Latest News

Source: Africanews

Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio on Thursday signed into law a law requiring all public or private organizations to reserve 30% of their jobs for women, including in leadership positions, in a society that traditionally favours men.

Source: The Herald

There is strong support for the proposed minimum mandatory 15-year jail term for all rapists, with many saying it will deter the criminals and reverse the rising number of sexual assault cases.

The provision for a mandatory sentence for rape is one of four sets of amendments sought in the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill gazetted last week. It will amend section 65 of the principal Act to put 15 years as the minimum mandatory sentence for rape and aggravated indecent assault, a similar crime where it is a man who is penetrated without consent.

Source: Biz Community

Cuplings Foundation managing director and co-founder, Farah Abdulla has made it part of her life's purpose to effect positive change.

Source: The Star

Gender inequalities, harmful masculinities and discrimination against key populations are major stumbling blocks in the HIV response, according to the United Nations.

"Adolescent girls and young women between 15 and 24 years are three times more likely to acquire HIV than adolescent boys and young men of the same age group in sub-Saharan Africa," said Winnie Byanyima, UNAids executive director, speaking during the launch of a United Nations report in Dar es Salaam, ahead of World Aids Day.

Source: Daily News

PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has cited inclusion of women as among key tools for unlocking the economic potentials in Africa and the world at large.

The Head of State remarked this during the African Women Leader Network’s (AWLN) fourth Intergenerational Retreat of the Young Women Leaders held in Zanzibar, yesterday, indicating issues like safeguarding meaningful participation and equal rights coupled with resources for women and girls as key to make greater progress.

Source: aciafrica

An official of the overseas development of the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, Trócaire, has lauded the passing into law of the Gender Equality Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Bill in Sierra Leone as a great win for women and a step towards their advancement.

On November 15, Members of Parliament (MPs) in Sierra Leone unanimously voted for the new law, which states that one third of parliamentary seats be reserved for women. The Bill will now go to President Julius Bio who is expected to assent it into law.

“The GEWE Bill is a great win and a big leap in the advancement of women in governance and leadership in Sierra Leone,” Trócaire’s Programme Officer for Women Empowerment in the West African country has been quoted as saying in a November 22 report.Sudie Sellu says that through the adoption of the Bill into law, “the lives of Sierra Leonean women and girls can only get better from now on.”

Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs developed GEWE and the Minister introduced it to Parliament on 21 October 2021. The Bill also aims at improving women’s access to finance, more positions in employment, and to link government spending to improving gender equality. In the November 22 report, Trócaire officials say Sierra Leonean women are “routinely discriminated against and at risk of gender-based violence.” Ms. Sellu says Trócaire collaborated with other partners in “campaigning tirelessly to draft and ensure the enactment of this Bill.” “We will continue to advocate until the Bill gives the women of Sierra Leone what they deserve,” says Ms. Sellu.

In pushing for GEWE enactment, Trócaire reportedly worked alongside Campaign for Good Governance (CGG), Association for the Wellbeing of Rural Communities and Development, Women’s Forum for Human Rights and Democracy (WOFHRAD-SL), Social Enterprise Development, and the Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD).

Source: TheEastAfrican

More needs to be done for Tanzania and the rest of the world to end the Aids public health threat by 2030, a newly launched global HIV/Aids report shows.

Although Tanzania has had a positive impact in fighting HIV/Aids, the new report reveals that the key populations in the country still lag behind when it comes to testing and treatment. Launched in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, the new report titled ‘Dangerous inequalities’ shows early testing, prevention and treatment measures have slowed down, hence Aids-related deaths and new HIV/Aids cases are rising.

Available data shows there are over 4.9 million people living with HIV/Aids in Tanzania while only 1.3 million are on treatment. According to UNAIDS data, Tanzania has over the past ten 10 years consistently reduced new HIV infections and reduced Aids-related deaths by 46.6 percent and 50 percent respectively. Prof Tumaini Nagu, Tanzania’s Chief Medical Officer, noted that although the country has made progress, more needs to be done since with the new report findings, it is evident that some key populations — including adolescence girls — have been left behind.

"50 percent is a good progress but we haven't really made progress when it comes to adolescent girls, which is actually what our strategic health plan requires us to do. That is why we are currently targeting them together with other groups such as migrants, fisheries, people living in rural areas for we cannot fight the epidemic disease with one-size-fits-all kind of solution," she said.

