I am excited about AWDF's activities at the International Aids Conference which will be held in Mexico from the 3rd to the 8th of August. I will be in Mexico so will be sharing with you some of the events, workshops and convenings that AWDF will be participating in. I am also sharing below our press release for our activities in Mexico:
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
AWDF’S ACTIVITIES AT XVII INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE, MEXICO, 3-8 AUGUST 2008
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) will be attending the XVII International Aids Conference in Mexico, August 3rd- 8th. Activities AWDF will be involved in at the Mexico conference include the press launch of a progress document on the achievements of our HIV/AIDS fund since it’s inception in November 2005. To date, AWDF’s HIV/AIDS fund has disbursed U$2,013,375 in grants to107 African women’s organisations in 25 countries, provided grant-making and technical support for grassroots organisations, networks and support groups of women living with HIV/AIDS in several countries and invested in multi-year funding in order to scale up some of the initiatives of African women’s organisations working on HIV/AIDS. Key events for AWDF at the Mexico conference include:
Wednesday, 6th of August, 14:00 – 14:45, Venue: Room 3, Olmecas, Media Centre, Hall A, Level 1: AWDF will be holding a press conference on the achievements of our HIV/AIDS fund and will be launching the progress report. Speakers will include Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Executive Director of AWDF; Chantal Cuddumbey, Nelson Mandela Foundation; Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, Secretary General, World YWCA; Siphiwe Hlophe, Director, Swaziland Positive Living for Life; and Lucy Mensah, Executive Director, Women United against Aids in Ghana.
Wednesday, 6th August, 16.30 – 18.00, Venue: session room 4: The Executive Director of AWDF, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi will be moderating a workshop on ‘The AIDS Care Economy and the Burden on Women’.
MORE
AWDF’S ACTIVITIES AT XVII INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE
AWDF’s grantee partners at the Mexico conference
In order to support and amplify the voices of African women at the International Aids Conference in Mexico, 2008, AWDF has provided grants to support the participation of the following women working on HIV/AIDS issues in their respective countries:
Ms Grace Mutheu Muli - Young Women Campaign Against Aids (Kenya)
Ms Siphiwe Hlope - Swaziland Positive Living (Swaziland)
Ms Annie Namanyi - Busia Widows and Orphans Association (Uganda)
Ms Susan Koyoo - Kenya Widows and Orphans Support Programme (Kenya)
Ms Ethel Sakitey - Prolink (Ghana)
Ms Xohle Mtsefwa - Swaziland Positive Living (Swaziland)
Ms Lucy Mensah – Women United Against Aids in Ghana (Ghana)
ENDS
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant-making foundation which supports local, national and regional organisations in Africa working towards women’s empowerment. AWDF through institutional capacity building and programme development seeks to build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African women’s movement.
The vision of AWDF is for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for women’s human rights. To this end, our mission is to mobilise financial resources to support local, national and regional initiatives led by women, which will lead to the achievement of this vision.
Press Enquiries
Nana Sekyiamah – Programme Officer (Fundraising & Communications)
Tel: + 233 21 780476/7
Fax: +233 21 782502
Email: nana@awdf.org
Websites: www.awdf.org, www.13campaign.org
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Trokosi: The current state of ritual servitude in Ghana
I attended a workshop two days ago which was organised to disseminate details on a study of Trokosi practice in Ghana conducted by researchers from the University of Legon, Ghana. Tro means deity and kosi means slave or wife so Trokosi translates as slave or wife of the deity. The practice of Trokosi involves holding young girls in servitude to appease the deities whom their families have offended. The most useful parts of the workshop was the personal testimony of an ex Trokosi and the dissemination of research on the current state of the trokosi system in Ghana. I will share below Mercy’s testimony as given by her interpreter.
Mercy was 8 years old when she attended a festival with her parents. At the festival she kept approaching her parents, in particular her Mum who kept pushing her away. Other young people at the festival said to her ‘You are being taken to a place where you can’t see your parents anymore’ so Mercy hid in the bushes until nightfall and then ran back home. Her parents and grandparents were very angry when she returned and took her across the river where she was dressed up in beads. When she cried she was told ‘You don’t weep here’. At night she was given a mat to sleep on and in the morning woken up at dawn and given work to do. She was told that from now on this will be your job. Mercy’s job involved cleaning the shrine and surrounding areas. She was scared but had no choice but to do the work she had been assigned.
Early in the morning Mercy and the other Trokosis were lined up and taken to the farm. Mercy was young and did not know how to perform the labour that was required of her but failure to perform the duties would incur the wrath of the Togbe. The Trokosis did not get fed before going to the farm and they would have to scavenge for food, and sometimes crack palm kernels to eat. One of Mercy’s companions died at this time.
Mercy eventually had 4 children with the Togbe, there were no opportunities to see a doctor. The only medical remedies were infusions of herbs. There was no support for her and her children. Pepper was the main meal. There was no escape route, she tried unsuccessfully. She went home once but her grandfather bound her and brought her back to the shrine. This went on day after day until they were told they would be liberated.
Mercy has been given no reason as to why she had been taken to the shrine. After persistently asking she was told that her grandmother stole an ear ring from a Trokosi who had passed through her house and because she refused to confess, had been reported to two shrines. For retribution Mercy’s Aunt was taken to one shrine and her sister was taken to the other shrine. When her Aunt died Mercy was sent as a replacement.
The Trokosi system in practised in the Ewe and Dangme areas of South East Ghana and is believed to have originated in the 16th or 17th century. Some of the early reports include a report in 1919 by Daniel Nyagbledzi of Baitor Agbetikpo to the Colonial Secretary of Native Affairs calling for a ban on the practice. Some of the difficulties described by the researchers included the secrecy shrouding the practice, the fear of victims that the gods will punish and kill traitors who disclose information to outsiders and the complementary roles of the gods and the priests. Priests were in the most cases extremely reluctant to speak about the practice and would refer the researchers to the Afrikania Movement (an organisation supportive of the Trokosi practice).
The most disturbing detail is that although the Trokosi system, alongside all traditional and cultural practices that violate the constitution of Ghana was banned in 1998 the practice is still very much alive. In some cases the practice has moved ‘underground’. Some members of the communities involved do not see Trokosi as a Human Rights violation but as a traditional and reliable way of dispensing and maintaining social justice. The researchers estimated the number of victims to be roundabout 1400. To date no one has been arrested or persecuted in spite of the law banning the practice.
From 2002, AWDF has supported the Ative Vocational Centre, an organisation founded by ex Trokosis. Support has included training in income generation activities including bead-making and the building of a permanent structure for the centre which includes units for dressmaking, soap making and hairdressing
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
Mercy was 8 years old when she attended a festival with her parents. At the festival she kept approaching her parents, in particular her Mum who kept pushing her away. Other young people at the festival said to her ‘You are being taken to a place where you can’t see your parents anymore’ so Mercy hid in the bushes until nightfall and then ran back home. Her parents and grandparents were very angry when she returned and took her across the river where she was dressed up in beads. When she cried she was told ‘You don’t weep here’. At night she was given a mat to sleep on and in the morning woken up at dawn and given work to do. She was told that from now on this will be your job. Mercy’s job involved cleaning the shrine and surrounding areas. She was scared but had no choice but to do the work she had been assigned.
Early in the morning Mercy and the other Trokosis were lined up and taken to the farm. Mercy was young and did not know how to perform the labour that was required of her but failure to perform the duties would incur the wrath of the Togbe. The Trokosis did not get fed before going to the farm and they would have to scavenge for food, and sometimes crack palm kernels to eat. One of Mercy’s companions died at this time.
Mercy eventually had 4 children with the Togbe, there were no opportunities to see a doctor. The only medical remedies were infusions of herbs. There was no support for her and her children. Pepper was the main meal. There was no escape route, she tried unsuccessfully. She went home once but her grandfather bound her and brought her back to the shrine. This went on day after day until they were told they would be liberated.
Mercy has been given no reason as to why she had been taken to the shrine. After persistently asking she was told that her grandmother stole an ear ring from a Trokosi who had passed through her house and because she refused to confess, had been reported to two shrines. For retribution Mercy’s Aunt was taken to one shrine and her sister was taken to the other shrine. When her Aunt died Mercy was sent as a replacement.
