CREATING AND SUSTAINING FEMINIST SPACE IN AFRICA ...

significant contribution to the African women’s movement. Over the past three years, the AWLI has
provided leadership development opportunities for women’s rights activists through regional, subregional
and national programs. These women are in turn passing their skills on to others in their
communities.
33 This is a complex relationship. It is usually older women, free from the challenges of looking after
young children, who have the time and space to concentrate on their activism. Younger activists,
especially those who are planning to marry or are new in the institution are still testing the waters of their
relationships, and might be more reticent in their commitment to the feminist movement. On the other
hand we have seen many young activists challenge the conservative, accommodating politics of older
women, calling for newer, more radical approaches. Through the work AMwA has done at the AWLI, we
try to provide platforms for these discussions to take place and develop strategies which take on board the
positive contributions and insights of all generations.
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