On her part, Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and Aids, (UNAIDS), commended Dodoma’s efforts in the fight against HIV/Aids. “Tanzania is the leader, a strong performer in the fight against this disease. The country has succeeded in reducing new infections by almost 50 percent and successful treatment scale up has led to over 50 percent reduction in the number of Aids-related deaths,” said Ms Byanyima.

New infections rising

“The world is not on track to end the Aids pandemic. New infections are rising and Aids deaths are continuing in too many communities. Inequalities are holding us back,” added Ms Byabyima. The report shows that gender inequalities, inequalities faced by key populations and inequalities between children and adults have had negative impacts on Aids response by countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women are three times more likely to get HIV than their male counterparts, according to the report.

“The world will not be able to defeat Aids while reinforcing patriarchy. We need to address theintersecting inequalities women face. The only effective route map to ending Aids, achieving the sustainable development goals and ensuring health, rights and shared prosperity, is a feminist route map. Women’s rights organisations and movements are already on the frontline doing this bold work. Leaders need to support them and learn from them,” added Ms Byabyima

Tanzania

Source: AmnestyInternational

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Amnesty International is reiterating its call to mediators in the ongoing peace process on Ethiopia to prioritise justice for survivors, including survivors of sexual violence in the two-year conflict.

“The African Union must urgently pressure the Ethiopian government to fully cooperate with both regional and international investigative mechanisms on human rights to ensure justice for victims and survivors of violations — especially sexual violence,” said Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes Region.

“The Ethiopian authorities must urgently allow unfettered access to the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights to enable investigations to take place, and ultimately to ensure those responsible for atrocities in Ethiopia’s two-year conflict face justice.”

On 2 November 2022, Amnesty International launched a campaign which highlights the atrocities committed by all sides to the conflict. It also called on the international community to stand in solidarity with survivors and victims of sexual violence during the conflict.

16 Days of Activism

On 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Amnesty International will also hold an exhibition in Nairobi at the Baraza Media Lab, in which a documentary film will highlight the demands for justice by survivors of sexual violence during the conflict in Ethiopia.

The exhibition will also be showcased in London on 28 and 29 November 2022, during the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Conference.

Background

On 2 November 2022, the Government of Ethiopia, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed a peace agreement. The accord, however, fails to offer a clear roadmap on how to ensure accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and overlooks rampant impunity in the country, which could lead to violations being repeated.

All parties to the armed conflict in Ethiopia, which pits forces aligned with Ethiopia’s federal government, including the Eritrean army, against those affiliated with Tigray’s regional government led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), have committed serious human rights violations and abuses, including extrajudicial executions, summary killings and sexual violence against women and girls. Abuses documented by Amnesty International in the conflict include war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ethiopia

Source: allAfrica

United Nations, New York — "Can you put a price tag on human life? Can there be a penalty strong enough against those who, for their own amusement, mentally torture people until they end their own lives?"

Teenah Jutton, a Member of the National Assembly of Mauritius, knows the torture she speaks of. She was subjected to digital violence when manipulated and degrading images of her were widely circulated online. Ms. Jutton took action in the most immediate way she could, not only for herself but for other survivors as well: she worked to change the law.

"The unbridled freedom that cyber platforms offer to those bent on harming innocent people means we must constantly introduce new safety controls, keep reinforcing and updating existing laws and explore the need to introduce new and sterner legislation," she explained.

A staggering 85 per cent of women around the world have reported witnessing digital violence; nearly 40 per cent have experienced it personally. The abuse spans bullying and flashing to doxxing (revealing identifying information about someone online), sextortion, online trafficking, hate speech and non-consensual sharing of images and video. These include the disturbing trend of deepfakes, where one person's likeness is altered so they appear to be someone else: One study showed a staggering 96 per cent of deepfakes were of pornography. All the targets were women.

Digital violence is one of the newest and hardest-to-police forms of violence. It is just as real and life-altering as other forms of abuse, with a psychological and physical fallout that can be severe and long lasting - even leading some to take their own lives.

Misogyny, gender inequality and online impunity

Digital violence is overwhelmingly aimed at women, girls and society's most marginalized and vulnerable. UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem said of the abuse, "For women and girls, no place is completely safe. Violence against them remains the world's most chronic, most devastating, most overlooked violation of human rights."

To raise awareness about this alarming trend, UNFPA's bodyright campaign was launched a year ago, with the aim of galvanizing governments and private sector tech companies to overhaul the systems that have allowed this abuse to flourish. The campaign coincided with other high-profile calls for action to protect vulnerable people in online spaces. Since then, a number of countries have seen progress in understanding and addressing the issue.

