Africa has experienced many protracted intra-state wars where violence against women has been used as a weapon of war. This article seeks to highlight the case of refugee and internally displaced women in Africa and argues that their protection is not only a rights issue, but given the role women can play in state reform and peace processes, the protection of women is essential to Africa’s development and on a broader scale, global security. While there are fewer conflicts than previous 5 years, Africa still faces many challenges, some related to the aftermath of conflicts: more directly related to conflict are the huge numbers of refugees - 30% of the global refugee population and internally displaced persons (IDPs) of 13 million. The majority (75 - 80%) of these groups are women and their children and grandchildren and are therefore vulnerable to what have become common atrocities and abuse.