The Trokosi system in practised in the Ewe and Dangme areas of South East Ghana and is believed to have originated in the 16th or 17th century. Some of the early reports include a report in 1919 by Daniel Nyagbledzi of Baitor Agbetikpo to the Colonial Secretary of Native Affairs calling for a ban on the practice. Some of the difficulties described by the researchers included the secrecy shrouding the practice, the fear of victims that the gods will punish and kill traitors who disclose information to outsiders and the complementary roles of the gods and the priests. Priests were in the most cases extremely reluctant to speak about the practice and would refer the researchers to the Afrikania Movement (an organisation supportive of the Trokosi practice).
The most disturbing detail is that although the Trokosi system, alongside all traditional and cultural practices that violate the constitution of Ghana was banned in 1998 the practice is still very much alive. In some cases the practice has moved ‘underground’. Some members of the communities involved do not see Trokosi as a Human Rights violation but as a traditional and reliable way of dispensing and maintaining social justice. The researchers estimated the number of victims to be roundabout 1400. To date no one has been arrested or persecuted in spite of the law banning the practice.
From 2002, AWDF has supported the Ative Vocational Centre, an organisation founded by ex Trokosis. Support has included training in income generation activities including bead-making and the building of a permanent structure for the centre which includes units for dressmaking, soap making and hairdressing
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Last night I heard ‘Daddy Stop!’, violence against women still endemic in Accra
Until recently I thought “wife beating” occurred mainly in rural communities amongst illiterate folks and not in urban areas like Accra.
The whole neighbourhood of Nyaniba Estate was deprived of their sleep last night when a scream of a little girl woke us all up, ‘daddy stop, daddy stop!!!!’ was all we kept hearing. As happens in many Ghanaian communities, people both young and old rushed out of their beds, some with towels tied around their waist, others wearing boxer shorts, others with “wrappers”, managed to find their way to the house where the crying was coming from.
The Mrs. of the house was half naked with blood on her body and with puffy eyes. According to the male perpetrator, his wife’s phone rang at about 1.30 am and she picked up the phone to speak with the caller when her husband asked who the caller was, the woman said ‘I will tell you in the morning’. Out of anger the man decided to put his muscles to the test by beating his wife.
My worry and confusion is that this is a well known and ‘respected’ man in society. The personal should be political; we must hold our leaders accountable for their personal lives as well. Our homes are full of ‘boxers’ and lions as husbands. Yet on Monday morning these same men are well dressed in the best of suits and ties. Are these the kind of Managers, Directors and Executives we work with? Mercy Lord!!!!!
So after last night’s incident, I tried to link ‘girlhood’ to womanhood. Is beating and suffering part of womanhood. As a child you were beaten for the slightest mistake. At that stage all you want to do is grow and become an adult, little did you know that even as an adult woman in Africa beating is possible?
All who still think like I used to, that wife beating is the preserve of the ‘illiterate’ should sleep with an ear open and I am sure will hear a cry of another woman being beaten.
We should as young women, be able to smell an abusive relationship a mile away before we get entangled into marriage with partners who may be potentially violent.
Hilda Gorluuh
Programme Assistant
Grants Department, AWDF
The whole neighbourhood of Nyaniba Estate was deprived of their sleep last night when a scream of a little girl woke us all up, ‘daddy stop, daddy stop!!!!’ was all we kept hearing. As happens in many Ghanaian communities, people both young and old rushed out of their beds, some with towels tied around their waist, others wearing boxer shorts, others with “wrappers”, managed to find their way to the house where the crying was coming from.
The Mrs. of the house was half naked with blood on her body and with puffy eyes. According to the male perpetrator, his wife’s phone rang at about 1.30 am and she picked up the phone to speak with the caller when her husband asked who the caller was, the woman said ‘I will tell you in the morning’. Out of anger the man decided to put his muscles to the test by beating his wife.
My worry and confusion is that this is a well known and ‘respected’ man in society. The personal should be political; we must hold our leaders accountable for their personal lives as well. Our homes are full of ‘boxers’ and lions as husbands. Yet on Monday morning these same men are well dressed in the best of suits and ties. Are these the kind of Managers, Directors and Executives we work with? Mercy Lord!!!!!
