To help children who are made ever more vulnerable by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a new manual on how to establish farm schools to teach orphans crucial skills. “Children and youth are charged with the heaviest burden of the AIDS crisis,” said Marcela Villarreal, Director of FAO’s Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division.

The senior United Nations envoy to Côte d’Ivoire has held talks on elections planned for next year in the country, which has been divided since 2002 between the rebel-held north and Government-controlled south.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative for Côte d’Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, met the President of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Robert Mambé, at the IEC office in Abidjan.

The World Bank touted it's meeting with a delegation of Pygmies from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the Bank's Annual Meetings in October. But as Simon Counsell of Rainforest Foundation UK points out, the Bank has consistently ignored the findings of the quasi-independent Inspecition Panel and violated its own "safeguard policies."

The IDS is a leading global institution for research, teaching and communications on international development, based at the University of Sussex. The Participation Power and Social Change team are seeking to appoint up to two new fellows; one appointment in the field civil society – state relations and the second appointment is open to any of the themes relevant to the work of the team: power and change at systemic, organisational and personal levels of experience; identities, rights and social justice; inclusive citizenship and governance.

he UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, will repatriate at least 3,000 Sudanese from the Kakuma camp in northern Kenya by end-December, an official told IRIN. "Two flights are scheduled to leave Kakuma today [29 November]; in fact, one has already left with 39 passengers for Rumbek [Southern Sudan]; the second one will leave later in the day with 42 passengers, also for Rumbek," Emmanuel Nyabera, the UNHCR spokesman, said.

"The EU discussions concerning African Debt cancellation have been blocked, your European partners need to be pushed further on this topic” Urged Marie-Laure De Bergh, from the European Centre for Development Policy and Management, during a recent key meeting.

Melanie Judge writes about the apparent passivity of government leaders in the face of lesbian attacks and murders in South Africa.

It is hard not to feel pessimistic when it comes to 16 Days of Activism. The killers of Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Masooa, two lesbian activists murdered in Soweto in July, have still to be brought to book. The murder of Thokozane Qwabe in Ladysmith remains unresolved. And, as I write this, another two lesbian women have been targeted for attack at a township gay bar, followed, and then shot: one of them fatally.

These recent violent attacks and murders have left many of us deeply saddened and enraged. Many more are non-plussed. Yet, these attacks on lesbian women are nothing new. For each of these women, there are hundreds more who are raped, to prove a point by men and communities who do not approve of their sexuality.

To compound matters, government leaders remain silent about such incidents of extreme prejudice. Whilst South Africa boasts a myriad of laws that protect against discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, which leaders often trot out with great aplomb during the 16 days of Activism, such laws are meaningless in the face of ongoing gender-based killings. As women, and as lesbians, our bodies and our sexualities are quite literally under attack.

In the midst of trying to make sense of the brutality meted out to women every day, through rape, murder and sexual assault, the question arises: How do we deal with hate? Firstly, we need to acknowledge that as South Africans, we are steeped in hate – arguably the most pernicious survivor of the apartheid era.

Such hatred forms part of why we rape and kill each other. Women are frequently the target of displaced anger and disempowerment as expressed through violence. Lesbian women in particular seem to be increasingly singled out for attack in actively homophobic communities. The level of violence against women in South Africa is perhaps the truest barometer of our progress, or lack thereof, to healing and reconciliation, as a society.

Our relatively new social commitment to our Constitution, which enshrines the core, values of equality, dignity and freedom, demands of us to address the matter of hatred head on. Why should we have to tolerate the killing and the raping, and be silenced by the promise/veneer of the Constitution?

What is done in our homes, on our streets and in the heart our communities is the very antithesis of these values. There is neither celebration nor justice in that.

People hate along a continuum. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never harm me” is all but a nursery-rhyme lie. It is the attitudes, beliefs and words that provide the impetus for the sticks and stones. For hatred that is acted out in turn establishes and reestablishes particular forms of social power, through the means of abuse and violence.

We know the discourse only too well: It’s the lesbian that “needs” raping to “sort her out”, the wife that “needs a klap” to “keep her in line”, and the gay man that gets bashed for letting the team down. No coincidence that these manifestations of prejudice are directed at groups which are not exactly at the top of the social hierarchy. The point is that there are social systems that shape the nature and form of South Africa’s violence and gendered power is central to this.

Laws that promote equality and protect against discrimination, do not even shelter the most powerful. Why, after over a decade of democracy, do we not have one politician in the ruling party who is publicly out as gay or lesbian? One can only surmise that the fear of marginalisation, if not outright victimization, is just too great.