In Serbia, for example, a UNFPA-supported study called In front of the screen evaluated the frequency of abuse faced by girls in secondary school. A digital violence taskforce has been set up in Iraq, working with local organizations and leading tech companies to strengthen prevention and response, and to lobby for stronger engagement at the government level. Changes to legislation and private sector initiatives are also starting to proliferate. In Japan, the death of Hana Kimura - who killed herself following a barrage of online abuse - spurred a national revision of laws on insult and defamation, while governments in the United Kingdom and United States of America have over the past year proposed online safety bills specifically to protect women and children.

"This is where creating the change happens: Acts like using a fake profile to cause harm should be an offence punishable by law, with the perpetrator liable for a fine or penal servitude," said Ms. Jutton.

It's a view shared by Hera Hussain, founder of Chayn, a global nonprofit for gender-based violence survivors. "Tech companies must ensure they have adequate infrastructure to prevent abuse and support survivors, while regulators and investors should provide a minimum standard for the industry and have penalties for companies that do not meet these," Ms. Hussain said.

The cost of inaction

Digital violence is no less real than violence committed on the street or in the home. Violence online often spills over into the real world, as well. Women in public and leadership roles - especially journalists, human rights activists and those working in politics - are singled out for abuse, often part of a direct effort to drive them from the public sphere. When half of society is routinely threatened into silence, gender equality is undermined and the whole of society loses out.

Yet women have scant legal recourse to demand that even illegally obtained or falsified images be taken down, amounting to near total impunity for perpetrators. A handful of companies govern the online lives of billions of people, and none has yet devised systematic or effective solutions to digital violence.

Both Ms. Hussain and Ms. Jutton will be exploring these ideas further at a survivor-driven UNFPA event on 7 December, part of the broader 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence campaign.

Speaking on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Dr. Kanem said, "We can stop this crisis by acting in solidarity with the growing numbers of people who are standing up and saying 'enough'. Everyone has the right to bodily autonomy and to live in safety and security."

Beyond online safety legislation and tracking tools, there is a need to recognize and protect women and girls' rights to make choices about their bodies and live free from violence - on and offline. As Dr. Kanem urged, "This is a moment to renew the urgent call for society-wide activism to prevent violence, wherever it happens, until we reach the end."

Source: InternationalServiceforHumanRights

As we celebrate the International Day for Ending Violence Against Women and WHRDs Day during the 16 days of activism to End Violence Against Women, we salute the courageous Sudanese women fighting for freedom and equality. We stand in solidarity with their struggle for democratic change, justice and peace.

On 17 November 2022, security forces threw a 24-year-old woman protester from a bridge in central Khartoum. She sustained serious injuries that required 4 surgeries to her spine. Since the military coup of 25 October 2021, violence against women and women human rights defenders (WHRDs) has increased and it is threatening their ability to participate in the public space.

Since early November at least two women volunteers in charity groups have been facing legal prosecution following unfounded accusations of collecting money to support protest movements. A female journalist in West Darfur was threatened and subjected to a smear campaign in a public statement by the State governor for publishing news about schools in the State. Women lawyers have been beaten and suffocated by tear gas during continuous police attacks inside Sudanese Bar Offices in Khartoum.

In October 2022, violence erupted in the areas of Blue Nile, in Lagawa in West Kordofan and in Central Darfur. The government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) reported that an estimated 15,000 people—mostly women and children—fled the violence in central Darfur. Zubaida Eisa, a 30-year-old woman teacher and farmer, was killed by armed militias in Kadugli Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan. She was shot dead on 20 November 2022 while defending herself and another woman farmer against the armed men who attempted to rape both women. Women farmers in conflict areas are facing intensifying violence that includes killing, injuries and rape in armed militia’s attacks while farming or fetching water and wood. This rising violence has heightened food insecurity for millions of women and children in these areas. According to WFP and Humanitarian aid groups, over 11 million in Sudan are facing food insecurity or hunger this year, mostly women and children.

According to UNFPA, 2.7 million women and girls in Sudan are in need of gender-based violence protection, mitigation and response services. These numbers are estimated and subject to major increase due to the escalating violence against women and WHRDs in Sudan. Women rights groups have limited capacity to document and monitor the expanding violence against women in the last year. Domestic violence and “honor crimes” have been on the rise in recent years. In Darfur, 5 girls were killed last month by their male family members for talking on the phone. In Khartoum alone, over 20 domestic violence cases are reported daily in one locality. But there is a lack of sufficient support and protection networks for victims across the country.