So after last night’s incident, I tried to link ‘girlhood’ to womanhood. Is beating and suffering part of womanhood. As a child you were beaten for the slightest mistake. At that stage all you want to do is grow and become an adult, little did you know that even as an adult woman in Africa beating is possible?
All who still think like I used to, that wife beating is the preserve of the ‘illiterate’ should sleep with an ear open and I am sure will hear a cry of another woman being beaten.
We should as young women, be able to smell an abusive relationship a mile away before we get entangled into marriage with partners who may be potentially violent.
Hilda Gorluuh
Programme Assistant
Grants Department, AWDF
Monday, July 21, 2008
Global Female Leaders at AWDF's first book club meeting
On the 18th of June, AWDF held its very first book club meeting for staff. This was an informal gathering of staff whom convened to discuss the topic of women global leaders. Each woman shared their stories from books they individually read which related to the topic of global female leaders. I enjoyed listening to the accounts of each woman’s stories. I myself do not have such a vast collection of African female authors, so after today’s meeting, I became more inspired to seek such authors and genre’s of books. I personally believe that having this sort of informal meeting is a really good way to have a forum where women can not only learn about the contributions and effects of other women, but engage discussion on issues African women face.
One recommendation I would have in order to promote a dialogue that brings into conversation the international shared struggle amongst women would be to incorporate the stories of women across the different continents. Often I’ve observed that within the women’s movement there are so many varying efforts to unite one certain group of women’s causes and then another’s. These efforts are very disconnected in the sense that women are not united so not all women are listening to the other group of women’s distresses or issues which need attention. As a result, I would provide the recommendation of looking into other women authors from around the world who speak of their respective struggles in order to generate a different approach towards issues talked about when discussing women’s rights and how to attain what the women’s rights movement is established to attain. I like the atmosphere of meetings like these and I look forward to more.
I had a few couple of favorites amongst the titles discussed. I am expecially keen on reading “Heart of Fire”, Unbowed”, “Left to tell”, “Aman story of a Somalian girl”, “The Struggle of Winnie Mandela” and many more! Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the meeting comprised of women under 25 who met this week to discuss the millennium goals but I will try to make it to the next meeting.
Hawwa Muhammad
Political Science, Rutgers University '09
AWDF intern
One recommendation I would have in order to promote a dialogue that brings into conversation the international shared struggle amongst women would be to incorporate the stories of women across the different continents. Often I’ve observed that within the women’s movement there are so many varying efforts to unite one certain group of women’s causes and then another’s. These efforts are very disconnected in the sense that women are not united so not all women are listening to the other group of women’s distresses or issues which need attention. As a result, I would provide the recommendation of looking into other women authors from around the world who speak of their respective struggles in order to generate a different approach towards issues talked about when discussing women’s rights and how to attain what the women’s rights movement is established to attain. I like the atmosphere of meetings like these and I look forward to more.
I had a few couple of favorites amongst the titles discussed. I am expecially keen on reading “Heart of Fire”, Unbowed”, “Left to tell”, “Aman story of a Somalian girl”, “The Struggle of Winnie Mandela” and many more! Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the meeting comprised of women under 25 who met this week to discuss the millennium goals but I will try to make it to the next meeting.
Hawwa Muhammad
Political Science, Rutgers University '09
AWDF intern
Finance & Cohesiveness in a Women's Rights Organisation
Last Thursday, I sat in on a workshop titled “Interpreting Financial Statements” organized by AWDF’s Finance Manager, Gertrude and presented to the staff. Presentations like these I’ve come to found out are commonplace here which I think is a really great way of enhancing knowledge about a variety of subjects being that each person selects a topic that the person would like to share with the staff of AWDF. It also illustrates the cohesiveness, and respect that the staff of AWDF has for one another. Its really great seeing how a women’s organization works behind the scenes and I feel that for the most part, everyone is solidified and functions as an integral piece to the larger mission at hand. The working environment here is very supportive.
