This is a new collection of interviews with a remarkable group of some of Kenya's most prominent literary writers, gender activists and public figures. The interviews are concerned with diverse aspects of Kenyan women's lives: what it is to be a women, a writer, politician, activist and mother; how Kenyan women feel about Western feminism; feminist literature and identities; ideas on liberation and their relevance to the African context and more. The interviews include a long exposition from Wanjiku Kabira on the history and future of the women's movement in Kenya and her role, and on institutions of power and polygamy; and Majorie Olughe Macgoye, on being a British born woman and writer who married into Luo society.

The London-based human rights organisation Amnesty International has welcomed the suspension of a flogging sentence against a 16-year-old girl convicted last year of adultery, but urged the Sudanese authorities to treat the case in accordance to their obligations under international human rights law. Sudan's chief justice last Wednesday suspended the sentence against Intisar Bakri Abd al-Qadir, pending her appeal against it. She was to have received 100 lashes.

The Zambia National Women's Lobby (ZNWL) has proposed that issues of gender equity should be enshrined in the electoral laws. The Women's movement submitted in Lusaka that all structures managing elections must be committed to the concept of gender equity and employ women at all levels of development. ZNWL chairperson Mary Nandazi said acts of violence during elections had negatively affected women's participation in elections and called for intensified police operations to ensure the security of the electorate.

Some 160 women participants from all over the globe recently concluded an historic strategising meeting dubbed ‘Feminist Dialogues: Building Solidarities', in Mumbai, India. The dialogues examined “the interlinkages between feminist movements and other social movements and advocacy groups involved in human rights struggles, including sexual and reproductive rights, social equality, people's development, environmental and economic justice and gender justice”. Held on January 14-15, prior to the opening of the World Social Forum 2004, the meeting represented diverse feminist perspectives from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and Europe. Participants discussed the complexity of emergent issues in the light of globalisation and identified collective strategies beyond the forum. They discussed the relationship between neo-liberalism, militarism, neo-conservatism, religious fundamentalism and gender/racial/ethnic inequalities through panel presentations, small group and plenary discussions.

“We are not poor, we are (being) robbed,” said Nawal el Saddawi, an activist from Egypt , who vehemently criticised the growing imperialism and the concept of Third World and First World countries at the World Social Forum. First World countries are the ones plundering the resources of other countries. Ridiculing the concept of post-colonialism, Saddawi argued that colonialism had never ended. “At present we are witnessing neo-colonialism,” she said. She also criticised the concept of post-modern feminism. Saddawi claimed that the invasion of poor countries in the name of human rights protection and women's liberation was the worst kind of violation of human rights.

Women are always better organised when social issues are at stake - this was the conclusion of the International Gender and Trade Network (IGTN) workshop at the World Social Forum. The IGTN emerged out of the resistance in Seattle, is a strong women's movement unifying organisations from Asia, Africa Latin America and the Caribbean. Women from the IGTN are organising large education campaigns specifically on social spending on water and benefits from water budgets. In Africa, they have organised ‘water tribunals'. The women take on and criticise the WTO as well as regional trade forums from a women's perspective. They openly critique the trade policy and undertake large advocacy campaigns.

The wife of the leader of Liberia's most powerful rebel movement announced Tuesday she was taking charge, backed by dozens of guerrilla commanders in ousting a husband whose ambitions she said were endangering the nation's hard-won peace. In a family feud with West Africa's stability in the balance, warlord Sekou Conneh frantically took to state radio to insist it was only a marital squabble and he was still in command.

Women’s Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO) has announced the launching of this publication which highlights the critical issues related to water privatization and women. Among the themes included are: water as a human right; gender roles and inequities; global policy trends; and governance issues. Case studies from Egypt, Kenya, Philippines, South Africa, United States of America, and Uruguay are presented.

Speaking recently at the Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico, Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), pointed to the critical role of women's participation and leadership in enhancing democratic governance. "The nations of the world have committed themselves, through the 2000 Millennium Declaration, to a world free from want and free from fear," she said. "The current debate on how to achieve this however, throws up both the growing realization that conventional development and governance approaches are failing to achieve these desired ends, and that it is becoming increasingly important to examine the ways in which power has been exercised in the management of political and economic processes for development."

Zimbabwe's women are doubly disadvantaged by the country's four-year-old economic crisis. They are not only expected to manage dwindling, inflation-hit household budgets, but many are also victims of a corresponding rise in domestic violence. "We see an average of 10 new clients a day - and of these an average of three are seeking peace orders in matters of domestic violence, and some of the reasons have to do with financial issues," Emilia Muchawa of the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association told IRIN.

