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About Us
History
Our story starts way back in 2010 in Limpompo, South Africa when 250 rural women met....
The Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) emerged from a pivotal gathering in Limpopo, South Africa, back in 2009. Three organisations – the Land Access Movement of South Africa (LAMOSA), Women on Farms Project (WfP) and the Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) – were instrumental in organising this event. Initially intended as a dialogue among Southern African rural women, it unexpectedly became a cornerstone event. Over 250 women from various Southern African nations convened, representing peasant producers, small-scale farmers, and activists engaged in land rights, food sovereignty, and reproductive rights. This gathering forged connections and alliances among disparate movements, highlighting shared struggles and the need for unity. Despite historical divides imposed by colonisation and political upheavals, these women found common ground in their challenges—HIV/AIDS, land issues, poverty, and more. The resonance of shared experiences birthed a powerful slogan: “We are the Guardians of Land, Life, and Love,” a theme that remains integral to RWA’s ethos. This historic assembly wasn’t just a meeting; it was a catalyst for a feminist grassroots movement. It marked a call for unity, self-organisation, and a collective voice for marginalised rural women—a defining moment that led to the creation of the RWA charter and a platform for action.
OUR VALUES
Since inception in 2019 the Rural Women’s Assembly has been a rural women’s movement based on values of feminism, solidarity and hope.
Our programmatic work is very integrated in that our main focus is food sovereignty, seed sovereignty, land rights and climate justice. Underpinning our approach and methodology are the principles and values such as:
Challenging Injustice
We challenge patriarchy and the system that discriminates women access to security of tenure and the causes at the root of poverty and violence against women.
Upholding Equality
We stand for equality between women and men, among women themselves and between peoples. We respect and recognise the diversity among women, the multiplicity of our strategies.
Fostering Women's Leadership
We build and appreciate women's leadership, and the strength of alliances among women and with other progressive social movements.
Environmental Stewardship
The RWA believes our actions must be in harmony with nature, recognizing that safeguarding the environment is intrinsic to securing a resilient future.
Country Chapter Timelines
- RWA Swaziland was founded on the 8th March 2011
- One of the most important actions that profiled the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) in Mozambique was the SAPSN (Southern African People’s Solidarity Network) which was organised as a parallel summit to the SADC Heads of State that took place in Maputo in 2013.
- Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) – South Africa was launched in 2013 in the Western Cape Province on International Rural Women’s Day.
- RWA Zambia was founded in 2013, when rural women met at the South Africa Rural Women’s Assembly in Johannesburg
- RWA Zimbabwe was launched in 2013, in Nyava in the Bindura District of Mashonaland Central.
- RWA Lesotho was founded in 2014 in one district, Mafeteng, and registered with the law offi ce in 2015.
- The RWA in Malawi was officially launched in 2016, with the support of the National Small-holder Farmers Association of Malawi (NASFAM).
- For Mauritius in April 2017, CARES, with the participation of RWA, initiated a process towards the building of a women’s platform
- The official launch took place of RWA Nambia in August 2018 during the SADC People’s Summit.
- RWA Madagascar through FARM after the 2019 General Assembly
- RWA Swaziland was founded on the 8th March 2011
- RWA Tanzania was established in 2023 after sisters from Miico attended the 2019 RWA General Assembly.