About the Africa Family Law Network

The Africa Family Law Network is a regional strategic network working on family law in the region. It is a platform of diverse actors drawn from national and regional level, legal and justice fraternity, human rights defenders, community organisers, cultural and faith actors with a common goal to reform family laws in Africa in line with regional and international human rights Principles and Standards.

AFLN was launched on October 5, 2022, when more than 60 feminist legal advocates from 23 African countries met in Nairobi for a landmark three-day conference. The launch followed consultations with members of the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Organizations (SOAWR) and women’s rights organizations in 2020 and 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic brought the realities of the slow pace of family law reform to the forefront like never before. All across the globe and Africa, women and girls shouldered the consequence of an unprecedented global crisis, but without the legal protections to ensure their own financial, physical, and emotional security. Conceptualised from the urgent need to address outdated and discriminatory family laws, AFLN connects and amplifies regional and national efforts to advance justice and equality for women and girls

Led by founding partners Equality Now, the African Women’s Development and Communication Network ( FEMNET), Musawah and the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network), AFLN is evolving into a vibrant regional platform. The founding partners contribute their unique expertise in feminist movement building, strategic research and litigation, national and regional advocacy, and knowledge building. The AFLN is a member of the Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law (GCEFL) which works to “achieve equality for women, girls, and other marginalised groups, under laws, policies, and practices that relate to families in all their diversity, regardless of religion and culture.

Why family law?

In a majority of African countries, statutory laws coexist with customary or traditional laws and religious laws. Instead of complementing each other, these systems often clash, creating contradictions and inconsistencies in how justice is applied. Our solution is a multisectoral approach that is imperative in realising the protection of women and girls through family law reform. Our expertise in generating, curating, and tracking information on the status and progress of family law reform to facilitate the development of knowledge products for use by practitioners in this space.

Our vision

An Africa where family laws and practices guarantee equality for women and girls in line with regional and international human rights standards.

Our mission

All women and girls in Africa enjoy equality, dignity and justice under family laws and practices in line with their governments’ obligations under regional and international human rights standards.

Objectives

Build and sustain an inclusive movement for collective action towards family law reform in Africa.
Define family law reform as a priority issue at regional and national levels, through visibalising the impacts of discriminatory family laws on women and girls.
Serve as a credible source of collective expertise on family laws, practices and related reform in Africa.
Support and collaborate with national level groups & activists to advocate for family law reform; and amplifying their efforts at a regional level.

Membership opportunities

Joint advocacy
Joint fundraising and mobilization of resources
Joint strategic litigation
Collective efforts to Push back against the anti-gender backlash
Solidarity and sisterhood.

Africa Family Law Network