Roadmap to Equality, Issue 10, June 2010

Editor’s note

Highlights

The SADC Protocol @ Work

Namibia: SADC Gender Protocol to be mainstreamed into National Population Policy

South Africa: VAW sector call for ratification of the SADC Gender Protocol

Botswana: SADC Protocol to top agenda on gender sector meeting with WAD

Regional: Soccer 2010, community radio and human trafficking

South Africa: Presidential opera and Soccer 2010: more than just a game!

Africa: Celebrating Africa Day, Remembering our commitment to ‘never again’

Gender-based Violence

South Africa: Human trafficking under the spotlight

South Africa: Hawks bust human trafficking ring

South Africa: Sex traffickers face R100m or life

Constitutional and Legal Rights

Swaziland: Doo Aphane wins property rights case in a contracted court battle

Governance and Peace Building

Mauritius: Records many gender firsts in elections

Madagascar: Malagasy women call for 30% women quota in transitional government

Mauritius: Voting stations to cater for people with disabilities

Global: Gender in the UK elections

Economic Justice, Education and Training

Who’s feeling it: Informal traders and the World Cup

South Africa: Traders protest exclusion from World Cup

Health, HIV and AIDS

South Africa: Groups, FIFA battle over HIV and AIDS messages ahead of world cup

Namibia: Demonstrators demand justice on forced sterilisation cases

Zimbabwe: When giving life brings death

Media, Information and Communications

Namibia: Media, gender and elections under the spotlight at Electoral Commission Forum of SADC Seminar

Regional: Mainstreaming gender into media teaching curriculum imperative

Integrated Approaches/ Monitoring and Evaluation

Africa: Women strategise on promosting women in leadership

Zambia: Women’s conference denounces Rupiah’s govt in communique

Africa: Progress report calls on African leaders to turn ‘scramble for Africa’ into real results

• Roadmap to  equality Handbook
• Barometer Baseline Research
• Pamphlets in indigenous languages
• English and French DVD’s
• Barometer Country reports

The 2010 Soccer World Cup tournament has finally come and all roads and air routes lead to South Africa. As the recent media reports show this comes with many vices. The most notable is the likely increase in human trafficking for sexual exploitation. The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development calls on states to put in place anti-human trafficking legislation by 2015.

Many human rights based organisations carried out campaigns in the last couple of years and particularly in the last year on the need for SADC to put in place mechanisms to address the scourge. This did not yield as many positive results as anticipated. But the seed was planted and is only beginning to geminate. Read more about the Score a goal for gender equality campaign and radio spots.

Only five SADC countries have legislation to date with the host country South Africa a signatory to the SADC Gender Protocol only having reached the stage of tabling the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill in mid-March. More could have been done to ensure that the law is passed before the beginning of the World Cup match.

While law makers take their time to respond, media reports show that human trafficking is alive and well. South Africa is reported to have made its first conviction for human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA. The state used racketeering laws related to sexual exploitation to convict a couple, South African Basheer Sayed and Thai national, Somcharee Chuchumporn, in the Durban Regional Court.

Police have reportedly bust a human trafficking ring involving 21 women in Kempton Park. This is welcome news but it is a little too late. Earlier on in March 2010 nine Nigerian men were arrested for alleged human trafficking and have since appeared in the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court, Mpumalanga.

Civil society working with the NPA and other government departments are also working at reviving the 365 Days National Action Plan to End Gender Based Violence. In there are commitments to address human trafficking. But what happens now in the absence of a specific law is of concern to many.

As we celebrated Africa Day during the month of May we also had other reasons to be happy. Gender activists celebrate with Doo Aphane’s victory in the Swaziland Supreme Court on winning a case to register property in her name. The judges who ruled have upheld gender equality principles. This demonstrates the urgent need for SADC countries to review laws that discriminatein line with Articles 4-11 in the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. Aluta continua! The struggle for gender equality continues. Now is the time for gender equality in SADC. Kenako!

In order to remain fresh and relevant to the issues in your country and our region WE NEED YOUR INPUT! To make contributions and comments or get information please write to alliance@genderlinks.org.za and All contributions must be in latest by the 1st of each month in order for us to get it out on time. Do note that the e-newsletter will go out on the 15th of every month.

The SADC Gender Protocol @ Work

Namibia: SADC Gender Protocol to be mainstreamed into National Population Policy

The National Planning Commission Secretariat in the Office of the President will mainstream relevant provisions of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development as it reviews the National Population Policy. The consultant leading the process highlighted this as one of the missing links at a stakeholders meeting attended by representatives from key government ministries, NGOs and the private sector. When the policy was initially formulated in 1997, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare had not yet come into existence nor had the SADC Gender Protocol been signed.

The main objectives of the meeting included:
†¢ To promote gender equality, equity and women empowerment at all levels in policy review and formulation as well as in development plans.
†¢ To review and change where necessary to incorporate socio-economic and cultural values and attitudes that hinder gender equality and equity in the policy.
†¢ Ensure the policy has a provision for promoting women’s employment opportunities and job security.
†¢ The revised policy will also feature among other concerns the revised National Gender Policy, Namibian Constitution and other new laws that relate to gender equality.

Sarry Xoagus-Eises, a local government and gender justice facilitator for Gender Links expressed concern that some of the participants had heard about the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development for the first let alone information that Namibia had signed and ratified the instrument. Many of those who attended the meeting called on the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare to raise more awareness on the Gender Protocol and other gender instruments, laws and policies with fellow government ministries and the citizens at large.

South Africa: VAW sector call for ratification of the SADC Gender Protocol

The Western Cape Network on Violence Against Women which also serves the Provincial Gender Machinery Coordinator convened a members’ general meeting to explore mechanisms of taking forward the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and the Protocol to African Charter Human and People Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.

The meeting specifically aimed to raise awareness on the key provisions in VAW articles in the SADC Gender Protocol and African Protocol on Women’ s Rights, build an understanding the ratification process for the SADC Gender Protocol and its link with the AU Protocol on the Rights of Women.

The members present called on South Africa to ratify the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development so that

At the end of the meeting the WCNOVAW agreed on the following action points:
†¢ Compiling VAW dossiers of each member state
†¢ Compiling a database of VAW organisations working in each country
†¢ Making contact with lead VAW organisations in each country to participate and join the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance and in particular the gender based violence cluster

Botswana: SADC Protocol to top agenda on gender sector meeting with WAD

The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development will top the agenda when the gender sector of the Botswana Council of NGOs meets with the new Director of the Women’s Affairs Department on 11th June 2010. The women’s sector are applying pressure on government to step up as the country has not signed the SADC Gender Protocol as they are concerned that the country will not be able to meet all the targets set for 2015 if the delay continues.

Elsie Alexander an academic and active member of the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance in Botswana underscored the need for all stakeholders to mount a proactive advocacy strategy particularly ahead of the August 2010 SADC Heads of State Summit. This should include taking the Gender Protocol to rural areas and conduct a workshop for new Members of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers to brief them on the provisions and implications of the sub-regional instrument.

She also emphasised that the new Director and all stakeholders should ensure that the SADC Gender Protocol informs priorities of the National Gender Programme and the process of developing a National Gender Policy, Other issues that are on the agenda include:
†¢ To follow up on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Botswana submission to the CEDAW Committee and map a way forward in relation to the concluding observations and resolutions of the Geneva meeting held 18th January — 5th February 2010.
†¢ To follow up on the resolutions of the Beijing Plus Fifteen review and the 54th Session on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
†¢ To discuss Botswana’s stance on the Global Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign urges the UN and the Member States to create an agency that can operate with an impact, and make this agency operational without delay.

Regional: Soccer 2010, Community radio and human trafficking

From 15 June – 15 September Gender Links will be implementing a Communications Campaign to raise awareness around 2010 and human trafficking titled, “Together We Can End Human Trafficking.” This will be held in partnership with the Red Light 2010 Campaign (network of organisations including SANTAC and Women in Law Southern Africa), the National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) and Community Media for Development (CMFD), and is being supported by IOM and Oxfam GB.

The radio component of this campaign comprises the production and distribution of 3 short radio spots based on the key messages of the Red Light 2010 Campaign, which address various aspects of human trafficking, as well as provide information on resources of where to go to report cases of trafficking. Supported by the IOM, the spots will be produced in English, Zulu, Sotho, Afrikaans, and Seswati, and distributed to 120 community radio stations in the nine provinces of South Africa. Supported by OXFAM and the Red Light 2010 Campaign, the spots will also be produced into: Portuguese, French, Nyanja, Chichewa, Setswana, and Shona. An accompanying presenters guide will encourage discussion with local experts and calls from community members. The first spot will be broadcast in all on the 10 June 2010 to coincide with the opening ceremony of Soccer 2010.

In collaboration with the OXFAM GB and Red Light 2010 initiative, Gender Links will also use their Opinion and Commentary Service to produce ten opinion pieces each month from writers across Africa on the key messages of the Red Light 2010 campaign.

World Cup Soccer 2010 kick off voice pops:
Some say that soccer is a man’s game, but visiting the fan park at Mary Fitzgereld Square on opening day, shows it just isn’t true. Female fans were out in full force showing their football fever, and support for the national team Bafana Bafana. Speaking to women getting ready for the game, it was easy to hear the enthusiasm for the sport. Read more

Human trafficking Radio Spots:
The Together We Can End Human Trafficking radio spots and presenter’s guide are designed to help radio stations join in the fight against human trafficking leading up to, during, and after the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa.
Click here to listen to the radio spots

Soccer 2010 News Service:
Looking for stories with a difference? Explore the GL news service. Fresh news on Soccer 2010. The GL news service will provide interesting stories and radio content on a daily basis. Read more

South Africa: Presidential opera and Soccer 2010: more than just a game!

By Colleen Lowe Morna

Just as the world starts to descend on South Africa for the Soccer World Cup official kick off on 11 June, the office of the president has yet again been turned into a national soap opera. This time, to quote a headline in the Star newspaper, the “cheat” has been “cheated.”

President Jacob Zuma (who has three wives, a fiancÁƒ © and at least twenty children) admitted to having sex with an HIV positive woman half his age in the rape trial prior to his inauguration in May 2009. In February this year he also admitted that he had fathered a child out of wedlock with Sonono Khoza, daughter of Orland Pirates boss and soccer baron Irvin Khoza.

Now the tables have turned. His second wife, Nompulelo Ntuli, who is openly at odds with his third wife, Thobeka Madiba, is accused of being made pregnant by a bodyguard who committed suicide in December. As Zuma arrived back from India with Ntuli and should have been getting into gear to host the soccer extravaganza, he was instead off to a family indaba (consultation) amid the now familiar blaming of the media for delving into his private affairs. Read more

Celebrating Africa Day: Remembering our commitment to “never again”

By Deborah Walter

On 25 May, the continent, along with Africans all over the world, celebrate Africa Day. In most corners, it is an opportunity to celebrate the diversity and richness of African culture. In South Africa, Africa Day is taking on special significance as the nation prepares to “welcome the world” for the FIFA World Cup.

Yet, reports in the United Kingdom’s The Guardian and another in South Africa’s Mail and Guardian about the possibility of post-event xenophobia in the country should remind us that two years ago the nation came together with a rallying commitment to say “never again.”

On Africa Day two years ago, South Africa was still struggling to cope with the aftermath of xenophobic clashes that left sixty-two people dead, including twenty-one South Africans, and resulted in mass displacement of men, women, and children. The country marched, held vigils, collected food and blankets for the displaced, spoke out against the violence, and lamented about how this could possibly happen in a country so proudly deemed the rainbow nation. Read more

Civil society begin preparations for the August Heads of State Summit in earnest

Civil society organisations coalitions begin preparations for parallel meetings to be held alongside the SADC Heads of State (HOS) Summit slated for 15th   -17th   August in earnest.

Human trafficking under the spotlight in South Africa

Media reports in the last few months show that Human Trafficking is alive and well. This is despite the discussion on the need for legislation and to put relevant mechanisms in SADC to address the likely increase in the run up and during the world cup. The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development calls on States to enact and adopt specific legislative provisions to prevent human trafficking and provide holistic services to the victims with the aim of re-integrating them into society by 2015.

While there are still five years to go for South Africa to meet the target the need for a comprehensive legal framework could never been more critical than during the time when the nation is holding the most attended international event. It is reported that the relevant Bill is before parliament but this is a missed opportunity to test the application of such a law as there are many reported cases that have come to the fore.

South Africa: Hawks bust human trafficking ring

Johannesburg – Police have rescued 21 Thai women believed to be human trafficking victims from an alleged brothel, a spokesperson said. “We suspect that they may be victims of human trafficking,” said Paul Ramaloko, spokesperson for the Hawks specialised crime-fighting unit.

“We really couldn’t establish whether they are victims of trafficking or not. So what we have done is we have removed them to a place of safety and then we are just going to conduct some interviews with them.”

Police acted on a tip-off early on Saturday morning that the women, who range from 23 to 27 years old, had been trafficked and were being sexually exploited in Kempton Park, he said. The women had all been in South Africa for less than a month. A South African woman was arrested for operating an illegal brothel. The Thai women’s passports were recovered alongside cash and a small amount of heroin, said Ramoloko. Read more

South Africa: Sex traffickers face R100m or life

Johannesburg – South Africa has made its first conviction for human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday.

The state used racketeering laws related to sexual exploitation to convict a couple, South African Basheer Sayed and Thai national, Somcharee Chuchumporn, in the Durban Regional Court, said NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga.

The conviction comes on the heels of a bill promulgated in Parliament last week which would target human trafficking. Presently, the NPA is prosecuting accused human traffickers for a combination of other crimes, such as in the case of Sayed and Chuchumporn.

However, Mhaga said that while human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation could draw long sentences, this was not necessarily the case with human trafficking for other reasons. It is hoped that the new legislation will address this.Read more

The Barometer will enable both state and non-state actors to track progress whether governments are on the way to meeting set targets in the Gen- der Protocol which provides a road map for achieving gender equality in the region.

The new and updated Baro- meter will focus on the articles of the Protocol namely Consti- tutional and Legal Rights; Gender and Governance; Edu- cation and Training; Economic Justice; Gender Based Violence; Health; HIV and AIDS; Peace Building and Conflict Reso- lution; and Media, Infor- mation and Communication.

It is essential that gender and women’s rights activists and governments track the impact of their work in order to measure whether or not they are making a difference. The Barometer is a tool that can be used firstly, to track progress in advancing gender equality in the region and also to hold governments in Southern Africa accountable to the commitments they have made to address inequality through their obligations to international and regional in- struments and in particular the SADC Gender Protocol.

Among women aged between 15 and 44, acts of violence cause more death and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined. Perhaps the most pervasive human rights violation that we know today, violence against women devastates lives, fractures communities, and stalls development. It takes many forms and occurs in many places — domestic violence in the home, sexual abuse of girls in schools, sexual harassment at work, rape by husbands or strangers, in refugee camps or as a tactic of war.

Source: WUNRN

• Opportunities, risks and voices of young people in Soccer on the 22 June 2010 in Orange Farm, Johannesburg, South Africa
• Broadcasting Scores! Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Johannesburg Conference 17-21 April. Sandton, Johannesburg
• International Federation of Journalists World Congress 2010 Cadiz, Spain
• AMARC Africa Capacity Building Conference: COMMUNITY RADIOS IN AFRICAN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
• The Second World Journalism Education Congress, Journalism Education in an Age of Radical Change, July 2010 Grahamstown, South Africa.
• 2nd-6th AugustGender Budgeting training of trainers workshop, ZWRCN, JOhannesburg, RSA
• 21st August, ECF-SADC Seminar on Elections, media and democracy, Swakopmund, Namibia

SIGNING AND RATIFICATION OF SADC GENDER PROTOCOL

List of countries that have signed

Angola        
DRC        
Lesotho
Madagascar              
Malawi  
Mauritius  
Mozambique  
Namibia  
South Africa          
Swaziland
Tanzania  
Zambia        
Zimbabwe

List of countries that have not singed

Botswana
Mauritius

List of countries that have ratified

Namibia
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Angola            
DRC              
Lesotho
Madagascar            
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
South Africa          
Swaziland
Tanzania  

Swaziland: Doo Aphane wins property rights cases in a contracted constitutional court battle

For the first time in the history of Swaziland, women married under community of property will now be able to have “immovable property, bonds, and other real rights† registered in their name. The landmark judgement was passed down on the 28th of May 2010. Inspite of winning the case in February this year, the State had appealed sighting that the Judge had erred. However they lost the case.

Doo Aphane’s lawyer sighted that this “case is but the latest in a continuing series brough in many countries of the world in their attempts to redress what they claim to be descrimanatory laws and practices which operated unfairly against women. These precepts and practices have deprived women of rights which were freely available to men and kep women in position of inferiority and inequality, in various societies in which they live, work, pay their taxes and raise their families despite the fact that women contribute substantially to the growth and development of the communities and nations to which they belong†.

Mary-Joyce Doo Aphane, an attorney, filed the lawsuit to compel government to overturn Section 16 (3) of the Deeds of Registry Act, which forbids women to register property in their own names.

“This is the first test case, for women and for the Constitution,” Fikile Mtembu, an attorney and the country’s first female mayor contended.

Section 28 of the Constitution stipulates: “Women have the right to equal treatment with men, and the right shall include equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities.”

Aphane’s court action stems from her attempts to jointly register a property, using her maiden name, Aphane, with her husband, Michael Zulu.

The deed’s office refused to register her as independent of her husband. “The property had to be registered in the name of my husband. The Deeds Registry Office will not accept the registration of the property in our joint names,” Aphane said in papers filed with the High Court.

Mauritius: Records many gender firsts in elections

By Loga Virahsawmy

Quantitatively Mauritius has not yet made the 30% women in parliament committed to in the 1997 SADC Declaration on Gender and Development, but qualitatively the Prime Minister seems to be doing some catching up. If this trend goes on, we have every reason to believe we will attain the 30% women target, if not more, for the local government elections taking place later this month. Though the nation still has far to go, it is also heartening to see women breaking new ground in government.

Although women’s representation was worrying low as the results of polls rolled in, the government used the “best loser system,” to bring another three women into Parliament. Instead of the 10 women in Parliament voted in, the nation now has 13 women – making a percentage of 18.8%. A meagre increase of 1.7% is definitely sad for a country that positions itself as a champion of democracy in the region. However, at least Prime Minister Ramgoolam sent the right signal by making history in other areas.

The creation of a Ministry of Gender Equality is a model for Southern African countries, if not for the world. In another first, a woman, Hon. Maya Hanoomanjee, was appointed to the portfolio of Minister of Health. Read more

Mauritius: Voting stations to cater for people with disabilities

By Marylin-Josee Coopan

The Electoral Commission and the Ministry of Social Security will put in place measures to cater for people with disabilities and elderly persons so that they may access polling stations in the forthcoming municipal elections schedule to take place in the next few months.

This follows numerous cases of many people living with disability not having been able to exercise their civic right during in the last general elections held in May 2010 because of lack of appropriate arrangements to access voting rooms situated on first floors of many buildings.

The Ministry confirmed that a solution has been identified to tackle the technical problems related to drafting a special list for people living with disability and they are presently waiting for Cabinet’s approval. Some amendments to be effected this year include: Access to vehicles at the gate instead of 200 miles; amendment to National Assembly Elections Regulations to allow blind people to be accompanied into the voting cubicle by a family member or friend instead of an Electoral Commission official and the adoption of sign language for deaf people on television during the electoral campaigns. In addition a voting room will be reserved on ground floor of voting centres for the next municipal elections. As pointed out by one official of the Social Security,it is important to see to it that nobody is excluded.

