Across borders, shifting power: Feminist advocacy in the Great Lakes of Africa

Overview

Founded in 2001 by four pioneering women’s organisations from Burundi, Rwanda, and DRC—and soon joined by seven others—COCAFEM/GL (Concertation des Collectifs des Associations Féminines de la région des Grands Lacs) emerged in a context of regional conflict, fractured diplomacy, and widespread gender-based violence. Built on a powerful vision to create a united feminist front transcending national divisions, COCAFEM/GL has since grown into a formidable regional coalition. Now active in 12 countries, its legitimacy, formalised through a 2013 MoU with the ICGLR (International Conference on the Great Lakes Region), allows it to facilitate high-level dialogue, even among politically estranged states, and to advance key gains such as the Kampala Declaration on sexual and gender base violence (SGBV) and a 2024 circular supporting pregnant girls’ return to school in DRC.

This article explores how COCAFEM/GL sustains feminist advocacy across national divides in the Great Lakes region, despite growing political tensions. COCAFEM/GL bridges communities and states, convening regional forums that foster accountability and dialogue, notably through “shadow reports” on the Kampala Declaration on SGBV and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325).

Structured through a grassroots network of 1,861 women’s organisations, COCAFEM/GL offers a form of feminist resistance rooted in lived realities and capable of thriving in increasingly restrictive political and legislative environments.