The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of their joint programme, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, express their deep concern over a Bill that would introduce criminal penalties for public advocacy or associations supporting the rights of lesbian and gay people, as well as for relationships and marriage ceremonies between persons of the same sex. As a consequence, human rights defenders and organisations defending those rights will be at a greater risk of criminalisation.

A proposed blueprint for a radical restructuring of the United Nations as envisaged by outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan has fallen short of its target in one specific area: gender empowerment. As the 191 member states get ready to discuss the political nuances and economic implications of Annan's recently-released landmark report on UN reform, there is an increasingly vociferous demand to rectify the gender shortcoming by creating a separate UN agency to deal with women's issues.

“When I was appointed by the Constitutional Court in 2003, I felt Egypt had taken a very important step towards building a freer, more equal merit-based society,” said Tehany al-Gebaly, Egypt’s only female judge. “Three years on, I am saddened to see that the obstacles to women joining the judiciary remain firmly in place.” In Egypt’s approximately 6,000-strong judicial body, al-Gebaly is the only woman in an executive judicial role.

“It is … right and indeed necessary that women should be engaged in … decision-making processes in all areas, with equal strength and in equal numbers.” These are the words of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in his speech to mark this year's International Women's Day which was celebrated on March 8. For a number of years the United Nations has been planning and implementing reforms to improve its effectiveness. However, current initiatives to reform the UN have women wondering if the organization is not merely paying lip service to the principle of gender equality.

"Everything revolves around money and without work there is no money," says 33-year-old Maria Xoagub*, a mother of three who earns her living as a prostitute. "Sometimes we try stopping going to sell our bodies in the streets, but when poverty takes over we are back there." Xoagub’s story is one heard frequently from Namibia’s sex workers. In a country where the unemployment rate hovers around 30 percent, prospects of getting a job outside prostitution are slim for sex workers, many of whom are illiterate.

Most young people learn about sexuality and HIV/AIDS in school. Giving teenage pupils space to explore, debate and ask questions is just as important as checking that they know how HIV is transmitted and avoided. Can teachers help in the fight against AIDS and gender stereotypes? A chapter in a book from Oxfam GB analyses two HIV programmes in schools in South Africa and Mozambique. The author argues that using the classroom to encourage young people to consider issues of sexuality and gender requires techniques that go beyond the training generally given to teachers.

Misoprostol is not exactly a household name as far as drugs are concerned; however, it has the potential to improve and even save thousands of women's lives in Kenya. This medication is one of a number of drugs that can be used to induce abortion, in a procedure that has come to be known as "medical abortion", or "abortion by pill". It provides a cheaper alternative to surgical termination of pregnancy, results in fewer complications if administered correctly and can also be used to stop haemorrhaging after delivery.

Two persons of 23 years of age, have been sentenced to life in prison after a district magistrate's court in Tanzania found them guilty of rape. Handing down the judgment, the magistrate said the court was satisfied with the testimonies given and found the two accused guilty of the offence and would therefore spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Although the agreement that ended 21 years of civil war in Sudan goes by the title of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), Roselynn Musa points out that in order for something to be comprehensive it must be all-inclusive. Yet, when it comes to the inclusion of women, this is not the case, with the agreement being full of gaps on women’s representation. Sustainable peace, she warns, will be achieved only if women and men are considered.

Africa has witnessed and continues to witness armed conflicts, especially ethnic conflict. According to UN statistics more than thirty wars have occurred in Africa since 1970. While these wars have had a devastating impact on the African population, both soldiers and civilians, African women in particular have been more affected than any other group. It is now common knowledge to all and sundry that women are usually the most affected in any war situation and the last consulted on subsequent peace negotiations. Apart from loosing their lives, women’s rights have been greatly abused during and after the wars. The case is not different in Sudan where women were not consulted or included in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and mention of women was minimal and vague.

Inclusion of Sudanese women is imperative because women’s rights are human rights and women have borne the burden of war and paid their dues for the cost of peace. Moreover peace, democracy and justice are fundamental concerns that need to be addressed by all Sudanese and not just a section of them. Women and children suffer more deeply and intensely the physical and emotional pains of conflict than their male counterparts because women are both primary and secondary targets of conflict. Women suffer deeply and often in silence.

The issues are that despite existing commitments like the UN Resolution 1325, Beijing+10, Nairobi+ 20, Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, IGAD Gender Policy, Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality, National Constitutions etc African women and girls continue to experience gross forms of abuse and remain at the margins of peace negotiations and post- conflict planning.

The Peace Protocols signed in January 2005 represent a qualitative transformation in Sudan’s modern history. It is a political agreement that brought the war to a close and established a new political context that embraces many issues that were neglected or side lined in previous peace agreements. The agreements include protocols on state and religion, self-determination, power sharing, security, a ceasefire agreement and a separate set of modalities.

The CPA represents a political and social instrument that aims to reform the conditions in Sudan through shaping new understandings and establishing grounds for the flourishing of new social power. It is supposed to constitute a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, yet one would expect that for something to be comprehensive it must be all- inclusive. Nevertheless the CPA is evidently full of gaps on women’s representation and the position of women in it is ambiguous.

South Sudan is a state emerging from a civil war that lasted over 21 years. The current healing and rehabilitation processes focus on the soldiers and men to the exclusion of women and children. In the few occasions where women are involved they hardly do more than act as gender advisers in peace operations. They need to do more than that by participating throughout and in all positions.

The CPA states inter alia that:

- The state shall guarantee equal rights of men and women to the full enjoyment of all civil, political, social, cultural and economic rights;
- The state shall promote women’s rights through affirmative action;
- The state shall combat harmful customs and tradition, which undermine the dignity and status of women;
- The state shall provide maternity and child care and medical care for pregnant women.

But in conducting a gender analysis of the CPA it is important to note the following points:

- Gender and women was mentioned in the six protocols only a few times;
- While gender policy and women empowerment are mentioned in the competency of each level of government , there are no targets, indicators and time lines for their achievement;
- The formula agreed for regional and political representation was not extended to women;
- Ethnic and religious chauvinism that has excluded or marginalised the vast majority of its citizens were listed as some of the roots causes of the crisis, yet this definition has not taken into account the marginalisation of Sudanese women and the fact that it could lead to conflict;
- The Machakos protocol mentions a framework for governance through which power and wealth shall be equitably shared, and human rights guaranteed but there is no mention of women in the criteria of sharing power and wealth of the nation;
- The fact that women bore the brunt of war for twenty-one years was not considered as a criteria for equitable sharing and allocation of wealth;
- Women are subjected to cultural and traditional attitudes leading to lack of participation in decision- making;
- Many women are not aware of their rights;
- Women’s participation in government in many cases are through tokenism by governments that are headed by men.

Resolution 1325 recognises that if societies are governed in a way which marginalises the views and experiences of women and girls, this carries a cost. The role of women is crucial in preserving social order, and as peace educators, both in their families and in their societies, thereby playing an important role in fostering a culture of peace in strife-torn communities and societies.

If women are to play an equal part in maintaining peace, they must be empowered politically and economically, and represented adequately at all levels of decision making both at the pre-conflict stage and during hostilities, as well as at the point of peace keeping, peace building, reconciliation and reconstruction. I have witnessed an occasion in which a minister in the government of Sudan was challenged on why Sudanese women were side-lined in the peace discussions and agreements. He rationalized the position of the government, stating an instance when women were asked to send their representatives to a forum and they did not come up with one. If that was the case then it is not surprising because it is not enough to ask women to participate in peace discussions and negotiations. As a pre-requisite, Sudanese women need to have their capacities built towards that direction so that they can function well as peace negotiators. That is to say that Sudanese women are not just agitating for numerical increase to their participation alone, but to be in a position to make qualitative contributions that will make a difference. They should not just be there to complete the number required. Obviously that was the point they tried to make when they declined to send women to the forum.

In order for the CPA to adequately consider the unique contribution that women can make towards peace, the following recommendations are important:

- Women should be encouraged to play active roles in dialogue and arbitration among warring sides. They generally have special gifts for these and are able to sacrifice personal ego for the greater good of the community. They are excellent in maintaining peace and promoting harmony. Their insights easily provide a way forward for communities that are not able to reconcile their personal and communal conflicts. Given the role women play in society and the fact that they are more intent on reaching a compromise for the sake of the greater good of the community, there ought to be an insistence that women participate in all peace initiatives with at least 30% participation.

It is not enough to pass laws on the minimum number of women to be included in peace negotiations, it is also important to allow them to choose who among them will best represent their interests and articulate their views. Women know one another more and since they interact with each other more than they interact with men, especially in the more reserved areas and cultures. By letting women choose among them who will be their representatives, they will be more confident in the negotiation process as well as the negotiator and they will be more willing to make their views known. This will ensure that their input is made in the peace initiatives and will avert a situation where issues that affect them in times of conflict are wholly ignored.

- The Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has been hailed as one of the most comprehensive instruments on the rights of women. It has however not been ratified in many countries and even where this has been done, implementation is wanting. CEDAW needs to be ratified and implemented in all countries so that women’s rights are respected and promoted even in times of conflict. This will provide a legal framework within which women’s rights will thrive, and when these rights are violated, women will be able to assert them.

- It is necessary also to ensure that women are included at all levels if decision making fora and in all issues that affect society. Women are usually excluded from these fora on the premise that decision-making is a male preserve and this in turn translates into a situation where women are left out of the very processes that dictate their lives.

- Women’s concerns should be incorporated in the peace negotiations. It is not enough that women be given the opportunity to speak at the peace making fora, the concerns raised should be taken into account whenever arriving at a decision. Measures should be put in place to ensure that women’s concerns are not ignored once they have been brought to the attention of the peace negotiators.

- Complete political, social and economic equality of all sexes should be spelt out in all peace agreements. This will serve to ensure that equality is maintained alongside peace. These initiatives should further be incorporated in the constitution to give them legal backing.

- Sudanese women should be more aggressive in demanding their rights because no one will drop it on their laps. They should rise up to the challenge of rising up to their rights without fear of giving in to intimidation.

- The educated Sudanese women should work with and carry along women in the grassroots. This will enable them to speak with one voice. This will also dispel animosity or mistrust that may come about if one group feel sidelined or ignored by the other due to parallel activities undertaken by both sets of women. When these sets of women work together in harmony, they will complement each other and implement activities that serve both their interests and by extension, the society at large.

- There is need to revisit the common agenda developed for Sudanese women to identify areas of priority and adopt areas of intervention. This is because society is dynamic and regular reviews should be made to ensure that the agenda remains to their needs and concerns.

- Civil society organisations, international organisations and political parties should coordinate their efforts and pool their resources towards achieving their common goals. This will create a situation where focussed activities are implemented and greater resources are availed to implement then. This in turn will be of great benefit to Sudanese women.

- The manifestoes of political parties should be engendered to encourage Sudanese women to join the political fray. Sudanese women will be more interested in politics if the environment is not hostile to their gender. It is also essential that political party members undergo capacity building sessions focussing on gender issues and concepts. This will enable them to dispel misconceptions they may have about women in politics.

- Working with the media can create significant opportunities for Sudanese women and girls, especially those living in the rural areas. Articles in newspapers and publications of general interest will sensitise the society on gender issues and those involved in gender advocacy initiatives need to work with the media.

- Gender stereotypes are often ingrained in members of the society at an early age and these stereotypical ideas later manifest themselves in discrimination against women. These notions lead women to believe that they are well suited for certain roles and should shun others. As such, gender sensitisation and civic education should be included in educational curriculum to reverse this trend.

It goes even without mentioning that Sudanese women have made some gains in recent times in the campaign for the agitation for their rights. They should be proud of their accomplishments and celebrate the gains they have made, no matter how small, rather than down-play their successes.

Conclusion

Both war and peace are gendered experiences and women and men are bound to have different priorities and expectations in a peace process. Sustainable peace will therefore be achieved only if women and men are considered. It is pertinent to bear in mind that the building and construction of especially Southern Sudan requires the participation, effort and contribution of everyone from all levels to focus collectively to build the war-torn country regardless of political, ethnic, gender, religious and other differences, where everyone will live with dignity, respect and equal opportunity. Women need to be encouraged to play active roles in dialogue and arbitration among the warring sides.

It is commendable that Sudanese women have now realised the fact that they will not be helped unless they start by helping themselves. It is worth mentioning that towards this direction they have been holding consultative meetings, prominent among which was the Donors’ Conference for Sudan, which took place from April 11 to 12, 2005 in Oslo, Norway. In a statement at the end of the conference the women’s group reiterated its principle of equal representation for women and men, pegging the minimum at thirty percent. The group, in addition to other pressing demands, also asked for urgent programmes for addressing negative custom and religious practices which continue to foster women’s marginalisation in all spheres of life.

