Arrested and detained on the eve of this year's international women's day, 42 Gambian sex workers were automatically excluded from the celebrations. And to add salt to their injury, the courts jailed them to serve a week in prison for violating section 167 of the Criminal Code, which outlaws vagabond and roguish life.

The 50 years anniversary milestone achievement of independence on 6 March this year in Ghana did not as such mean anything to homosexuals in that country. Instead, this was seen as the opportunity to challenge government’s intentions on the day according to Prince MacDonald of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana.

The Nigerian Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Bill which was, for almost two months, in the Nigerian National Assembly for consideration has recently been forwarded to the Justice Committee for review. The Bill, which forbids lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals from entering into same-sex marriages also punishes those who aid, preside over, witness or facilitate such an occasion with a five year jail term.

This report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) documents the advances that women have made in the past year in parliamentary participation around the world.

An interim analysis from the Rakai Health Sciences Program Data and Safely Monitoring Board indicates that there may be a heightened risk of HIV transmission to female partners of recently circumcised men if sexual activity takes place before the surgical wound is completely healed. It also calls into question whether circumcision indirectly benefits uninfected female partners of HIV-infected men.

The OSI Women’s Program seeks to increase successful advocacy campaigns, policy initiatives, strategic litigation, or action research that address different forms of women’s multiple discrimination. OSI is issuing a Call for Proposals on "Women's Rights and Multiple Discrimination".

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

By Emem Okon
We are concerned about the spate of violence in Rivers state. This is a problem because the frequent occurrence of violence in the state has impacted negatively on the women psychologically, politically, socially and economically. The economic activities of women are particularly affected thereby depriving them of access to food, income earning capability and constitute an abuse of their right to life, security and human dignity. Violent conflict promotes violence against women.

Therefore, in view of building the capacity of women and mobilize them to advocate for peace and non-violence in Rivers state, the Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre with Tere-Ama women organizes a one day Peace March in Tere-Ama community, Rivers State, on Saturday, March 10, 2007 at 10am as part of the activities under the Mothers Against Violence Project.

Recent developments and events are building up to a possible escalation of violent conflict even as the general elections are fast approaching. Rivers state is already noted for political violence and cultist activities and so is considered as a flash point in the forthcoming elections. There are reports of proliferation of small arms; intra/inter party conflict; general state of insecurity in the state. Indiscriminate shooting and killing such as took place on Friday, March 2, 2007 at Diobu are an example of the threats to communities.

The communities in Rivers state including Port Harcourt, Ogbakiri, Okrika, Emohua and several others have had to contend with their plight and live with the terror and horror visited on them by the perpetrators of violence.

We believe that as women, we have a significant role to play in conflict transformation and peace-building, since we bear the brunt of violence as mothers, as wives, as sisters and as friends. The United Nations Resolution 1325 empowers women to participate in conflict resolution and peace-building, with this knowledge we lend our voices for peace , non-violence and the promotion of human rights. We contribute to conflict transformation and peace-building in the state by advocating for peace.

With the Peace March, the women are saying that:

1.Peace-building requires the collective efforts of all members of the society. 2.The Government should pay more attention to issues of peace and security in the state.
3.Churches and religious organizations should promote peace in their activities.
4.Traditional rulers should use their positions to foster peace in their communities.
5.Women should utilize their role as peace mentors in the society.
6.Government at all levels, multinational oil and gas companies, development agencies/commissions including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), private entrepreneurs, etc should encourage talents development and creativity in order to promote self reliance for sustainable livelihood and open the space for more economic opportunities for women and youths.
7.The Federal Government should address the Niger Delta issue positively to ensure a lasting peace in the region.
8.Youths should shun violence and arms proliferation and embrace the culture of peace.
9.The police should promote peace by maintaining law and order and not enhance violence by intimidating citizens.
10.Women are prepared to liaise with Government and other agencies to take concrete steps to address issues of violent conflict through dialogue and initiated peace negotiations.
11.The youths are our future and should not be used or allow themselves to be used as tools for violence and related vices.

Kebetkache is collaborating with other NGOs with support from Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) to campaign for peace and development in Niger Delta communities.

* Emem J. Okon is the Executive Director, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre based in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

* Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org

The adoption in 2003 of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa was a major landmark in the life of the newly refurbished African Union. African feminist activists wasted no time in forming a pan-African network of women’s rights groups – Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) – that embarked on campaigning to get the fifteen ratifications needed to make the Protocol operational. Thanks to these efforts the Protocol came into force in November 2005. Experience had taught SOAWR members that for a regional human rights document like this Protocol to have real meaning for the women of Africa, it was crucial not only to have universal ratification but also to facilitate the implementation and popularisation of the Protocol. Therein lay the primary objective behind this edited collection. The book attempts to move the Protocol from the position of formal gender justice to substantive gender justice, by breathing life into its text, hence the metaphorical title, Breathing Life into the African Union Protocol on Women’s Rights in Africa. The objective is realised in a blend of astounding clarity, conciseness, and sharp analyses. The size of the book certainly belies its enormous value.

