, and development partners to:
- Guarantee the safety and protection of Women Human Rights Defenders;
- Ensure inclusive and gender-responsive laws, policies, and governance systems;
- Prioritize women’s participation in peace, security, and human rights processes;
- Support networks and community structures that sustain women’s leadership;
- Strengthen accountability mechanisms to uphold women’s rights.
ACDHRS remains committed to fostering an enabling environment where WHRDs can continue their critical work without fear or intimidation. Their advocacy, knowledge, and leadership are indispensable to building the peaceful, just, and equitable Africa we all strive for.
Today, we celebrate their contributions and reaffirm our dedication to supporting, defending, and elevating the work of Women Human Rights Defenders across the continent.