As for the presentation, it was very informative as it pertained to answering a lot of questions people may have regarding how to read an income statement or understanding the responsibilities of an auditor, and things along that nature. Feedback from the staff about the financial workshop was very much positive as they were keen on learning about financial concepts. I like the idea of doing these sorts of workshops in the workplace. Its quite nice and the space created here really encourages the type of dialogue and health exchange of ideas. The women here are remarkably efficient and great people to be around overall.
Hawwa Muhammad
Political Science, Rutgers University '09
AWDF Intern
As for the presentation, it was very informative as it pertained to answering a lot of questions people may have regarding how to read an income statement or understanding the responsibilities of an auditor, and things along that nature. Feedback from the staff about the financial workshop was very much positive as they were keen on learning about financial concepts. I like the idea of doing these sorts of workshops in the workplace. Its quite nice and the space created here really encourages the type of dialogue and health exchange of ideas. The women here are remarkably efficient and great people to be around overall.
Hawwa Muhammad
Political Science, Rutgers University '09
AWDF Intern
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wangari Maathai is Unbowed
I recently read Wangari Maathai’s autobiography Unbowed in preparation for AWDF’s first book club meeting which will be held this Friday and my immediate reaction is Wow! The story of Wangari is truly an inspirational one. Wangari makes me want to go out, challenge the politicians about corruption and get thrown in jail for my efforts. Okay, not quite like that but that is what she did time and time again in her promotion of green belts across Kenya and other parts of the world. The key message for me in Wangari’s autobiography is that individuals can make a difference. I just visited the Green Belt Movement’s website and Green Belt Movement Kenya has participated in planting more than 30 million trees! Now that’s a legacy that anyone would be proud to leave behind.
In my opinion there are many lessons that young women can take from Wangari’s autobiography. (When I talk of young women I generally mean women aged 20 – 30) I am hoping that if women critically consider some of these issues at an early age it will prevent unnecessary heartache, pain and regrets in the future.
When Wangari got married her husband’s family expected her to take her husband’s name. Although she was initially against the idea, she capitulated. In her own words:
‘The practice of using the title ‘Mrs.’ after marriage, followed by the husband’s surname, was introduced by the British and I didn’t see why I had to adopt it. True that is what everybody else in the emerging elite class did, and not doing it seemed to suggest that I did not quite love Mwangi and his family. Largely to demonstrate that this was not the case, I agreed, but put a hyphen between the two surnames. Eventually I stopped using the hyphen and even dropped my maiden name for day-to-day correspondence.’
Can you imagine that after changing her name for her husband, joining him on the campaign trail in order to fulfil his political ambitions and performing all those other duties that ‘good African’ women perform for their husbands he has the nerve to ask her to change his name when they get divorced. Now, I don’t even want to get started on the divorce…he petitioned for divorce (I suggest you read Unbowed for the whole story). I could really identify with Wangari not wanting to change her name when she got married. I had faced the same pressure to change my name when I got married (I’m no longer married by the way) but I refused to change my name. My Dad when he used to ring me would call me Mrs x, I think he just did that to annoy me, and I would have to say ‘Daddy please don’t call me Mrs x’. Well reading Unbowed reminded me of that time in my life. I thought to myself that ‘Thank goodness, I did not change my name when I got married, I would have had to un change it or even worse stick with the name of a man I am no longer married to’. Actually before I got married I did think of all those things. ‘What if I get married 5 times? I will have to change my name 5 different times’. You are probably now thinking my marriage was doomed to failure…So for me the issue of taking your husband’s name if you get married is a serious one. What’s my advice? Well, I’m sure you can guess…One of the things which really impressed me about Maathai was how she bounced back from any setback which befell her. One of her favourite quotes appears to be ‘In every cloud there is a silver lining’ so when she received a letter from her husband’s lawyers asking her to change her name she did…she changed her name from Mathai to Maathai.
The other critical issue that for me is highlighted in Unbowed is ensuring that your name is on the legal documentation for any property or any other investment you may secure in partnership with your husband, or anyone else for that matter. Wangari and her husband bought property together however the property was in his name which meant that post divorce she could not claim any right to in. I think it is easy to think these issues do not matter when you are in love and all is well in your relationships but who knows what the future holds?
All in all Unbowed for me has been a fantastic read and Wangari Maathai now joins my list of female heroines and inspirational role models.