Freedom of expression and association for women is restricted under the coup authorities. In Zalinji in Central Darfur, the journalist Hafida Abduallh was arrested while covering a protest organised by women street vendors. She was prevented from filming and reporting about the protest. Women rights groups across Sudan are leading the democratic movement while facing unprecedented violence. Women members in professional unions are being punished for participating in protests and public strikes. WHRDs and feminist activists struggling with social media smearing campaigns and online harassment organised by the coup supporters and Fundamental Islamists.

Prioritisation of accountability and transitional justice are essential factors to end violence against women in Sudan. The ongoing efforts to reinstate democratic transition in Sudan must ensure women participation in the building of the processes of justice, accountability and State reforms. Security sector reforms, justice system reforms and peace implementation are key principles to build a democratic State and enhance the efforts to end violence against women in Sudan. Women rights in Sudan are deteriorating under the increasing militarisation of the State. The closure of civic space and restrictions of freedoms of assembly, association and expression are threatening the ability of women groups and WHRDs to work under these hostile conditions.

We the undersigned groups and organisations call on :

The international community and stakeholders to take urgent action to stop the escalation of systemic violence against Sudanese women.
The Sudanese government to immediately end the violence against WHRDs, women’s rights groups and women protesters and protect the rights of WHRDs to advocate and promote women and human rights.
The United Nations Security Council to take action to ensure the protection of women in conflict areas and urge the parties involved in the Juba peace agreement to comply with the provisions of the agreement related to the UNSC No. 1325, including ensuring effective, meaningful and genuine participation of WHRDs, women activists and women peacebuilders in the peace agreement.
The OHCHR and the designated expert on Sudan to conduct an immediate investigation of the violations and gender-based violence against women protesters and WHRDs, and engage in inclusive and wide consultations with civil society including women human rights defenders.
The relevant UN Special Procedures, in particular the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, to request a visit to Sudan and to issue a statement condemning the increasing violations against WHRDs and women protesters and women rights groups in Sudan.
The Sudanese political actors and international community to prioritise justice and accountability in any upcoming political solution.

Signatories:

Sudanese Women Rights Action
Noura Center for Combating Sexual Violence
Alharisat Organization
CIVICUS
The Regional Coalition for WHRDs in the Middle East and North Africa (WHRDMENA Coalition)
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Governance Programming Overseas
Sudan Doctors for Human Rights

Sudan
UNFPA

Source: Gov.Uk

Our respective national laws and policy enshrine equality, ensuring that no matter your gender identity or sexual orientation every individual has a right to equal opportunity and a life free from violence and discrimination. Both the UK and South Africa were consistently strong voices in efforts to secure a Global Goal on Gender equality, including objectives to address violence against women and girls and improve sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Our shared commitment to addressing gender-based violence is highlighted this very month through South Africa’s Presidential Summit on Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide, hosted by President Ramaphosa at the beginning of November in Pretoria and the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict conference, hosted by the UK at the end of this month during the global 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women. The UK is also pleased to be continuing its partnership with South Africa’s Gender Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund.

While much progress has been made since the international community agreed the Global Goals, including Gender Goal 5, it is clear that significant challenges remain until we realise our shared ambition. The COVID-19 pandemic shone a shocking spotlight on the scourge of intimate partner violence around the world, including in the UK and South Africa.

In recent years we have witnessed movements seeking to undermine the right of a woman to make decisions about her body. We will not stand by and watch any rollback of women’s rights. This is why, alongside our ongoing work to improve gender equality at home, the UK and South Africa commit to working together to uphold women’s rights internationally.

We will strengthen our partnership and use our position in global fora to galvanise progress toward Gender Goal 5, uphold women’s rights and create a more equal society for all.

Source: AfricanBusiness

UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for Africa on female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage, Jaha Dukureh, will visit Liberia from 19 to 27 November 2022 to add support to the country’s efforts to eliminate FGM, a harmful practice against women and girls.

Ms. Dukureh hails from the Gambia and is herself a survivor of both FGM and child marriage. In February 2018, she was appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for Africa to support regional and global advocacy efforts to end FGM and child marriage. Alongside women’s organizations and civil society, she contributed to the Gambian Government’s ban on FGM in 2015 after youth mobilization and campaigning in the country. She also contributed to an investigation on FGM in the USA by former President Obama’s administration, and the subsequent Summit to End FGM at the United States Institute of Peace.

Ms. Dukureh’s visit will coincide with the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence campaign which will be observed from 25 November to 10 December under the global theme, ‘Unite, Activism to end violence against women and girls” and national theme, ‘With one voice, let us unite to end violence against women, girls and children.’

