Southern Africa: 2030 Push forward campaign gains momentum

Durban, 21 August 2026: The Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance calls on SADC Heads of State (HOS) to review the Protocol on Gender and Development in the countdown to 2030, the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The call is part of a broader #PushForward4Equality campaign gaining momentum amid the mounting backlash to the rights of women and girls in all their diversity. “We not only have to hold the line we have to push the line forward,” declared the Chairperson of the South African Beijing Plus 30 movement, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi at the start of the gathering of gender activists parallel to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) HOS that took place in South Africa this week. 

As HOS gathered in Durban on 17 August – SADC Day – the Alliance convened a strategy meeting in Johannesburg, including a High-Level Dialogue with current and former SADC Gender Unit leaders; a focused parliamentary engagement with Hon. Tsepang Musena, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Lesotho, representing the SADC Parliamentary Form. 

Alliance representatives then travelled to Durban to join the Southern African Civil Society Forum held under the banner Democratic Futures in Africa. 

The Alliance, a regional “network of networks” established in 2005, campaigned for the adoption of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development in 2008 (when South Africa last chaired SADC) and participated in the process that led to its revision in 2016. 

The discussions this week affirmed that the Protocol remains a vital regional instrument, but that it must continue to evolve as the realities facing women, girls and diverse communities change.

Alliance members highlighted gaps and emerging priorities including technology facilitated gender-based violence, adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, safe abortion, gender and sexual diversity, disability inclusion, women’s economic justice, climate justice, women, peace and security, digital rights, artificial intelligence and stronger accountability for implementation.

Current and former SADC Gender Unit leaders reflected on the political and technical lessons from the adoption and previous revision of the Protocol. The dialogue concluded that any future review will require formal Member State ownership, strong evidence and sustained advocacy at national level before proposals move through SADC decision-making structures.

The Alliance will therefore begin coordinated engagement with Member State gender ministries and senior officials, supported by a concise lobbying fact sheet that sets out why the Protocol should be reviewed, the evidence for change and the priority issues requiring attention. The fact sheet will be translated for use across the region.

The dialogue also confronted the increasingly organised pushback against gender equality. Participants described how narratives around family, culture, religion, sovereignty and national values are being used to challenge established rights, particularly bodily autonomy, comprehensive sexuality education, sexual and reproductive health and rights, LGBTQI+ rights and women’s political participation.

The Alliance agreed that a coordinated movement cannot be answered through fragmented advocacy. Feminist, sexual and reproductive health and rights, LGBTQI+, media, legal, youth and wider civil society movements need to build common narratives, share intelligence and evidence, protect existing gains and organise around the constitutional principles of equality, dignity and nondiscrimination.

Evidence will remain at the centre of the Campaign. The 2026 Southern Africa Gender Protocol Barometer covers 11 thematic areas and will be rolled out in chapters through the remainder of 2026, aligned with key advocacy dates. Country profiles will support national lobbying and future country launches, with Alliance networks encouraged to mobilise resources locally for both regional and national evidence work.

The objective is not simply to reopen the SADC Gender Protocol. It is to ensure that Southern Africa enters the post 2030 era with a regional gender equality framework that protects hard won gains, responds to emerging realities and strengthens accountability for implementation.

#PushForward4Equality | #2030Campaign | #WhoseNewsWhoseViews

For more information and media enquiries

Tabetha Kanengoni, Director of Programmes, Gender Links | dop@genderlinks.org.za

Colleen Lowe Morna, Special Advisor, Gender Links | 082 651 6995

Michelle Mutogo Michelle Mutogo - Alliance and Fellowships Coordinator Wossoprogofficer@genderlinks.org.za

About the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance

The Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance is a regional network of civil society organisations, networks and movements working to advance gender equality, women’s rights and social justice across Southern Africa. Established in 2005, the Alliance played a central civil society advocacy role in the adoption of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development in 2008 and continues to support its implementation, monitoring and accountability. The Alliance Secretariat is hosted by Gender Links.