African feminists and women’s rights groups staged a #PauseForPurpose protest at a Pan-African Parliament meeting, calling for a temporary halt to ratification of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls so the text can be strengthened.

Critics argue the draft was developed with insufficient consultation, lacks clear enforceable rights and state obligations, under-addresses key forms of violence, and risks weakening stronger protections already secured under the Maputo Protocol.

The campaign’s core demands include balanced hearings, distribution of its legal memorandum, an independent expert review, and an inclusive revision process before further ratifications proceed.

Feminists demanded a single, insistent message: pause, listen, strengthen, then ratify. The protest marked the high-level parliamentary and multi-stakeholder dialogue convened on 25 July 2026 by the Pan-African Parliament, the African Union Commission, and partners. Official accounts framed the gathering ‘as a push to accelerate signature, ratification, domestication and implementation’ of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU CEVAWG). The Gambia was celebrated as the first state to ratify. Member states were urged to follow.

For the Pause for Purpose campaign and the civil society groups that joined the demonstration, the official framing told only part of the story. “The protest was important because it made it visible that the voices of those who were not adequately reflected in the official framing of the high-level dialogue should be taken into consideration,” said Mai Aman, Legal Officer (Strengthening Legal Mechanism), Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA). “It was not to reject action against ending violence against women and girls. It was to demand better action, better protections, better convention.”

The campaign does not oppose a continental treaty on violence against women and girls. It fully supports decisive African action to prevent violence, protect survivors, hold perpetrators and governments accountable, and deliver effective remedies. What it rejects is the rush to ratification of a text it argues is not yet fit for purpose.

“There is no contradiction between urgency and due diligence,” Mai Aman........

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