Gender Justice Barometer, Issue 28, October 2008
Date: July 2, 2009
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SOUTHERN AFRICA
GENDER JUSTICE BAROMETER ISSUE 28: |
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IN THIS ISSUE
SADC GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT PROTOCOL: *Mauritius: SADC Gender and Development Protocol goes to villages
*Namibia: Making the numbers count in Politics
LEGISLATION
* Mozambique: Activists wait anxiously for parlimentary debate over
Domestic Violence Bill
*DRC: Demanding the enforcement of provisions in the constitution
through SMS campaign *Zambia: Consultations on the Gender Based Violence Bill in progress
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, CULTURAL AND POLITICAL
*Regional: Trafficking: An issue of national security or personal human security? * Zambia: Media harassment ahead of Zambia elections SERVICES * Zambia: Experience of a Traditional Birth Attendant
* Namibia: More women still struggle with health care
EDUCATION, TRAINING AND AWARENESS BUILDING
* Botswana: Assertiveness and gender training for aspiring women
politicians *Swaziland: Case study: WLSA’s Swazi ‘Vote for a Woman’ Campaign * Regional: The media: essential to achieving fifty percent women
in leadership by 2015? * Swaziland: CANGO holds awareness workshop on young women
and HIVand AIDS, human rights and gender INTEGRATED APPROACHES, BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS
* Mauritius: A communication strategy to popularise the National Action
Plan to Combat Domestic Violence on the cards
* South Africa: Strengthening the National Gender Machinery
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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
* Global:2008 Sixteen Days of Activism upon us
* Southern Africa: Sixteen Days of Activism
* Southern Africa: Gender activists switching on for gender justice
* Africa: Meeting of minds on gender equality at the Sixth Africa Development Forum
*Regional: From National Action Plans to End GBV to communication strategies
* Regional: Pilot project to test GBV indicators on the cards
* UNIFEM Say NO to Violence against Women campaign
PREVENTION OF GBV: WHAT WORKS?
* South Africa: Isolabantwana
UPCOMING EVENTS
* Cyber dialogue: Financing for women in the media
* Cyber dialogue: Financing for gender equality
* Mauritius: Strategic Communications workshop and media seminar
* Taking stock round table and cyber dialogue
* Domestic Violence conference
* SA Launch of ‘I’ Stories
* Cyber dialogue: Human trafficking
* Take Back the Night march
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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Global: 2008 Sixteen Days of Activism Campaign upon us
Around the world, this year’s 16 Days campaign focus will be on celebrating the 60th Anniversaryon International Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights cannot be universal without human rights for women. This year the global theme is Human Rights for Women À¹-Àº Human Rights for All: UDHR60.The UDHR60 campaign offers an opportunity to advocate for women’s rights and the quest to end gender inequality, and to create a world free from violence, discrimination and injustice. These are critical to building a just, peaceful and sustainable world where human rights for all are respected. For more information of the global theme, click here
Southern Africa: Sixteen Days of Activism Regional: Gender activists “switching on for gender justice” during this Sixteen Days  Gender activists in Southern Africa will this year Switch on for gender justice using Information Technologies (IT) as part of this year’s Sixteen Days activities. Cyber dialogues which have become an annual feature of the campaign are moderated online chats on thematic issues related to gender justice on selected days. They are hosted on the Gender Links website. The cyber dialogues can take place in eight language rooms, over and above the main English room. The languages include, Zulu, Sotho, Creole, Portuguese, kiSwahili, Shona, Afrikaans and Chichewa.
A regional planning meeting took place from 3 – 4th November 2008at Westford Hotel in Sandton and brought together key partners for this year’s campaign including the Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) and its country chapters, provincial coordinators from the Government Communication Information System (GCIS), Ekurhuleni Metro, SALGA Gauteng, Gender Advocacy Programme (GAP), Women and Law Southern Africa (WLSA) – Regional among and Media Action Plan country facilitators. The team agreed upon dates and themes, roles and responsibilities and finalised logistics of the cyber dialogues. It was agreed that each country facilitator would host at least 5 regional dialogues and aid ordinary citizens in engaging with experts and decision-makers on issues of gender violence during the Sixteen Days of Activism campaign.
