SAGBVHI plans to host an annual conference on gender based violence and
health in April 2002. Set to become an annual event, the conference will
attempt to raise awareness about intersection between gender based violence
and health and to find creative ways of building a violent free society.
Awards from the SAGBVHI will be given to researchers to encourage research
in specific areas of gender based violence and health. Further information: Naomi Webster.

WP is a Young Organisation of Woman Working WorldWide for Peace, Prosperity and Preservation.

Currently we represent an informal group of committed participants and volunteers who develop, assist and nurture women's projects and dreams in Southern Africa.

We are building towards becoming a formal non profit, non denominational intercultural organisation so that our project capacity can be increased. Currently our resources are limited and we are constantly searching for innovative solutions to challenges presented by our working conditions.

We treasure this growing time as a period of vital inspirations and operate by the credo, "Seven times Knock Down, Eight Times get up (Ancient Buddhist Saying).

Strategic Partnerships for Women's Empowerment in Africa will help African businesswomen through a programme combining entrepreneur development and business skills training with HIV/AIDS education. This is the first Africa initiative linking entrepreneurship and financial independence for women with HIV/AIDS education and prevention.

These materials are designed to improve international and local capacity to address GBV among refugee and internally displaced populations. Training tools, manuals, and other literature listed here have been selected specifically for their quality and relevance for work with refugee and IDP GBV survivors, though many resources may have wider applicability.

South Africa has a history of very high levels of violence which dates back to the apartheid era, if not further. A women is raped every 35 seconds, estimates the South African Police Service. Gender-based violence (GBV), and its link to HIV infection, is very gradually being discussed in the public domain, but educators have no choice but to provide learners with the basic skills to cope with the dual threat of gender violence and HIV/AIDS now. But how, and when, can this be done within an education system?

Violence in dating relationships has increasingly become an accepted social norm for men, women, boys and girls in South Africa. How can aspects of popular culture support work in schools and convince adolescent youths that it’s cool not to be cruel?

To address the need for sharing of knowledge and learning about gender aspects of ICTs, INSTRAW is initiating a collaborative research programme. Authors should submit a 500 word abstracts to INSTRAW no later than 22 April 2002, together with a brief resume of their academic/professional background and experience. INSTRAW will select the most relevant abstracts by 1 May 2002 and commission the authors of the selected papers to prepare full versions of the papers. Authors will be paid a
fee of US$ 1,000 per paper. T

The aim of this 3rd World Congress is to discuss different issues related to the situation of rural women in a global context, sustainable development, gender and food safety, the impact of the new technologies, empowerment, public policies supporting rural women, etc. It is intended to encourage debate and considerations relating to the search for new alternatives and to exchange different experiences.

Project Parity (training future women leaders worldwide) is compiling a listing of perhaps 50 eyecatching campaigns that NGOs and pressure groups have used successfully to attract Press and Media attention, to bring their own causes to public and political attention. We are very keen to hear from journalists and organisations about short, inexpensive successful events. The listing will be made available to any campaign groups, particularly new ones, to help them plan their own campaigns. Please send us your suggestions for inclusion in the list - campaigns on your or any subjects you have run or campaigns on any subject (environment, health, education, peace-making, equality, reconciliation, violence against women, etc) you have heard about.

For many developing countries, a major government objective is the “ruralization of the population,” since agriculture is essential to their development. Although it is often the women who traditionally farm the land in these countries, girls are generally excluded from the agricultural training courses. Literacy training for women, accompanied by practical extension courses in farming techniques, is one key to putting this situation right.

Almost all women in Angola have someone close to them who has been killed during the war. Hunger, poverty, separation of families, death and career stagnation are only some of the problems facing the Angolan women.

The Women Land and Lobby Group (WLLG) is a Zimbabwean NGO provide training skills for women farmers to help them use their land more productively. It also does a lot of monitoring of the impact of government land policies on gender equality.

Three Special Rapporteurs on Women's Rights (from the UN Commission on Human Rights, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and African Commission on Human and People's Rights) met for the first time in Montreal on 28 February and 1 March, 2002, under the auspices of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy), to identify avenues of collaboration on issues of common concern.

In Nigeria, West Africa, one-year-old Adama will watch her mother, Sufiyatu Hussein, die in a cruel way if the Sharia Court of Appeals upholds the lower court's judgment. Sufiyatu is to be executed by stoning for giving birth to Adama out of wedlock. Under the Islamic law, which is the legal parameter in 12 out of the 19 states in Northern Nigeria, it is an offence that is punishable by death.

AMANITARE, the African Partnership for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women and Girls recently paid homage to two exceptional African organisations taking significant strides forward in their work to promote and protect the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of young women and girls in Africa.

The Women’s Coalition, an umbrella body of individual Zimbabwean women and women’s non-governmental organisations rejects the outcome of the 2002 Presidential elections for the following reasons: Since the constitutional referendum in February 2000 women’s participation in the political process has been severely limited by the political climate of intolerance, intimidation and violence.

On International Women's Day, March 8, women worldwide celebrate their progress and reflect on the challenges ahead. OneWorld's campaign provides coverage on key issues, actions and resources from partner organizations worldwide focused on women's issues.

East Africa, human rights and women's lobby groups have achieved a measure of success in pushing for the recognition and legal protection of women's rights. Unfortunately, in practice, women still face economic, social and cultural disadvantages that continue to leave them exposed to violence and abuse, according to regional gender experts.

Toward a Compassionate Society, published by the Women's Learning Partnership (WLP), is an anthology on creating a culture of peace that addresses the importance of cultural pluralism and women's role in promoting peace in a rapidly globalizing world. The issues are examined from a variety of gender-focused cultural and inter-disciplinary perspectives including sociology, anthropology, human rights, philosophy, and religion.

While men have been the high profile targets of Zimbabwe's political violence, concern is beginning to emerge that women may have been its hidden victims.