Global: Gender and the UK elections

Experiences of gender inequality in political decision making positions in the older democracies in the Global North are no less different to the younger democratic dispensations in the Global South. In spite of being signatories to international instruments such as CEDAW, Beijing Declaration and Platform for election most countries in the world are still below gender parity. The United Kingdom is no exception.

Parliament remains disproportionately male. While 51% of the UK population is female, only 22% of MPs in the new Parliament are women. But that represents a two percentage point increase on 2005. Labour and Conservatives have both had slight rises in their number of women but the Liberal Democrats have seen their numbers drop.

The Cabinet has a similar imbalance. Four of the 23 posts are held by women. They hold the the following offices: Home Secretary And Minister For Women And Equality, Conservative Co-Chairman, Secretary of Environment and Secretary for Wales. Read more Source: BBC

Who’s feeling it: Informal traders and the World Cup

As the whole country gears up for the quickly approaching World Cup 2010, not everyone is happy. Informal traders are waiting for a response this week from FIFA to demands made last week at a demonstration outside “Soccer City” protesting their exclusion from World Cup commerce. In the shadow of the Coca-Cola tower, over 100 informal traders presented a memorandum to FIFA executives, who promised a reply within seven days.

This is not the first such protest in the country. Since FIFA passed by-laws preventing informal traders from selling near stadiums during the World Cup, reserving these sites for FIFA affiliates and corporate sponsors, this marginalised group has hit the streets, literally.

Many of these individuals host their businesses and earn their livelihoods on the streets. However, on this day they transformed this space to a place of protest. These “hawkers,” as they are commonly known, are trying to reclaim their basic human rights in their own way and on their own stomping ground. At the foothills of the massive state of the art soccer stadium, one wondered if these Davids could trump the FIFA Goliath that they say has hijacked what was once their South Africa.Read more Source: Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service

South Africa: Traders protest exclusion fromWorld Cup

Facing what they say is economic exclusion from South Africa’s upcoming World Cup, informal traders marched on FIFA’s South African headquarters in hopes of securing their place at the games, and their livelihoods. Armed with placards bearing slogans like “Will my children eat soccer balls?” and “Is FIFA my new government?” about 100 informal traders descended on the headquarters of FIFA’s local organising committee (LOC) yesterday [12 May] to demand greater access to economic opportunities generated by the World Cup. Organised by the South African Informal Traders Forum, a consortium of 33 informal trader associations from Gauteng, the march aimed to deliver a list of demands to LOC CEO, Danny Jordaan. The demands include a stop to forced removals of informal traders in the run-up to the World Cup, employment opportunities for traders among FIFA affiliates such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, as well as that vending areas be allocated to traders within match venues and fan parks. Read more Source: GL Opinion and Commentary Service

South African Groups, FIFA Battle over HIV/AIDS Messages Ahead Of World Cup

South African Groups, FIFA Battle over HIV/AIDS Messages Ahead Of World Cup A consortium of 10 South African HIV/AIDS advocacy groups has accused FIFA – soccer’s international governing body – of blocking plans to distribute condoms and health information outside its 10 World Cup venues and other locations, the Washington Post reports. FIFA has denied the allegations.

Leading up to Friday’s World Cup kickoff, the groups engaged in a “three-day duel of news releases,” according to the Post. After the advocacy groups made the charges on Saturday, FIFA countered in a release on Monday that it plans to broadcast HIV-related messages and ads for Durex-brand condoms the day of the matches. FIFA also commended the South African government’s HIV/AIDS initiatives. Read more
Source: SAFAIDS

Namibia: Demonstrators demand justice on forced sterilisation cases

Hundreds of men and women from across southern part in solidarity events as three women who were allegedly sterilised without their informed consent took their cases to the High Court of Namibia from 1 to 4 June 2010. The women, who are all living with HIV/AIDS, are each suing the Ministry of Health and Social Services for 1 million dollars as compensation for the damages they have suffered. They say the doctors and nurses should have informed them properly about what was happening.