These key role players will coordinate the dialogues bringing communities together – women, men including young girls and boys to central places where they can access technology. These dialogues will be preceded by face to face discussions and other activities. 11 cyber dialogues are planned for this year’s campaign on selected dates and will focus on a variety of themes. Clickhere for cyber dialogues schedule andthemes. You can join the chat on any of those selected dates at the designated time. If you have not used the chat facility before please follow instructions below to register: > Once there you will see a login screen. Move down and click on register.
> Complete all the registration details. Write down your login and password and click REGISTER.
> You will return to the login page, now type in your login and password and click LOGIN.
> Select the room you want to chat in. To select language chat room go to bottom left hand corner of the page and click on the drop down button. Select language from options presented and press enter.
Logging in (FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE REGISTERED BEFORE)
> Click on the Cyber dialogues in the middle of the wheel or on the top menu bar.
> Click on the Gender Links Chat.
> Once there you will see a login screen.
> Fill in your login and password and click on LOGIN.
> Select the room you want to chat in.
> To select language chat room go to bottom left hand corner of the page and click on the drop down button. Select language from options presented and press enter.
Africa: Meeting of minds on gender equality at the Sixth Africa Development Forum
The sixth African Development Forum (ADF VI) on “Action on gender equality, women’s empowerment and ending violence against women in AfricaÀ is being organized by the ECA in partnership with the African Union (AU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). It will take place from 19 to 21 November 2008 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
It is clear that as ECA marks its 50th anniversary, there is need to reflect on the progress made towards achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment on the continent; identify the challenges constraining implementation of relevant policies and strategies at the national and regional levels; and seek comprehensive solutions to realistically address outstanding areas of gender inequalities.
Towards achieving this overarching objective, ADF VI will:
>Reflect on the progress made at national, subregional and regional levels to date in promotingender equality and women’s empowerment, and in addressing violence against women; Identify the policy implementation and other challenges that countries have faced
> Share experiences, lessons learnt and good practices in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment and on eliminating violence against women;
> Define priority actions and mechanisms needed to accelerate progress towards achievement of gender equality, women’s empowerment and eliminating violence against women;
> Strengthen and build new strategic alliances and partnerships to take the equality agenda forward.
The forum’s thematic areas
ADF VI will focus on twelve thematic clusters:
ADF VI will focus on twelve thematic clusters: 1. Violence against women
2. HIV and AIDS
3. Health and reproductive rights
4. Education, training and skills development
5. Migration
6. Governance, conflict, peace and security
7. Employment, markets and trade
8. Food security
9. Land and property rights
10. Climate change, water, sanitation and energy
11. Financing for gender equality
12. Gender and ICT
Expected outcomes and follow-up mechanisms
– A plan of action that provides clear recommendations for Member States and development partners to accelerate the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment;
– A position statement on African women and emerging issues;
– ADF VI will come up with a proposal for an African decade on gender equality (similar to the recent African decades on water and education) as a follow up mechanism to ensure implementation of these recommendations. The African decade on gender equality would detail the concrete priority actions to be undertaken by the responsible entities, the performance indicators timeline and clear targets on what is to be achieved for each theme that would be used for assessing progress (including a mid-term review).
