A fortnight ago, we wrapped up our 7th #SheDefends campaign, and we’re still reflecting on its impact and deeply grateful to everyone who journeyed with us. Held under the theme “Protecting Her Who Defends: Advancing Justice for WHRDs,” this year’s campaign sought to amplify the voices of Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) while advocating for stronger, more accessible, and gender-responsive protection mechanisms. Thank you to all our followers and networks who engaged with the campaign, liking, retweeting, reposting, sharing, and amplifying the voices of WHRDs across your networks. Your support helped extend these critical conversations far beyond our platforms. To the WHRDs who courageously shared their stories, reflections, and experiences, thank you for your vulnerability, your strength, and for sparing the time, despite demanding circumstances, to be part of this campaign. Your voices are powerful, and they matter. Through this campaign, we not only amplified voices but also highlighted the importance of engaging with regional and international legal frameworks (laws and policies). We hope it has encouraged more WHRDs to access and utilise these tools in their work. Let’s continue to stand with WHRDs all year round, not just in March, supporting, protecting, and amplifying their work as they defend the rights of others. #SheDefends

As we conclude this year’s #SheDefends campaign, we celebrate the powerful voices of women human rights defenders(WHRDs) across Africa. For seven years now, March has been dedicated to recognising and amplifying their vital contributions in advancing rights, justice, and equality. While progress has been made, WHRDs continue to face significant legal and social barriers. Throughout this campaign, we took time to highlight how WHRDs can leverage regional and international mechanisms to advance justice, strengthen protection, and hold duty bearers accountable. Despite these frameworks, implementation gaps persist, and WHRDs remain at heightened risk. Yet, their resilience and impact continue to drive change; defending communities, advancing justice, and pushing for these protections to be realised in practice. From all of us at DefendDefenders: we see you, we celebrate you, and we stand with you. Your courage inspires, and we are rooting for you throughout the year.

As we wrap up our #SheDefends campaign, we hosted @PrimahKwagala, Executive Director of the Women’s Pro Bono Initiative, on our first episode of Conversations with Defenders this year, The Case That Changed Me. Primah reflects on three cases that have shaped her journey as a human rights lawyer. Unable to choose just one, she shares the cases that profoundly changed her, and how they influenced her approach to justice, her sense of purpose, and her decision to venture into academia. One deeply personal case involved a Ugandan girl trafficked to the Middle East as a domestic worker. Following a desperate plea from the girl’s mother, Primah and her team stepped in to support the family through a painful search for answers and closure. Although the legal outcome was not what they had hoped for, the young woman was eventually brought home and laid to rest, offering some measure of peace to her family. Through this and similar cases, Primah contemplates on her contribution to broader conversations on labour migration and the protection of domestic workers, as well as her work supporting the repatriation of Ugandan women trafficked abroad and standing with families navigating loss, exploitation, and injustice. Watch the latest episode of Conversations with Defenders to hear more about the cases that shaped Primah Kwagala’s journey as a woman human rights defender using this link; youtu.be/jdldbKRCS1E

Marie Louise Baricako, a Burundian woman human rights defender, is currently living in exile in Rwanda following the 2015 Burundi crisis. She serves as the Chairperson of Mouvement Inamahoro – Burundi Women and Girls for Peace and Security and is a long-standing advocate for women’s rights, with a journey that dates back to the 1990s. From advancing women’s participation in the Arusha peace negotiations to co-founding regional initiatives such as the Gender Is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC), and contributing to platforms like the African Women Mediators Network (FemWise-Africa) and the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN), her path reflects decades of unwavering commitment to peace, justice, and women’s leadership. Her story is one defined by courage and resilience in the face of resistance and uncertainty. Even in exile, her voice has not faded; it has grown stronger. Through engagement with regional and international mechanisms, she continues to challenge injustice and demand accountability. In this audiogram addressed to her younger self, Marie Louise reflects on her journey, offering wisdom shaped by years of advocacy and lived experience. Take a few minutes to listen to her audio letter; it may hold a powerful reminder or a nugget of wisdom for your own journey as a woman human rights defender, or for someone you know. #SheDefends

Jaqueline Mutere took a moment during our #SheDefends campaign to reflect on her journey as a woman human rights defender. As a survivor of sexual violence following Kenya’s 2007/2008 post-election violence, her experience led her to establish @Grace_Agenda , initially focused on supporting children born of rape and later expanding to address the needs of their mothers, while advancing advocacy for reparations. In her intimate audio letter to her younger self, Jaqueline reflects on a journey that is not linear, shaped by patience, persistence, and the need to use national and regional frameworks, even when justice takes time. She reminds herself to walk alongside others, take one step at a time, and hold onto the impact of her work in bringing light, hope, and dignity to others. Above all, she emphasises the importance of rest when the journey becomes heavy. Take a few minutes to listen to Jaqueline’s audio letter; it may hold a nugget of wisdom for your own journey as a woman human rights defender, or for one you know.