“The visit follows Liberia’s sign up to the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender Based Violence in 2021 and is intended to support Liberia’s efforts towards the eradication of FGM through multi-stakeholder engagements and high-level advocacy and social mobilization,” says Comfort Lamptey, UN Women Liberia Country Representative.

Major highlights of Ms. Dukureh’s visit include: a public screening of ‘Jaha’s Promise’, a documentary film about the life and advocacy efforts of Jaha Dukureh; engagements with various stakeholders including traditional and religious leaders; a solidarity walk to end gender based violence in Liberia; the launch of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based violence as well as the launch of a Vocational and Heritage centre in Sonkay Town, Liberia.

The Sonkay Town Heritage centre is one of four vocational and heritage centres established by UN Women under the framework of the European Union and United Nations Spotlight Initiative. The four centers are expected to provide alternative economic livelihood programs to former traditional practitioners of FGM in Liberia.

Ms. Dukureh is expected to engage with various change makers including government officials, diplomatic community, traditional leaders, civil society, women’s organisations and the media. She will also reinforce public knowledge and increase education on the depth, scale and devastating consequences of FGM.

In February 2022, the National Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia in collaboration with the Government of Liberia proclaimed a three-year ban on the practice of FGM from 2022 to 2025. Nonetheless, Liberia remains one of the three West African countries that do not have a law criminalizing FGM despite having signed and ratified regional and international human rights instruments condemning the practice as a human rights violation, including the Maputo Protocol that seeks to outlaw FGM.

UN Women is supporting efforts of the Government of Liberia to eliminate gender-based violence through the Spotlight Initiative, a global programme that aims to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls including harmful practices such as FGM

Source:AlJazeera

This has been a year of climate catastrophes for every corner of the globe. From floods in Pakistan and Nigeria to the worst droughts on record across the Horn of Africa, no one on the planet is insulated against our rapidly worsening climate. Among the most disproportionately affected are women and girls. Yet their story is all too often just a footnote in the news.

We know about the gendered impact of climate change from our work across the world. We have seen time and time again how women and girls are pushed to drop out of school or marry early to help manage the financial stress that families face during droughts or floods. New ActionAid research in Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia and Nigeria has found that climate change is also increasing gender-based violence and damaging women’s mental health.

As a warming planet leads to a rise in humanitarian emergencies and displacement, women and girls must not be left to pay the steepest price.

In northern Kenya, Rosemary — a former farmer whom ActionAid works with — now needs to walk several miles farther than before to find water. Her community is facing extreme drought after consecutive failed rains, with 90 percent of all open water sources in their area now dry. This increased burden and the distances she has to go put her at greater risk of violence as she needs to travel, often outside daylight hours, to areas where she has no protection.

Meanwhile, the drought and the invasion of a crop-eating worm pest have already destroyed her farm, once her main source of income. This has forced Rosemary into animal husbandry, but she faces the challenges of an unpredictable climate here too. Unable to access water and grassland, two of her cows recently died, pushing her further into financial precarity.

Farmer incomes have dropped sharply in Rosemary’s community because of the failed rains. This is leading to girls being taken out of school — and in some cases married off — to ease family expenditure and help to bring in income. In precarious times of climate stress like this, girls are 20 percent more likely to be married early than in times of stability, putting women’s rights to education and liberty at risk.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Women and girls on the front line of the climate crisis, like Rosemary, know what actions are needed and are important agents of change. Rosemary leads a local activist network that tackles violence against women and girls and provides guidance to young women on their human rights. This support is key for women and girls navigating the knock-on impacts of climate change and drought.

Women like Rosemary are capable of building communities that are resilient to the challenges of climate change. But they need support to scale up their work and the opportunity to help decide how international, national and local climate finance is spent.

Yet, sadly, we know that the voices of the women on the front lines are not sufficiently heard in the grand halls and behind the closed doors where the big decisions are made, including at the ongoing COP27 climate change conference. This is particularly worrying in 2022 as the impacts of climate change escalate while international support for women like Rosemary remains scarce.

Industrialised nations that have contributed the most to the climate crisis are yet to deliver on their promised — yet inadequate — funding to help mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change in the future. These failed promises, combined with the lack of finance to support climate impacts now — known as loss and damage finance — means that the odds are loaded against a funding paradigm that accounts for the additional risks and consequences women and girls face.

While the United Kingdom is increasing its financial support for climate adaptation, it has not pledged new and additional loss and damage funding to countries like Kenya, which is battling its worst drought on record.

