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The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies pp 1–14Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

African Women’s Movements and the African Union

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Abstract

Since its establishment in 2001, the African Union has placed a higher priority on women’s rights than its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity. African women’s movements played a critical role in ensuring that this new institution focused on gender equity. Women’s organizations were active throughout the transition from the OAU to the AU, calling for gender-balanced leadership within AU institutions, advocating for gender equity policies, and lobbying for the adoption, ratification, and implementation of women’s rights legislation. While the AU has surpassed its predecessor in its rhetorical commitment to women’s rights and gender equity, there remains a gap between these commitments and changes in actions. African women’s movements continue to pressure national and regional actors to prioritize gender equity, advocating for the transformation of rhetorical commitments to changes in practice.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Professor of Political Science, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA

    Melinda Adams

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  1. Melinda Adams
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Correspondence to Melinda Adams .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Nigeria

    Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso

  2. Department of History, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Toyin Falola

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  1. No affiliation provided

    Anene Ejikeme

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© 2019 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Adams, M. (2019). African Women’s Movements and the African Union. In: Yacob-Haliso, O., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77030-7_21-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77030-7_21-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-77030-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-77030-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference HistoryReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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