Women’s movements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FR, EN)

5 March 2024

Report in FR, executive summary in EN – Rapport en français, résumé exécutif en anglais

With the support of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in collaboration with SOFEPADI and the CFDDH, Protection International is proud to present its newest report on women’s movements in the DRC. This report is the result of a study carried out over two months.

This publication analyses the landscape of women’s movements supporting the Women, Peace and Security agenda in the DRC. It is focused more specifically on the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Kinshasa and Haut Katanga. It provides a brief overview of these movements, their composition, location, challenges and needs, as well as their links and relationships amongst each other. It presents a valuable and unique insight to a vibrant and innovative network of women’s rights movements.

The study includes the mapping of 54 women rights movements and is supported by 36 in-depth interviews carried out over a period of two months. Based on our findings, we formulated several recommendations for international partners to support the work of women’s rights movements supporting the women, peace and security agenda. These include but are not limited to:

Concentrate on the consolidation of existing movements and networks with a more long-term form of support. Avoid the creation of new networks if possible.
Encourage inter-generational exchange of information and support inclusive and rotating leadership.
Support the diversity of women’s movements by actively including marginalised groups of defenders, particularly defenders and organisations working on LGBTIQ+ rights.

A huge thank you to the amazing team of researchers who carried out this study: Anne Marie Kambere Kavira, Clara Magariño Manero, Fabiola Faida Mwangilwa and Tatiana Miralles Sáez. We also wholeheartedly thank the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SOFEPADI and CFDDH for their support on this project. Finally, we want to thank all the inspiring HRDs who contributed to this report.

Below, you can find the report in French and the executive summary in English.

For any questions regarding accessibility, content or next steps, please send an email to ao@protectioninternational.org.