This is unacceptable. Climate finance needs to cover reparations for the lost years of girls’ education, address women’s lost security, and compensate for their failed crop yields. We need progress on these issues at COP27, not yet another year of kicking the can down the road.

World leaders need to pay attention to stories like Rosemary’s. We need less rhetoric and a greater focus on women’s rights and actions to help them thrive and bring their communities out of poverty. Without this, the gendered injustice of climate change and the silent crisis for women and girls will only get worse.

Source: Institute for Security Studies

In central Mali, local communities have entered into peace agreements with terrorist groups to regain a sense of calm. Residents in the area have been grappling with a vicious cycle of violence linked to the armed insurgency since 2015.

Source: allAfrica

Sharm el-Sheikh — Women activists say their voices have been absent or have gone unheard at previous climate summits. So they are taking action and looking to assume the lead on climate action and participation in decision-making processes.

Source: TheStar

Women’s rights groups are now calling on President William Ruto to recall his appointees to various public offices and produce a new, more inclusive list. They said all his appointments to public offices have failed to adhere to the constitutional mandate of two-thirds gender representation.

In a joint statement, the Center for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), FIDA, Amnesty, CRAWN Trust, among others, they asked that the president keep his commitment to the women of Kenya, “In view of the fact that the appointments made so far to Cabinet Secretary, Principle Secretary and National Police Service are in blatant violation of the constitution, he should submit a new list that caters to gender, youth, persons with disabilities and even ethnic inclusion,” they said.

They said they were concerned by parliament’s inaction over the appointments.“Parliament conducted a vetting process for a cabinet that does not meet the constitutional threshold of two-thirds.” They said they were equally concerned that the 13th Parliament had not set out a roadmap to implement the two-thirds gender rule at the assembly. The groups called on parliament to fast-track the enactment of a two-thirds gender rule framework to make it much more impactful.

“We remind parliament of existing court orders on the matter, including the Chief Justice Emeritus Maraga advisory opinion of 2020,” they said. The public has raised questions over President Ruto's cabinet and State department appointments which have all failed to meet the gender threshold. There have also been questions of regional balance in his appointments.

Kenya

Source:allAfrica

Malawi's first female Speaker of Parliament, Right Honourable Catherine Gotani Hara is among 2022 100 Most Influential African Women, joining the likes of Sahle-Work Zewde and Samia Suluhu Hassan -- presidents of Ethiopia and Tanzania respectively.

The 2022 100 Most Influential African Women is the 4th edition which is selected by Avance Media, Africa's leading PR & rating firm and this year's list is made up of prominent women who represent African women breaking the bias across the world.

The 2022 list includes two Presidents, five Vice-presidents, five Prime Ministers, Ministers, regional CEOs and founders of both profit and none-profit organisations.

The Vice-presidents are Jessica Alupo; Jewel Taylor; Mariam Chabi Talata; Mutale Nalumango; Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior -- from Uganda, Liberia, Benin, Zambia and South Sudan respectively.

The list also includes deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina J. Mohammed; deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa and also Vanessa Nakate, Elizabeth Wathuti and Bogolo Kenewendo -- who are leading various climate action initiatives across the world, marking the introduction of a Climate Change category to the list.

With a record of 36 African countries represented on the list, Nigeria leads with 18 representatives, followed by Kenya (10), Ghana (7), Senegal, (6) and Tanzania (5) and Malawi's Gotani Hara.

Profiles of the 100 honourees have been published on 100women

In June this year, Gotani Hara -- the first-ever female Speaker of the National Assembly since independence in 1964 -- was elected as executive chairperson of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association-African Region.

She was elected during the Association's 52nd Conference held in Freetown -- the capital city of Sierra Leone. The African Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association comprises of the 63 national and subnational legislatures -- governed by a coordinating and executive committees made up of representatives from across the region.

There is also a regional representatives committee which reports to the executive.

The CPA's Mission is to promote and protect the interests and perspectives of Africa Regional Parliaments and countries, into the Commonwealth and beyond, and to promote gender equality, emancipation of women, and respect for human rights, freedoms, democracy and good governance.

.avancemedia.org which quotes Avance Media managing director, Prince Akpah as saying the 4th edition list features women from a record of 36 African countries and represents women who are changing the perception of women breaking barriers in their career, business and life pursuits.

There is also a regional representatives committee which reports to the executive.

Gotani Hara, who has been the Speaker since June 2019, took over from Justin B. Muturi, MP and Speaker of Kenya's National Assembly.