Regional: From National Action Plans to End GBV to communication strategies Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland came up with strategies to popularise their National Action Plans to End Gender Based Violence which were developed and adopted between 2006 and 2007. Convened by Gender Links in collaboration with GEMSA, participants represented national and local government officials, NGOs and CBO. The objectives of the workshop included; > Developing a targeted communications strategy for action plans to end gender violence > Using the Sixteen Days of Activism Campaign to leverage the 365 Day Action Plans > Making IT work for gender justice through building IT skills A media seminar followedwhich reflected on how gender based violence is covered in the media based on research such as the Gender and Media Baseline Study of 2003 and the Global Media Monitoring Project of 2005. The seminar explored ways on how journalists can develop story ideas based on the communication plans and Sixteen Days activity plan as a way of keeping GBV on the agenda but consistently bringing fresh perspectives in the discourse. Participants found the engagements very useful and a practical way of linking journatilsts with gender activists. The key outputs achieved were;
* The reports will be available on the Gender Links website shortly
Regional: Pilot project to test draft indicators on the cards
Gender Links working with partner organisations inclduing the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), Soul City, Medical Research Council (MRC) and representatives of government officials from Botswana, Mauritius and South Africa have begun in earnest preparations for a pilot project to test draft indicators to measure GBV. The working meeting held on 3rd October at the Gender Links Office in Johannesburg aimed to determine roles and responsibilities of partners in the finalisation of draft indicators to measure violence against women, the designing of the research and piloting the application of these indicators in the City of Johannesburg. Planning for the piloting of the indicators in two other countries, Botswana and Mauritius also commenced at this meeting. There is a growing realisation of the need for a standardised tool that can be used to provide baseline data on the extent and effect of GBV, as well as monitoring trends. One of the key targets set in the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development is to half current levels of GBV by 2015. This includes new forms of GBV such as trafficking. The Protocol poses a real challenge to gender activists and governments to establish baseline data on GBV and monitor trends going forward.
Many SADC states have moved from campaign mode (16 Days of Activism) to 365 Day National Action Plans to End Gender Violence. National Action Plans call for strong monitoring and evaluation mechanisms so as to measure impact of programmes. Key challenges include:
> Administrative statistics are inadequate.
> GBV is under reported (in South Africa research says only one in nine rape incidents are paid).
> Many forms of violence, including domestic violence are not recorded.
> Many cases are withdrawn.
> Available info tells us little about the effects; consequences.
> Data available on prevention work going on is weak
The initiative has received interest from the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa (ECA), the African Union and the SADC Gender Unit have expressed interest in the initial work done on GBV indicators in Southern Africa at the Think Tank Meeting. Click here to read full report.
Global: UNIFEM Say No to Violence Against Women Campaign UNIFEM is currently running an internet awareness and advocacy effort to end gender based violence ‘Say NO to Violence against Women. Launched in 2007 the campaign was designed to feed into the UN Secretary General Ban-Kimoon’s campaign Unite to End Violence againt Women. It has sinced served as a platform for hundreds of thousands of concerned people to add their names to a global call for action, demanding that demanding that the issue be made a top priority globally.
Say NO has also increasingly received support from decision makers from across the world. Heads of State as well as Ministers of 40 countries have added their names on behalf of their governments hence expressing political will to take action on the issue.
All signatures to the Say NO campaign along with a list of Governments that have joined the initiative will be handed to the United Nations Secretary General at a high level event at the ECOSOC chamber on 25 November 200, the International Day to End Violence against Women. Everyone is invited to join the campaign. By joining the campaign will signal support to the efforts of the Secretary General and the targeted outcomes of this campaign namely:
> National legislation on violence against women and enforcement thereof
> National action plans
> Data collection and analysis
> Increased public awareness and mobilisation and
> Systematic addressing of sexual violence as a method of warfare
Click here to read more and add your signature
SADC GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT PROTOCOL
Mauritius: SADC Gender and Development Protocol goes to villages
 Councillors, NGOs and gender activists were invited from four villages in the North of Mauritius, Le Hochet, Terre Rouge, Baie du Tombeau and Calebasse. Although Calebasse had no representatives 35 participants, 33 women and two men were present at what proved to be a very rich, interactive and thought provoking workshop on the SADC Gender and Development Protocol.
The workshop sought to bring the Gender Protocol to grassroots as part of making the instrument a living document. The following concepts which were not clear to participants were explained while they were asked to give examples that they are aware of. These included: Gender, gender based violence, gender equality, gender mainstreaming, gender stereotypes, gender sensitive, multiple roles, sexual harassment, sexual and reproduction rights, PEP and female condom.
The following articles contained in the Protocol sparked debate and interest amongst participants:
1. Article 6, Article 23 and Article 25 – Domestic Legislation, Gender based violence and Sexual Harassment À“ Most participants were not aware of legislations like the Sex Discrimination Act, the Domestic Violence Act, the Child Protection Act, Protection of Elderly persons Act and the HIV and AIDS Act that protect them. They were not aware of their right to have recourse to justice with free legal services. MWO-GEMSA agreed to contact the Ministry of Women to organise workshops on gender laws in these regions. The Sex Discrimination Division will also be contacted.
2. Article 12 and 13 – The Girl Child and the Boy Child À“ they did not realise that by bringing up their boys and girls with different set of values they were themselves discriminating their girls. The need to have gender aware socialisation of boys became clear to the participants.
3. Article 14 À“ Representation À“ There are only 17% women in Parliament and 6.4% make up village councillors. There are 36 villages in the North with 432 councillors and only 19 of them are women making a percentage of 4.4%. Participants took the commitment of making sure that at the 2010 village elections there will be over 50% women candidates in these three villages.
4. Article 15 À“ Participation À“ Building the capacity of women À“ the Steering Committee in charge of the Action Plan for the North will organise regular workshops for women. The question of empowering them to talk in public meeting was also raised.
5. Article 16 À“ Gender equality in education À“ Although girls and boys have equal access to education, the question of gender stereotypes in educational materials were raised
6. Article 17 and Article 19 À“ Economic policies and Economic Empowerment À“ Although women and men have equal access to loans and to set up their own businesses, women still lag behind and need proper guidance to get loans and advice on how to start their own businesses.
7. Article 33 À“ Media, information and communication À“ It was agreed that sexist advertisements should be banned and more women should have access to media literacy courses to make them critical consumers of media
Namibia: Making the numbers count in Politics
Namibian gender activists applaud the goal of a 50 percent women in political decision- making by 2015 set by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development, but warn that the real work is only just beginning.
In the last general election in November 2004, 26 women won seats in the 72-member parliament. A voluntary quota of 30 percent of women in party lists helped get more women elected. The replacement by women of several male MPs who died or resigned has brought Namibia above the 30 percent target set by the predecessor of the Protocol – the 1997 SADC Declaration on Gender and Development. But Lucy Edwards, a sociologist and lecturer at the University of Namibia laments what she describes as the failure of Namibian women to “create wavesÀ. She said, “The mere fact that there are some women in various political parties does not mean that they will challenge the status quo or that they will challenge patriarchy. Presence alone does not create conditions for a feminist agenda, which is to attain complete. Read full article Source: IPS
LEGISLATION
Mozambique: Activists wait anxiously for parliamentary debate over Domestic Violence Bill debate Currently there is no specific law in Mozambique that deals with domestic violence cases. Although perpetrators of domestic violence can be charged under some provisions of the Penal Code or the Family Law, these are not adequate and are vague. Many SADC countries have made progresswhile some still lag behind. Currently about half of the SADC countries have domestic violence specific legislation which includes Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa and Zimbabwe. This means that Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia are still lagging behind in terms of legislatinglaws that specifically deal with specifically deal with domestic violence. Meanwhile all stakeholders in Mozambique are hoping that the council of Ministers will approve the multi-sector National Action Plan to Address Gender Based Violence beofre the end of the year. The Sixteen Days campaign provides an opportune time for the Ministers to consider signing off this document.
DRC: Demanding the enforcement of provisions in the constitution through SMS campaign
A few days before the announcement of the new government, the Center for Gender Equality launched a campaign to mount pressure on the Prime Minister to push for the implementation of gender parity in the National Government in respect of the prescribed Constitutional Article 14: “A woman is entitled to equitable representation in national institutions, provincial and local. The State guarantees the progressive implementation of gender parity in these institutions “.
The observatory for parity has invited all interested individuals to use for the first time in DRC an advocacy direct and efficient: Send an SMS to 1st Minister asking him to advance the implementation of parity in its future government. The operation has not yielded the expected results since the new government are 6 women out of 51 members. But the initiative should be welcomed.
Zambia: Consultations on the Gender Based Violence Bill in progress
Consultations and submissions on the Gender Based Violence Bill are still going on. Government has directed the Law Development Commission to conduct the exercise on its behalf. The Bill will deal with all forms of GBV cases in Zambia.
