German-African Feminist Development Policy: What's Next

The document evaluates the BMZ's Feminist Development Policy (FDP), noting progress in institutional training and specific projects in Rwanda and Tunisia, while critiquing the lack of concrete anti-colonial strategies and contradictions between feminist rhetoric and Germany's arms exports.

• The BMZ's Feminist Development Policy (FDP) aims to eliminate structural inequality through a human-rights based approach, intersectionality, and an anti-colonial and anti-racist stance, with funding targets for 2027 allocating 8% of funds to projects where gender equality is the primary goal and 85% where it is a secondary goal.
• At the institutional level, the BMZ has implemented several internal capacity-building initiatives, including two e-learning modules on feminism, a "Feminist Lab" for staff exchange, an internal newsletter titled "Feministische Impulse", and the Women in Leadership (FiF) network.
• The Feminism in Action for Structural Transformation (FAST) Global Project (2023-2026) has delivered specific outcomes in Rwanda, such as supporting the prevention of gender-based violence and campaigns to end period poverty, and in Tunisia, where it established the first export consortia of 52 women-owned and led businesses in March 2023.
• The Promotion of Human Rights and Empowerment of Women in Africa (AWARE) project (2023-2026) has provided capacity building for over 700 young African female leaders and technical assistance to Uganda for reviewing the Maputo protocol.
• The author identifies a significant gap between the FDP's rhetorical commitments and its practical application, noting that the policy lacks explicit strategies for implementing anti-colonial and anti-racist agendas within BMZ structures.
• There is a noted contradiction between Germany's feminist development goals and its security policies, specifically regarding a tenfold increase in arms exports between 2022 and 2023 and its role as the second-largest conventional arms exporter to Israel during that period.

APA

Uwamariya, O. (2025). German-African Feminist Development Policy: What's Next. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/german-african-feminist-development-policy-whats-next

Chicago

Uwamariya, Olive. German-African Feminist Development Policy: What's Next. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2025. https://afripoli.org/german-african-feminist-development-policy-whats-next.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Uwamariya |first1=Olive |title=German-African Feminist Development Policy: What's Next |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=21 May 2025 |url=https://afripoli.org/german-african-feminist-development-policy-whats-next |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{uwamariya2025germanafrican, author = {Uwamariya, Olive}, title = {{German-African Feminist Development Policy: What's Next}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://afripoli.org/german-african-feminist-development-policy-whats-next}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }