Gender activists across the country received last week’s news of the passing of the Sexual Offences Bill by parliament with jubilation. After ten long years in the making, this means that, if assented by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and the President of South Africa, the bill will finally become a reality – a much-needed step toward greater protection against sexual offences.

The international campaign for equal rights for homosexuals and other sexual minorities took a step forward on November 14 last year when South Africa became the first country in Africa, and the fifth in the world, to legalise same-sex marriage. The new law, adopted by a 230-to-41 vote, was welcomed by gay and lesbian activists in South Africa and around the world as a significant advance for equal rights. But it is not a trend. Conservative religious and political leaders in many countries still strongly oppose equal rights for homosexuals, including same-sex marriage.

In 1981, the Kieni East Divisional Land Control Board endeavoured to make an estranged wife — Margaret Mumbi — the joint owner of 37 acres of prime agricultural land in Naromoru settlement scheme. Little did the board know that a woman could not sue her husband over land whose acquisition she did not contribute to materially during his lifetime. Twenty six years later, the Court of Appeal, in support of a High Court decision in 2002, says the land control board has no power to award land.

The April-July coffee harvest period in Burundi has been linked to increases in gender-based violence and the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. It is not uncommon for women and children to be on the receiving end of both physical and emotional abuse during this period, CARE International, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) operating in the country, said in a new report.

The Zambian Employment Act states that employers must grant a woman 120 days of maternity leave after two years in employment, but most employers today will not fire a female employee who falls pregnant before two years. Rather, either they will give them unpaid leave, annual leave or sick leave. For the Zambia Army, which in the past never entertained employing women as soldiers, the story is different.

Many gay organisations are relieved after the South African National Assembly of parliament passed the Sexual Offences Bill on Tuesday this week. This comes weeks after the Constitutional Court in the country ruled out on the Bill against these organisations where non-consensual anal penetration of males in the legal definition of rape was excluded.

Much remains to be done in Mauritius to ensure equal rights for all citizens. The questionnaire one has to fill before giving one’s blood is an example of discrimination against gays. Danielle is gay. She did not hesitate to tell it to the person present in the blood donors’ caravan in Port-Louis when she went for blood donation. But she was astonished when she was told that she could not give her blood because she was homosexual.

The overall aim of the course is to enhance the understanding of the concepts of gender and development, and in mainstreaming gender in institutions and programmes. The course covers the history and rationale of gender and organisational development, gender analysis and planning, methods and processes for gender needs assessment and institutional audit.

At the International Meeting on Women’s and Girls’ Right to a Remedy and Reparation, held in Nairobi from 19 to 21 March 2007, women’s rights advocates and activists, as well as survivors of sexual violence in situations of conflict, from Africa, Asia, Europe, Central, North and South America, issued the Nairobi Declaration.

Feminist.com is currently looking for interns and volunteers in the areas of grant writing, fundraising, web programming and design, content development, typing (to transcribe interviews, articles and book excerpts), link scouters, researchers and many other opportunities.

Papers are invitied for the 4th International Gender Conference. The conference theme is "Sexual and Gender-Based Violence A Social Nightmare Provoking Action". The theme for this conference has been chosen because Sexual and Gender-Based Violence is a major Public Health and Human Rights problem throughout the world.

The urgency of addressing the vulnerability of young women and adolescent girls of all backgrounds, but particularly the poor, cannot be over stated. Innovative, far-reaching and rapid responses are needed to impact whole generations so that the Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty can be within reach. This new UNFPA/IPPF report sets out to explore the relationship between economic independence, vulnerability to HIV infection, the level of sexual and reproductive health among women and adolescent girls, and gender-based violence.

This might sound unpalatable, even harsh, but it is a fact. Ever since Nina Bang (Danish Minister of Education 1924-26) became the world’s first female Cabinet minister, democracy has been hostile to women with ambition for higher political office.Instead, the best ally for such women has been dictatorship, bloodshed and conflict! This is the message driven powerfully home once more by the recent presidential elections in France.

This research report from the Women Won’t Wait Campaign highlights the lack of priority given to tackling gender-based violence against women by the major international HIV funding organisations. The research found that the funding bodies continue to treat violence against women as a supplementary issue rather than as something integral to all aspects of their work on HIV.

Women hold the key to breaking the vicious cycle of ill health, reduced productivity and deepening poverty in Africa. This ActionAid discussion paper lays out some of the key issues in modern food crises and explores some opportunities for engaging women more actively in the quest for more effective answers. The paper also finds that rural women are not only among those most vulnerable to food shortages, but more importantly, they are the driving force behind African agriculture.

The Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordinator will be responsible for the design, implementation and management of the GBV Program in CAR working in collaboration with the Field Coordinator, Operations Coordinator, and Finance Controller. The GBV Coordinator will be based in Kaga Bandoro, with limited travel to Bangui for coordination purposes. Closing Date: 6/21/2007

Pregnancy or breastfeeding do not place women at an increased risk of HIV-1 infection, according to the findings of a prospective study published in the May edition of AIDS. The study recommends that antenatal and postnatal programs must continue to emphasise condom use to protect both mother and baby from HIV infection. A team of US investigators addressed this issue by re-examining the data of a prospective study of hormonal contraception and HIV-1 acquisition in Ugandan and Zimbabwean women.

The International Journal of Transitional Justice invites submissions for an upcoming thematic issue on 'Gender and Transitional Justice'. This issue will be jointly co-edited by Justice Navi Pillay of the International Criminal Court and will be published in November 2007. The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2007.

Until 2004, social service providers in Kindu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, cared for sexual violence victims in their own homes, sitting rooms and kitchens — scarcely confidential settings for discussing such a sensitive issue.

The signing of an Agreement on Comprehensive Solutions to the Causes of War by the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) on 2 May 2007 in Juba, Sudan, has been hailed as the first step towards a final peace agreement to end more than 20 years of conflict in the nation's North.