Virtual Resource Centre VRC

Tamanda Matebule, Blantyre, 1 August: School closures due to COVID -19 have influenced an increase in teenage pregnancies, with 7274 teenage girls reportedly pregnant in the Mangochi  district. A 16-year-old girl from Mangochi district currently doing her senior secondary school education shared her experiences having fallen pregnant after she was raped by her step- father. […]

Tamanda Matebule, Blantyre, 1 August: School closures due to COVID -19 have influenced an increase in teenage pregnancies, with 7, 274 teenage girls reportedly pregnant in the Mangochi  district alone. A 16-year-old girl from Mangochi district currently doing her senior secondary school education shared her experiences having fallen pregnant after she was raped by her […]

By Dr Sibongile Mpofu, Bulawayo, 23 July: The Covid-19 global pandemic has brought with it catastrophic results worldwide with thousands of people succumbing to the virus and millions more infected. Governments all over the world are trying to find ways to grapple with the pandemic. Not only is immense pressure on scientists, policymakers and sectors […]

Gabrielle Nina Mitch, Kinshasa, 3 July: For many women who are pregnant during this time of corona virus this journey in their lives has been uncertain. Arlette Mali Mungu Bahati, resident of Kinshasa city, is just a month away from the birth of her second child, but her anxiety has remained constant feature of her […]

By Andile Tshuma, Bulawayo, 20 July: Covid-19 has upended the lives of many children and their families alike, with migratory efforts such lock downs resulting in countrywide school closures, affecting children’s routines and support systems. Pandemic control measures that do not account for the gender specific needs and vulnerabilities of young women and girls may […]

Violences en période de confinement : les victimes ont peu d’espoir pour que justice soit rendu By Fehizora Rafalimanana,  Antananarivo, 17 July: Depuis mi-mai, le déconfinement est progressif à Madagascar malgré que le nombre de nouveaux cas de contamination au coronavirus ne cessent de s’accroître. Durant deux mois et demi de confinement, les formes de violence […]

By Anne Robi, Dar es Salaam, 22 June: When Agnes (Not her real Name) heard of the school closure amid the outbreak of COVID 19, she felt uneasy going home, as it was a place she risked being involved in the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). “I never wanted to go because I knew […]

By Fortunate Muzarabani, Bulawayo, 15 July: Undocumented immigrants are struggling to access Anti-Retroviral Treatment in South Africa and in Zimbabwe quarantine centres. Miriam Siziba (not her real name) was in South Africa when the Covid-19 lockdown started, where she worked as a domestic worker in Alberton. As an undocumented immigrant, she was already struggling to […]

By Majara Molupe, Maseru, 13 July: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says farmers in Lesotho have to cope with drought, rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events. As the changing climate forces more people to migrate, new conflicts are being triggered. Small – scale farmers feel more pinch of the changing climatic conditions […]

Gender Links in partnership with Commission for Gender Equality(CGE), South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID), and Women Voice and Leadership (WVL)   will host a cyber dialogue on Women’s Political Participation and the Constitutional Court ruling on the Electoral System – Cyber Dialogues. Date: 11 August 2020 Who: Citizens, women, youth, media, electoral system experts, NGOs, […]