Benin has deposited with the AU on the 13th October 2005 the instrument of ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, adopted in July 2003 in Maputo. Only one precious ratification is still missing before we celebrate our protocol. It won’t be long as Togo has also sent today its instrument of ratification to AU by express mail.

Leading up to the December 2005 World Trade Organization's (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, Pambazuka News will examine some of the issues regarding the WTO as it affects Africa. This week we look at women and trade.

African women are widely recognized as active contributers to economic systems and trade. Women work to generate over half of most household’s incomes, and work extremely long hours. They are also the main caretakers of children and other extended relatives, while at the same time accounting for more than half of the workforce that grows, processes and markets food and other goods. At the same time, women are often left out of formal economic planning and development schemes. Rarely do they have access to business loans, and in most cases the land they work does not belong to them. Women also make up the poorest of any social grouping in Africa, and this increasing “feminization” of poverty should be of upmost importance to all.

The WTO is directly involved in shaping the lives of millions of people across the globel, and Africa’s women are not exempt. In fact, the policies that the WTO dictates often have devestating effects on individuals, families and communities.

One of the other most specific threats to women in Africa relates to the ending of the quota system in the textile and garment industry. This changed on January 1st, 2005. Up until then, a quota sysem had been in place, making it mandatory for large, wealthy countriies (mainly the US and EU) to spread their orders for textiles and garments over factories in several dozen countries, mostly in developing nations. With the end of this quota system, these obligations have been lifted, meaning that orders can now simply go to the lowest bidder. This coumtry is China, and as a result, garment factories around the world are shutting down because they cannot compete in this new market. Women make up the majority of workers in this industry, and Africa is no different. Women are now starting to lose their jobs to Chinese workers in large numbers. One of the places in Africa where the highest concentration of garment factories are found is Mauritius. Almost a fifth of the working population is involved in the industry in one way or another. Over two thirds of those employed are women. As a result of the end of the quota system, factories are now closing, and the unemployment rates are soaring. At least 10 000 jobs will be lost, and the women that once held them, often the main breadwinners in their families, are left with small severance packages and nowhere to look for new jobs.

Another threat to African women in terms of trade involves trade liberalization. One of the most serious ways that this plays out is in relation to food security, which itself is important on individual, household, national, regional and global levels. Indeed, food security in many ways determines poverty levels in any given country. Agriculture is one of Africa’s largest industries, and women are its largerst contributors. Trade liberalization in relation to agriculture has meant a number of things. Chemical pest control and fertilizers have made their way into the African agriclutrural sector, leaving small scale farmers unable to afford them, and thus keep up with the market. Women also make up many heads of households, and are left, therefore, with the double burden of carrying for their families and homes, as well as their agricutlrural workload. The opening up of the export market means that many of these women no longer have time to care for crops that would go towards feeding their families, they must work solely for commercial purposes. The wages earned from these crops are limited, as many African countries rely too heavily on one single crop, and many more cannot compete in the global market.

These comprise simply two specific examples of the way in which African women are affected by trade. Numerous others exist, and the realities faced by African women are difficult to summarize because of their enormous variations and complexities. But one thing is possible to conclude: governments and decision makers must take into account the specific circumstance of women in relation to trade, and put into place mechanisms that protect their abilities to meet those basic human rights which are being violated as a result of policies that rarely benefit Africa and its people.

For further information:
http://www.awepon.org/

http://www.igtn.org/

For previous articles:

On the Road to Hong Kong - http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=29838

Africa and WTO - http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=29857

As a part of the coalition supporting the ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, Pambazuka News will profile various aspects of the protocol over the next six weeks. This week we will take a look at issues surrounding harmful practices against women, specifically, female genital mutilation, as related to the African continent. This is what the protocol states:

Article 5 – Elimination of Harmful Practices

“States Parties shall prohibit and condemn all forms of harmful practices which negatively affect the human rights of women and which are contrary to recognised international standards. States Parties shall take all necessary legislative and other measures to eliminate such practices, including:

b) prohibition, through legislative measures backed by sanctions, of all forms of female genital mutilation, scarification, medicalisation and para-medicalisation of female genital mutilation and all other practices in order to eradicate them…”

Female genital mutilation occurs around the world, most widely in Africa – where as many as 29 countries are known to be practicing it. Estimates range as to how many women have experienced the procedure, but figures are said to be around 78 million women who are affected.

