Hakima Abbas

Dear President Barack Obama,

At the recently concluded OpenForum, held in Cape Town South Africa, I was asked to speak to the question of whether ‘women are occupying new movements.’ There are a number of implicit assumptions in this framing.

LGBTIQ Africans are currently at the crux of an ever-increasing conservative (dare I say fascist) assault perpetuated primarily by the ruling elites in collusion, and often financed by, global right wing forces using the apparatus of the state and institutions such as the Church.

The recently concluded mid-term elections in the United States, which quite appropriately came on the heels of their Halloween celebrations, scary as they were, starkly highlighted the buckling of western power among the contradictions of liberal democracy and super-capitalism.

We stand at a critical juncture in the movement for social justice in Africa and the global South. Important gains have been achieved but few consolidated.

I was asked to provide an overview of where Africa stands as many countries celebrate their 50th anniversary of independence.

References

Heyns, C., Padilla, D. and Zwaak, L., (2005) 'A Schematic Comparison of Regional Human Rights Systems: An Update', African Human Rights Law Journal, 5: 308-320