In Women’s Words: Is Polygamy still relevant?

Posted by sabina on February 18, 2010

Feb 18, 2009 - In this podcast you will hear of:

* A second attempt by Ugandan Activists who want their law makers to abolish polygamy.
* An open discussion on the relevance of Polygamy in South Africa
and small initiative by Lesotho women to  create employment for themselves.

In Women’s Words: Gender Parity?

Posted by sabina on February 4, 2010

Credit: IRIN

Feb. 4, 2010 - In Women’s Words focuses on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index for 2009, which ranked - Lesotho and South Africa in the top ten of countries globally, who have made significant gains in achieving gender parity.

It’s the first time the two countries feature in the Index’s top ten, in 6th and 10th positions respectively.

In Women’s Words: A Hard Pill to Swallow

Posted by sabina on December 14, 2009

Credit: Samantha Smit/IPS

Dec 14, 2009 - In this week’s podcast you will hear of:

* a young girl’s daily struggle to survive…
* how South Africa’s progressive  gender laws only live on paper
* and how changes to the law in Egypt are slowly empowering women.

16 Days of ‘Changing the River’s Flow’, SAfAIDS Hosts National Discussion Forum

Posted by sabina on December 2, 2009

Pretoria, South Africa 1 December 2009

During the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) will host a Discussion Forum on the 3rd of December 2009 at the Lynnwood Conference Centre in Lynwood, Pretoria.

The Discussion Forum is convened on the topic ‘empowering men as a strategy to empower women’ and aims to attract participation from civil society, government, academics and the media.

Violence against women (VAW) has been termed “the single most visible indicator of the unequal power relations between men and women”. In Africa, VAW is largely driven by harmful cultural and traditional beliefs and practices. Research shows that experiencing violence, whether in the private or public domain, significantly increases a woman’s risk of contracting HIV.

There is a growing realisation among stakeholders that unless they take into consideration the role played by harmful cultural practices and VAW in HIV transmission, the most well-intentioned efforts cannot meaningfully address the HIV epidemic.

Realising that violence against women has achieved epidemic proportions and that concrete actions need to taken to stem the tide, more groups and individuals, including men and boys, are getting involved in efforts to prevent and address the violations of women’s human rights. As well as action by individuals, communities and organisations, there has also been significant progress at national level as many countries have adopted laws and comprehensive action plans.

The objectives of the discussion are to provide an overview of the violence against women epidemic in South Africa as well as to discuss how important it is to involve men at all levels in VAW mitigation and prevention efforts, and consequently in the reduction of HIV prevalence in southern Africa.

Key to the discussion will be the sharing of Best Practices and research findings around men’s involvement from presenters and stakeholders working in South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

It is hoped that at the end of the Discussion Forum participants will be able to appreciate the importance of involving men in interventions and programmes aimed at realising a reduction in VAW and HIV rates in the region.

For more information on this Discussion Forum please contact:
Petronella Mugoni at petronella@safaids.net
You can also call +27 12 361 0889/0899

Q&A: ‘You Have To Be Educated To Be A Leader’

Posted by sabina on November 30, 2009

Eunice Wanjiru interviews DEMITIRI MUKANDASHIMIYE, nurse, Nyamata Health Centre

BUGESERA DISTRICT, Rwanda, Nov 30 (IPS) - Traffic flowing in and out of her office, each interruption addressed with effortless calm, the nurse in charge of Hospitalisation and Immunisation at Nyamata Health Center in Bugesera District, is a confident woman in her element.

Settling down to talk to us in her small office - an examination bed in one corner, a file cabinet opposite, a long wooden table holding hospital equipment like thermometers, a stethoscope and a few documents - Demitiri Mukandashimiye, gazes across her neatly arranged work desk. 

The bulk of her work, she says, consists of admitting pregnant mothers and immunising infants. And following up on the mothers to ensure they don’t skip any immunisation days.  More »

RIGHTS: Nigeria Failing To End Discrimination Against Women

Posted by sabina on November 28, 2009

 Salma Ahmad Kano

KANO, Nov 28 (IPS) - Nigeria ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1985 without reservations. But few of its citizens have ever heard of the document. Day-to-day life for women in Nigeria is shaped less by international conventions than it is by the diverse cultures, traditions and religions found in the country.

Hauwa Usman* is a recently-widowed woman from Fanisau village near the northern Nigerian city of Kano. Slim and dark-skinned, this young woman’s face carries signs of long, exhausting emotional strain. She says she was born during the Murtala Muhammed regime, making her 33 or 34 - a little older than CEDAW. 

Article 16 of CEDAW confirms that men and women have the same right to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage; it also says that the marriage of a child has no legal force - instead requiring that laws specifying a minimum age for marriage be passed.  More »

Q&A: CEDAW - Signed, Sealed and Largely Left on the Shelf

Posted by sabina on November 27, 2009

Ebrima Sillah interviews OUMOULKHAIRY KANE, head of the Association for the Defence of Women’s Rights in Mauritania

NOUAKCHOTT,  Nov 27 (IPS) - Mauritania formally adopted the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 2001, but in the eight years since, it has had limited effect on the status of women.

