Nairobi, Kenya –Oct 2024, and April in Johanesburg 2025
Disabled Women in Africa (DIWA) participated in the Regional Feminist Funders Dialogue, organized by UN Women East and Southern Africa in collaboration with the Civil Society Regional Network (CSRN) under the Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action (ACT) Programme.
The dialogue brought together feminist organizations, funders, and civil society leaders from across Africa to discuss inclusive and sustainable approaches to resourcing feminist movements. It provided a critical space for dialogue between funders and women’s rights organizations to co-design equitable, long-term, and intersectional funding models that respond to the realities of diverse movements, including organizations led by women with disabilities.
Championing Inclusive Feminist Funding
Represented by Ruth Mkutumula, Executive Director of DIWA, the organization advocated for greater inclusion of women with disabilities in feminist funding frameworks and regional resourcing mechanisms.
“Feminist funding must be inclusive,” said Ruth Mkutumula. “Women with disabilities are leading transformative work across Africa, yet they remain underfunded and underrepresented in mainstream feminist financing. True feminist philanthropy must redistribute power and trust, ensuring that every woman’s voice is resourced and heard.”
DIWA’s engagement at the dialogue reinforced the organization’s long-standing advocacy for intersectional feminist collaboration, ensuring that disability rights are recognized as integral to the feminist and gender equality agenda in Africa.
Strategic Support from Feminist Funders
Following the Regional Feminist Funders Dialogue, DIWA received two significant grants that will deepen its institutional and programmatic impact across Africa:
- The grant from Sonke Gender Justice supports DIWA’s work under the UN Women ACT Programme, focusing on regional advocacy, capacity building, and feminist coalition strengthening among women with disabilities.
- The grant from the Black Feminist Fund (BFF) is an 8-year flexible funding partnership designed to strengthen DIWA’s institutional capacity, sustainability, and advocacy efforts. This long-term support will enable DIWA to expand its regional reach, deepen leadership development initiatives, and advance the inclusion of women and girls with disabilities in feminist and human rights movements.
“These partnerships represent more than funding, they are acts of solidarity,” Ruth added. “Through Sonke and the Black Feminist Fund, we are building the foundation for a sustainable, inclusive feminist movement led by women with disabilities across Africa.”
Driving Inclusive Feminist Collaboration
The Regional Feminist Funders Dialogue highlighted the importance of collective advocacy and equitable partnerships between feminist organizations, disability movements, and funders. It also reinforced the need for flexible, long-term financing to sustain movements working to end violence against women and girls and promote inclusive gender equality.
“When funders listen to and invest in women with disabilities, they invest in stronger, more resilient feminist movements,” Ruth concluded. “This partnership will enable DIWA to continue leading advocacy that transforms commitments into action , for every woman, in every space.”
About the Regional Feminist Funders Dialogue
The Regional Feminist Funders Dialogue is convened under the UN Women ACT Programme and the Civil Society Regional Network (CSRN). It brings together feminist organizations, donors, and civil society leaders to co-create sustainable, intersectional, and transformative approaches to financing women’s rights and gender justice movements in East and Southern Africa.
