The Government of Canada has made 450 million meticais (US$7.1 million) available to support feminist organizations in Mozambique under the second phase of the ALIADAS program.
The five-year initiative is funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and aims to promote women’s rights, strengthen gender equality, and consolidate a feminist identity within the Mozambican context. The newly announced support builds on efforts launched in 2019, with a focus on groups facing specific vulnerabilities, such as women affected by the conflict in Cabo Delgado, LGBTQI+ women, and young women in both urban and rural areas.
According to Paula Monjane, the program’s executive director, the funding is intended to benefit “collectives—whether organizations or groups of women working for women’s rights,” with actions also addressing gender-based violence. A key aspect of the new phase will be the active involvement of feminist movements in the political dialogue promoted by President Daniel Chapo. Monjane emphasized that this period of reform—including constitutional revision and changes to other legal frameworks—offers an opportunity for women to influence public policy development.
The ALIADAS program also aims to strengthen women’s participation in decision-making processes related to large-scale natural resource extraction projects—sectors from which women have historically been excluded or negatively impacted, particularly through loss of farmland and economic marginalization. “The local content law is currently under discussion, and we want to understand to what extent that legislation reflects women’s interests. We can support specific events that mobilize women to participate in that debate,” said Paula Monjane.
The first phase of ALIADAS (2019–2024) was implemented by the Civil Society Learning and Capacity Building Center (CESC) and directly benefited 14 women-led organizations working in areas such as sexual and reproductive rights, gender-based violence prevention, political leadership, and economic justice.
Source: Lusa