And despite the laws, there is little justice for women who suffer the consequences of systemic oppression. The handling of various cases of sexual harassment against senior male government leaders, despite policy and legislation designed to protect women from gender abuse, are a case in point.

And the afore-mentioned lesbian murders remain nameless statistics in the bowels of an unresponsive criminal justice system. The insidious thing about systemic oppression is that it pretends that it’s not there. It’s the elephant in the room. And we turn a blind eye as the trampling continues.

What we need are less policymakers pontificating and more unequivocal voices that say “this is not acceptable.” We need less rhetoric and more action in communities, not in the hallowed walls of conferences and imbizos. When does hate become a crime? Unfortunately only when our legislature and political leaders decide it should. Until then, the prejudice that underpins gender-based violence is kept invisible, and the transformation required to build a non-discriminatory and rights-based culture is thwarted.

Instead of the preoccupation with the spurious notion of “moral regeneration,” our religious and traditional leaders should take a proactive position against all forms of hate-fuelled violence. This would require bold positions on bigotry and discriminatory rhetoric, in contradiction to the hate speech that is often shaped through religious and cultural narratives.

“Homosexuality is unAfrican”, taken to its logical conclusion, may be used to “justify’” victimisation. “Homosexuality is a sin,” may also be evoked to the same end. There’s nothing cultural or religious about beating your wife or about driving your lesbian child out of home. That’s called oppressive power, and it happens through patriarchy – often under the guise of “culture.”

During this year’s 16 days of activism I challenge our leaders say and do something about the rapes and murders of lesbian women, the many women who are killed by their male partners, everyday, and those women who continue to be harassed, even by male political leadership. Or are we headed for another 336 days of silent passivity?

* Melanie Judge works with OUT LGBT Well-being.

* This article is part of a series produced by the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service for the Sixteen Days of Activism on Gender Violence.)

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Irene Sithole writes that Zimbabwe's women suffer violence in all environments including work place, the home and the political arena.

In Zimbabwe, violence against women continues to be a challenge with hardly a day passing without at least one case reported in the media. Women suffer violence in all environments including work place, the home and the political arena. Domestic Violence is the most common and pervasive form of violence against women in Zimbabwe. The problem is exacerbated by the culture of silence around the issue coupled with religious and cultural practices that condone violence particularly domestic violence. The magnitude of the problem of domestic violence spurred women’s rights defenders to advocate for a law to address domestic violence. The result of the advocacy was the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act (Chapter 5:16) (hereinafter referred to as the Act), which came into force on 25 October 2007.

The question, which should be uppermost in everyone’s mind, is now that the Act is in place what is next? For this reason the theme for this year’s 16 days of activism against gender based violence could not have been more relevant for Zimbabwe. The Act has to be implemented effectively and this can only be done by challenging all the obstacles that may hinder effectiveness. The objective of this paper is to analyse these obstacles and suggest some ways of overcoming the obstacles. The writer has been involved in information dissemination and development of implementation plans for the Act hence the analysis will draw a lot on this experience. The writer has identified three main challenges or obstacles to the effective implementation of the Domestic Violence Act. These are

i) Resources both human and financial
ii) Knowledge of the law and
iii) Negative attitudes towards the law

Resources

Effective implementation of the domestic violence law will require a lot of resources. Awareness programmes have already started and resource materials are required for the programme. In disseminating information on the Act, people need the actual Act for further reference. Others need simplified versions and versions translated into their vernacular languages. Beyond information dissemination, resources are also needed to put in place certain structures that are provided for in the Act. Some of the structures are domestic violence sections at all police stations and safe houses for complainants of domestic violence.

Besides financial and material resources, effective implementation of the law will require manpower. The various government departments who have the mandate to implement the law such as the police, the courts and health officials should have adequate staff for complainants to be assisted expeditiously. Zimbabwe as a nation is currently experiencing the challenge of skilled manpower with most people living the country in search of greener pastures. This means that new people have to be trained to fill in the gap.

Overcoming the obstacles of resources seems like an insurmountable task considering the economic crisis that the nation is going through. However, the obstacle can be overcome by prioritizing and applying a multisectoral approach to resource mobilization. Given the high incidence of domestic violence in Zimbabwe, it is argued that the issue deserves priority in the national budget. The 2008 national budgets are currently being prepared and this is an opportunity to factor in funding for the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act. The state needs to show its commitment to the elimination of domestic violence by providing funds for the Act’s implementation. However, one needs to appreciate that the state alone does not have sufficient funds hence the need for all stakeholders to combine resources to fight the scourge of domestic violence. This means that the government, civil society and the private sector all have to mobilize resources and make a meaningful contribution in funding the implementation programme. The resources mobilized can be used for information, education and communication materials development setting up of safe houses and training and capacity development of personnel.