With a practice as diverse as the cultures in which it occurs, female genital mutilation is a highly contested custom. The discourse surrounding female genital mutilation is polarized, with some arguing that the procedure is a cultural tradition and must be upheld in order for honor to be bestowed upon a woman and her family. Others, on the opposite side of the argument, contend that the procedure is in blatant disregard of basic human rights. The Protocol clearly takes the side of the latter argument.

It is extremely difficult to make generalizations about female genital mutilation, as the practices vary in different parts of Africa. The age at which it occurs is one such factor, as babies as young as a week old are sometimes subject to FGM, and sometimes grown women. Most girls undergo the procedure anytime between the ages of eight and fourteen.

Many different types of FGM exist, with the least common one being circumcision: cutting the hood of the clitoris. This is the mildest form of female genital mutilation. Excision involves the cutting of the clitoris and all or part of the labia minora, while infibulations means that the clitoris is cut along with the labia minor and most of the anterior part of the labia majora. Both sides of the vulva are then pinned together (with silk, catgut or thorns), leaving only a tiny opening preserved with the insertion of a small piece of wood or reed for the passage of urine and menstrual blood. The girl’s legs are then bound together to permit the formation of scar tissue. An intermediate form of this removes the clitoris and either part of or the entire labia majora. Generally, a female elder of the village, or a birth attendant performs FGM. Anesthetics are rarely, if ever used, and girls are held down by their mother or other female relatives. Traditional herb mixtures, earth and ashes are usually rubbed on the wound to stop bleeding. Conditions are generally very unsanitary, and the instruments are generally not sterilized. The consequences of this include chronic infection, pain during intercourse, menstruation and childbirth, as well as psychological trauma.

The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa is making steps in the right direction with regards to FGM. It goes beyond simply calling for an end to the practice, but demands that countries criminalize the practice and prosecute those who perform it. It also puts in place the framework for providing counseling support and treatment to survivors of FGM. Furthermore, the Protocol calls for awareness raising campaigns, and also includes a mechanism to allow intervention into the prevention of FGM cases.

Beyond the Protocol, changes are being made on the African continent. In some Kenyan communities, for example, many women are practicing an alternative to female genital mutilation. Girls spend a week in enclosure, just as girls about to be circumcised do, but instead are taught about the harmful effects of FGM and are given information to combat local beliefs and superstitions surrounding the practice. These girls are taught about their bodies and about relationships with men, and are encouraged to go to school and make decisions pertinent to their lives. They are also provided with a mentor – an older woman from their community that they respect and can listen to their concerns. At the end of the week, the girls undergo a graduation ceremony and are reintroduced into their communities as women.

*Researched and written by Karoline Kemp, a Commonwealth of Learning Young Professional Intern

* For previous articles, please follow the links:

Trafficking in Women and Children -

Female Refugees -

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Women and Peace and Security aims to ensure women's full participation in all stages of a given peace process, including in the negotiation and implementation of peace agreements as well as the drafting and negotiation of constitutions. With the aim of strengthening the commitment and accountability of the United Nations to gender equality, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued a comprehensive plan for reinforcing and integrating women's issues into the world body's peacekeeping and post-conflict operations.

This is the latest title in the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Gender Mainstreaming Series, which highlights Commonwealth Secretariat and partners’ work in the area of peace and conflict management. This publication brings together a body of work into an advocacy, capacity-building and policy tool to contribute to gender mainstreaming in all processes of conflict transformation and in building sustainable peace. It argues that gender equality needs to be placed on the policy and programme agenda of the entire spectrum of peace and conflict-related initiatives and activities in order to achieve conflict transformation.

It seems unlikely that whoever coined the term 'information superhighway' anticipated that the traffic on the internet would be in people, as well as information. How, and how much, the internet and other ICTs are implicated in trafficking is the subject of this issue paper by The Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) produced in cooperation with The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID).