She is an alumnus of Kamuzu Academy from where she went on to attain a Bachelor of Arts in political science at Chancellor College where she started her political career when ran the affairs of the University of Malawi's wing of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

From 1998 to 2000, she completed professional postgraduate training in International Development and Project Planning and Management in Brighton, UK where she also worked as programme officer for the UK's Department of International Development -- the first Malawian to be recruited to that level in which she was responsible for the sustainable livelihood projects for both Malawi and Mozambique.

She was then elected as MP for a Mzimba North East in 2009 representing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) through which she was appointed Deputy Minister of Transport & Public Infrastructure; Deputy Minister for Gender and the Minister for Health in Joyce Banda administration.

She has represented Malawi's Head of State at a number of international events, and was the chairperson of Malawi's delegation to the Climate Change Summit in Brazil. She has also been a Board member of Northern Region Water Board.

After the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika in 2012, she publicly declared that it unconstitutional for members in the ruling politburo to take over the presidency.

She took a break from politics from 2014 to 2019, where she was re-elected on MCP ticket and went on to be elected Speaker with 97 votes to 93 over former deputy speaker, Esther Mcheka Chilenje.

Malawi

Source: TheIrishTimes

Less than a fortnight before Kenya’s August general election, popular band Sauti Sol released a song called Girls on Top. Its video showed photographs of women activists, athletes, musicians and politicians including Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, former US first lady Michelle Obama and former Liberian president and Nobel laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

“What a man can do, a woman can do times two,” the lyrics went. “Woman you run my world and I’m counting… on you.” This was just one sign of the enthusiastic support behind a push for women in one of east Africa’s most stable democracies to hold more political positions. The election even saw a woman vice-presidential candidate running for a major party for the first time.

Though Martha Karua, the running mate of presidential candidate Raila Odinga, was not ultimately voted in, the overall results were hailed as progressive in terms of women representation — even if the numbers still sound low. Women were elected to fill 29 of the 290 seats — up from 23 in 2017. Seven women county governors were elected, up from three in 2017, and none in 2013. Three women senators were also voted into power. These came along with 47 women’s representatives: roles reserved for women which are sometimes seen a stepping stone to other positions.

Sirleaf, the former Liberian president, joined those celebrating the development. She tweeted: “It was inspiring to see women strongly represented in the Kenya elections and notably the progress made since 2013 when 980 women candidates were cleared to run. In 2017, this rose to 1,358. In 2022, it reached 1,768. I hope this is a sign that we are moving towards gender parity.”

But newly elected women politicians say they still face significant challenges: particularly the lack of legal limits on campaign spending, which makes it not only difficult to participate in politics, but hard for them to perform well once they get into power.

Drive about 160km out of Nairobi, into Kenya’s Rift Valley region, and you will reach Nakuru. The county, which has a population of just over two million, is now led for the first time by a woman governor and senator, while women also make up five out of its 11 members of parliament. Kenyan lawyer Susan Kihika unseated incumbent male governor Lee Kinyanjui, while businesswoman Tabitha Karanja took over Kihika’s former senate seat. Nakuru is one of two of Kenya’s 47 counties with women in the top two political positions, Machakos being the other.

In the county’s capital city, also called Nakuru, reactions were mixed.

“This is what we’ve been fighting for,” said Ruth Aura, dean of the faculty of law in Egerton University. Aura is also a former chair of the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya. “For me the [important] tribe is the women tribe, nothing else. And I’m very impressed with what Nakuru has done.”

“They get encouraged,” said Salome Ngugi (42), a supermarket worker who gestured towards her two young daughters. “Since [the new politicians are] women at least they’ll make changes to get women in business, girls in school. They weren’t recognised in the past, the boy child was prioritised. With women in power that can change.”

“I don’t like them. To them it’s just a job, they’re not interested in us,” said a women security guard doing a shift nearby. She did not want to be named.

“In Nakuru it’s a big mess, because women are not doing well in leadership,” said a 38-year-old woman, who also did not want to be named. “Yes, it’s a plus because of gender, women can fight for these positions and win, but when it comes to delivery I don’t think it’s going to work.” She believed that the women elected were successful because of their political party, rather than their policies and track records. “If [governor] Susan [Kihika] doesn’t deliver, they will say women are useless, they will say go back to where you came from… So I just pray that she delivers.”

Lucy Njambi, a 50-year-old who sells drinks at a stall across the road from Nakuru’s county assembly, said women there continue to face a lot of challenges. “Women don’t have capital for business. Men control more so women have less power.”