Women’s immense contribution towards development is unquestionable and their participation in peace building and peace keeping is therefore crucial for the prevention of conflict and the sustainability of peace initiatives. Women as well as men have much to offer in terms of skills on the negotiating table and a lot to gain when peace is gained, therefore integrating a gender perspective into peace building in reconstruction is an essential step in the process of ensuring democratic decision making at all levels of society. Decision makers who invoke and manipulate gender to justify armed conflict and similarly exclude women from conflict resolution are gambling with the safety and security of women, men and children throughout Africa and this must be challenged with renewed energy.

* Roselynn Musa works for The African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) in Kenya and has been involved with the Solidarity on African Women’s Rights, a coalition of women’s organizations working to ratify and domesticate the Protocol on African Women’s Rights.

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This course is designed for development professionals who seek to build up their skills and knowledge in mainstreaming gender in their organisations and their programmes and projects. The course will focus on concepts and approaches to mainstreaming gender and how to operationalise these within the total organisation.

"I write per the direction of the National Gender Machinery and behalf of my sisters and colleagues, in the hope that you find solace in knowing that you have our support in your continued and brave quest to access your democratically guaranteed rights...We are fully aware that it is your right, in this constitutional democracy to access justice without fear, favour or prejudice. We have witnessed, as the process unfolds that this has not been totally true in your case. Instead you have been rendered both faceless and voiceless, and have had to live under sequestration."
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At least 2,000 women demonstrated on Monday in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), in an appeal for peace in the country. "Our objective is to alert the nation and the international community to the new wave of troubles looming ahead," said Georgette Debale, a university lecturer and one of the event's organisers. The demonstration was held in the wake of increased armed banditry and rebellion in the northwest of the country, close to the border with Chad. According to the demonstrators, three rebel groups are now active in the region.

In January this year, Abshiro Xasan Guleed had just settled into a sound sleep after a long day of work when she was awoken by incessant knocks on her door. Her first thought as a traditional birth attendant (TBA) for the last 15 years, was that the man had come to request her to attend to his wife who was in labour. But when she opened the door after they identified themselves, she got a totally different message. The man had walked more than two kilometres to report to her about his six year-old daughter who had been knifed three times by a man attempting to rape her.

It is estimated that women and girls in low-income countries spend 40 billion hours every year fetching and carrying water from sources which are often far away and may not, after all, provide clean water. From this standpoint, it is simple to understand that a woman could be empowered by having a nearby pump that conveniently supplies enough safe water for her family. Easier access to such basic services enables women to identify and grasp new opportunities for themselves, to grow in confidence and attain a greater sense of personal dignity.

The African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Sudan says it will look into claims that its troops committed sexual abuse in the western region of Darfur. The UK's More4 TV channel last week aired allegations that AU soldiers paid women, some as young as 11, for sex. The AU said the claims were disturbing, but added there had recently been many allegations against its mission - all of which had been found to be baseless. The AU has 7,000 troops guarding some of Darfur's 2 million displaced people.

Across Africa, the AIDS pandemic is creating chaos for hundreds of thousands of women forced to leave their land and homes when their husbands die. Campaigners say the best way to protect the growing number of these ‘AIDS Widows’ is to introduce and enforce laws which give women equal rights to inherit and own property. In Kenya, these rights continue to be denied. But there are signs that things might change. Whatever happens next, many believe that unless something as influential as a new constitution takes up the cause, the calamity surrounding women’s land rights, widows and AIDS is unlikely to go away.

Recently, newly elected Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf became only the fourth African head of state and the eighth woman to address the United States Congress. Sirleaf asked members of Congress to think about what the returns on their investment would be when young men could trade their guns for jobs, when people could feed themselves again and when young women could become scientists and doctors. Emira Woods and Lisa VeneKlasen assess the contribution of women to politics in Africa.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf addressed a joint session of the US Congress recently. This historic honor, bestowed sparingly on international dignitaries, is a fitting tribute for Africa's first democratically elected female president. But Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is not an anomaly. The African political landscape is being reshaped by women, generating hope for the future of the continent and raising the bar for democracy worldwide.

Few in the US congress would have guessed that the country that leads the world in political gender balance is Rwanda, where women make up half of the members of parliament, a development that started in the mid-1990s. South Africa and Mozambique, also high on the list, are both countries with women composing more than 30 percent of their parliaments. This stands in stark contrast to the United States, where women make up only 15 percent of Congress.

