As the world grapples with Covid-19, one thing is being brought to the fore – gender disparity in the various sectors. Several studies have predicted an increase in cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) as a result of the lockdowns as victims are trapped with their abusers without adequate assistance.

Also, despite the urgent call from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in ensuring that Women and girls’ rights are not undermined, there is very little sign across the continent to show that African governments continue to prioritize girls and women’s rights within the response framework on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within this context, the voice of young African feminists must be a crucial part of the conversation. Particularly, those who are caught in the digital divide. Rural and marginalized young African women are mostly not connected and therefore miss out on the empowerment of the digital revolution.

This partnership seeks to draw attention to Young African Women’s struggles, advocacy and achievements in fighting the global pandemic COVID-19 and amplify their voices and actions, as well as commission a paper to look at the impact of COVID-19 on Young People in Africa.

Launched on International Women’s Day, the Young Feminist Blog (Sauti) will feature untold and underrepresented stories of young African women from across Africa and the diaspora showcasing their innovation and impact in the community in fighting COVID-19.

Young women across the continent were in the past few weeks invited to express themselves through writing, visual or audio/video (short documentary) or any other creative means and artistic expressions, to showcase the impact of young women and female-led actions to address COVID19 as well as to showcase the daily struggles and challenges young women are facing in the evolving COVID-19 pandemic situation.

With support from top Civil Society network, Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC), FAWE is currently reviewing the entries received and compiling the top 25 entries into a digital publication to document the stories of young women in Africa within the continental COVID-19 response.