The Sol Plaatje Media Leadership Institute at Rhodes University's School of Journalism and Media Studies invites applications for three scholarships from women wishing to register for the SPI's Postgraduate Diploma in Media Management in 2006. This course is specifically designed to provide people working in the media industry with the skills and knowledge they need to perform more effectively in their organisations and to fast-track their careers to management positions.

“A Tragedy of Lives: Women in Prison in Zimbabwe” takes us through the lives of female prisoners in Zimbabwe. Edited by Chiedza Musengezi, founder and director of Zimbabwe Women Writers and Irene Staunton, publisher at Weaver Press, the format of the book brings together prisoners and writers, as each woman interviewed was done so by a member of Zimbabwe Women Writers. Tracked down by a writer, these women were often difficult to find, and the process of interviewing them was indeed also difficult, as recalling their past proved painful for many.

Categorized according to the type of crime committed, “A Tragedy of Lives” does a wonderful job of allowing outsiders into the lives of female prisoners. While each woman’s experience differs, general themes prevail - poverty, abuse, violence and the difficulty of providing for family member are pervasive, but each woman’s story culminates in the hope for a better future, and the means of attaining that future do not always coincide within the law.

Reproductive rights (or the lack thereof), domestic issues, fraud, commercial sex work, dangerous drug selling (mostly marijuana – not considered dangerous to many) and shoplifting were the primary causes of arrest for these women. Most of the women came from poor families and have had difficult lives. They were left with the burdens of caring for children, husbands/boyfriends, parents, siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles with few resources and low levels of education or skills training (many women had received little education, as their parents before them could not afford the fees). Given these difficult situations, many of the women had simply sought out alternative, informal means of making ends meet, which just so happen to be outside of the law.

While women make only a small (2-3%) proportion of prisoners in Zimbabwe (and no doubt the rest of Africa), they are often imprisoned for criminal activities that are non-violent. Their time in prison, argue contributors to this book, could better be spent serving community sentences, so as to avoid the women’s absences from their homes and families – a situation which serves only to exacerbate the prevailing poverty from which they were originally trying to escape. Ongoing abuse and exploitation (mostly in terms of labor and access to family members and supplies) by officials were some of the main concerns of the women interviewed. But specific conditions in which Zimbabwean women find themselves facing in prison, and their particular needs as women, were again and again referenced in these interviews. Of particular concern was sanitation, especially while living in conditions not conducive to the needs of women. Dirty cells with toilets that could not be flushed from inside, a severe constraint on the number, or even complete lack of sanitary/menstrual pads*, combined with a shortage in soap (for cleaning clothes and blankets) and limitations on the number of undergarments a prisoner was allowed, all contributed to living conditions that were violations of basic human rights.

Upon their release from prison, many of the interviewed women found their reintegration difficult. A large number were not accepted by their families, numerous women returned home to find their husbands living with new women, many had missed watching their children grow up. Finding work was also a challenge. For those women who had committed petty crimes and were sentenced only to short incarcerations, they did not qualify for the training courses that some of the prisons offered (usually through foreign run charities). A great number of the women became religious while in prison, mostly due to the work of charity organizations, such as Prison Fellowship. This newfound appreciation for religion was often cited as a major motivation for these women to return to their homes and lead lives free of violence or dishonesty.

“A Tragedy of Lives” ends with interviews conducted with officials involved in Zimbabwe’s prison system. While they provide a glimpse into the policies behind the system, the interviews, in my mind, fell short of any critical analysis. Many, if not all, contradicted the very stories told in the book. The interviews with these officials are thus an interesting contrast to those held with the female prisoners – they serve to highlight the dissonance found in any institutional setting. Perhaps this is the theme of the book – what happens in reality is so often very far off from what should be going on ideally, in any given situation. That “A Tragedy of Lives” is able to convey this notion in such a personal way is impressive, and should serve as inspiration for anyone interested in justice.

