Bineta Diop Honored for Three Decades Championing African Women’s Rights
Lagos, Nigeria – Bineta Diop received the African Women Impact Award 2026 on International Women’s Day, a recognition of her thirty years of tireless advocacy for women’s rights and peacebuilding across the African continent. The award was presented before an audience gathered by Arise News in Lagos, Nigeria.
Diop’s work extends far beyond individual achievement, embodying the struggles and resilience of countless women impacted by conflict and inequality. The award acknowledges three decades of sacrifice, struggle, and transformation, according to observers at the ceremony.
Founded in 1996, Diop’s organization, Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), has been instrumental in advancing women’s rights throughout Africa. A key achievement was championing the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG), adopted in 2025. This landmark legal instrument is the first of its kind on the continent, dedicated to ending all forms of violence against women and girls, including those occurring in the digital sphere and conflict zones.
From 2014 to 2025, Diop served as the African Union Commission’s Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, a role that placed her at the forefront of addressing Africa’s most pressing peace challenges. She travelled extensively, engaging with communities impacted by conflict in Somalia, Sudan’s Darfur region, and the Great Lakes region.
“Women are not merely victims of conflict. They are architects of peace,” Diop consistently stated during her travels, a message that resonated across political divides.
Diop’s influence extends from grassroots initiatives to high-level policy discussions. She has advocated for the implementation of the Maputo Protocol, a comprehensive framework for women’s rights guaranteeing equality, dignity, and reproductive health autonomy. Her approach emphasizes partnership, building alliances with men to foster collective transformation and unlock the full potential of African societies.
She has also focused on nurturing the next generation of African leaders through capacity-building programs and collaborations with institutions like the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for International Development.
Upon receiving the award, Diop redirected the focus to the women who have driven the movement forward. She honored the peacebuilders mediating conflicts at the community level, the negotiators fighting for representation, and the mothers demonstrating resilience in displacement camps.
“This award belongs to the women who fought for the Maputo Protocol to become reality,” she said. “To the women who rebuilt communities after war. To the women who continue to demand justice, dignity, and representation.”
Diop also unveiled a new official website on the day of the award, intended as a digital archive of Africa’s women’s movement, providing a resource for policymakers, researchers, and future leaders.
