Expert's Take - Rewriting Tradition: African Leaders Share Pathways to Ending Violence Against Women and Girls

The latest global estimates on prevalence of intimate partner violence against women and girls released by WHO at the end of 2025 found that violence has decreased by just 0.2 per cent annually over the past two decades. The slow progress contrasts starkly with the growing number of commitments, laws and policies to prevent and respond to VAWG adopted over the same period, reflecting a disconnect between policies and practices that come at a high cost to the world.

Across Africa, nearly one in five women (19 per cent) experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner in the past year, compared to 13 per cent globally (WHO, 2025). Millions of girls and women are affected by harmful practices such as child marriage or female genital mutilation, and available data shows that over 20,000 women and girls have been killed by intimate partners or family members annually since 2022 (UNODC and UN Women, 2022-2024), alongside the rapidly growing threat of technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.  

Recognizing that violence against women and girls is an expression of power and control, traditional leaders in Africa are using their authority to turn the tide of violence in their communities, joining the efforts led by women’s rights advocates over decades. Aligned to evidence on how discriminatory social norms change, these efforts have brought forward the passage of laws, greater opportunities and services for women and girls. They have also built the collective power of people to seek justice and have challenged the dominant narratives that justify violence and blame survivors for their experiences. Yet for too long, the narrative of tradition has been used as a shield for acts of violence, with survivors silenced in the name of family honor and community culture, while perpetrators remain protected from the consequences of their actions.  

Women’s rights advocates have shown that preventing VAWG requires a whole-of-society approach, and through their mobilization in communities, traditional and state leaders have demonstrated how to use their power in transformative ways. This backdrop led to a unique exchange of more than 60 traditional leaders from 18 countries across Africa on their efforts to break the cycle of violence against women and girls. Convened in early February with support from UN Women and the Ford Foundation in Lagos, Nigeria, the meeting forms part of a journey of change spanning nearly a decade, with the establishment of the Council of Traditional Leaders of Africa (COTLA).     

As part of rewriting the script on tradition as a shield for gender-based violence, the leaders shared their stories of change, with many taking actions after understanding the deep injustice that women and girls face due to gender inequality. One king recalled the many consequences which followed his sister’s experience with FGM and thereafter became an advocate against the practice. Another king negotiated his accession to the throne by ensuring that his wife would not be forced to resign from her career in the judiciary as queen, as per the customary practice.  One of the leaders highlighted the devastation he saw as a physician where girls were forced to marry and become pregnant. The leaders’ exposure to and connection with the consequences of inequality and violence on their families and communities, as well as the educational and economic opportunities they accessed as men with privilege contributed to shaping their advocacy to end harmful practices and gender discrimination.  

Mirroring a lesson that women’s rights organizations have known from their advocacy for ending violence against women and girls (VAWG), the traditional leaders pointed out that change does not happen without resistance or persistence; although they are protected from the backlash often faced by women’s rights advocates given the authority they hold in their communities. They also highlighted the importance of affirming the values entrusted in them as holders of custom, such as mutual responsibility or collective care, which allowed them to harness their power and platforms to challenge discriminatory practices, such as rituals which physically harmed widows or denied them inheritance, limited girls’ access to education or women’s access to economic opportunities.  

Part of rewriting the script around traditional and customary practices to bring an end to VAWG has meant leaders challenging the belief that tradition is static, and customs do not change. History shows that tradition evolves with time, as evidenced by the presence of a female monarch in Malawi whose position is no longer limited for men, or women royalty who could travel across the continent for exchanges with other leaders. Within the knowledge passed between generations of traditional leaders are the stories of ancestors who contested customs and contributed to changes when the practices no longer served the well-being of their communities. In Southern Africa, one community has recorded the evolution of traditional practices over the past fifty years, offering a testament to the changes and the pathways to shift the narrative of violence as sanctioned by custom from time immemorial.   

While these shifts are not often documented or shared publicly, there is growing visibility of the benefits that come when traditional leaders recognize their role in shaping what is considered acceptable and use their power to break the silence around gender-based violence, as seen in Mali with highly revered griots. Traditional and community leaders have become public advocates for ending violence against women and girls. As one leader shared, 'where cultural practices harm rather than protect, leadership must speak and drive change'.  

To build consensus in their communities, they have invested in holding dialogues within their communities as an ongoing strategy to promote the rights of women and girls. They help affirm these rights with declarations or bylaws against child marriage, removing discriminatory practices related to inheritance for widows, and model actions in their families to encourage women’s access to economic opportunities and mobility. This reinforces state laws and has resulted in villages where child marriage has nearly been eradicated, and women’s economic empowerment is the norm. Many leaders have created safe spaces for women and girls at their palaces, where women and girls can access survivor-centered care and where reporting to the chief facilitates referrals to services and support rather than a return to an abusive home.  

As the countdown to reach the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its ambitious targets to eliminate violence against women and girls draws near, there is an urgent need for traditional leaders to join gender equality movements across Africa. By using their power to shift the narratives which justify violence and amplify the efforts of women’s rights advocates in their communities, it is possible to accelerate progress to eradicate the most pervasive human rights violation worldwide and shape a future where women and girls can live free from violence. In a region where 70 percent of the population are young people, the tradition of challenging injustice and violence must become the custom that is passed forward for future generations to build peace and prosperity across Africa.