The Steering Committee of Gender Is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) has appointed FAWE’s Executive Director, Ms Hendrina Chalwe Doroba as chairperson for a period of one year (2017-2018).

The appointment on 25th January 2017 was made during the GIMAC Steering Committee meeting held on 25th January 2017 during the sidelines of the Pre AU Gender consultative meetings that took place on 21st —27th January 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ms. Doroba’s appointment comes at a time when GIMAC is widening its advocacy engagement beyond Africa and has sought recognition from the Economic Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOC) of the African Union. ECOSOC is an advisory organ to the African Union composed of civil society organization (CSOs). It was established under the provisions of article 5 and 22 of the African Union Constitutive Act and Statues adopted by the AU Assembly in July 2004.

As GIMAC chairperson, Ms. Doroba is expected to lead the network in strengthening the monitoring mechanism of the Maputo protocol among AU member states, nurturing of the existing partnerships with the African Union and building the capacity of member CSOs to voice their opinions at continental level.

Since inception in 2006, GIMAC has purposefully pushed for full implementation agreed protocols by AU Member States among them: the Maputo Protocol (2005), the African Charter on Human Rights on the Rights of women in Africa (2003), the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004), the Beijing Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004) and the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).

In recent years, GIMAC has been keen on advocating for the reporting of member states on the implementation of the AU protocols. According to the 2016 Status of Implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa report, of the 52 countries that are signed to article 62 of the African Charter, only 46 African countries have fully or partially reported on their achievements of gender equality.

Furthermore, the GIMAC network is playing a pivotal role in ensuring gender mainstreaming in Africa in different thematic areas. FAWE, a member of the network under the thematic area of Education is working to develop a Gender Education Strategy for the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) 16-25. Whose main purpose is to assist African member states to take strategic approaching to addressing gender inequalities and propose some way to integrate gender equality into and through the implementation of CESA16-25.

The Gender Education Strategy is expected to be out before the end of 2017.

Ms. Doroba takes up the position from Angie Dawa, former Director, Abantu for Development.