African countries also have higher percentages of women in cabinet-level positions. In South Africa, 13 out of 28 are women, and in Rwanda there are nine women to 22 men. In the United States, there are only three women in President George W. Bush's 20-person cabinet.

One big factor in the rise of women's political power in Africa is affirmative action. Governments have set concrete targets for women's participation in political bodies. The newly formed Pan African Parliament has also implemented affirmative-action measures to ensure a minimum of 30 percent representation by women, all of whom have been elected to office in their countries.

But African women's rising power is measured not just in numbers. In Liberia, the same women who bore the brunt of the country's more than two decades of war are the ones leading the struggle for peace and carving out a new economic and political path.

It was the Liberian women who crossed class, ethnic and political lines to organize and sustain marches for peace and change over the past two years. Market sellers, students, farmers, professionals - women from all walks of life - marched daily in drenching rain and searing sun, often with their children on their backs, to demand the exit of their former leader, war criminal Charles Taylor, indicted by a special court in Sierra Leone, and to insist on an end to civil strife. Their efforts ushered in a period of peace that has now lasted more than 2 and a half years and opened the door to democracy.

After the election last November, when supporters of presidential candidate George Weah disputed the results and marched in the streets - again raising the specter of instability - it was women and leading religious leaders who engaged them in a dialogue and insisted on reconciliation and peace.

Of course, the real test for Africa's emerging female leaders is yet to come. Will they be able to translate leadership positions into a fresh agenda for peace, sustainable development and democracy in the region?

In the case of Liberia, the challenges are daunting. A fresh agenda would mean mending the social fabric torn apart by 25 years of crisis and chaos in which 250,000 people were killed. A Harvard-educated economist, Johnson-Sirleaf, who was sworn into office in January, should manage well a truth-and-reconciliation process that brings healing to a wounded society and holds key people responsible. A fresh agenda would also transform an economy that has relied on illicit activity for 14 years - trade in diamonds used to finance wars; stolen timber; "raped rubber"; and the flow of illegal arms - into an economy that brings productive activity for the now 85 percent unemployed.

The critical role of women in that society must be recognized by giving them equal inheritance and land rights to allow them to fully and wisely use resources for their families and communities.

The US Congress and the Bush administration should help give Liberia a chance at a fresh start by agreeing to cancel the country's external debts, accumulated under past dictatorships. Those debts, the equivalent of about 680 percent of the country's gross domestic product, undermine the capacity of the new government to tackle the problems of rising HIV/AIDS infection rates and a lack of functioning schools, electricity and other infrastructure. Thirty percent of that debt is owed to the United States, which should not only forgive its share but also encourage other nations to forgive theirs.

The US government should also use its leverage to ensure that US corporations operating in the country act responsibly, paying proper fees, taxes and wages, respecting labor rights and protecting the environment. For example, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. is now taking advantage of deals made with a former caretaker Liberian government as well as the desperation of many poor Liberians to profit from operations that employ child labor, destroy the environment and violate other international standards.

There is much at stake for Liberia and the rest of Africa. But it's also a time to celebrate and support the region's newly emerging female leaders with a fresh agenda.

* Emira Woods, originally from Liberia, is co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, based in Washington, D.C. Lisa VeneKlasen is director of Just Associates (JASS)

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When former Namibian health minister Libertina Amathila made an emotional plea five years ago for prostitution to be legalised, her cabinet colleagues, parliament and the churches shot her views down, saying they were unacceptable. Richard Kamwi, Amathila's successor, said the government would not revisit the matter, but the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) has insisted a rethink is necessary in a country with an adult HIV prevalence rate of over 21 percent.

Undeterred by the hefty duty imposed on a consignment of sanitary pads donated to Zimbabwean women hit by rocketing prices, the country's labour federation plans to import them regularly. "We are going to bring the sanitary pads in every month, otherwise it is a pointless exercise," explained Wellington Chibebe, secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). After an appeal on a South African radio station at the beginning of the year, the ZCTU collected 12 million pads in South Africa last month.

At least 15 schoolgirls in Kenya were raped during a night-time protest march in the central district of Nyeri. Hundreds of pupils had stormed out of school in the middle of the night to go to the district commissioner's office to demand better conditions. The BBC's Wanyama wa Chebusiri in Nyeri says three of those attacked are critically ill in hospital. The victims say as they were marching a gang of local villagers attacked them, raping at least 15 girls in turn.