The rights group representing them, the Legal Assistance Centre, says it has documented 15 cases of forced HIV sterilisation in hospitals since 2008. “People should have peace of mind that if they are HIV-positive, they can still go to the hospital and be treated with dignity and equality,” said Vicky Noa, who claims that she was sterilised in 2001. She organised the sit-in.

The petition handed to the ministry said forced sterilisation of those with HIV is an emerging human rights issue and called for an end to it. According to the petition numerous human rights have been violated, including those guaranteed and protected by the Namibian Constitution and international treaties.

Additional demonstrations of solidarity took place in Zambia, South Africa, the U.K and America.

Zimbabwe: When giving life brings death

They are supposed to be giving life, but sadly more and more women are dying in this very sacred act of giving birth. Statistics from two United Nations agencies show that maternal deaths have trebled since the 1990s, casting Zimbabwe off the course in meeting set targets.

Both the United Nations Children’s Fund and the United Nations Population Fund said to reduce these deaths, they were focusing on capacitating skilled professionals and the institutions they serve.

“We are focusing on mobilising pregnant women to deliver at health institutions, ensure that the health institutions are manned by a skilled midwife, and that the facility is well equipped to handle deliveries and related complications,” said UNFPA assistant country director, Dr Hillary Chiguvare. Read more Source: AllAfrica.com

Namibia: Media, gender and elections under the spotlight at Electoral Commission Forum of SADC Seminar

Media, gender and elections will feature at a seminar to be hosted by the Electoral Commission Forum of SADC (ECF-SADC) under the theme ‘Elections, Media and Democracy — Prospects and challenges in the SADC region’ on 21st July 2010 at the Sea- Side Hotel in Swakopmund, Namibia.

The seminar forms part of the activities taking place during its Annual General Conference week The seminar will bring together representatives of all electoral management bodies in SADC, regional media institutions, media consultants, representatives of elections committees of SADC parliaments, representatives of departments dealing with ratification of international instruments and the Namibian electoral stakeholders.

Through this theme, members of the Forum will engage in dialogue with various stakeholders to explore the role of media in elections and in strengthening democracy in general and electoral democracy in particular in the SADC region, and challenges facing both the electoral management bodies and the media in the run up to and during elections. The seminar is also expected to discuss the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (Charter on Democracy), its provisions on the democracy, elections and the media, and the status of its ratification in the SADC region.

The gender implications are considered an important aspect in promoting democracy in electoral processes in line with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development among other key sub-regional, regional and international instruments that are used to set standards.

Regional: Mainstreaming gender into media teaching curriculum imperative

Following the Gender in Media Education Audit, Namibia and Mozambique have spearheaded initiatives to implement the findings to improve the incorporation of gender into their teaching curriculum.

In partnership with the UNESCO Office in Windhoek, the Gender and Media Diversity Centre has contributed to developing modules at PON and UNAM to include a two week session on gender. Following this development, the GMDC began its ‘Training of Trainers’ in Namibia on May 6th, 2010.
In Mozambique, a country specific GIME workshop was held on April 6th, 2010 to find ways to adapt curriculum to incorporate gender.
Earlier on the GMDC convened a regional meeting with three main goals:
†¢ Develop training and development programmes to build capacity of full-time and part-time lecturers to mainstream gender into the development of course content .
†¢ Identify new areas of specialised reporting that incorporate gender, e.g. Reporting Gender Violence and Human Trafficking.
†¢ Create institutional exchanges between PoN and UNAM to share expertise and exchange information on how each department is incorporating gender into their Media education and Journalism training.

Following this meeting the GMDC, in partnership with the UNESCO Office in Windhoek, has contributed to developing modules in Communication Theories (Polytechnic of Namibia) and Media Theories (University of Namibia) to include a two week session on gender. Read more

Africa: Women strategise on promoting women in leadership

Women in politics came together with gender NGOs and media practitioners to strategise on increasing numbers of women in political leadership and strengthening their participation in strategic matters at national level. Funding for women aspiring candidates emerged as the major constraint to successful campaigning. It was agreed that if women of Africa, both in organised groups and the citizens in general came together to create a fund for women this would be overcome.

