Rural Women Assembly (RWA) took part in the Annual Strategic General Meeting for the Africa Climate Justice Collective (ACJC) held in Nairobi from 6 to 11 April 2025, affirming their role not only as active participants but also as co-founders of the climate movement. The gathering, a convergence of key voices across the continent, provided a vital space to reflect on the achievements of the collective and shape its strategic direction for the coming year. RWA’s involvement underscored the indispensable role rural women play in confronting climate injustice and building grassroots power.
As a movement rooted in the lived realities of rural women, RWA has consistently prioritized climate change as a core issue, recognizing how deeply it impacts women across Africa. Rural women are not only frontline defenders of the environment but also carry the heaviest burdens when climate disasters strike. From prolonged droughts and cyclones to failed harvests and displacements, women are often left to navigate food shortages, care for the sick, walk longer distances to fetch water, and struggle with diminishing access to firewood and other natural resources. The effects of climate change have significantly increased the burden of care on women, a reality that RWA continues to bring to the forefront of all climate justice conversations.
RWA was represented at the meeting by Bridget Masikati from the Zimbabwe chapter and Mercia Andrews, a leader within the broader movement. Their presence not only highlighted RWA’s strong presence in the network but also brought critical grassroots insights into the strategic discussions. During the meeting, RWA had the opportunity to share powerful experiences of movement building, with Bridget Masikati drawing from the Zimbabwean context to illustrate how rural women have organized to demand land rights, influence policy, and promote agroecological practices as climate solutions.
Masikati emphasized that for RWA, movement building is not just about mobilizing people, but about fostering leadership from the ground up. She narrated stories of rural women transforming their communities through seed-saving initiatives, climate education, and by challenging local and national structures that exclude them. These stories resonated across the meeting, reinforcing the notion that climate justice must be rooted in the realities of those most affected, especially rural women who are often invisible in mainstream climate debates.
Mercia Andrews echoed these sentiments, reaffirming RWA’s foundational role in the Africa Climate Justice Collective and its ongoing commitment to amplifying the voices of rural women. She highlighted the importance of intersectionality in climate justice organizing, noting that class, gender, and geography all shape how communities experience the climate crisis.
As one of the strongest and most extensive grassroots movements within the ACJC, RWA continues to be a critical force in shaping an African climate justice narrative that is people-centered, feminist, and led by those at the margins. The Annual Strategic General Meeting served not only as a space for planning but as a reaffirmation of shared values and collective power. With voices like Bridget Masikati and Mercia Andres at the helm, RWA’s vision for a just, sustainable future remains alive and growing, rooted in solidarity and the strength of rural women
During the meeting, Trusha Reddy presented key reflections on the Conference of Parties (COP) processes in relation to the ACJC mandate. She emphasized that while the COPs are often dominated by state and corporate interests, they also present strategic entry points for African movements to assert alternative narratives rooted in justice and equity. Reddy stressed that understanding and engaging with COP processes can help build the Africa Climate Justice Movement by strengthening advocacy, amplifying grassroots voices, and pushing for transformative policies that reflect the lived experiences of marginalized communities. Her insights challenged the collective to rethink how these global spaces can be harnessed to reinforce local struggles.
In reflecting on the nature of movement building, Mercia Andrews reminded the assembly that “movement building is not a one-size-fits-all process—it includes relearning, strategizing, and regular review to make sure the movement is following its intended definition.” This call for dynamic and context-specific organizing highlighted the need for continual introspection and adaptation within ACJC.
Bridget Masikati, a convenor representing Rural Women’s Assembly, shared her reflections: “The strategic meeting was vital in shaping the direction for the ACJC Movement, taking lessons from the Rural Women Assembly experiences shared by Mercia. These experiences continue to guide us in building a transformative, inclusive climate justice movement anchored in the realities of rural women.”