Human rights lawyer Oumoulkhairy Kane spoke to IPS by phone from Nouakchott about conservative resistance, politicians fearful of crossing powerful clerics, and the work that lies ahead in achieving women’s empowerment and gender equality in Mauritania.  More »

RIGHTS-UGANDA: “You Cannot Tell Me You Will Kill Me Because I’m Gay”

Posted by admin on November 9, 2009

David Bahati submitting his controversial anti-gay Bill to parliament. Credit:Wambi Michael/IPS

By Wambi Michael

KAMPALA, Nov 9 (IPS) - The Ugandan government will put to death gay citizens repeatedly caught having sex and throw into jail those who touch each other in a “gay” way, if a new proposed Bill becomes law.

A new Bill, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, seeks to legislate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people in Uganda. And it wants to pave the way for its harsh treatment of them by nullifying any international treaties, conventions or declarations believed to be contrary to it.

“The Bill is so inhumane … It violates every aspect of a human being. I mean you cannot tell me you will kill me because I’m gay,” says Gerald Sentogo, the gay administrator for the organisation Sexual Minorities Uganda.

The death penalty is listed as punishment under an offence called aggravated homosexuality. This part of the Bill states that “repeat offenders” of homosexuality are liable to get the death penalty. The death penalty is also applied in a homosexual relationship if a partner is under 18, or has a disability, or is HIV positive. People accused under the aggravated homosexuality clause will be forced to undergo an HIV test. More »

In Women’s Words, Weekly Podcast by IPS Africa Launched

Posted by sabina on October 19, 2009

A nurse counsels a treated fistula patient in Kano State, Nigeria

IPS Africa brings you the stories of women across the continent, as they join millions of others across the world in the fight against gender inequality and discrimination.

“Politics, Employment and Health across the Continent”, in this week’s podcast you’ll listen to:

* One rural woman sceptical that Mozambique’s Oct. 28 elections will address her concerns;

* Government in Mauritius has launched a special programme to help women who’ve lost their jobs;

* Obstetric fistula remains a problem in northern Nigeria; *And the odd story of HIV prevalence rate amongst pregnant women in South Africa. More »

FIDA’s Work for Gender Equality in Kenya

Posted by sabina on

The Federation of Women Lawyers – Kenya (FIDA Kenya) is the leading women’s rights organization whose vision is a society free from all forms of discrimination and injustices against women.

With partial funding from the MDG3 Fund for Gender Equality FIDA is working to strengthen government’s efforts in addressing inequalities through Vision 2030 and the achievement of MDG goal number 3 of promoting gender equality and empowering women by the year 2015.

In the first nine months of FIDA’s project, women representation in leadership positions within public institutions has increased. Notably are recent appointments in the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission, Committee of Experts, National Cohesion Commission and the Interim Independent Dispute Resolution Court.

Thanks to this project, FIDA has been able to strengthen its position with the Constitutional Review Process and leverage gender equality provision in the proposed Constitution. Significant progress in monitoring implementation of the new labour laws and advocacy around the proposed social protection legislation in Kenya have been made as well.

The grant has supported provision of legal redress to a total of 4180 indigent women nationally. In particular, 146 cases were filed in court and 71 cases were concluded. The nature of cases presented at the legal aid clinics were mainly maintenance, succession, domestic violence, custody, divorce, division of matrimonial property, labour and defilement. The concluded cases enabled the women get various court reliefs.

MDG3 funding also supported the successful conclusion of 56 mediation cases. Mediation services provide an alternative forum for dispute resolution and is often a faster and cheaper method for indigent women to access justice as compared to litigation.

FIDA’s project supported the training of 30 community action groups on human rights with specific focus on labour, property rights and gender based violence as well as capacity building approaches towards community development.

Three regional forums on transitional justice where held. Here 160 women leaders’ skills were enhanced to participate in the truth, justice and reconciliation process.

The first ever Kenyan Gender Festival was held from 3 to 5 June 2009. The festival was an open forum focusing on issues of post election violence, men involvement in the gender discourse and consolidating women’s gains in the women’s movement in Kenya. The event brought together more than 750 men and women from different parts of the country. Significantly, the festival highlighted the problem of gender based violence besides providing an opportunity for advocacy on the enactment of the Family Protection Bill.

The grant also enabled FIDA Kenya to monitor government’s commitment on International Human Rights Instruments such as CEDAW, Beijing Plan of Action and the Millennium Declaration. A shadow statement to the 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the U.N. headquarters in New York was prepared and submitted. The statement highlighted the status of women property rights and reproductive health in the context of sharing responsibilities between women and men. During a side event attended by 76 participants from all parts of the world FIDA presented papers on women and property rights in Kenya.

The Executive Director of FIDA, Patricia Nyaoundi, participated in the second IPS Africa MDG3 seminar, in Nairobi from Aug. 3-7, 2009, with a presentation on how the prevalent forms of Gender Based Violence are addressed by Criminal Justice. Read the presentation on IPS Seminar page.

Key Dates:

• 8 October 2009 – Self Representation training (Kisumu).

• 12 October 2009 – Self Representation regional workshop (Kisumu).

• 14 October 2009 – Training for Informal Justice Systems (Luo Council of Elders).

• 16 October 2009 – Training for Informal Justice System (Abagusii Council of Elders).

• 21 to 23 October 2009 – Training of Community Action Groups in Gucha on Human Rights.

• 22 October 2009 – Training for Informal Justice System (Bukusu Council of Elders).

• 23 October 2009 - Pro bono lawyers consultative forum.

• 5-6 November 2009 - Informal Justice Systems consultative forum.

• 11 November 2009 – Self Representation training for clients (Mombasa).

• Public community hearing.