Internews has launched an information technology (IT) training programme for African and Asian women working in the media and other communication sectors. The programme, which provides 430 scholarships, is intended for women in the African countries of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, and the Asian countries of Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The newly-appointed Commission for Africa could be a force for good, at a pivotal time in the Continent's development. Sub-Saharan Africa has been going backwards economically for years, the only region of the world to do so. The problems lie both inside the Continent (lack of democracy, misuse of political power, poor investment planning etc) and with its trading partners globally (very poor trade terms going back to the early Colonial period, unbalanced partnerships by investors etc). The Commission for Africa reports by April next year with its recommendations in similar fashion to the Brandt Commission's North-South report.

Here we go again...

On the Commission there is the customary/ritualistic inclusion of a small number of women on the Commission - 3 - as most of the members have been drawn from the usual categories that largely exclude women. Yet again this could mean the rights, abilities and potential contribution of Africa's hundreds of millions of women could easily be overlooked. We at Shevolution with decades of direct experience training future women leaders throughout sub-Saharan and North Africa assert that Africa's women are Africa's best (and probably last) hope.

Would it be a good idea for the international informal sector to take the initiative by forming a shadow 'Women's Commission for Africa', containing a ratio of perhaps 15 women to 3 men who could both inform the more official commission and produce its own report next April?

Would one of the international women's groups like to act as rapporteur for any such shadow Commission for Africa? If so, please contact me, Tim Symonds, at Eyecatcher/Shevolution on [email protected]

The lead story in a recent issue of the Daily Graphic, Ghana's most influential newspaper, was designed to shock: "Four Gay Men Jailed." Homosexual acts are crimes in Ghana - and across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Uganda's leader, Yoweri Museveni, is vehemently opposed to homosexuality. So is Zimbabwe's embattled Robert Mugabe. Namibia's President Sam Nujoma complains that the West wants to impose its decadent sexual values on Africa through the guise of gay tolerance. Indeed, the global movement to fight discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS - which first surfaced as a "gay disease" in the United States - has elicited little sympathy for homosexuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Only in South Africa have gays and lesbians won significant legal protections.

In Liberia, crime has returned with vigour after the civil war. In addition to street crime and burglary, there are increasing reports of Ukrainian and Moroccan women being trafficked into Monrovia to serve as prostitutes in popular bars that double as brothels. The UN Mission in Liberia, UNMIL, says it is taking the problem seriously. UNMIL’s Civilian Police (CIVPOL) has hired an officer to address human trafficking. However, by not coordinating her efforts with NGOs and other supporting organisations, her independent actions may actually be exacerbating the problem, Refugees International says.

An evaluation of past activities for the promotion of respect for women's rights shows that effective implementation of women's rights does not solely depend on women themselves or the activities of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) but largely on other key stakeholders in society who have roles and responsibilities for the protection of women's rights. These are the judicial and extra-judicial stakeholders. The judicial stakeholders are the judges/magistrates lawyers, and the police, who have the responsibility to enforce laws and to protect women in the formal legal setting. The extra-judicial stakeholders are traditional and religious leaders; and medical doctors who are involved in resolution of disputes, who shape opinion and are in contact with victims of violence; and who play an important role in the protection of the rights of women. Women in Law and Development in Africa/Femmes, Droits et Développement en Afrique, West Africa sub- regional office carried out a project to sensitise and build the capacity of a critical mass of judges/magistrates, lawyers, police officers, medical doctors, traditional and religious leaders in the participating countries. This document is a summary of national reports on the extent to which beneficiaries of the project have applied the knowledge and skills acquired during the training in their work.

Sick of continued but preventable loss of their children to HIV/AIDS, the women wing of the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), protested outside the Africa Hall of the International Conference Centre, venue of the 4th National AIDS Conference which closed last Wednesday. The women, numbering about 30 had assembled peacefully at the entrance to the venue on Tuesday, Day 2 of the conference, waiting for the plenary session to commence.

Women in Law and Development in Africa West Africa /Femmes, Droit et Développement en Afrique Afrique de l'Ouest publishes regularly a newsletter on women's rights.
Latest news includes:
* Comores is the first country to have ratified the Protocol to the ACHPR on the Rights of Women;
* New Publication: Effective implementation of Women's Rights in West Africa.

The upcoming online discussion forum (e-discussion) "Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Gender Equality" will focus on the ways ICT can be used to overcome gender inequalities, sharing ideas, opinions, concerns, and lessons learned with development practitioners, policy makers, and academics.

