WoMin’s long term feminist popular education for development sovereignty, climate justice and women’s liberation in Africa

WoMin proudly hosted its inaugural Feminist School in South Africa in 2016, and since then we’ve grown in our approach to feminist popular education, with schools held in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda, among others. While some of these may be connected to national or regional struggles, each school deals with the core political principles and ideas that underpin WoMin’s vision: an Africa in which all women have secure access to the resources they, their families and communities need for life and livelihoods.

Feminist Schools are week-long participatory learning processes that form a core strand of our work. They remain powerful spaces rooted in ecofeminist popular education principles where we bring together activists embedded in local struggles to strengthen political consciousness, promote solidarity and support movement building.

Building on this critical work, past participants voiced the need for a more sustained process which could enable them to deepen their knowledge and organising. From this rich and significant experience, last July saw the launch of Women Learning Liberation (WLL), a more integrated and long-term process to our political education work.

Women Learning Liberation

WLL is an 18-month popular education course comprising of eight modules designed to support and build the collective capacity of frontline women leaders who are organising locally against extractive developments across Africa. Implemented in six countries including Cameroon, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, South Africa and Uganda, the cohort of 60 women convene to deepen their understanding of the political concepts and impacts of wide-ranging themes from extractivism, ecofeminism, exploring the herstories of African women’s struggles to political ecology and political economy within a Pan African context.

“Being part of the WLL means bringing powerful changes in my community and a journey to end oppressive measures set for me and other women in the community.” – Violet, participant from Uganda 

With the support of seven in-country facilitators, the course aids the development of principled and progressive African women leaders and equips them with the knowledge, skills, and tools to build and strengthen their organisations and movements. The WLL facilitators have a strong grasp of ecofeminist politics and critical perspectives on development and are trained and mentored throughout the course.

“[As a facilitator I’ve learned] that popular education can be a powerful tool for raising awareness, awakening consciousness and mobilising participants.” – Facilitator, Guinea Conakry 

Through popular education approaches and methodologies, they play a crucial role in guiding participants in the course.

Our approach to Ecofeminist Popular Education

As custodians of forests, seeds, land and water sources, African women experience the impacts of extractivism and the climate crisis most acutely by being exposed to contaminated rivers, droughts, food insecurity and ill health, to name a few impacts. Their resistance is rooted not only in political critique but in deep ecological knowledge and everyday survival.

“I realised that capitalist logics don’t see water the way I do. For them, it’s a commodity, a source of profit. For me, water is life, a link to my family, my community, our history.” – Participant from Guinea Conakry

The course centres women’s lived experiences of oppression and injustice, highlighting the interconnectedness of all forms of life and the ways in which patriarchy, capitalism, colonialism, and environmental degradation are deeply intertwined.

Another key aspect of our approach is recognising the deep knowledge and experiences that participants bring. In each module, the women host skill sharing sessions, where they teach each other practices such as basket weaving, pottery and homemade charcoal briquettes, to both validate knowledge that is traditionally undervalued and to build confidence, celebrating women’s creativity and resilience.

Women’s resistance in the face of exploitation

Women Learning Liberation is a course designed to create a space where frontline activists come together to connect, share their stories, and raise their voices in solidarity with each other — turning their visions into collective action. During each module of the course, participants are encouraged to think creatively and to see themselves as active social agents, able to examine and change the world.

“At each module, I learn something that changes something in me.”– Participant from Ivory Coast

As Africa continues to endure exploitation through a development model – promoted by the African Development Bank and other international financial institutions – that prioritises profit over people and the environment, communities are being impoverished and livelihoods destroyed. In this context, it is crucial to support African women as they resist extractivism, land grabs and the destruction of nature.

From the Amuru women naked protests in Uganda, to community resistance to mining activities on communal land in Namaqualand, South Africa, African women have been important organisers and protectors of their land and their communities in the face of devastating violence through militarisation, displacement, and sexual violence.

By encouraging their leadership, WoMin hopes to contribute to feminist organising and movement-building on the continent. As we mark Africa Day, a celebration of the continent’s unity and struggle for liberation, Women Learning Liberation affirms that true sovereignty cannot exist without justice. This means centering the voices and knowledge of African women – especially those in rural and peasant communities—whose leadership is essential in building an ecofeminist future. Through this course, WoMin fosters not just learning, but the collective power needed to reclaim land, dignity, and self-determination across Africa.