Gender and Media in Southern Africa (GEMSA-ZAMBIA) among other organisations which have thrown their weight to lobby for the speedy enactment of the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) Bill. The chapter says the bill will help to combat SGBV. GEMSA-ZAMBIA Chairperson Nelson Banda said women were most vulnerable to gender À“violence but they lacked adequate protection of the law.
Meanwhile the Young Christian Association (YWCA) has expressed concerned with the increased incidences of gender based violence cases in the country. The organization says from January to June 2008, it received 3, 553 cases of GBV compared to 5, 327 cases received from January to December in 2007.
SOCIAL, POLITICAL, CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC PRACTICES
Regional: Trafficking: An issue of national security or personal human security?By Fred Katerere
Trafficking has long been an issue of national importance for South Africa due to the fact that a majority of trafficked individuals end up here. South Africa’s porous borders, persistent gender inequalities and large economy make it an ideal destination point. However the issue seems to be receiving even more attention than usual due to the imminent World Cup 2010, what was once as a clandestine issue that no-one spoke about, is now perceived as an issue of ‘national security’. What is essential in the run up to the Games, is that the issue is framed and dealt with, in a way which highlights the plight of the trafficked individuals. Trafficking is a human rights abuse. Period. The fact that trafficking creates further security concerns for governments is secondary. We must utlitise the lead up to the World Cup to raise awareness of the issue whilst ensuring that the trafficking of women and children, does not increase. This month at least two campaigns have been launched to highlight the plight of these vulnerable individuals. Click here to read article
Source: GL’s Opinion and Commentary Service.
Zambia: Media harassment ahead of Zambia elections
By Perpetual SichikwenkweWe are all painfully aware of the dismal proportion of women working at the top of the political pyramid, however is equally worrying is the number ordinary women that are finding it increasingly difficult to vote in political elections each year. The gender based violence that surrounds elections calls into question exactly what we mean by ‘free and fair’ elections and perhaps even further illuminates major defects in our concept of democracy.
In the next three years ten countries will go to the polls, the SADC Community needs to ensure that the average woman’s voice is heard, particularly at election time. Whilst the target of having at least fifty percent of decision-making positions in the public and private sectors held by women, is ideal and worth striving for, we also need to ensure that women are the lower echelons of society are not left without a say.
Despite the fact that there are no provisions in the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development specifically related to gender based violence and elections or political processes, it is felt that the ability of women to vote has a domino effect on achieving the ambitious SADC target of having at least fifty percent women in leadership by 2015. It is therefore necessary to continue to observe and document the obstacle that women face when it comes to voting and furthermore develop and implement provisions in regional instruments that address this type of violence against. It is only with the full participation of female constituents that make up over half of our Southern African societies that our politicians can claim to represent the people as a whole. Click here to read full article
Source: Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service
SERVICES
Zambia: Experience of a Traditional Birth Attendant
Martha Akalimikwa, aged 45 and a mother of three – two girls and a boy, decided to take up the voluntary profession of traditional birth attendant after she underwent a difficult labour herself and delivered at home.
Unfortunately her baby, a beautiful girl did not survive. She died upon arrival at the district hospital. The circumstances that led to Ms Akalimikwa delivering at home are not strange to anyone living in a rural district like Lukulu.
Lukulu is one of the seven districts in the western part of Zambia. The district has a population of about 68,373. Women make up the majority of the population and also suffer the burden of poverty, disease and unemployment. Ms Akalimikwa has been a traditional birth attendant (TBA) for the past 23 years. Her work is valued and appreciated by community members that benefit from her services.
In the absence of maternal health services as close to the household as possible, the role of Ms Akalimikwa and many other TBAs in providing health care services is critical. Read full article
Source: AllAfrica.com
Namibia: More women still struggle with health care
Although Government has in the past years built health care facilities across the country, research has found that 70 percent of Namibian women have problems accessing health care.
The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2006-7 report reveals that access to health care facilities is still hindered by distance, time and costs. The time cost of travelling to, waiting for, and receiving health services prevents women from seeking health care. This is worsened by insufficient knowledge tied to women’s low self-esteem, while decision-making dynamics also act as an obstacle to health care.
