Applications are open for the 2026 WJW Fellowship. Join a growing network of legal advocates advancing gender justice across Africa. Apply now
- The Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) is now accepting applications for its 2026 Waging Justice for Women Fellowship, a program that equips early-career women lawyers in Sub-Saharan Africa to advance justice, accountability, and equality for women and girls.
- The Fellowship, which was launched in 2023, awards each recipient a year-long, fully funded work placement at a leading human rights organization in Africa.
- Fellows receive training, mentorship, and access to a global network of legal experts. They gain experience while contributing to legal advice and litigation that advances the rights of women and girls in the region.
- The inaugural cohort of fellows worked on more than 230 women’s rights cases and supported more than 1,000 women and girls with legal information on issues including reproductive rights, gender-based violence, child marriage and more.
- In the first four months of their fellowship, the 2025 fellows have already worked on more than 90 cases, mostly on women’s rights, and reached more than 800 students during school outreach activities.
- The Fellowship is offered in partnership with the Fund for Global Human Rights’ Legal Empowerment Fund.
- The 2026 host organizations are: AdvocAid (Sierra Leone), Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (Liberia), Centre for Human Rights, Education, Advice and Assistance (Malawi), Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (South Africa), Female Lawyers Association, Gambia (The Gambia), Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (South Africa), Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (The Gambia), Katiba Institute (Kenya), Pan African Lawyers Union (Tanzania), and the Women Lawyers Association, (Malawi).
- Eligible applicants must apply by August 4, 2025.
- To learn more about eligibility criteria and how to apply, click here.