Despite this year’s gains, Kenya is still notably short of implementing a “gender principle” embedded in the 2010 constitution, which requires the state to make sure that no more than two-thirds of appointed and elected bodies are made up of the same gender. Women’s rights activists complain that the Kenyan government is not taking adequate steps to fulfil this. “We’ve been trying to get the legislation [implemented],” Aura said, “but women are already doing it on their own. Sometimes we don’t need the laws.”

At a quiet hotel in another part of Nakuru city, a group of newly elected local politicians were meeting to eat chicken and chips and discuss the steps forward.

One was Isabella Makori, a 41-year-old who also farms potatoes, tomatoes and maize. She was one of eight women elected to the county assembly — up from five in the previous election; there are 55 seats in total. Makori raised about five million Kenyan shillings (€40,000) for her campaign: a mix of savings, donations and fundraising. “It is expensive, my dear,” she said.

With her was Leah Wambui Ng’ang’a (38), another county assembly member. Ng’ang’a’s campaign slogan was “mama kazi” — women and work. She said the biggest problems she faced were “propaganda and money”.

Ng’ang’a is a mother of four children. She recalls men candidates publicly saying she wouldn’t have the time to serve the community. Any campaign costs a minimum of one million Kenyan shillings, she said — which can include cash to hand out to potential voters, a common practice in Kenya. “It was so stressful,” added Ng’ang’a, who would like to become governor one day. She fundraised from “friends and well-wishers”.

Grace Mwathi, a 53-year-old elected county assembly member, said women candidates suffer from a “lack of money, finances, security”.

“Women, I think we suffer from being depressed by men. When we want to do something they slash us down, they don’t want us to be like them because they say they are the head and they should remain the head,” she said. “When you become a politician and you are a woman people think you are a prostitute, [that] your husband does not give you permission to vie… all of those things.”

Mwathi’s campaign slogan was: “Mama na matendo” — a woman of action.

Despite the challenges, she says Kenyan women are unstoppable now. “Today our ladies are going to school and they’re competing with the men,” Mwathi said. “When you educate a girl you educate the whole nation. When a woman is in power you bring home, [whereas] a man takes out. So we are going to bring home what is needed.”

Steve Biko, a lawyer at Odhiambo and Odhiambo Advocates, counts Nakuru’s newly elected woman governor as one of his clients.

He said women political candidates can face abuses including a demand for sexual favours; arguments about which locales they can contest in and whether that changes when they get married; and slander saying they cannot serve if they have children.

But the main problem is “resource allocation”, he explained, during an interview in his office in Nakuru city centre. “Our society is generally patrilineal in Africa. Therefore, it denies women a chance to be closer to resources… Inevitably, therefore, [women’s] movement to other sectors of the nation and their participation there becomes limited by virtue of the limitations and resources they have. That closes them out of the political space.”

“If [women] lack resources it makes it difficult for them to campaign,” he continued. “Campaigning is expensive. We don’t have laws regulating campaign spending in this country. So it means the men who have more resources are likely to campaign better and faster and reach more [people] than the women.”

A 2021 study found that while, in most cases, women candidates spend as much or more as men on campaigning, they do not achieve the same levels of success. Drawing on a survey of 300 political aspirants, it found that, on average, a senator’s seat cost 35.5 million Kenyan shillings (€290,000) to compete for in 2017; an MP’s seat was 18.2 million; a women’s representative seat cost 22.8 million; and a county assembly seat cost on average 3.1 million.

Bringing in a law regulating campaign spending would “open the space for women”, Biko said.

“When you have no regulation, it means it’s a jungle — whoever has the most will take charge. And that gives men a higher chance to play dirty.”

When Kenya’s new president, William Ruto, appointed cabinet ministers in September, he failed to meet his own promise that 50 per cent of appointments would be women. Out of 22 ministers, only seven were women, with another two women advisers and a woman secretary also appointed.

But many members of his own party, the United Democratic Alliance, were still enthusiastic about what they see as progress.

Wanjiku Muhia, an elected MP for the Kipipiri constituency in Mount Kenya, was the only women candidate among 12 contenders for her seat.

“It is very hard financially, emotionally, physically, because we worked very late hours. We don’t have as much money as men, because in our culture, we don’t have properties to sell and put the money towards the campaign. But through God and convincing the people, many women have made it in this election especially,” she said.

“The voters believed more in women, hence they gave us a chance… [In] the first election after the 2010 constitution we started with zero women as governors. Then the next election we had three governors. This election… we have seven governors. This is a show that we are moving… It is an assurance that in the future anything is possible.”