The report says 39 percent of women have no financial resources and 42 percent are dissuaded by distance, while another 42 percent is affected by lack of transport. The proximity of households to government health facilities varies across regions. Read full article
Source: AllAfrica.com
EDUCATION, TRAINING AND AWARENESS BUILDING
Botswana: Assertiveness and gender training for aspiring women politicians Aspiring women politicians in Kasane attended a training session on assertiveness, gender and media to assist them in their quest for political offices from 3 – 5 September 2008. The workshop emphasised the fact that the media is a very powerful tool and politicians should be able to use it to disseminate information and communicate to all sectors of society. Women should utilise all mediums to carry their messages such as radio and newspapers which are often accessible. This would go a long way in bolstering their campaign strategies.
Swaziland: Case study: WLSA’s Swazi ‘Vote for a Woman’ Campaign
This year Women in Law Southern Africa – Swaziland (WLSA-Swaziland) launched the ‘Vote for a Woman’ Campaign in the run up to the 2008 elections. The objective of the campaign was to increase the number of female decision makers at all level of government. There are 360 chiefdoms in Swaziland and therefore the aim was to get women to represent at least 30% of these chiefdoms at various decision making levels and ultimately at least 16 female members of parliament. Whilst WLSA targeted all sections of society and seemed to have the backing of all relevant key stakeholders, they still incurred many problems along the way. For example they found that attitudes amongst women themselves varied and that it was therefore necessary to sensitize society at large and women specifically on the importance of having female representation at all levels of society. WLSA focused on using the following materials to publicise their campaign: posters, T shirts, caps, presentations of television, adverts in print media and community meetings in various chiefdoms. There also had a slogan that when translated in English read: ‘This time is for women’. In addition, WLSA held three days of training about the voting process and the Swazi Constitution.
One of the successful and innovative ideas that was used by WLSA to stress this importance was the concept of story telling: An example of a story told;
‘A government official goes to a village and asks the men in each household if there is a shortage of water in their house and whether or not a better water system needs to be developed in the local area. Each man in turn says that there are no real problems of water shortages in the area, so the government official returns to his office, baffled by the responses.
When the men return to their respective households and relay the events of the day to their wives. The women stands aghast, ‘But why did you say that??’. ‘Well’ explains the men, when I wake up at 6am there is water, when I need to wash feet you bring me water and when I need to drink water, you bring it to me’. Then the woman replied, ‘but the point is that I wake up at 4am to go and fetch the water so that when you wake up at 6am there is water’.
This story was used to highlight that the fact that it is women who often understand women’s issues the best. When election time came round at the end of September only 7 (12,7%) women were elected to the 55-member House of Assembly.
WLSA identified that there were many lessons to be learnt from their campaign:
Click here to read more about Women and Politics in Swaziland, and why campaigns such as the early implementation of campaigns such as WLSA’s ‘Vote for a Woman’ campaign are necessary.
Regional: The media: essential to achieving fifty percent women in leadership by 2015?
By Susan Tomay
With elections in 10 countries over the next three years, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has the opportunity to make great strides towards increasing the numbers of women in parliaments and other key decision-making posts in national government structures. How women politicians and media relate to each other, is an important part of whether this happens or not.
So far, increasing women in governance has moved at a snail’s pace. The recent signing of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development raises state commitment from the 30% agreed in 1997 to 50%, despite the fact that, 11 years on, only five countries in the region (Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and most recently, Angola) have attained the 30% target in parliament.
The picture is similar at the local government level, with only three countries having reached and exceeded the 30% target (Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania) and Lesotho having exceeded the 50% mark with 58% women in local government.
Over the next five years, Gender Links, a regional organisation which promotes equality and justice for women, is working 14 SADC countries, where there will be national and local elections, to build capacity and encourage interaction between women politicians and the media. Beginning with Malawi in the second week of November, and in Botswana and South Africa shortly after, this will provide a unique opportunity to campaign for the 50/50 target. Click here to read the rest of article, brought to you by GL’s Opinion and Commentary Service.