Discussions identified legal instruments such as the Protocol to African Charter Human and People Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and SADC Protocol on Gender and Development as basis for women to claim their right to participate equally in decision making positions in both the public and private sectors. For instance the SADC Gender Protocol calls on States to ensure that 50 % of decision making positions in all public and private sectors are held by women including through the use of affirmative action measures. Political parties have often been the weakest link when they draw up party lists and financing for women candidates to achieving gender parity in politics.

This came out of the second African Women’s Leadership Conference, in Lusaka, Zambia from 7 — 9 September 2010 organised by the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) and the Zambia Association for Research and Development (ZARD) and the Non-Government Organisation Coordination Council (NGOCC).

The purpose of the Conference was threefold:
†¢ To increase consciousness and appreciation of the role that women play and can/ should play in the process of building strong democratic societies;
†¢ Discuss ways in which women can develop and sustain strong networks to support women that are actively involved in political leadership in their respective countries and across the region;
†¢ Profile different women leaders in the region that are flag bearers in political leadership at different levels.

Acting Minister of Gender and Women in Development Brian Chituwo, who conducted the official opening, said the African women in leadership have the capacity to promote gender equality in political leadership and strengthening the democratisation process in Africa.

“Zambia will be holding elections next year and this conference is timely for women to come together to strategise, learn from each other’s experience and develop networks with other female politicians,” Dr Chituwo said.

The Conference brought together countries scheduled to hold presidential and/or parliamentary elections in 2010 and 2011. The conference attracted women politicians and women’s NGOs Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia and journalists from Zambia. A communiquÁƒ © was issued at the end of the conference. Read related article

Zambia: Women’s conference denounces Rupiah’s govt in communique

WOMEN from the 10 African countries that attended the meeting which was disrupted by a police officer Chushi have signed a communiquÁƒ © denouncing President Rupiah Banda’s governance record.

Police on Tuesday harassed Mandevu member of Parliament Jean Kapata on suspicion that she had convened an illegal women’s meeting at Lusaka’s Hotel Intercontinental.

The conference was attended by members of parliament and civil society activists from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia.

In a communiquÁƒ © signed by all conference participants, on June 9, 2010, African women’s Development and communications Network (FEMNET) immediate past chairperson Sara Longwe observed that the Zambian police starkly brought into question whether the government had any respect for an individual’s fundamental rights to freedom of movement, freedom of association and freedom of expression as enshrined in the Zambian Constitution and the various international and regional human rights instruments reaffirming these rights which the State had acceded to. Read more

Africa: Progress Report calls on African leaders to turn “scramble for Africa” into real results

The Africa Progress Report launched on Africa Day by the Africa Progress panel identifies the empowerment of women by African leaders as one of the sustainable ways of achieving sustantainable development in Africa. The report states that African leaders need to boost “political determination and capacity to use what revenues they have to achieve results for people†.

Kofi Annan, Chair of the Panel and fellow Panel members Linah Mohohlo, Peter Eigen and Olusegun Obasanjo presented. Stating that “Africa’s development and the welfare of its people depend above all upon the political commitment and capacity of its leaders†, the Panel also urges:

African policymakers to:
1) Empower women by enforcing existing conventions, laws and policies and link their efforts with effective implementation strategies including reliable reporting mechanisms
2) Climate proof development, not least through integrating adaptation to climate change into growth and development strategies, accelerating regional integration, harnessing the potential of information technology and anticipating demographic shifts

International policy makers to:
1)Provide a level playing field, addressing the fact that “the continent is starkly underrepresented in virtually all international fora† and that “bloated subsidy regimes and unfair trade rules† leave African countries “heavily disadvantaged.†
2) Increase policy coherence for development, “recognising the overall impact that countries’ domestic and international policy mix has on the continent and seek to minimize their negative effects.†
3) Fulfil promises on resources and assistance, and “Africa’s partners to recommit to the consensus on the continent’s development and fulfil the many promises on financial support and assistance they have made over the last decade†.
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