GEMSA 16 Days of Activism Newsletter Issue 10

E-Newsletter of  the Gender and Media Southern Africa Network

Produced daily during the Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, 2004

Issue 10, 8^th December 2004

IN THIS ISSUE:

·    Overview

·    Today’s I story

·    Country activities

Contact your Sixteen Day Campaign country representatives:

Botswana: Keaybone Ntsabanye: Womens_ngo_coa@info.bw

Kenya: Rosemary Okello: awcin@kenyaonline.co.za

Lesotho: Fanyane Mathabang :

mathabangfanyane@yahoo.co.uk

Mauritius: Loga Virahsawmy: gonaz@intnet.mu

Seychelles: Sharon Thelemaque: keraque@hotmail.com

South Africa: Mothibi Mohomane: mothibi@genderlinks.org.za

Swaziland: Ncane Maziya: smegwa2003@yahoo.com

Zambia: Chileshe Kalasa: Kchileshe2000@yahoo.co.uk  

Zimbabwe: Loveness Jambaya: loveness@mmpz.org.zw

Contact your GEMSA country representatives:

Angola: Anacleta Pereira

nani@netangola.com

Botswana: Pamela Dube

dube@mmegi.bw

Lesotho: Mathabang Fanyane

mathabangfanyane@yahoo.co.uk

Malawi: Stella Mhura

skaliwo@yahoo.co.uk

Mauritius: Loga Virahsawmy

gonaz@intnet.mu

Mozambique: Jose Marciano Mubai 

Vermoc@tvm.co.mz

Namibia: Sarry Xoagus- Eises

sxoagus@hotmail.com

Seychelles: Jean Claude Mantombe

nccadmin@seychelles.net

South Africa: Kubi Rama

kubi@genderlinks.org.za

Swaziland: Phumelele Dlamini

phumied@yahoo.com

Tanzania: Rose Haji

misatan@africaonline.co.tz

Zambia: Emmanuel Kasongo

ekasongo@coppernet.zm

Zimbabwe: Loveness Jambaya

loveness@mmpz.org.zw

Contact the GEMSA Executive Committee:

Chair: Colleen Lowe Morna (South Africa)

clmorna@mweb.co.za

Deputy Chair: Emmanuel Kasongo (Zambia)

ekasongo@coppernet.zm

Secretary: Tom Mapasela (Lesotho)

tmapasela@yahoo.co.uk

We encourage you to send us alerts, news and any other information you think may be of interest to others.

Media Institute of Southern Africa

www.misa.org

Gender Links

www.genderlinks.org.za

Gender violence affects people from diverse backgrounds and experiences; occurs in the private spaces of the home. It occurs in the private spaces of the home and in a myriad of public spaces – including the workplace.

Many women occupy the lower end of the workforce – as traders in the informal economy, in domestic work, in unskilled labour activities and in the survivalist sector.  Other women are in high-earning managerial and professional occupations. Yet a percentage of both groups of women, and men for that matter, will experience sexual harassment in their workplaces.

As a form of violence that does not receive as much attention as other more obvious manifestations, sexual harassment often goes unreported and as a result unchallenged.  The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence provides the opportunity to bring all forms of violence – in all spaces – into the public realm.  As a public issue sexual harassment as a form of gender violence needs to be addressed by all role players – by governments and employers in the form of proper policies and codes of conduct and by trade unions and gender activists also.

Today’s I story

Brothers, treat the women in your life with respect

By Wilson Mathate

Women deserve our trust, love and respect. They are the ones who keep our homes and families together. They are the ones who make great sacrifices. They should not be abused. My message to the men out there is to treat the women in your life with care and honour.

Read the full story at:

https://www.genderlinks.org.za/gemcomm/gemcomm.asp?cid=103

Botswana

7 December: Botswana Media Women Association in collaboration with GEMSA and Women’s NGO Coalition held a seminar for domestic workers on gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS.  Youth and adults attended the seminar, some of whom were self-employed. The objective of the seminar was to educate domestic workers on the violence and HIV/AIDS and to raise awareness about the 16 Days of Activism in Botswana.

Read the full story at: https://www.genderlinks.org.za/networks/newsletter.asp?nid=18

( By Keabonye Ntsabanye: Women’s NGO Coalition)

The Ministry of Women held a one day workshop which was facilitated by May Sengendo, a gender expert from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Youth Alive in Thabor are continuing their discussions to raise awareness among youth on the dangers of unprotected sex and are providing information on HIV/AIDS prevention. A regional awareness campaign on women, drugs and HIV/AIDS is underway in Riche En Eau.

Given the theme for tomorrow is “Love her; don’t kill her,” three survivors of rape, gender violence and sex work, drugs and HIV/AIDS will be talking. The entire day will be by them and for them.  They will talk to Media Watch Organisation, Centre de Solidarite and Chysalide in the presence of social workers, phychologists, doctors and journalists but this will be no media coverage.

Go to Media Watch Organisation’s website at: http://mediawatch.clickpost.com

(By Loga Virahsawmy) 

The theme for the cyber dialogue in South Africa was sexual harassment. Judging from the questions received from participants during the online chat this is an area which requires a great deal more attention from gender activists.

Panellists included the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hannekom, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Francois Beukman, Nick Smythe from Business Unity SA, Doris Tshepe from the law firm Cheadle, Thompson and Haysom and Louisa Thipe from COSATU. The panel itself represented the range of actors required to address sexual harassment in the workplace – labour unions, the private sector and government.

Many questions from participants related to what sexual harassment was and whether certain behaviours constituted sexual harassment. One comment drew attention to the particular issues faced by informal traders – many of whom are women – and the limited services and options they have available to them to deal with harassment.

Participants urged labour unions and employers to play a greater role in enforcing codes of conduct and dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace.

Find out more about the discussion by going to: www.cyberdialogues.co.za  and following the link from “Gender Violence and the workplace.

REMEMBER TO SHOW SOLIDARITY…

Participate in the peaceful demonstration being held outside the Zimbabwean Embassy to show solidarity to the men and women in Zimbabwe on International Human Rights Day.

In South Africa the demonstration will take place at the Zimbabwe High Commission, 798 Merton Street, Arcadia, Pretoria from 11:00-13:00. Contact Amnesty International South Africa on + 27 12-320 8155 or CIVICUS on + 27 11 833 5959

The Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) in conjunction with Zambia Media Watch (ZAMWATCH) held a cyber dialogue today. ZAMWATCH mobilised journalists and members of the public to participate in the dialogue on gender violence. NGOCC offered its internet café to the facilitators drawn from civil society while ZAMWATCH hired the facilities of a private Internet café where its members and the general public sent their queries to the facilitators. Journalists from some media houses used their own internet facilities to participate.

The questions centred on national gender policy, HIV/AIDS and the constitution as it relates to gender equality, women’s rights, international conventions and SADC protocols.

It was a dynamic and interesting discussion.  However, despite invitations being sent to government, no government representatives participated.  The cyber dialogue went on for four hours. The national gender policy encompasses all gender and development issues and it is widely believed that if implemented in its original form, Zambia will be on the path towards achieving gender equality and equity.

(By Brighton Phiri)

Write to us: admin@genderlinks.org.za

Send us information on what activities are taking place in your country.