Opposition Congress of Democrats leader Ben Ulenga has taken issue with members of Parliament trying to derail the Combating of Domestic Violence Bill.

The Delta Steel Company, Ovwian-Aladja, was forcibly shut down this week when a mob of over 5,000 women besieged its gates to protest alleged marginalisation of the host communities by the consortium of companies involved in the rehabilitation of the steel plant.

Dozens of anti-rape protestors have been locked up by police in Harare and are due to appear in court. The protestors, who included school children, had gathered at a school in Marimba Park, a high-density suburb of the capital city where a 63-year-old male deputy head teacher, is alleged to have raped a 13-year-old girl.

Women Affairs and Child Welfare Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has spoken out in strong defence of the Bill on Combating Domestic Violence and criticised her male colleagues for trying to ridicule the draft law. The minister did not spare ruling party MPs, saying those who had opposed the Bill were acting against the Swapo constitution, which condemns sexism.

Digital Freedom Network (DFN) is a non-profit organisation that uses the Internet to promote human rights eduction and activism. In the month of March, the DFN will celebrate International Women's Day (8 March) by profiling the work and lives of five women human rights activists from around the world. Nominations can be made via the form provided on the website or via email.

Programmes to boost health and biomedical research capacity in the developing world must include strategies to increase both the number of female scientists and the attention paid to the health problems of women, according to a senior health researcher at Bristol University's School of Policy Studies in the United Kingdom. Speaking in Arusha, Tanzania, at the sixth annual conference of the Global Forum for Health Research, Lesley Doyal said that in most countries, there is a marked absence of both female researchers and women as the subjects of research.

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) says it has received information about the beatings and rape of women involved in protest against oil companies operating in the Niger Delta. The OMCT said on August 8 Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje women had engaged in a peaceful protest against these oil companies, claiming environmental degradation as well as substandard employment and contractual policies. Army and Navy forces had been called on to disperse the protest. Tear gas had been used and some of the women had allegedly been beaten and raped. "The information received further notes that several pregnant women had miscarriages as a result of the beatings and that one woman's breast was chopped off," said the organisation in a statement. OMCT is urging concerned parties to write to the Nigerian authorities and multi-national companies requesting that the safety of the women be guaranteed.

Key issues that impact women’s access to justice were discussed at a UNIFEM workshop in Somaliland. Participants identified challenges such as aspects of Somali culture that restrict women to the home and family sphere; differing interpretations of judicial regimes, like sharia, secular and customary law; and the absence of women within the judicial system. The workshop was held as part of the ongoing UNIFEM peace and security project.

Women suffer inordinately in times of armed conflict, but are stakeholders in the search for sustainable peace. Their involvement in the peace process is not a luxury, it is an absolute necessity and women's views and strategies must be sought after - from the grassroots up to the top. This should be accompanied by capacity building, while their involvement should not only be based on their training but also on their experiences in conflicts. This is according to the Kampala 2002 Resolution on Women, Peace and Conflict, drafted as agreed upon in the Women, Peace and Conflict track at the Women's Worlds 2002 Conference.

Recognizing that HIV/AIDS has a differential impact on young women and men, the Eastern and Southern African Young Women's symposium on HIV/AIDS is expected to bring together young women from academic institutions in the region, gender-based organisations, NGOs, Donors and governments to reflect on the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on young women and to design strategies for greater practical action to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS among young women. This symposium will coincide with World AIDS Day celebrations. The event is being organized by Strategic Initiatives for Development (STRIDE) and the Kenya Oral Literature Association in preparation for the 2nd International Youth/ Students Conference on AIDS (IYSCA 2003). For more information, contact W. Kaikai at 254-02-245311, or email [email][email protected] or [email][email protected]

Women in Sudan have suffered some of the worst forms of abuse, and although women traditionally act as peacemakers in many communities in southern Sudan, there are few women involved in the official peace process, says a report by Operation Lifeline Sudan. The report does not focus solely on the victimization of women and poor representation of women at the peace table, but also looks for a way forward for Sudanese women in the south. According to the report, women have been and could again be a positive force for improvement, but they face many obstacles.

Women and Child Affairs Deputy Minister Marlene Mungunda, says Information Communication Technology, particularly the Internet and e-mail, could be used for women's empowerment. She said that ICT can enable women's groups or co-operatives to exchange information about the markets, prices, opportunities and experiences.

A young and blonde Danish girl is shattering Nigeria's dreams of organising a world event of unprecedented beauty, estimated to produce millions of US$ of tourism revenues. Masja Juel, or Miss Denmark, is leading a boycott campaign in response to a Nigerian death-by-stoning sentence of a woman for having a child outside marriage.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) continues to be practised in approximately 28 countries in Africa. Whilst considered by some cultures as an essential rite of passage to womanhood, opposition to the practice has largely come from outside these communities, with the United Nations pledging to eradicate it within three generations.

Activists in Swaziland have been working hard to expose the fallacy that mistreatment of women and children is sanctioned by Swazi tradition. Challenging traditionalists who have hidden behind notions of "custom", the message has now reached isolated pockets of the country such as the northern Hhohho region.

The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) Young Women and Leadership (YWL) programme offers an on-line forum to: - share ideas and important information - initiate debates around issues that affect young women in their different contexts - provide a space for young women to network across various contexts - allow young women to articulate their visions, perspectives for the advancement of the women's rights and social justice agenda internationally; - share updates on the YWL programme.

Three years ago, Arab raiders kidnapped Akwal from her home in southern Sudan along with her four children. During her captivity, she lived through frequent beatings and ill-treatment. "Sometimes we had no food for two days," she recalls.

Develop programs to improve the safety of female refugees and their children; implement programs aimed at reducing the incidences of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV); conduct in-service training; oversee the distribution of economic grant supplies and materials; maintain grant beneficiary databases and prepare statistical reports; liase with local officials and donors as well as other NGO's; prepare monthly reports on SGBV activities and indicators; supervision of national and refugee CSI staff.

Creating a cultural archive of Memory Cloths was only the beginning of Andries Botha's engagement with the women of KwaZulu Natal. With friends, he established an NGO - Create Africa South. He found a sponsor for the Amazwi project in The Netherlands, The Prince Claus Fund, and expanded it to offer business courses and micro-credit to women working on the Memory Cloths. He says it's not so strange that a sculptor also runs a non-governmental organisation.

Why don’t more women set up their own businesses? Are programmes aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship among women getting it right? How do cultural ideas about men, women and money affect would-be women entrepreneurs? A recent paper draws on experience with entrepreneurship training for women in Zimbabwe. It found that women face a number of barriers to becoming entrepreneurs, such as their lack of access to education and capital. However, cultural attitudes may be even more important in holding women back. To get more women in business, training programmes need to recognise and challenge restrictive gender norms.