To effectively claim and defend their rights, women human rights defenders must first know them and understand the corresponding obligations of the state. Our Advocacy, Research and Communications Manager, @Kaka_estella , highlights the importance of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, a key international framework that reaffirms existing rights and freedoms recognised in instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, while affirming the legitimacy of defending human rights. In 2023, marking 25 years since its adoption, global consultations with human rights defenders led to the development of Declaration 25, a complementary document that responds to emerging challenges and evolving risks faced by defenders today. Importantly, Declaration 25 recognises that women human rights defenders face heightened, gender specific risks and calls for their comprehensive protection. Together, these frameworks strengthen the principles and standards that safeguard all human rights defenders, with particular attention to the risks faced by women human rights defenders. As emphasised by Estella, knowledge is power. Understanding these frameworks is key. Take some time to learn more: UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders: ohchr.org/en/instruments-mec… Declaration 25: ishr.ch/defenders-toolbox/re… #SheDefends

As we continue our #SheDefends campaign this week, we are taking time to highlight regional and international human rights mechanisms and legal frameworks designed to support and protect women’s rights, as well as the women human rights defenders working to advance them. Take some time to watch our Senior Programs Officer, Walda Keza Shaka, as she explains how to engage with the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa. In this video, she elaborates how these mechanisms can be used by women human rights defenders in practice to advance justice and strengthen their protection. #SheDefends

As a champion and advocate for the rights of women and girls, @Nathanchumba reminded men of the critical role they can play in advancing justice for WHRDs. He highlighted that men must speak out whenever they witness harassment, discrimination, or victim-blaming, and use their positions to support WHRDs rather than dominate spaces. As male allies, he stressed the importance of intentionally creating opportunities for women human rights defenders to speak and participate, amplifying their voices and ensuring their protection and recognition. #SheDefends

In response to a question on legal empowerment, “From your experience, how would you gauge the level of legal empowerment among women human rights defenders (WHRDs), and what challenges do they face when trying to access justice for themselves or the communities they support?” Mery reflected on the limited legal empowerment among WHRDs, particularly at the grassroots level. While Ethiopia has ratified several regional and international human rights frameworks and guarantees fundamental rights through its Constitution, she noted that there is still no specific law directly protecting women human rights defenders, and the weak implementation of existing laws often makes access to justice difficult. Mery highlighted additional barriers, including limited legal awareness, inadequate legal aid services, weak institutional capacity to handle gender-sensitive cases, and entrenched social and cultural norms. These factors often push women toward informal mediation instead of formal justice mechanisms. She also emphasised that these challenges intensify in conflict and displacement settings, leaving significant gaps in accountability, enforcement, and access to justice for women and girls, despite efforts by civil society to provide legal awareness and support. #SheDefends

Based on her experience, @BritneyIsimbi highlighted some of the most pressing gender-specific risks facing women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in Cameroon. She pointed to sexualised smear campaigns, online harassment and surveillance, legal harassment, and arbitrary detention, alongside deeper cultural and structural barriers that exclude WHRDs from decision-making spaces. These realities, she noted, make the cost of defending rights significantly higher for women than for men. #SheDefends

Let’s recap yesterday’s X Space #SheDefends conversation on advancing justice for women human rights defenders (WHRDs). Our Director of Programs and Administration, @MemoryBandera, opened the discussion by reflecting on her experience engaging with women human rights defenders(WHRDs) across the region. She highlighted how many WHRDs, especially those working in rural communities, often carry out critical work under immense pressure, sometimes without knowing that regional and international protection mechanisms exist to support them. Through the story of a rural WHRD documenting land rights violations, Memory emphasised an important point: legal frameworks like the Maputo Protocol and the African Commission Human and Peoples’ Rights can only make a difference if WHRDs know about them and feel able to access them.

Defending the rights of others is no easy task. Your personal skills and knowledge of regional and international mechanisms are your source of strength to make a positive change in your community. #SheDefends

👏#SheDefends x.com/i/spaces/1oJMvRbkXRRxQ

#SheDefends x.com/i/spaces/1oJMvRbkXRRxQ

As we wrap up week two of our #SheDefends campaign, we look forward to our X Space discussion this afternoon on advancing justice for women human rights defenders (WHRDs) who defend the rights of others. Join the conversation using the link below: x.com/i/spaces/1oJMvRbkXRRxQ… #SheDefends

Guiding the conversation will be our Director of Programs and Administration, @MemoryBandera, an international development professional with experience in advancing human rights, governance, and civil society strengthening across Africa. Join us for this important conversation as part of the #SheDefends campaign.

Also joining the discussion is Nathan Chumba, a human rights defender from Kenya and a champion for the rights of women and girls. #SheDefends

We are delighted to have Rose Wakikona, a feminist lawyer and also the Deputy Executive Director at the Women’s Probono Initiative, with experience in public interest litigation and women’s rights advocacy. #SheDefends