Swaziland: CANGO holds awareness workshop on young women and HIVand AIDS, human rights and gender
Young women from all sections of Swazi society need to be empowered to be agents of their own destiny was one of the main outcomes of a awareness and consultative workshop hosted by the Coordinating Assembly of Non Governmental Organisations in Swaziland (CANGO). The workshop attempted to define the term young women and it was agreed that those who fell between the ages of 18 – 30 yearsqualified to be referred to as young women. Supported by UNIFEM the aim wasto discuss challenges faced by women around HIV and AIDS, Gender and Human Rights issues.
Several issues were debated and the most prominent challenges raised were socio-economic factors where young women endured abuse especially in the textile sindustry while receiving a meagre income. Other issues included: unwanted pregnancies where at least a 100 feotuses were discovered in this year alone at Matshapa by young women who can not afford to take care of their babies. A lot of the young girls have resorted to selling their bodies in a bid to earn a living.
Two young women living with HIV and AIDS shared their stories and this was a touching moment in the consultative workshop. They spoke out abou t the challenges of living with the virus and how negotiating for safer sex has proved difficult. A number of men demand unprotected sex putting them at risk of reinfection in the process. None of the legislation in place protect these young women who sometimes find themselves being hauled before the law on charges of ‘knowingly infecting’ their clients.
Participants lamented the partriarchal nature of Swazi society as well as the fact that many international human rights instruments have not been domesticated hence compromising the young women’s freedom to exercise their full human rights.
INTEGRATED APPROACHES
Mauritius: A communication strategy for the National Action Plan to combat Domestic Violence on the cards
MWO-GEMSA in collaboration with the Ministry of Women’s Rights and Gender Links are convening a workshop to craft a communication strategy for popularising the National Action Plan to combat Domestic Violence from 17 – 19th November 2008. This will bring together NGOs working in gender violence, gvernment officials directly responsible for the delivery of services to survivors of gender violence such as the police, justice, health, education, media practitioners, UNDP and representatives of Gender Thematic Group.
The Action Plan was launched by Minister Indira Seebun during the Sixteen Days campaign of No Violence Against Women in November 2007. It is a harmonised version of that of action plans developed by the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Family Welfare and Child Development and Media Watch Organisation-GEMSA after a workshop held by Gender Links. The communication strategy will go a long way in order for the plan to be relevant to grassroots women and men and that communities promote a zero tolerance to gender based violence. Click here to view the National Action Plan to Combat Domestic Violence
South Africa: Strenghthening the national gender machinery
A two-day workshop for National Gender Machinery (NGM) was held to strengthen women’s empowerment and gender equality, the Government Communication and Information System said.
The workshop which was held in Pretoria over the weekend was led by the Minister in the Presidency, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. During the workshop it was recommended that the NGM must be strengthened in order to effectively implement a national strategy to get more women into the mainstream economy.
It was also agreed that the NGM will continue to engage in the India-Brazil-South (IBSA) processes through the IBSA women’s forum. The national anti-poverty strategy was discussed and a recommendation was made that the policy unit of the Presidency should be approached and engaged about gender issues within anti-poverty strategies.Read more
Source: The Times
In the next few editions we will feature a series of best practices of the prevention of gender based violence. These case studies were gathered during a mapping exercise of promising violence prevention models in South Africa. Gender Links was commissioned by the Inter Departmental Management Team of the South Africa Government under the leadership of the National Prosecuting Authority-Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit and UNICEF.
You are invited to submit case studies of ‘What is working in addressing gender based violence.” Contributions should be sent to Loveness Jambaya Nyakujarah:mailto:hjustice@genderlinks.org.za
This month we feature an example of programmes which focus on children and youth and gender based violence. Isolabantwana. Isolabantwana (Eye on the Child) is a community based child protection programme that advocates the collaboration of communities and formal resources when protecting children against abuse, neglect and exploitation. The programme further seeks to educate and enlighten communities about various social problems. Read more about the project
UPCOMING EVENTS
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Comment on Gender Justice Barometer, Issue 28, October 2008