The members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza) had walked 400km from Bulawayo, the country's second-largest city, and were stopped just 30km from Harare, their destination. The women began the 12-day protest march last week to raise money and awareness for human rights work at a time when Robert Mugabe's government had proposed a law to restrict human rights organisations. 48 women have been arrested.

As part of the series of 10 independent reports called "Three Continents, Four Cultures: Ten years after Cairo, the people take charge," former New York Times United Nations Bureau Chief Barbara Crossette follows a personal story of a pregnant young woman who nearly died during an illegal abortion her boyfriend pressured her into.

In order to emphasize the important intersection of violence against women and women’s health, and particularly that of violence against women and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the 2004 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence theme is: "For the Health of Women, For the Health of the World: No More Violence".

The Seventh African Regional Conference on Women (Beijing+10) will be held in parallel with the Fourth African Development Forum (ADF IV) on Governance, 6-15 October 2004 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Beijing+10 fits within the global evaluation framework for assessing progress achieved after 10 years of implementing the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action on Women (BPFA). These two conferences mark an important step towards achieving gender equality and equity in Africa through national and regional action.

The Co-ordinator on Stop Violence Against Women will be co- ordinating AI's work on violence against women and related fields in the start and growth phases of the global campaign. You will need project management experience, first hand knowledge of at least one sub-region in Africa and exposure to work in defence of women's human rights Africa.

The Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Yakin Ertürk, is visiting Sudan from 25 September to 1 October 2004. She will be attending several meetings and consultations which will look at violence against women in Africa and the current situation of women in Sudan.

Women's Human Rights Net addresses key aspects of the The International Criminal Court (ICC) such as gender crimes and related case law, gender-sensitive proceedings and the possible implications of implementing international standards nationally to advance women's human rights. It is imperative that the women's movement monitor whether the ICC effectively investigates and sanctions the perpetrators of sexual and gender crimes committed against women.

Increasing girls' access to education and improving women health are two important targets set by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But the simple inclusion of gender in the MDGs should not lead to the assumption that gender issues are now central to development policy and that inequalities will be adequately addressed. Changes in institutional practices, greater monetary investments and creating more opportunities for women - are all needed to make these goals a reality.

During an International Conference on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) hosted by the Kenyan Government in Nairobi during 16-18 September 2004, several statements were made by government representatives in support of the ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa.

The Kenyan President stated that his country will ratify the Protocol and reliable sources have indicated that the proposal for ratification is currently with the Cabinet.

The Tanzanian Deputy Minister for Community Development, Women's Affairs and Children, Hon. Shamim P. Khan, stated that her country has started the process of ratification and that the Protocol will soon be tabled for consideration by the Parliament.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Rebecca Kadaga and her delegation which included the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Affairs, Hon. Bakoko Bakoru Zoe, and a couple of Parliamentarians (Hon. Gertrude Kulany and Hon. Dora Byamukama) committed to convening a meeting for discussion with their colleagues with a view to starting the ratification process.

The Minister for Social Action and National Solidarity from Burkina Faso, Mme Lamizana Mariam, also confirmed that her country has started the ratification process.

The Minister for Labour and Human Welfare from Eritrea, Mrs. Askalu Menkerios, also committed to work on her country's signing and ratification of the Protocol as soon as she returned home.

STOP PRESS STOP PRESS: Le Sénégal a ratifié le Protocole à la CADHP relatif aux Droits de la Femme ! As we go to press, we learn that Senegal has ratified the protocol, making it the fifth country to ratify!

About 50 members of the rights group, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), have embarked on a 440 km march to Harare, to protest a proposed bill that will require all NGOs to register with a government-appointed regulatory council and disclose details of their programmes and funding. The proposed legislation also seeks to ban foreign NGOs concerned principally with "issues of governance", and deny registration to NGOs receiving foreign funding for "promotion and protection of human rights and political governance issues".

A court in Burkina Faso has sentenced a woman to the maximum term of three years in jail for carrying out genital mutilation on 16 girls aged between 2 and 10, court officials said on September 22nd. Campaigners trying to end female circumcision, which is widespread in many African countries, welcomed the sentence and said they hoped it would act as a deterrent to others.

The Seventh African Regional Conference on Women (Beijing+10) will be held in parallel with the Fourth African Development Forum (ADF IV) on Governance, 6-15 October 2004 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Beijing+10 fits within the global evaluation framework for assessing progress achieved after 10 years of implementing the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action on Women (BPFA). These two conferences mark an important step towards achieving gender equality and equity in Africa through national and regional action.

Organised by The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Lund University, The Regional Programme on Human Rights of Women for participants from the Middle East and North Africa (the MENA-region) will be held in Lund, Sweden from 15 November - 10 December 2004. This four-week course aims to give participants an overview of international human rights law as it relates to women. Particular attention is paid to the recent emphasis on democratisation as the method of enhancing two of the pillars of human rights, namely accountability and empowerment.

The International Women and Health Meeting (IWHM) has its roots in the
global women's movement and seeks to highlight politics, policies and issues that have adverse effect on women's health and simultaneously bring out the linkages and interconnections of these seemingly disparate phenomena. The deadline for submissions of write-ups/descriptions for paper presentation, cultural events, organization of workshops, symposia, etc, relating to the theme and objectives of the meeting is January 31, 2005.

Southern African gender and media activists have challenged their leaders to explain how they intend to make good on the commitment to achieving 30 percent women in decision-making by the end of 2005. In a statement issued at the close of the Southern African Gender and Media summit in Johannesburg, the newly formed Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) network also called on their leaders to come up with a legally binding framework for ensuring gender balance in all areas of decision- making.

The Agenda Feminist Media Project publishes a quarterly thematic journal and is committed to giving women a forum, voice and skills to reflect their experiences and to write about them. The journal which is read throughout the world and South Africa is well respected as one of South Africa's premier feminist publications with a proud history. This year we are running a competition to find outstanding photographic submissions which would be published in our final issue for 2004.

Women members of Somalia's newly created transitional federal parliament plan to move a motion seeking a constitutional amendment to increase the number of seats reserved for women in the assembly, one of the MPs said on Monday. The women have complained that delegates attending the Somali national reconciliation conference in the Kenya capital, Nairobi, flouted the National Charter when they failed to adhere to the provision that at least 12 percent of the members be women.

Chaltu Jeylu will never forget the day she was 'married'. As the 13-year-old made her way to school, her would-be suitor and 14 of his friends dragged her off the road. Forcibly married for two months, she suffered repeated rape. Chaltu is from Arsi, some 250 km from the capital, Addis Ababa, in eastern Ethiopia. Abduction of girls for marriage is widespread in this corner of Ethiopia. More than half of 'marriages' that take place in Arsi region are through abduction, sources said.

What potential do woman's funds have for achieving social change? What obstacles do women's funds face in different countries across the world? 'Investing in Women' is the focus of the September 2004 issue of Alliance. This special feature looks at the growth and development of women's funds over the past couple of decades, examines their values and grantmaking practices, and considers the challenges they are confronted with.

Produced by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) in collaboration with UNAIDS, this paper seeks to examine the link between HIV/AIDS and women's property rights. The author asks if women's lack of rights increases household poverty and women's own vulnerability to infection; and if securing these rights can mitigate the impoverishing impact of the epidemic.