July 31st every year marks Pan-African Women’s Day (PAWD). The annual celebration serves as a powerful moment to honor the unwavering spirit, resilience, and revolutionary contributions of African women in the ongoing struggle for liberation, justice, and self-determination. It also commemorates the founding of Pan-African Women’s Organization (PAWO), the vanguard of women’s emancipation on the continent, and the embodiment of collective fight against imperialism, patriarchy, and systemic exploitation.
Marking the 63rd anniversary of PAWO, this year's celebration will be held under the transformative theme: “Advancing Social and Economic Justice for African Women through Reparations.” The theme is a call to action rooted in the urgent need to confront the enduring legacies of colonialism, slavery, apartheid, and imperialist exploitation that have systematically devalued and dispossessed African women and communities.
Objectives of PAWD 2025 include:
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Advocating for comprehensive, intersectional reparative justice frameworks that confront historical injustices and current systemic inequalities faced by African women and girls.
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Amplifying the voices of women and girls, particularly those from marginalized and conflict-affected communities, in decision-making processes related to reparations, transitional justice, and gender equality.
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Building capacity and consciousness among women, youth, grassroots movements, and civil society to understand and mobilize around reparations and transformative justice.
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Promoting the ratification, implementation, and harmonization of continental instruments such as the African Union Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls (CEVAWG) and the Maputo Protocol - as tools of resistance and accountability.
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Honouring and celebrating PAWO’s legacy of resilience, solidarity, and revolutionary struggle.
Celebrating PAWD 2025 is a collective effort. Public and private sector institutions together with PAWO National chapters, grassroots women’s rights organizations, and development partners are called upon to galvanize efforts to observe the day across the continent, fostering grassroots mobilization and strategic advocacy. Participatory activities and dialogues on the PAWD theme featuring critical conversations, storytelling, and knowledge-sharing as well as targeted social media campaigns will be central the celebration of PAWD 2025.
To share and amplify stories of women’s resistance, resilience, and reparative demands, follow #PAWD2025.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Lindiwe Patience Mugabe | Programme Specialist, Women, Gender and Youth Directorate | African Union Commission | E-mail: MugabeL@africa-union.org
For media inquiries, please contact:
Ms. Adele Onguene Atangana | Communications Associate, Women, Gender and Youth Directorate | African Union Commission | E-mail: atanganaa@africanunion.org
Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org
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