CFJ Waging Justice for Women Fellowship 2026

Deadline: August 4, 2025

Are you an early-career woman lawyer from Sub-Saharan Africa? Join a powerful network of changemakers advancing justice, accountability, and equality for women and girls. Apply now for the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) Waging Justice for Women Fellowship 2026.

Fellows are expected to:

• Support the legal work of their host organizations which may include providing direct legal assistance to individuals, legal research, legal representation, drafting submissions, engaging in advocacy and speaking at events. The specific tasks depend on the mandate and focus of the host organization.
• Identify and support at least one strategic litigation case designed to advance women and girls’ rights in national, regional or international courts or UN mechanisms.
• Carry out at least two outreach activities to students at a school or university on advancing women and girls’ rights during the fellowship.
• Engage in the Fellowship Program activities, including mentoring, training and networking opportunities.

Benefits

• A paid work placement at a leading human rights organization in Africa which focuses on gender justice issues and strategic litigation.
• Mentorship by WJW’s Head of Fellowships and host organizations’ supervisors.
• At least one in-person convening and an extensive monthly online training program led by leading human rights experts.
• Networking opportunities with leading human rights experts, lawyers, judges, activists and academics and participation in events such as Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance.
• Access to the WJW Fellowship Alumni Program network for continued support, knowledge sharing and collaboration.

Cost

• Host organizations will provide their fellows with the equivalent in local currency of a $25,000 USD gross annual salary. Additional travel or work expenses may be covered at the discretion of CFJ and/or the host organization.

Eligibility

• An ideal candidate for CFJ’s Waging Justice for Women Fellowship will be an African woman lawyer who is accredited to practice law in the country of one of the host organizations and who is early in their career (less than five years of professional experience, post-accreditation). 
• Have a law degree from a recognized academic institution.
• Practicing Certificate and work authorization:
  • The applicant must be admitted to practice as a lawyer in the country of the selected host organization.
  • Fellows are expected to be based in the country of their host organization, and as such, should have the right to work in the host organization’s country. The host organizations are based in The Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Tanzania.
  • Note that regional organizations – the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), based in The Gambia, and the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), based in Tanzania – are willing to accept applications from qualified candidates licensed to practice law in other African countries. They may be able to support some international relocation costs and work permits in such cases. However, for all other organizations, costs relating to international relocation and acquiring work authorization cannot be supported.
• Relevant work experience:
  • At least two years of post-qualification experience in the legal field. As this fellowship is for early-career women lawyers, we will be less likely to consider women with more than five years of legal experience post-qualification.
  • Experience in women’s rights and working in human rights organizations is preferred.

Application

Applications for the 2026 cohort of fellows will be open from July 1 to August 4, 2025. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews in September. Offers for new fellows will be made by November 2025. Those selected for a fellowship should expect to begin in January 2026.

Click here to apply

For more information, visit CFJ Waging Justice for Women Fellowship.