* This problem is, in fact, common to all of Zimbabwe. Last week, Tabita Khumalo of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions, along with trade unions in Britain and South Africa, made an appeal for funds to purchase sanitary pads that could be sold at affordable prices to working Zimbabwean women. Currently, no menstrual products are produced locally, and foreign exchange rates are so low that importing them has become impossible. Pads are available on the black market, but the high cost means that they are worth half a months wages for most working women. This shortage has been played down by political figures, and is seen as taboo. The lack of these necessary supplies means that women are resorting to using rags and newspapers, which can lead to infections.

* Reviewed by Karoline Kemp, a Commonwealth of Learning Young Professional Intern working at Fahamu.

* Please send comments to [email protected]

This report, published by the Centre for Reproductive Rights, aims show how the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa can be used to advance reproductive and sexual rights. The treaty affirms reproductive choice and autonomy as a key human right and contains a number of global firsts. For example, it represents the first time that an international human rights instrument has explicitly articulated a woman’s right to abortion when pregnancy results from sexual assault, rape, or incest; when continuation of the pregnancy endangers the life or health of the pregnant woman; and in cases of grave fetal defects that are incompatible with life. Another first is the protocol’s call for the prohibition of harmful practices such as female circumcision/female genital mutilation (FC/FGM), which have ravaged the lives of countless young women in Africa.

This is the latest title in the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Gender Mainstreaming Series, which highlights the Commonwealth Secretariat and partners’ work in the area of peace and conflict management. Issues of socio-economic development, democracy and peace are inextricably linked to gender equality. Gender Mainstreaming in Conflict Transformation: Building Sustainable Peace argues that gender equality needs to be placed on the policy and programme agenda of the entire spectrum of peace and conflict-related initiatives and activities in order to achieve conflict transformation.

Cashew nuts are one of the world's most valuable processed nuts. Mozambique, once the world's largest producer, works with communities and the private sector to raise output. However, trade liberalisation, falling prices, new quality requirements and the buyer-driven nature of the cashew-nut supply chain are worsening working conditions. Women play a central role in the production and use of cashew nuts. Collaborative research from the UK International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) explores the gender dimensions of liberalisation on the Mozambican cashew industry.

This is a reader of scholarly articles authored by Africans and published by the University for Peace on issues of gender and peace building in Africa. This publication, which comes as a product of two Faculty and Staff Development Seminars on gender and peacebuilding, held in Kitwe, Zambia, has provided a platform to debate on current issues of gender in conflict situations, their destabilising consequences on the economic development of Africa and the efforts being made to build bridges of peace with a gender perspective.

Co-Edited by Helen Durham and Tracey Gurd

Listening to the Silences: Women and War is a collection of women’s voices, each one exploring a unique aspect of women’s experiences and changing needs during armed conflict, and the adequacy of legal and other responses to those needs. Drawing together highly personal stories with tight academic analyses, this book highlights the ways in which the international community at large has historically failed to listen to women. It reveals that responses to women’s requirements during times of war will continue to be inadequate so long as we persist in silencing these differing perspectives and fail to take account of women’s dynamic and changing needs.

Date: 21 October, 2005
Time: 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Location: Nairobi, Kenya – Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC)

Kenya is going through a very public process of constitutional debates. Nevertheless there appears to be a fundamental absence of political space for women to make their opinions heard significantly, despite the fact that women have consistently provided leadership to safeguard the processes of constitution making. A key concern is what women stand to gain or lose by voting either ''Yes'' or ''No.'' The National Commission on Gender and Development seeks to provide the women of Kenya with a space to have and construct a voice that articulates their concerns. The forum will host panelists from both the ''Yes'' and ''No'' campaigns, who will address the substantive women's issues in the draft constitution and the consequences for women should they vote either ''Yes'' or ''No.''
In attendance will be more than 100 women from the eight provinces to lend their insights into this important process.

