Roadmap to Equality Newsletter November 2015

Editor’s Note

Highlights
–  Alliance finalist in the SAT Drivers of Change awards, Semi-finalist in One Africa Award.
–  16 Days of Activism campaign kicks off
–  SADC Protocol on Gender, Development Review Starts

Governance
–  Seychelles: My manifesto is about putting the Seychellois people first – Alexia Amesbury
–  Tanzania: These women came, saw and conquered

Economic Justice, Education and Training
–  Africa: African Women Are Among the Most Hardworking, but Least Privileged in Terms of Income and Opportunities
–  Malawi: Campaign for Female Education in Malawi Calls for Change of Mindset to Keep Girls in School
–  Namibia: Govt Scraps Exam Fees for Secondary Education

Gender-based Violence
–  Africa: Continent’s Education and gender equality goals ‘well achieved’
–  Report on Africa’s goals
–  South Africa: Debate on 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children

Health, HIV and AIDS
–  Woman’s risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes nearly halved over 25 years – UN report

Peace Building
–  Statement from the SADC and UN women symposium on gender, peace and security 29 – 30 October 2015

SADC Gender Protocol 2015 Barometer

GBV Indicators Study – Western Cape Province, SA

Violence Against Women Baseline Study Zimbabwe

16 Days of Activism campaign kicks off
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. …Read more

SADC Protocol on Gender, Development Review Starts
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)….  Read more

Tanzania: These women came, saw and conquered
The just concluded General Election gave Tanzania among other things the first female Vice President, Samiah Hassan Suluhu. The outgoing Parliament’s Speaker Anne Makinda was among few women in the country holding big government positions….  Read more

Malawi: Campaign for Female Education in Malawi Calls for Change of Mindset to Keep Girls in School
Campaign for Female Education (Camfed) in Malawi has indicated that although various organizations were coming up with interventions to help the girl child proceed with education, mindset and poverty were still hampering the process of uplifting girls’ education….  Read more

Namibia: Govt Scraps Exam Fees for Secondary Education
Windhoek – Namibia has scrapped examination fees for pupils sitting for junior and senior secondary school certificates and it would be effective until 2016, Education Minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa has said….  Read more

Report on Africa’s goals
The Millennium Development Goals Report revealed that three of the seven goals for Africa were on track. These are: Combating HIV/Aids, malaria, and other diseases: a downward trend is observed in the incidence, prevalence and death rates associated with HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis, especially since 2000. Promoting gender equality…  Read more

South Africa: Debate on 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children
Parliamentary remarks by LL Van der Merwe Year after year, we repeat the same issues. We raise the same concerns. We highlight the same worrying facts. And year after year, between debates, we are confronted with countless, horror stories of abused women and children….  Read more

The newsletter will help track progress at a national, regional, continental and global level on gender equality.  

The new and updated newsletter will focus on the SADC Gender Protocol namely Constitutional and Legal Rights; Gender and Governance; Edu- cation and Training; Economic Justice; Gender Based Violence; Health; HIV and AIDS; Peace Building and Conflict Resolution; Media; Climate Change; Implementation and the Post-2015 Gender Agenda.  

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 newsletter will enable all actors to keep abreast of gender equality across the region and to push the envelope for a strong gender equality agenda globally.