A gay rights organisation has been established in Namibia aiming to amplify voices of the country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people who often face human rights violations such as social homophobia, lack of access to public health and loss of employment due to their sexual orientation. OutRight Namibia (ORN) was formed in March 2010 by Namibian LGBTI, MSM and WSW activists. It prioritizes leadership development, human rights, emancipation of movement building as well as health and legal reform as its main strategic areas of focus.

Infuriated gays and lesbians of Botswana have fired back at Deputy Speaker of Botswana’s National Assembly Pono Moathlodi, who recently told a delegation on HIV prevention that he would 'never tolerate' gays and lesbians, stating that he (Moatlhodi) must think thoroughly before speaking and evaluate the potential impact his utterances might have in the lives of other people.

Human Rights defenders are outraged after Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika passed a Bill outlawing lesbianism. The new Section 137A, titled 'Indecent practices between females', states that any female person who, whether in public or private, commits 'any act of gross indecency with another female', shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a prison term of five years.

This briefing relies on new research into how new technologies are being used by abusers and by women fighting back. The cases were uncovered in research commissioned by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) in 12 developing countries in 2009, unless an additional website reference is included.

The road to safety does not always guarantee deliverance, especially not for many women refugees fleeing conflict in the Horn of Africa. Increasing cases of sexual abuse against women refugees en route to sanctuary in Egypt and Israel have raised concerns about providing victims with proper mental health care to survive not only the psychological remnants of rape, but also the resultant stigma.

Media in Southern Africa still has a long way to go towards gender sensitive reporting in newsrooms, a study by Gender Links has revealed. Most Southern African media houses in 14 countries had very few reports on gender based violence from mid October to mid November in 2009 in a study carried out during that period. A media progress study and gender in media education audit workshop by Gender Links in Gaborone also revealed that Botswana remained in the lower ranks of most categories of the study.

'The agenda for women’s rights and empowerment in each country must be supported by the political leadership,' says Norah Matovu-Winyi, Executive Director, African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET). In this interview with IPS, she said in future World Social Forums 'there is need to support more women to participate in the dialogues', Matovu-Winyi said. Women learn a lot from each other and in many instances discover that their struggles are the same despite coming from different continents.

African women's rights activists have called on governments on the continent to enforce the texts, conventions and protocols they signed on the protection of women's rights. The associations, from the Gambia and Senegal, are holding a panel discussion on 'Gender and the Media: what approaches for more visibility of the actions conducted by women in the media'. Organised by the Inter-African Network for Women, the Media, Gender and Development (FAMEDEV), the meeting was aimed at identifying major constraints to women's access to decision-making positions and the improvement of the image of women in the media.

With the triumphant success of the South Sudan referendum, the transitioning state is looking ahead toward consultations regarding the new constitution and government. Although this transitional phase poses major challenges, it also holds an unparalleled window of opportunity for marginalised groups to push for inclusive rights and representation - especially women. Overall the largest gains for women in Africa have been in states experiencing post-conflict transition, particularly because it allows for a complete restructuring of the government and constitution.

Boys and girls should not sit in the same classroom, radical Islamist group Al-Shabaab has ordered. All lectures must also stop at ten minutes to noon, while teachers must inculcate in their students the importance of Jihad (holy war), said a senior official of the group which controls most of central and southern Somalia.

A few weeks ago there was a revolution in Tunisia. Some sources say the revolution was not televised, but rather twitterised. On 14 January, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali dissolved his government, called for legislative elections in six months and promised not to run in 2014. But this late decision did not quiet public anger on social media platforms, in particular Facebook and Twitter. Later that evening, the president fled Tunis.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/516/rkia_bllot_tmb.jpgIn Morocco, women from a number of different ethnic groups experience great difficulties accessing collective land. [mp3], living in the suburbs of Kenitra, 50 kilometres from Rabat, explains to Zahra Moloo how the patriarchal system in place excludes women from accessing land. Bllot says that the while the land belongs to the Hededa ethnic group, only married men have access to land. All the women are excluded - the women live in slums while their brothers live in proper houses.

In the aim of strengthening their cause, gay rights activism often compromises the identity and struggle of transgender people by lumping the two communities’ issues together, writes Audrey Mbugua.

In the aftermath of post-election violence here, almost 18 thousand people - 70 per cent of them women, children and older persons – have been temporarily re-settled in the Western part of the country, fleeing from clashes between communities in the city of Duékoué. In the wake of the crisis, and in the absence of supplies, maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity increased, according to the local health authorities. 'We had to run here and there to perform a childbirth or a Caesarean section and there were no drugs available,' said Dr. Moïse Tetchi, gynaecologist at the General Hospital of Duékoué, recalling the situation in the early stages of the crises.

Côte d’Ivoire has been in a political impasse since the declaration of contested results of a second round of presidential elections held in November 2010. Since both candidates claimed victory and have been sworn in, the country has two presidents and two governments. In order to understand the impact of this situation on women and women’s rights organisations, AWID spoke with two women’s rights defenders, Mata Coulibaly President of SOS EXCLUSION and Honorine Sadia Vehi Toure, President of Génération Femmes du troisième Millénaire (GFM3), as well as with an Ivorian politician who prefers to remain anonymous and to whom we have given the pseudonym of Sophie.

Greater action is needed by United Nations peacekeeping missions – working with local women, national authorities and UN Member States – to increase the limited participation of women in peace negotiations, national security institutions and governance in post-conflict situations, says a UN study. The impact study – conducted a decade after the adoption of landmark Security Council resolution 1325 on women and peace and security, the first to address the specific impacts of conflict on women and call for women's engagement in peace processes – reports a mixed record on the overall contribution of UN peacekeeping to the implementation of the resolution.

'If David’s murder stimulates discussion about the violence and discrimination facing people because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity, then his death will not have been completely in vain. That discussion must inevitably address the question of decriminalizing homosexuality. Criminal sanctions for homosexuality remain on the statute books in more than 70 countries, including Uganda. Such laws are an anachronism, in most cases a hangover from the old days of colonial rule.'

Sonke's Policy, Advocacy and Research Unit and the WHO's Department of Women, Gender and Health invites applications for a 2-day training on Engaging men and boys to achieve gender equality and health equity, taking place from 24-25 February 2011 in Pretoria.

A low-cost maternal ultrasound system that began as a class project by a group of college students at the University of Washington in Seattle is to be tested by midwives in Uganda, a country with one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates. Around 10 Ugandan midwives will be selected to participate in the field test project. The experiment will evaluate whether the device matches the midwives' needs and skills. The device is designed to enable midwives to detect conditions that can complicate pregnancies and birth.

Government has launched the Gender Responsive Budget Programme which seeks to ensure equality in the budgetary process. The project, which is in conjunction with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) will incorporate four main areas of activities. The activities are gender citizen report cards, budget tracking from the gender perspective, budget statements and gender-aware policy appraisals.