Call for Proposals: Ghana component of the Community-Led Advocacy and Digital Spaces for the Safety of Women and Girls in West Africa

The Ghana component of the SAFE project, implemented by UN Women in West Africa, directly addresses the severe human rights violations, violence, and social exclusion experienced by older women and marginalized groups due to discriminatory social norms, ageism, and harmful traditional practices. In regions such as Northern Ghana, older women remain particularly vulnerable to witchcraft accusations, discriminatory widowhood rites, economic dispossession, and forced banishment to so-called witch camps. These harmful offline narratives are further amplified across digital and media channels, reinforcing systemic stigma. Guided by international human rights frameworks, including the Maputo Protocol and the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, the project seeks to transform these harmful dynamics through survivor-centred, culturally grounded, and intergenerational advocacy that bridges community dialogue with digital engagement.

This Call for Proposals specifically invites eligible Ghana-based civil society organizations, women’s rights organizations, and community-based entities with a proven comparative advantage in Northern Ghana to serve as a Responsible Party. Applicants must demonstrate extensive experience in collaborating with traditional and faith leaders, local government institutions, community educators, and survivor networks to combat gender-based violence and address age-based discrimination. By leveraging key local opportunities, such as ongoing advocacy around protective policy reforms like the Anti-Witchcraft Bill and partnerships with traditional leadership bodies like the Council of Traditional Leaders of Africa, the selected partner will spearhead prevention strategies that foster positive masculinities, advance locally grounded human rights principles, and establish accountable protection pathways.

The selected Responsible Party will implement targeted activities contributing to Outputs 1.2, 2.1, and 2.3 under Outcomes 1 and 2 of the SAFE project results framework. The scope of work encompasses delivering capacity-building workshops for traditional, faith, and community leaders on countering online and offline misogyny, as well as facilitating community dialogues to protect older women from witchcraft accusations and discriminatory widowhood practices. It is in that perspective that this Call for Proposals is launched to select one qualified civil society organization as a Responsible Party to implement selected Ghana-specific activities, strengthening community-led advocacy, traditional leadership accountability, and protection mechanisms for older women and marginalized groups across Northern Ghana.