Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD)
Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD)
Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD) is a continental, non-governmental and non-profit making organization based in Dakar (Senegal). AAWORD was established in December 1977 in Dakar by African women researchers and activists driven by their passion to decolonize African research from the Western subjective analysis, which was not reflecting women’s status and commitment in the development process of the continent. The Dakar meeting in 1977 which led to the establishment of AAWORD/AFARD followed the consultative meeting in Lusaka (Zambia) held in December 1976 and whose objective was to enable African women to define critical feminist research programs, advocacy, and training with the view to denouncing the policies and programs which hinder the development of African countries and thereby contributing to the achievement of gender equality through “the establishment of a strong women’s movement, combining human rights with the theory and practice of development, while investing in research, training and advocacy for the sustainable development of the African continent and the strengthening of its democracy.”