African Women Demand Gender-Just Energy Transition at Launch of Regaining the Currents

 

Grassroots women from mineral-rich communities across Africa have called for a people-centered and gender-just energy transition during the launch of the book Regaining the Currents: Indigenous Women’s Ecofeminist Voices for a Just Energy Transition in Africa.

The virtual event, held on 14 May, brought together climate justice advocates, researchers, feminist organizers, community leaders, and development partners from across the continent. It was convened by Shine Collab in partnership with Earthlife Africa and the Bernstein Institute for Human Rights.

The publication highlights the experiences of Indigenous and grassroots women affected by mineral extraction and unequal energy systems, while showcasing community-led solutions rooted in renewable energy, legal empowerment, and feminist participatory action research.

Discussions focused on the experiences of the Vatombe women of Hanyanya in Zimbabwe and women in Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose communities continue to face land dispossession, pollution, and environmental destruction linked to mining activities tied to the global energy transition.

“We are losing the land that remembers us,” said Gamuchirai Munesi, Acting Village Head of the Vatombe community in Hanyanya village.

Executive Director of Shine Collab, Dr. Mela Chiponda, said the women were raising critical questions about who truly benefits from the global shift to clean energy.

“Communities that have protected ecosystems for generations cannot continue to bear the burden of extraction while remaining excluded from decision-making,” she said during the launch.

The event also featured a documentary highlighting the struggles of communities impacted by lithium extraction in Zimbabwe. Speakers noted that while clean energy technologies are expanding rapidly worldwide, many African communities are experiencing displacement and ecological harm in the process.

Tyler Walton, Deputy Director of the Bernstein Institute for Human Rights, emphasized the importance of legal empowerment and community knowledge.

“These communities possess deep knowledge of their land, governance systems, and traditions,” he said, adding that legal empowerment strengthens communities’ ability to defend their rights.

As part of the initiative, young women in affected communities are being trained as paralegals to advocate for land rights, environmental justice, and greater participation in policy processes.

The launch also highlighted the establishment of a solar-powered Just Transition Hub in Zimbabwe, designed to support women’s organizing, skills development, and income-generating activities. The hub includes renewable energy technologies such as solar dryers, solar cookers, sewing machines, and solar lighting systems aimed at reducing deforestation and improving livelihoods.

Climate and feminist advocate Selina Sanou noted similarities between the struggles faced by women in Zimbabwe and those in eastern DRC.

“Land encroachment, pollution, and the exclusion of women from decision-making continue to define many extractive projects across Africa,” she said.

Participants called on the media, policymakers, and international climate actors to amplify grassroots women’s voices in shaping Africa’s energy future.

The initiative received support from organizations including Wallace Global, the Women, Environment, and Development Organization, and GreenFaith.

Dr. Chiponda described _Regaining the Currents_ as both a documentation of ongoing struggles and a celebration of women-led alternatives emerging across the continent.

“The future of Africa’s energy transition must be built with communities, not imposed on them,” she said. “Women are not passive victims of climate change and extraction — they are leaders shaping pathways toward justice, sustainability, and collective care.”