Feminist advocates across Africa have called for urgent reforms in the extractive sector, warning that women are being sidelined in the rapidly expanding critical minerals industry, despite bearing a significant portion of its social and environmental costs.
The call was made in a statement issued in Harare, Zimbabwe on Tuesday, as global demand for critical minerals continues to rise, driven by the transition to clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles, solar panels, and batteries.
Leading the advocacy is eco-feminist scholar and activist, Dr Mela Chiponda, who raised concerns about the unequal impact of mining activities on women in mineral-rich communities across the continent.
According to her, while the global narrative celebrates a shift toward a “green future,” many African women continue to face displacement, environmental degradation, and loss of livelihoods.
“The transition to clean energy cannot be built on the same extractive logic that has historically marginalised women,” Chiponda said, stressing the need to rethink power dynamics in the sector.
She noted that women, particularly at the grassroots level, play a critical role in natural resource management and renewable energy adoption, citing lessons from a renewable energy project in Bikita, Zimbabwe.
However, across countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Great Lakes region, women are often excluded from key processes, including negotiations, compensation arrangements, and ownership structures tied to mineral resources.
Feminist organisations argue that the prevailing model of mineral extraction mirrors colonial patterns, where resources are exploited for global markets while local communities—especially women—shoulder the consequences. They identified land rights violations, unpaid care work, and increased cases of gender-based violence as some of the challenges exacerbated by mining activities.
Chiponda emphasised that achieving a just energy transition requires addressing deep-rooted structural inequalities, not just focusing on economic gains.
“We cannot talk about sustainability without justice. Women are not just victims of these systems—they are leaders, innovators, and knowledge holders,” she said.
Civil society groups, including eco-feminist networks, are now advocating for gender-responsive policies that prioritise women’s inclusion across the critical minerals value chain. Their demands include gender-responsive budgeting, protection of land rights, community ownership models, and increased investment in women-led enterprises.
The groups are expected to amplify these concerns at the upcoming Women Deliver 2026 conference scheduled for April 24 to 28 in Melbourne, Australia.
They also urged governments, multilateral institutions, and private sector players to adopt inclusive and transparent frameworks that ensure women’s participation in all stages of mineral extraction and processing.
Citing evidence from mineral-rich countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the advocates highlighted links between mining and environmental pollution, child labour, displacement, and sexual violence—issues that disproportionately affect women and children.
The groups maintained that Africa’s energy transition must not only be environmentally sustainable but also socially just, with women placed at the centre of decision-making.
“A truly just transition is one where African women are not an afterthought,” Chiponda said. “They must be at the centre—shaping the future, not merely surviving its consequences.”
