The third Women’s Climate Assembly (WCA) took place recently in Dakar, Senegal, bringing together roughly 150 women activists and community leaders from 14 West and Central African countries. The meeting focused on addressing the impacts of the climate crisis in Africa. Among the key resolutions that emerged, participants agreed to establish an African women’s climate justice day.
The assembly convened at a critical moment as the effects of the climate crisis are increasingly felt across the continent. Africa is said to be the region most vulnerable to climate change, and African women are the first to be impacted.
For instance, a study published in February 2024 found that in South Africa, severe flooding destroyed local markets and infrastructure, forcing many women, especially smallholder farmers, to start growing food locally to get by. Across affected areas, more than 25 million women face food insecurity as supplies are disrupted, crops are lost and access to nutritious food restricted. Research shows that women face “a double burden of gender inequality and environmental degradation.”
“In most African communities, women are the guardians of nature; they care for children and aged persons, they cultivate the farms and go in search for water. As such, when climatic conditions are harsh, with prolonged droughts for example, they are the first to feel these impacts,” Oumou Koltoum Koulibaly, the francophone coordinator for energy and climate justice at WoMin African Alliance, said in a phone call.
“Women are the most affected by the climate crisis, yet often underrepresented in international climate talks. By uniting these women and giving them a platform, the WCA aims to drive actionable change and build a unified response to climate threats,” Koulibaly added.
During the assembly, participants expressed a strong desire for collective progress and formed interest groups focused on topics including agroecology and sustainable income-generating activities. They also suggested an African Climate Justice Day and created cross-country clusters, which will regularly meet to identify and evaluate topics of mutual concern.
The participants also proposed community-based solutions for sustainable development that prioritize the well-being of women and their communities. They say they want to put an end to false climate solutions and financing that don’t benefit local communities.
By fostering collaboration across countries and sectors, organizers say the Women’s Climate Assembly continues to push for genuine solutions that focus on justice, reparation and the sovereignty of Africa’s women and natural resources.
Organizers said they were confident the WCA was emerging as a critical organizing space for African women ahead of the U.N. climate meeting, COP29, to be held in Azerbaijan Nov. 11-22.
Banner image: Tinor-Myamya (H. Koro Wachi) women on the Gurara River bridge along Bwari-Tasha Road during the dry season in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Image by Kambai Akau via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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