Gender Justice

Even as African countries join the rest of the world in Durban, South Africa to evaluate the impact of climate change on livelihoods, there are concerns about the use of solar energy, rapidly gaining popularity in African countries, which was once heralded as an environmental solution to energy needs.

The church in Malawi is a respected source of information and an enforcer of a “moral code,À so it plays a pivotal role in the fight against gender-based violence (GBV). Despite Malawi being a signatory of the 2008 SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and other gender-related protocols, the arduous task of leveling the unequal and vast field of gender issues, including GBV remains. Research shows that GBV, mainly against women, is entrenched in the country’s traditions and beliefs.

In almost every country in Africa, women complain about sexual harassment in public spaces. Perhaps one of the worst spaces, and one that most women and girls can’t avoid, is on public transport.

Quand nous parlons de changement climatique, il faut l’envisager dans sa globalité. Ce qui se passe entre le Mozambique et l’Afrique du Sud est un crime pour les communautés de cette région et par conséquent pour les populations en général. C’est le constat établi par des experts mardi matin lors d’une des sessions de la 17e conférence des Nations Unies sur le changement climatique (CP17).

“Women instinctively know what the effects of climate change are,À said the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and incumbent COP 17 President, Maite Nkoane Mashabane. Mashabane was speaking at the opening of a high-level meeting on Women Leaders’ Commitments on Gender and Climate Change in Durban, co-convened with the President of the Mary Robinson FoundationÀ“Climate Justice, Mary Robinson. Robinson added, “They are instinctively intergenerational…À because of their biological role.

“This is your weather forecast and I am Nguatah Francis.À In the 90s, Kenyans were accustomed to hearing this introductory statement at the tail end of the state broadcast news. Little changed over the years about the timing or format of the weather reports, maybe that contributed to why Kenyans attached little importance to these forecasts?
Few Kenyans paid attention. It was not uncommon to see people carrying umbrellas on an extremely hot day as they anticipated rain. This was the urban dweller, the manzi wa Nairobi (city girl) who wore sandals and white trousers on a day when the streets of Nairobi were bound to be muddy. Yet, what about the rural woman, the subsistence farmer who needed the forecast to know when to plant the precious seeds saved from the last harvest to get the best yield?

Women instinctively know what the effects of climate change are…- Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa

– In most cases they are the perpetrators.
– Women are also perpetrators of violence its just that when they perpetrate gender based violence it is not reported.
– Most of the time women inflict emotional abuse.
– It is not only men perpetrating violence, but more violence is perpetrated by men than any other group.
– In most marriages mothers in law encourage GBV.

– The minister of environment and tourism/(ministry of environment).
– Academics, politicians, religious leaders and ordinary people À“ they all have to play a role in decision making.
– The government and business leaders are the key decision makers.
– Those that are in high positions.
– Some NGOs that are working on issues of climate change.

Every once in while, xenophobia against men and women from other African countries living in South Africa hits the headlines. Recently, there were threats in AlexanderTownship, and not too long ago, Somali businesses were the target. And of course, everyone remembers the tragic events of May 2008, when global headlines followed the horrific displacement of hundreds of thousands and the deaths of over 60 people as a result xenophobic rioting.