HURDS PARTICIPATES IN AFRICA DISRUPT CSW70: CENTRING JUSTICE FOR AFRICAN WOMEN AND GIRLS
HURDS is participating in the 5th Africa Disrupt CSW70 currently underway in Accra, Ghana, under the theme “Centring Justice, Ensuring Equality for African Women and Girls.”
The convening, organised by the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), brings together African feminists, civil society organisations, movement leaders and advocates ahead of the Seventieth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), scheduled to take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in March 2026.
The Commission on the Status of Women remains the principal global intergovernmental body dedicated to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. It monitors progress on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
WHY AFRICA DISRUPT CSW MATTERS
Africa Disrupt CSW was launched in 2022 to address longstanding barriers that limit the meaningful participation of African women and girls in global policy spaces. Restrictive visa regimes, high travel and accommodation costs, capped delegations, and broader structural inequalities have often excluded grassroots leaders and movement actors from physically engaging in CSW processes in New York.
Africa Disrupt was created as an alternative and complementary space ensuring African voices shape continental priorities and influence global outcomes, regardless of access barriers.
Over the years, the initiative has built on key declarations emerging from Nairobi, Lilongwe and Yaoundé, strengthening a collective African feminist agenda within global gender equality processes.
FOCUS OF CSW70: ACCESS TO JUSTICE
The priority theme for CSW70 focuses on ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws and practices, and addressing structural barriers that perpetuate inequality.
Across many African contexts, justice remains unevenly accessible. Legal protections may exist on paper, yet survivors of sexual and gender-based violence continue to face obstacles including stigma, financial constraints, institutional delays, and limited survivor-centred support systems.
Africa Disrupt CSW70 provides a platform to confront these realities and advance transformative legal and policy reforms.
HURDS’ CONTRIBUTION
Speaking during the convening, HURDS Executive Director, Eva Ankrah, emphasised that justice reform must go beyond the existence of formal institutions:
“Access to justice is not just the availability of courts. It is about transforming justice systems to be inclusive, affordable, accessible and just for all.”
Her remarks highlighted the need for justice systems that respond to lived experiences particularly those of women and girls navigating violence, discrimination and economic vulnerability.
For HURDS, strengthening access to justice is central to its rights-based approach to challenging social injustice and promoting the rights of women and children. The organisation continues to support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, advocate for policy reforms, and engage institutions to improve accountability and responsiveness.
KEY AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT
During the three-day convening, participants are engaging in discussions focused on:
- Advancing transformative legal and policy reforms
- Promoting feminist and survivor-centred justice approaches
- Strengthening advocacy capacity among Women’s Rights Organisations
- Positioning the elimination of gender-based violence as central to peace, security and sustainable development
The discussions recognise that access to justice is not only a legal concern but also a development and governance issue directly linked to equality and social stability.
THE COLOUR CAMPAIGN
In alignment with the theme and the Sustainable Development Goals particularly Goals 8, 10 and 16 Africa Disrupt CSW70 is implementing a colour-themed campaign featuring Pink, Orange and Blue throughout the event.
The colours symbolise commitments to women’s access to justice, reduced inequalities, and peaceful and inclusive institutions. The campaign serves as a visible reminder that justice and equality must move beyond commitments into concrete action.
A GROWING CONTINENTAL MOVEMENT
Africa Disrupt CSW70 represents more than a convening. It reflects a growing continental movement to ensure African women and girls meaningfully influence global gender equality processes.
As preparations continue toward CSW70 in New York, HURDS stands alongside African feminists, civil society leaders and grassroots advocates calling for justice systems that are accountable, equitable and responsive.
For HURDS, centring justice means centring lived experiences. Ensuring equality requires dismantling structural barriers that deny women and girls full participation in society.
