Highlights

UN Women participated and actively contributed to the First African Girls’ Summit on Ending Child Marriage, being held in Lusaka, Zambia, from 24-27 November 2015.

Last week the world and Malawi commemorated International Human Rights Day: a time, among others, to do some soul searching on the rights of people with disabilities.

I am visually impaired. In the early 1990s I enrolled with Montfort Demonstration School for both my pre-school and primary school education. During the pre-school age, I played with toys with my fellow kindergarteners. Getting initiated into braille writing and reading proved to be another joyous moment.

The Alliance finished the year on high gear. This follows the programme being recognised as one of the programmes making a difference in the lives of African citizens. In October the Alliance was awarded a finalist Drivers of Change award based on the work around the SADC Gender Protocol. This November One Africa announced the Alliance as semi-finalist on the continental award. A total of 254 applications poured in from 33 different countries across the continent for this award.

The process towards the review of the protocol has been initiated following a regional meeting held in South Africa, from 26-28 October. The meeting’s objective was to revise the protocol targets and align text with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Despite the significant strides made in the SADC region to respond to gender violence, it remains one of the most flagrant violations of human rights and impediments to equality between women and men in Southern Africa.

The Alliance welcomes the opportunity to be part of the technical team for the review of the SADC Gender Protocol. This tripartite arrangement involves UN Women, the SADC Gender Unit and the SADC Member States.

The SADC Gender Protocol Alliance has been shortlisted for the Civil Society category of the 2015 Drivers of Change Award. Drivers of Change Awards recognise individuals and organisations from across southern Africa that are making a real impact in developing effective public policies and strategies to overcome poverty.

During the month of October, Alliance networks in Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia held validation workshops of their respective 2014 Country SADC Gender Protocol Barometers. The meetings that brought together civil society, government and academics also provided a platform for further engagements on the SADC Gender Alliance proposed targets and indicators for the post-2015 agenda.

There is jubilation among women in different regions, seeing that the Draft Constitution includes a section that gives women the power to own and inherit land, just like their male counterparts.

To celebrate South Africa’s 20th anniversary of freedom and democracy, CIVICUS and its partners will gather change makers from around the world at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg for International Civil Society Week from 19-25 November 2014.

Every year the United Nations declares the period from the 25 November, International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women, to the 10 December, International Human Rights Day, as the 16 days of no violence against women across the globe. Gender Links (GL) and partner organisations will implement the Sixteen Days of Activism 2014 under the banner Peace begins at home: End Violence! Empower Women!

The Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance focal networks have launched the regional 2014 SADC Gender Protocol Barometer, to share its findings and to inspire commitment to gender equality and the Protocol before and beyond 2015. This year’s Barometer highlights the proposed targets and indicators for the post-2015 Protocol based on consultations held across the SADC region.