Knowledge of the law

Whilst sharing the provisions of the Act with various stakeholders, the writer has been amazed by the things which are said to be in the Act which are not there. Unfortunately this lack of knowledge is not only found in the receivers of information but even among resource persons and facilitators disseminating the information. The distortion of information could have arisen from the fact that when the law was still in Bill form, all women’s rights activists took it upon themselves to raise awareness on the law among the public. While this was good when one considers the area covered and the speed with which the information travelled, the problem was that some of the information disseminators had not seen the Bill. They just passed on information, which they had heard from those who had the Bill. Further to that, others who are without a legal background did not interpret the provisions of the law correctly. The Bill also underwent some amendments in Parliament. Some people continued to disseminate the information in the original Bill without noting the changes that had been effected in Parliament.

Since people cannot utilize a law, which they do not know, it is imperative that the advocates for this law and the implementers join hands in conducting an intensive national awareness programmes. In carrying out this awareness programme, those who have no legal expertise must ensure that they involve legal experts so that beneficiaries receive correct information. The implementers themselves i.e. court officials and police officers ought to be trained so that they know what they are supposed to do and how they are supposed to do it.

Negative attitudes towards the law

The introduction of this law has sent shock waves among cultural and religious circles where it is viewed as usurping of husbands’ marital power by women. Some opponents even went further to attack the women who were advocating for the law labeling them as divorcees and singles seeking to destroy other people’s marriages. The gatekeepers argue that the family is sacred and the law should not interfere in family matters. They contend that if there are any disputes between husbands and wives, they should be solved through the cultural or religious structures because the private should be separated from the public.

Attitudes are the greatest obstacles to the implementation of this Act because usually they cannot be changed overnight. One has to keep pushing and lobbying until change occurs. Some of the resistance stems from ignorance of the law and therefore the religious and cultural leaders need to be targeted with information in order for them to understand that the law protects both men and women. However, involvement of the cultural and religious leaders has to go beyond information dissemination to a level where the leaders appreciate the benefits of the law so that they can also influence acceptance among their followers.

Conclusion

Despite these obstacles this year’s commemoration of 16 days of activism against gender based violence is a time of celebration for Zimbabwe. It has been a long road to have a domestic violence law in place. The struggle went on for more than ten years but now the Act is operational. We celebrate this achievement and we celebrate the lives of those women who have put their reputation at stake to ensure that the law becomes a reality.

* Irene Sithole is the Gender Based Violence Programme Officer for Women's
Action Group, an NGO which advocates for women's rights in Zimbabwe.
She can be contacted by email at [email][email protected] or
[email][email protected]

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

In Preparation for the AU Summit

In response to the overwhelming inquiries from our subscribers for more information on the themes, potential advocacy avenues and logistical details for the upcoming AU summit in Addis Ababa, the AU Monitor has put together a short summary with relevant information.

This week’s AU Monitor brings you news from the African Union where a meeting of the Ministerial Committee on the Union Government is taking place in Addis Ababa between the 27th and 28th of November. According to the Accra declaration adopted in June 2007, the committee is set up for the: “identification of the contents of the Union Government concept and its relations with national governments; identification of domains of competence and the impact of the establishment of the Union Government on the sovereignty of member states; definition of the relationship between the Union Government and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs); elaboration of the road map together with timeframes for establishing the Union Government; and identification of additional sources of financing the activities of the Union.”

In regard to regional integration, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held its annual coordination meeting with development partners’ where the Strategic Vision for 2020 was presented along with ECOWAS’ key strategic plans for the attainment of its objective to move from an ‘ECOWAS of states’ to an ‘ECOWAS of peoples’. The strategy aims at a borderless region “where people have access to and are able to harness its enormous resources through the creation of opportunities for sustainable production and environment”.

Whilst the Ministerial Committee meets to discuss continental integration, Joseph Coomson writes of the fragmentary effect of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) on Africa despite the recently developed policy statement created by African, Caribbean and Pacific Ministers touted as the most comprehensive such position thus far in the negotiations. The statement not only underscores the differences among ACP country negotiations but outlines principles upon which the negotiations should be based.

Also in trade news, Xinhua reports that Sino-African trade is likely to grow faster than previously expected and will reach one hundred billion dollars before 2010. In addition, a China Africa Development Fund has been established and is expected to spend between $300 and 400 million in around twenty to thirty Chinese or Chinese-African joint ventures in 2008.

