‘Development That Undermines Women’s Rights Is Exploitation’ — AU Commissioner Sounds Alarm at High-Level Workshop in Accra

 ‘Development That Undermines Women’s Rights Is Exploitation’ — AU Commissioner Sounds Alarm at High-Level Workshop in Accra

 

In a commanding call to action that set the tone for a pivotal continental gathering, Hon. Janet Ramatoulie Sallah Njie, Vice-Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, issued a stern warning: “Development that undermines the rights and dignity of women is not development—it is exploitation.”

Speaking at the opening of a high-level two-day workshop held from 25th to 26th September 2025 in Accra, Sallah Njie, who also serves as the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, decried the persistent marginalization of women across the continent, especially in communities impacted by extractive industries.

Her speech launched a hard-hitting indictment of systems that continue to profit from women’s exclusion, environmental harm, and reproductive injustice.

“Millions of women continue to live without access to education, healthcare, employment, and protection,” she said. “We cannot continue to hide behind the principle of ‘progressive realization’ while women are denied their right to live and parent with dignity.”

The workshop, themed “Promoting the Socio-Economic Rights of Women, including in the Extractive Industries," is convened by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in collaboration with IPAS Africa Alliance and GIZ’s AWARE Project.

The event brought together AU organs, national governments, international donors, and grassroots organizations to tackle the structural barriers women face in realizing their socio-economic rights.

In a welcome address, Hon. Medford Zachariah Mwandenga, Commissioner for the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Chairperson of the Commission’s Working Group on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, underscored the deep-rooted inequalities that African women still face.

“Despite comprising over half of Africa's population, women continue to face entrenched socio-economic inequalities driven by discriminatory gender norms, limited access to education, health, and social protection, and exclusion from decision-making spaces,” he noted.

Mwandenga emphasized the critical importance of reproductive health rights, calling them a key lever in breaking the cycle of poverty and marginalization.

He called attention to the low ratification and implementation rates of key AU instruments like the Maputo Protocol and the Protocol on Social Protection.

“This gap is especially stark in the extractive industries, where women face systemic exploitation, unsafe conditions, exclusion from compensation and governance mechanisms, and heightened vulnerability to environmental harms,” he said.

Sallah-Njie echoed these concerns, warning that extractive industries, while central to Africa’s economic development, have too often become sites of environmental degradation, displacement, and gender-based violence.

“Large-scale projects disrupt communities and expose women to heightened risks of exploitation, while excluding them from benefit-sharing and decision-making,” she noted.

She further stressed that reproductive justice is a critical component of economic empowerment.

“Reproductive health, family planning, and the right to raise children in safe, healthy environments are inseparable from women’s economic rights,” she said, calling for full ratification and implementation of the Maputo Protocol and the AU Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, which currently lacks the necessary number of signatures to enter into force.

Director of the Department of Gender at Ghana’s Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Mad. Faustina Acheampong, in her opening remarks delivered on behalf of Hon. Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the sector minister, emphasized Ghana’s commitment to removing socio-economic barriers for women and outlined recent policy strides.

“It is an honor to participate in this laudable workshop, which seeks to promote the socio-economic rights of women and recognize their immense contribution to development,” Acheampong said.

“In Ghana, we’ve taken bold steps, including the passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024, and the review of the National Gender Policy to enhance equal opportunities and gender inclusion in national development,” she added.

Acheampong further highlighted Ghana’s ongoing efforts to economically empower women through various social protection interventions, including the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program and plans for a dedicated Women’s Development Bank aimed at expanding financial inclusion and credit access.

“Let this workshop be a reawakening call that everybody matters in Africa’s development agenda to ensure that no one is left behind because of their biological makeup of being female or male,” she urged.

Sophia Gallina, Head of the GIZ AWARE Project at the African Union, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that gender equality in extractive industries is not just a women’s issue but a developmental imperative.

“Unless we act boldly, women will remain excluded from economic growth and the green transition,” she said. “This conference is not just timely—it’s essential.”

Gallina reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to feminist development policy and applauded the African Union’s leadership on the issue.

Mr. Erick Mundia, Programme Officer at IPAS Africa Alliance, speaking on behalf of the regional director, Dr. J.E. Musoba Kitui, focused on the health and environmental impacts of extractive industries.

“These industries leave communities with polluted air, water, and soil, threatening maternal health and child development,” he warned. “Women must not only be protected; they must be recognized as rights holders and agents of change.”

He called for inclusive and community-based frameworks that prioritize reproductive justice, environmental safety, and economic inclusion.

The workshop comes against the backdrop of regional commitments, including Agenda 2063, the African Social Policy Framework, and the Africa Health Strategy (2016–2030), which affirm the need for socio-economic transformation. Yet, participants stressed that many of these instruments remain under-implemented at the national level.

Across panel discussions, speakers examined the intersection of sexual and reproductive health rights, environmental governance, and corporate accountability in resource extraction zones. Women working in mining, oil, and gas sectors shared lived experiences of exclusion, abuse, and resilience.

Hon. Commissioner Janet Sallah Njie closed her speech with a rallying call for political will and resource allocation:

“The rights exist on paper, but where are the budgets? Where are the enforcement mechanisms? We must stop treating women’s rights as optional. They are a legal and moral obligation.”

 

Source: Joseph Kobla Wemakor