Women's Climate Assembly Puts African Women First

Hundreds of women from across West and Central Africa are gathering in Yaounde, Cameroon, this week for the fourth regional Women's Climate Assembly, a landmark meeting that puts African women at the center of the fight for climate justice. According to the organizers, the Women's Climate Assembly runs from October 5 to 8, 2026, under the theme "Our lands, our voices: African women united for climate justice and reparations," and the Women's Climate Assembly aims to turn grassroots resistance into a permanent Pan-African movement.

A Movement Built by Grassroots Women

The Women's Climate Assembly is convened by WoMin, the African women's alliance, and brings together women from rural, coastal and forest communities who are on the front lines of the climate crisis. As stated in the organizers' press release, the gathering aims to strengthen a Pan-African ecofeminist movement rooted in the defense of the commons: land, forests, water, seeds and other resources collectively sustained and stewarded by communities.

The choice of Cameroon is deliberate. Building on previous assemblies held in Nigeria and Senegal, the 2026 Women's Climate Assembly aims to transform the gathering into a permanent platform spanning local, national, subregional and Pan-African levels, amplifying voices that are routinely missed in national and global climate negotiations. Key sessions include discussions on climate crisis impacts in Africa and strategies for resistance and alternatives led by women, alongside thematic workshops on the defense of the Congo Basin's forests, food sovereignty and seed protection, feminist advocacy strategies, climate debt and reparations, and oil and gas expansion. Africa Science News reports that this year's edition marks a decisive milestone for the growing women-led movement.

"The Women's Climate Assembly taking place in Cameroon will allow women from other countries to experience firsthand the realities of Cameroonian women's lives impacted by major projects and how they overcome these challenges," said Bela Marie Victorine of Cameroon. Popular education sessions at the Women's Climate Assembly will support women in seed conservation, mangrove management, processing natural products and preserving traditional ecological knowledge.

Climate Debt, Not Charity

At the heart of the Women's Climate Assembly's demands is the concept of climate debt. While Africa's contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions remains minimal, its communities, particularly women in rural, coastal and forest areas, face disproportionate climate impacts. The Women's Climate Assembly argues that historically polluting nations and multinationals owe the continent genuine reparations, not empty promises or charity, a demand that reframes the entire climate finance debate.

African women play vital roles in food production, water management and protecting natural resources, yet they defend their lands and livelihoods against land degradation, droughts, extreme weather and the expansion of extractive industries such as oil and gas, alongside conflicts over resources and critical minerals. The Women's Climate Assembly demands restorative justice that goes beyond humanitarian aid: concrete measures to repair the damage communities have suffered, and recognition of community and customary rights to land and forests.

"Participating in the Women's Climate Assembly gives me a platform to share my community's experiences and learn from other African women," said Abbie Freeman of Liberia. "I believe our voices and lived experiences must be part of climate decisions." Her words capture the Women's Climate Assembly's core argument: those who experience the crisis most directly must lead the response. The struggle echoes other fights for the vulnerable documented in reporting on climate-driven child marriage, where climate shocks fall hardest on women and girls.

The Women's Climate Assembly also challenges how global climate talks are run. "During the COPs, we have seen how the agendas of the donor countries dominate. You cannot come and steal African resources, and at the same time help us to get climate justice," said Khady Faye of Senegal, one of the movement's leaders. The message is that climate justice cannot be designed in boardrooms thousands of miles from the communities paying the price, a theme also raised in coverage of the pre-COP Pacific meeting.

The timing matters. The Women's Climate Assembly coincides with the pre-COP31 ministerial talks in Fiji, where Pacific nations are pushing their own climate priorities, and where the UN climate chief has warned, according to reports from the meeting, that extreme heat is creating new health risks for mothers and newborns. For the women in Yaounde, the lesson is that frontline communities must not wait for permission to act. As the Women's Climate Assembly continues through October 8, its organizers say it will produce shared strategies, strengthened networks and a permanent structure for resistance and advocacy across the continent. More details are available in WoMin's official press release.