The AU Monitor also features an interview conducted by IPS with Dr. Tajudeen Abdul Raheem on the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals where he states that “one of the biggest scandals in the implementation of MDGs, and one that civil societies and the media really need to focus on, are the MDGs in relation to women. Indeed, all MDGs are about women because they are the majority, and therefore real development cannot take place without full participation and empowerment of women.” In regard to women’s rights, Faiza Mohamed introduces the special issue of Pambazuka News on the anniversary of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa while a Ministerial Council on Science and Technology meeting this week decided to hold a forum for African women in science and technology.

Also in relation to the MDGs, Mukundi Mutasa writes about the recently released report “Our Environment, Our Wealth”, which highlights the potential of African natural resources for development. While the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is urged by United Nations Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, Elizabeth Mataka, to strengthen their collective response to HIV/AIDS.

Good governance becomes the focus of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) conference in Nigeria, where peer review was described as designed for and by Africans to encourage a culture of accountability on the Continent rather than for external benefactors. Yet it is to the “external benefactors” that Mohammed Ibrahim, who initiated a prize for good governance in Africa, directed criticism at an Africa Investor Conference. He claims that Western nations and businesses cannot be absolved for helping corrupt officials and for being conduits for stolen funds.

As the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights concludes in Congo Brazzaville, human rights defenders call on African States to prevent forced disappearances and the impunity that accompanies these crimes. This follows the launch of a Pambazuka News special issue on human and peoples’ rights reflecting on the challenges and accomplishments of the Commission as it celebrates its 20th year of existence.

Lastly, in peace and security news, the transition from the existing African Union peace keeping operation in Darfur to a strengthened hybrid United Nations-African Union force, known as UNAMID, continues as Chinese and Bangladeshi troops arrive in Sudan.

United Nations peacekeepers will help the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) army disarm eastern dissident groups by force in violence-plagued North Kivu province, UN and Congolese commanders said. Army soldiers and fighters loyal to renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda clashed again on Thursday a few kilometres from Rutshuru, where the dissidents attacked an army base a day earlier and forced thousands of civilians to flee.

Syngenta and the Royal Society of Chemistry have announced the creation of the Pan Africa Chemistry Network to help promote the economic and social development of the continent. The Network, which will eventually span the whole continent, is being established initially in Kenya. Its purpose is to connect African chemists more effectively and to enable them to achieve greater levels of innovation and scientific development.

Wangari Maathai, a Nobel laureate, and Chris Murungaru, a former interior minister, have been surprise losers in parliamentary primaries in Kenya. Maathai and Murungaru were competing to represent the ruling party, the Party of National Unity (PNU). After the losing the vote to run for the Tetu ticket in central Kenya, Maathai said on Sunday that she would defect to a smaller party.

The potential for tourism as a strategy for poverty-reduction in Africa will not be realised as long as the industry still operates in relative isolation from its host communities. Multinational hotel chains have a limited impact on local social-economic development as a result of the widespread use of subcontractors and casual labour. However, where employment is offered locally, hotel chains usually offer reasonable wages and working conditions according to this paper published by the National Labour and Economic Development Institute of South Africa.

The news that the ministers of the East African Community (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi) are on the verge of signing an economic partnership agreement with the European Union (EU) has been received with mixed reactions by government officials from these very same countries. The East African Community (EAC) ministers had agreed with their EU counterparts last week that they would sign a framework agreement on trade in goods, market access, development cooperation and fisheries by no later than November 23 this year.

Africa’s largest nations are trying to block the signing of the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with the European Union (EU), Peter Mandelson, EU trade commissioner, has claimed. Speaking to members of the European Parliament, Mandelson strongly criticised the positions taken by Nigeria and South Africa in the EPA negotiations between the EU and nearly 80 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

Widespread apathy exhibited by Algerian voters during campaigning for local elections has led the Ministry of the Interior and 23 participating political parties to trade accusations of corruption and blame for a potential boycott.

The National Constitutional Assembly say 7 of their members were seriously injured on Wednesday after police crushed their demonstration in Harare’s city centre. The group was marching to Parliament in an attempt to denounce constitutional amendment 18 which harmonised presidential and parliamentary elections. Teera Musiya, one of their activists, sustained a deep cut on the head and blood was said to be ‘gushing’ out as he was ferried inside an NCA truck.

South African President Thabo Mbeki was due in Zimbabwe for talks, as part of his mediation efforts in the political crisis in the southern African country, his office said in a statement. The South African leader was appointed by the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) group to mediate in the longstanding political stand-off between the government and the opposition in Zimbabwe.

President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana has challenged auditors to fashion out multifaceted approaches to combat the nature of the threat posed by fraud and economic crime, which had the ability to erase gains made by government at improving public sector financial management.