Freedom of Information (FOI) and Women's Rights in Africa - A Collection of Case Studies from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia

Published by the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), this resource book is a collection of case studies from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia. It was produced as part of the Freedom of Information (FOI) and Women’s Rights in Africa Project, a collaboration between FEMNET and the United Nations Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), which works to strengthen women’s participation in the processes of formulating, enacting, and implementing the freedom of information (FOI) legislation in Africa. It documents the experiences of women’s participation in these processes leading to laws or policies that enable citizen to enjoy freedom of information, particularly information in the custody of the government. According to the publishers, it highlights best practices that have facilitated positive results and the challenges faced by champions of FOI campaigns in the five countries.

This resource book is designed to be used for enhancing the collective participation of African women lobbying for the enactment and implementation of FOI legal and policy frameworks in their respective countries. It provides some recommendations and conclusions drawn from the five case studies. The publishers say that the book will be distributed to African women’s organisations for use as a resource in their activities to secure the fundamental right to freedom of expression and freedom of information. Other users who may find the publication useful are media houses, human rights organisations that have been involved in the FOI campaigns, students of journalism and mass communication, and research centres in Africa.

The resource book consists of four chapters:

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Case Studies
• Chapter 3: Key Strategies
• Chapter 4: Conclusion