A police summary of reported violent crimes committed against women and children over the December period last year shows that a total of 27 women were raped countrywide, with an equal number of rapes of minors reported in the same period. The police indicated that primarily ex-boyfriends and a "few strangers" raped women. Relatives, on the other hand, were the main perpetrators in the rape cases involving children.

You are invited to enhance by your participation an on-line regional consultation on "Globalisation, Gender and Health" that will take place from 26 January to 6 February 2004 at the following website: http://www.ggh-project.info. This important consultation that will benefit from your expertise and experience is led by UNIFEM. Its main objective is to determine the top priorities for future research and research training at the intersect of "Globalisation, Gender and Health" in the African context.

The Department for Gender and Peace Studies at the University for Peace is pleased to announce the Master of Arts Degree in Gender and Peace Building, which will take place beginning in September of 2004. The Programme has been designed to address the interaction between Gender and Peace Building when discussing topics such as: The Study of Peace and Nonviolent Transformation of Conflict; Cultures and Cultural Transformation: from a Culture of War to a Culture of Peace; Conditions of Exclusion and Strategies of Inclusion: Diverse Human Groups; Peace Processes: Conflict Analysis, Resolution and Transformation; Human Rights, Democracy and Governance; Economy and Development; The Environment and Sustainable Development; and Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods.

I liked the editorial very much (Pambazuka 137: The way it could have been...). It was very different and interesting but could have benefited from some gender sensitivity and a feminist perspective. Thanks for feeding us intellectually and enriching our lives.
Pambazuka News Reply: Thanks for pulling us up – We will definitely keep your point in mind.

At 24, a single mother, Marie - not her real name - could have expected a better deal in life. But she was given no choice: while working as a housemaid in Kinindo, a residential suburb of the capital, Bujumbura, Marie was raped and subsequently found herself pregnant. Many cases of rape go unreported in Burundi. Lucie Nyamarushwa, a human rights coordinator with the Iteka rights group, attributes this to victims' ignorance of their rights and the procedures available to prosecute perpetrators.

In 2003, an exciting initiative to obtain the Nobel Peace Prize for 1000 women in 2005, was launched by a group of Swiss women led by Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, a member of the Swiss Parliament and the Council of Europe. 1000 women all over the world working for peace in their countries, communities and neighbourhoods will be found and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Why a thousand women? Because finding and documenting the work of a million would be too much work in so little time. The idea is to call the world's attention to the vital but largely unheralded role of women in peace making and peace building.

Zodwa Sibanda died on December 24 after battling a long illness. Her death marks the end of a life symbolized by a remarkable dedication to family, community and country. This powerful and committed woman carried enormous energy into every facet of her life, as wife to Gibson Sibanda for thirty four years, mother to four children, political activist, community worker and entrepreneur. Born Ntombizodwa Elnora Mbambo on April 3, 1946 in Donkwedonkwe village in the Kezi District, Sibanda established a vigorous reputation in fighting for the rights of women, promoting self-help projects and developing business creativity at a young age.

Ebana Dieudonne, a national of Cameroon, is currently detained in Tinsley House Removal/Detention Centre in the United Kingdom, where he has been since 10th December. Prior to Tinsley House, he was held in Harmondsworth detention centre since 7th November. Ebana is in a state of extreme distress and fears that if he is returned to Cameroon, he will be arrested upon arrival and imprisoned or killed. He has good grounds for these fears. Ebana has had a gay relationship with his employer, a high level politician, for over two years. In Cameroon, homosexuality is illegal. Section 347 of the Penal Code criminalises sexual contacts with members of the same sex with a penalty of up to 5 years' imprisonment.

According to the latest Kenya demographic and health survey report, there are more women than men infected by the HIV/Aids virus. The report puts women's infection rate at 8.7 per cent and that of men at 4.3 per cent. Further, the proportion of women who are HIV-positive has risen with age, from four per cent among 15-19 year olds to 12 per cent in the 25-29 age group. It stabilises among those aged between 25 and 39 years before falling to five per cent in the 45-49 age group.

Kenya's fertility rate is among the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, a survey shows. The fertility rate stands at one woman giving birth to five children. This means that a Kenyan woman who is at the beginning of her childbearing age will give birth to five children by the end of her reproductive life if the fertility levels remain constant.