The Johannesburg edition of the 17th annual Out In Africa Film Festival officially opened on 14 October Thursday at NuMetro, Hyde Park, with the screening of Loose Cannons. Launched in 1994 with the aim of celebrating the inclusion of the clause prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, the Out In Africa South African Gay & Lesbian Film Festival sets out to address the lack of visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in the South African social and cultural life after decades of apartheid repression.

The ruling party in Zambia, the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) has suggested that certain government officials have been meeting opposition leader Michael Sata in a plea to recognise homosexuality, which according to activists is a conspiracy to disparage the opposition party. Amidst the recent tabling of the draft constitution currently siting before parliament, the Forum for Leadership Search revealed that it had information that some government officials have been meeting opposition leader Sata of the Patriotic Front (PF) to lobby for recognition of homosexuality in Zambia.

Women in Mali have produced a video about violence against women that was aired on Mali’s national television station. The topic is not openly discussed in Mali, and the film is one step towards more openness. The 20-minute video was aired primetime on ORTM, Mali’s national television station. It shows women victims of violence (anonymously) telling their story. The stories they tell are shown as illustrations made by a cartoonist.

The Global Media Monitoring Project is the only international project that gives an idea of the gender bias of the news media. In the latest GMMP, conducted on November 10 2009, the internet news media was also analysed. The survey looked at 76 national news sites from 16 countries, and eight international news sites. Women's prescence in cyberspace news is a reflection of their presence in 'traditional' news, with a couple of caveats.

“You cannot divorce food from fuel, they are completely interlinked. One-hundred bags of food is useless without firewood.” For millions of families around the world, cooking fuel is a critical, daily concern, with serious health and safety implications. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton put this issue in the spotlight when she announced the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, which aims to provide 100 million fuel - efficient stoves to people in developing countries by 2020. These stoves will make a crucial difference in the lives of the people who receive them - especially those who have been displaced by armed conflict and natural disasters.

On Saturday the 23rd October 2010 Congolese women will be speaking about the situation in the Congo and would like to invite you to join them between 3pm and 6pm at the Church Hall, Lancing Street off Eversholt Street, NW1 (Opposite Euston Station).

Two prominent gender and human rights defenders, Dr Isatou Touray and Amie Bojang Sissoho were arrested and detained on Monday 11 October 2010 by Gambian security forces, kept in police custody at the Banjul Police station, and sent to jail on Tuesday 12 October 2010.

Malawian vice president Joyce Banda has called for tolerance towards homosexuality, at a meeting hosted by the Inter-Faith AIDS Association (MIAA) held in Blantyre, Malawi, on 29 September this year. Banda made the call when she officially opened a Religious Leader’s Policy Advocacy Conference in Blantyre, stating that same sex practices are reality in Malawi and that religious leaders need be tolerant on such issues in order to fight HIV and AIDS.

Special Programmes Minister Esther Murugi, who has come under sharp criticism over comments she made on homosexuality, maintains that gays and lesbians in Kenya must be involved in HIV/AIDS programmes. Murugi said on Tuesday that the gay community, which is classified under high risk HIV/AIDS populations, also had a right to healthcare like all other Kenyans and should not be stigmatised.

A report released by the United Nations calls for intensified investment in cost-effective interventions to address the problem of obstetric fistula. The document estimates that at least $750 million is needed to treat existing and new cases between now and 2015. Caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without timely medical intervention, the condition affects as many as 3.5 million women in the world. The report 'Supporting Efforts to End Obstetric Fistula', states: 'Obstetric fistula is one of the most devastating consequences of neglect during childbirth and a stark example of health inequity in the world. Although the condition has been eliminated in the developed world, obstetric fistula continues to afflict the most impoverished women and girls, most of whom live in rural and remote areas of the developing world.'

The votes of southern Sudanese women in January's self-determination referendum will be a determining factor in the outcome, says the vice president of the regional government, Riek Machar. Women in Southern Sudan constitute more than 60 per cent of the adult population in the semi-autonomous region. Hundreds of women leaders across the region launched a two-day conference on Tuesday in the parliament organised by the office of the president under the theme: 'Enhancing Women's Participation in the Referendum.'

The African Woman and Child Feature Service (AWC), launched the 'Beyond Numbers' publication on Friday, 8 October 2010. This new publication is based on a qualitative study that was carried out in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and South Sudan. The objective was to reveal the impact of the women’s movement for participation and representation in political decision making in Eastern Africa.
The study considered the impact of a critical mass of women on such areas as institutional reform culture, service delivery, ability to challenge the status quo, change laws and policies that affect women at various levels of society.

'Voice for the voiceless' is the slogan adorning the walls of Liberia’s first and Africa’s second radio station for women. Situated down a bumpy, dirt track on the edge of the capital, Monrovia, the Liberia Women Democracy Radio (LWDR), claims it wants to advance women and promote change. In a country trying to rebuild itself after 14 years of civil war in which women bore the brunt of the violence, they remain the most vulnerable group in society.

While in Malawi civil society is driving an effort to get female candidates into office, regardless of their political party, there still remain obstacles. This is despite the existence of the 50/50 programme: a campaign which aims to meet the Southern African Development Community Protocol on Gender and Development, which commits countries to work towards the goal of having 50 per cent women in political and decision-making positions by 2015.

Gender equality and women's empowerment are essential to South Africa's attainment of the MDGs. Women assume multiple roles, as mothers, leaders, students, decision makers, farmers, workers, voters, carers and much more. In each of these roles, the ability to be educated and healthy, to have voice and influence, to enjoy opportunities and choices are critical to the attainment of the goals. Without gender equality and women's empowerment, women are less able to reach their full potential, live a life of dignity, and be productive citizens. In this report, the Commission for Gender Equality seeks to provide an African-based mechanism for measuring the status of women as compared to men's in the social, economic, and political spheres.

Despite the indisputable progress on gender equality, some current Tunisian laws still contain discriminatory language. Legal reforms need to address the reality of women’s situations: It is only in a minority of families that there is joint decision-making and household tasks remain a female responsibility.

Although media coverage of South Africa's 9 August women's day touched on some important topics relevant to gender empowerment, the coverage overall lacked a sense of commitment, regularity, urgency and persistence in demanding answers, and would have benefitted and had greater impact from a more in-depth, urgent, analytical and demanding approach. This is according to an analyses of media output of the event by the Media Monitoring Africa.

Gender Training Institute (GTI) is a centre for feminist leadership under the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP). Since 1993, the institute under Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) has been providing transformative gender training and capacity development services based on animation/participatory approaches. The core purpose of GTI is to provide learning and capacity development in support for transformative feminist movement building, policy engagement and social transformation at all levels within the country and beyond. The organisation’s vision is to become the epicenter for feminism transformation through effective capacity building. The course is being conducted in the context that there still exists unequal global, regional and national economic and social relations and limited focus of pro-poor and gender considerations in macro- economic policies and budget.

The United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) has announced US$10 million in grants to 13 initiatives in 18 countries. The grants complete the UN Trust Fund’s 14th grant - making cycle of 2009, delivering a total of US$20.5 million for 26 projects in 33 countries and territories.

If there is one group that faces special challenges in Southern Sudan, it is women. Principal among them is gender-based violence, which is under-reported and spreading given the long history of conflict, certain traditional practices and weak judicial systems, say specialists. Concerns include inadequate data, lack of security, transport and education.