The mission of Imbiza Intersect Coalition on HIV/AIDS and Violence against Women and Girls is to create a powerful, multi-disciplinary intersect Coalition across countries to engage in co-operative action, raise awareness, develop innovative approaches to education, law and public policy and marshal a formidable, highly visible and vocal force to affect significant change in the lives of those impacted by violence and HIV/AIDS.

The Zambian government must prove its political commitment to gender equality by implementing recommendations of the national gender policy, writes gender activist Wilcliff Sakala. "This challenge is an indication of the displeasure that women in this Southern African nation still feel at being discriminated against in many key areas of national decision-making. In Zambia, women make up nearly 52 per cent of the country’s 10 million people, but their role is negligible when it comes to determining affairs of the state. There are only two women in a Cabinet of 25 ministers and just 16 of 158 members of parliament are women."

Nine out of 10 women workers in Kenya have been victims of sexual discrimination in their jobs, a survey has suggested. The study, by the International Labour Rights Fund (ILRF) in Washington, USA, found that the women were putting up with the harassment in order to keep their jobs. "In Kenya, we found that the working conditions, at least in terms of women workers, are rather poor," ILRF spokeswoman Natacha Thys told BBC World Service's Africa Live programme.

Homosexuality is a criminal offence in Nigeria, but gay rights groups made their first ever appearance at the country's fourth national AIDS conference in the capital Abuja this week. They called on their fellow countrymen to recognise and protect Nigeria's gay community, pointing out that it has been hit hard by the AIDS pandemic. In Nigeria, homosexual practice can carry a 14-year jail sentence under federal law.

Benin is moving to protect pregnant women and small children from malaria with insecticide-treated bed nets with funds from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis distributed by UNDP. The initiative will help Benin's progress towards achieving Goal 6 of the Millennium Development Goals, which calls for reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases.

Following the adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa by the AU Summit in Maputo, July 11 2003, 29 countries have signed the Protocol. However, 15 countries need to ratify it for it to come into force. The Comoros became the first country to ratify the Protocol on 18/03/2004 and deposited its instrument of ratification with the AU Commission on 16/04/2004. Femnet (http://www.femnet.or.ke) urges women's organisations at national level in lobbying your governments through the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Gender to sign and ratify the Protocol in order to safeguard, protect and promote women's rights in Africa. For more details on the Protocol visit the AU website at www.africa-union.org.

A gender consultant is needed with experience in: Gender mainstreaming; The African Union and its Specialised mechanisms; and Regional and international human rights conventions particularly on women's rights. For the complete terms of reference please click on the link below.

African women at the weekend resolved to work vigorously at all levels to enforce the fight against human trafficking. The Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF), in collaboration with a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Ted Zachary, held an international conference on African women and gender development. Women would ensure that neither girls, women, boys or girls would be subjected to human trafficking, prostitution, slavery or other forms of degradation, the conference resolved.

According to research, one in six women are regularly beaten by their partners in South Africa, with another study suggesting that one woman was killed every six days by her partner. But a cathartic process is currently underway, with a Limpopo pilot project a first step in reflecting on the role and contribution of men the past decade in helping stop gender-based violence.

The presence and roles of girl soldiers in militaries throughout the world has been underestimated and misunderstood, says a study from Rights & Democracy. Conducted over three-and-a-half years by authors Susan McKay and Dyan Mazurana with financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency, 'Where Are the Girls?' examines the experiences and roles of girls in fighting forces, with emphasis on the wars in Northern Uganda (1986-present), Sierra Leone (1991-2002), and Mozambique (1976-1992). 'Where are the Girls?' gives the international community insight into why young women and girls may actively choose to participate in conflict and carry out acts of violence and how they can be coerced into taking up military roles through propaganda, abduction, intimidation and forced recruitment.

A $28 million Tahseen Project (Tahseen means "improvement" in Arabic) is empowering women to take charge of family planning issues in Egyptian villages. The year-old program is scheduled to last through 2007, and eventually encompass seven rural governorates. But reproductive health programs are being phased out at the U.S. Agency for International Development, in response to pressure for more emphasis on abstinence-only for contraception education and the Bush administration's reinstatement of the so-called Global Gag Rule, a policy lifted by President Bill Clinton. It bars U.S. family planning assistance to any foreign health care agency that uses funds from any source to perform abortions, provide counselling and referral for abortion or lobby to make abortion legal or more available in their country.

The Southern and Eastern African Regional Centre for Women's Law (SEARCWL) invites application for candidates that wish to pursue a Masters in Women's Law at the University of Zimbabwe, commencing January 2005. Visit the website below for more information.