Each year when International Women’s Day comes round it is an opportunity to celebrate advancements that have been made in the fight for women’s rights. It is also a time to chart a way forward to achieving even greater equality and recognition of the vital role that women play in society. In 2003 the African Union adopted the protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, as a supplement to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. This wide-ranging document served to firmly entrench the right of women to participate as equal partners both in the public and private spaces that they inhabit. This document is however only as good as its implementation.

In Africa, women continue to bear an inordinate share of the burden of underdevelopment. When the there is armed conflict, women and children are most vulnerable. In countries like Liberia and The DRC women have been brutalized and murdered by combatants in the conflicts.

Poverty comes with reduced means to livelihoods. Women tend to be affected more when there are fewer prospects for work, and yet in most cases they are responsible for looking after families and communities in need. In rural settings women still bear a heavier burden of work, often having to juggle between looking after their families and earning a living. In urban settings women are still not remunerated at the same level as their male counterparts and employment equity still remains largely elusive, despite great the great strides that have been made in countries like South Africa and Rwanda to achieve gender parity.

A study conducted in East Africa found that whereas the legal statutes implicitly recognise a woman’s right to own property, customary laws still make it difficult for women to own or inherit property. This has far-reaching effects on women’s ability to access credit or even earn a livelihood independent of men. These findings can probably be generalized for the rest of the continent.

Environmental degradation continues to affect women adversely. In rural communities, women have to work harder to access water and cultivate the land. Frequent droughts, environmental disasters and advancing desertification are all placing rural communities and, especially women, in an increasingly vulnerable position.

The AIDS pandemic has affected women most, with levels of infection steadily rising. A woman’s position is exacerbated by her inability to negotiate her sexual rights and access basic health care. Pre- and post-natal care is still beyond the reach of most of Africa’s women.

With the passing of another International Women’s Day, the call goes out to governments, communities and every individual to play a more active part in upholding the rights of women. It is only when women achieve their rightful place that true development and societal progress can be achieved.

* Related Links

African Union - Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/

Global Issues – Women’s Rights

On International Women's Day, local and international women's and human rights groups have urged donors to devote more funding to HIV/AIDS programmes aimed at reducing women's vulnerability to infection.

IRIN has launched ‘The Shame of War: sexual violence against women and girls in conflict’ - a reference book and photo essay of portraits and testimonies of the sexual violence women suffer when men go to war. It examines the scope and nature of this violence and looks at the different ways the international community is addressing sexual violence against women and girls during and after conflict.

Reasserting how crucial women are in preventing and resolving conflicts and in peacebuilding, the United Nations Security Council has called on Member States and the Secretary-General to bolster efforts to empower women and increase their representation in decision-making.

Increasing women’s ability to procure financial services is not just a boon to economic development, but is beneficial to society as a whole, the President of the United Nations General Assembly today told participants at a panel discussion on women’s economic empowerment in New York.

Two weeks ago the High Court in Yaounde, Cameroon, ordered the immediate release of Alexandre D. who was detained for more than two years without charge or trial on allegations of homosexuality. The ruling was received with relief by the Cameroonian gay and lesbian community, represented by Alternatives-Cameroun, Inter-LGBT in Paris and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) in New York.

Two men raped a 19-year-old woman because they wanted to know how it felt to sleep with a lesbian. The crime, which has been condemned by woman's rights activists, took place at White House squatter camp in Vosman near Witbank on Saturday.

The spiritual leader of the world’s 77 million Anglicans said on Tuesday a split over gay clergy would not distract the church from battling AIDS, poverty and other problems in the developing world. “The tensions are perfectly real, but one of the remarkable things is the willingness to work together on development goals,” Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams told reporters outside Johannesburg at the outset of a visit to South Africa.

Algeria has a law designed to defend women from being made homeless by divorce; a prospect heightened by a severe housing shortage. Advocates, however, say the law is not enforced and women are still winding up in the streets.

As the world marks International Women's Day, Thursday, under the theme of 'Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women and Girls', activists in Kenya claim there is much to do in ensuring that abusers are punished.

When the West African state of Liberia was torn apart by 14 years of civil war, the victims of the brutal insurgency included mostly women and children who were subject to rape and sexual violence.

The Out in Africa Gay and Lesbian film festival opened on Thursday 1st March with the film “Beautiful Boxer” an excellent film about a trans woman from Thailand. What was also exceptional was the speech delivered by Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke who opened the festival.