African Women Unite for Climate Justice and Decision-Making Power
African women from communities across Senegal, Congo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon launched the first official “African Women’s Climate Justice Day” on April 15, 2026, according to a statement by Oumou K. Koulibaly. The pan-African mobilization seeks to center the voices of women who remain largely excluded from international climate summits such as the Conference of the Parties (COP) and national policymaking, despite bearing the brunt of environmental impacts.
A Pan-African Movement for Reparations and Land Rights
The coalition operates under the banner of the Climate Women’s Assembly (WCA) and various regional organizations, adopting the unifying theme “Our land, our paths: African women united for reparations and climate justice.” According to Oumou K. Koulibaly, francophone coordinator for energy and climate justice at WoMin African Alliance, the initiative treats climate change as a systemic, eco-feminist, and political crisis rather than a purely environmental one. Koulibaly stated in correspondence cited by Mongabay that greenhouse gas emissions stem from extractivist, capitalist, colonialist, and patriarchal development models.
La justice climatique représente pour nous d’abord une lutte systémique, éco-féministe et politique, au-delà de la question environnementale. Certes, les émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) sont à l’origine de la crise climatique, mais elles sont favorisées par le modèle de développement extractiviste, capitaliste, colonialiste, patriarcal qui est en place
Oumou K. Koulibaly, WoMin African Alliance
Marginalization in National and Local Decision-Making
Local organizers emphasize that grassroots female leaders face systemic exclusion from resource governance. Khady Faye, president of the association Women, Development and Protection of the Environment in the Saloum Delta of Senegal, noted that state authorities frequently sign international and domestic resource agreements without consulting affected communities. According to Faye, women are routinely left out of governance structures even though they represent the primary demographic impacted by fossil fuel extraction and land grabbing.
Vu l’engagement des femmes dans la lutte contre le changement climatique, une journée est nécessaire pour réunir nos forces et nos capacités à travers l’Afrique tout entière. Notre continent est menacé par l’exploitation des énergies fossiles affectant nos communautés dans tous les secteurs. Et les femmes restent les principales victimes
Khady Faye, Women, Development and Protection of the Environment in the Saloum Delta
The movement highlights that the lands cultivated and protected by women are increasingly threatened by land tenure grabbing, large-scale mining operations, agribusiness projects, and imposed energy schemes. Through research and documentation distributed by networks like WoMin, participants demand that historical responsibilities for loss and damage be formally recognized and repaired, moving beyond standard international aid frameworks.