More than 500,000 women died from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth in 2000, but 99% of those maternal deaths were preventable, according to the U.N. Population Fund's "State of World Population 2005" report released on October 12, BBC News reports (BBC News, 10/12). Reproductive health problems, including HIV/AIDS, are the leading cause of death among women ages 15 to 44 and are responsible for approximately 250 million years of productive life lost annually, the report says (Lawless, AP/ABC News, 10/12). Experts said that most maternal deaths are preventable through family planning that provides access to contraceptives, skilled workers attending to births and improved access to emergency obstetric care when necessary (BBC News, 10/12).

ISIS-Women International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) have launched a state of the art Information Unit for Teso Women Peace Activisits (TEWPA) in Soroti town in Eastern Uganda. The unit which is the fourth in the country comprises of a computer set with its printer, a television set, a video deck, a mobile telephone hand set, and a landline telephone system.

As a part of the coalition supporting the ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, Pambazuka News will profile various aspects of the protocol over the next six weeks. This week we will take a look at issues surrounding female refugees as they relate to the African continent. This is what the protocol states:

Article 4 – The Right to Life, Integrity and Security of the Person

2. State parties shall take appropriate and effective measures to:
k) ensure that women and men enjoy equal rights in terms of access to refugee status determination procedures and that women refugees are accorded the full protection and benefits guaranteed under international refugee law, including their own identity and other documents;

The original global document on refugee rights, the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, defines refugees as: "A person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution." The Convention makes no mention of the specific situations and needs of women and girls. In 1991, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees conceded, through their “Guidelines for the Protection of Women,” that women are in fact hardest hit by violence and the uncertainty of displacement. Going further, the 2000 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security makes additional demands on global leaders in terms of women living in conflict areas, and recommends that armies and peacekeeping forces should receive training in the rights of girls and women to protect them. It also attempts to have those responsible for camp design, protection, repatriation and resettlement take into account the needs of girls and women. The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa will provide one further, more regionally appropriate mechanism for the protection of women and girls who are refugees in Africa.

Women and girls who become refugees must often provide for their families alone, and experience specific needs in terms of shelter, supplies, healthcare and protection from sexual violence and exploitation. This too is the case in Africa, where over half of its five million refugees are women. This is probably a conservative estimate, as those within their countries borders, internally displaced peoples, are often not counted. Civil war and ethnic strife, generally credited to the European division of Africa into colonies, has been cited as one of the most prominent reasons for interstate conflict, which has led to such high numbers of refugees on the continent.

One of the most pressing issues for female refugees is safety in camps. Sudanese women who have been forced out of their homes and communities because of ethnic cleansing have faced ongoing rape and sexual violence in the refugee camps of Darfur, where they have gone to seek protection. Whether these women are in their tents, or are out collecting water or fuel, both civilians and militia members have been accused of rape and other sexual violence. In some instances, authorities have coerced women and girls to provide “sexual services” in exchange for “protection.” The long-term consequences of this sexual violence – HIV/AIDS, as well as other medical, economic, psychological and social effects of this brutality, are unimaginable.

The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa recognizes that with such high numbers of Africa’s population defined as refugees, the rights of women must be accounted for. The domestication of this Protocol will no doubt be a challenge to governments, but without these provisions, the suffering and violence faced by so many African women will go unheeded.

For last week’s profile on the aspect of the Protocol regarding trafficking, please see:
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=29740

Researched and written by Karoline Kemp, Commonwealth of Learning Young Professional Intern

The Global Fund for Women, an international network of women and men committed to a world of equality and social justice, advocates for and defends women's human rights by making grants to support women's groups around the world.

Through this Programme, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) aims to give persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, particularly young minority women and men, an opportunity to gain knowledge in the field of international human rights in general, and on minority rights in particular. The Fellowship Programme is intended to assist organizations and communities in protecting and promoting human rights. Five Fellows will be chosen to participate in this Programme to be held from the early February to end of April 2006.

A ground-breaking gender equality training course for local government officials has wrapped up in South Africa's financial capital, Johannesburg. "The course was the first of its kind in South Africa and the region involving gender and local government," said Colleen Lowe Morna, director of Gender Links: the non-governmental organisation headquartered in Johannesburg which organised the training. The programme was held amidst preparations for local government elections in South Africa, scheduled to be held within the next few months.