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
In my opinion there are many lessons that young women can take from Wangari’s autobiography. (When I talk of young women I generally mean women aged 20 – 30) I am hoping that if women critically consider some of these issues at an early age it will prevent unnecessary heartache, pain and regrets in the future.
When Wangari got married her husband’s family expected her to take her husband’s name. Although she was initially against the idea, she capitulated. In her own words:
‘The practice of using the title ‘Mrs.’ after marriage, followed by the husband’s surname, was introduced by the British and I didn’t see why I had to adopt it. True that is what everybody else in the emerging elite class did, and not doing it seemed to suggest that I did not quite love Mwangi and his family. Largely to demonstrate that this was not the case, I agreed, but put a hyphen between the two surnames. Eventually I stopped using the hyphen and even dropped my maiden name for day-to-day correspondence.’
Can you imagine that after changing her name for her husband, joining him on the campaign trail in order to fulfil his political ambitions and performing all those other duties that ‘good African’ women perform for their husbands he has the nerve to ask her to change his name when they get divorced. Now, I don’t even want to get started on the divorce…he petitioned for divorce (I suggest you read Unbowed for the whole story). I could really identify with Wangari not wanting to change her name when she got married. I had faced the same pressure to change my name when I got married (I’m no longer married by the way) but I refused to change my name. My Dad when he used to ring me would call me Mrs x, I think he just did that to annoy me, and I would have to say ‘Daddy please don’t call me Mrs x’. Well reading Unbowed reminded me of that time in my life. I thought to myself that ‘Thank goodness, I did not change my name when I got married, I would have had to un change it or even worse stick with the name of a man I am no longer married to’. Actually before I got married I did think of all those things. ‘What if I get married 5 times? I will have to change my name 5 different times’. You are probably now thinking my marriage was doomed to failure…So for me the issue of taking your husband’s name if you get married is a serious one. What’s my advice? Well, I’m sure you can guess…One of the things which really impressed me about Maathai was how she bounced back from any setback which befell her. One of her favourite quotes appears to be ‘In every cloud there is a silver lining’ so when she received a letter from her husband’s lawyers asking her to change her name she did…she changed her name from Mathai to Maathai.
The other critical issue that for me is highlighted in Unbowed is ensuring that your name is on the legal documentation for any property or any other investment you may secure in partnership with your husband, or anyone else for that matter. Wangari and her husband bought property together however the property was in his name which meant that post divorce she could not claim any right to in. I think it is easy to think these issues do not matter when you are in love and all is well in your relationships but who knows what the future holds?
All in all Unbowed for me has been a fantastic read and Wangari Maathai now joins my list of female heroines and inspirational role models.
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Interning at The African Women’s Development Fund
The question of social philanthropy has never failed to incite my curiosities about the nature of giving and the beneficiaries of economic growth. After being selected to intern at a Women’s organization in Ghana, the excitement of being able to juxtapose my passions with practice in a country like Ghana thrilled me.
As it stands, prior to attaining this internship, I have always been impassioned by issues regarding women. Hence once the opportunity to work directly with women and contribute to the work being done here presented itself, I immediately seized it. More specifically, I have been keen on issues regarding women and economic empowerment and the processes which hinder the wide presence of women in the private sector. My interests encouraged me to engage in initiatives that would better assist me in arriving to the root of discovering what hinders women from implementing their capabilities and securing continued financial growth. This, however I am soon beginning to realize brings into discussion a plethora of issues concerning education, the role of culture, and other inextricable concepts.
Prior to arriving to Ghana, I was completing my third year of college at Rutgers University located in NJ, USA. I received information about an internship in Ghana via a flyer advertised on behalf of the Center for African Studies and the Women’s and Gender studies department. The main contact person for this internship was Dr. Abena P.A. Busia who has played a large part in spearheading this internship for Rutgers students and establishing the infrastructure for the program. This has been the second year that the program has been institutionalized and I am very excited to be part of this initiative.
My interests in economic empowerment, access to education, laws governing African countries, have all led me to the issue of funding. Essentially all aforementioned issues deal with the question of funding at some point or another; how do we ensure the presence of schools, and social structures that will advance the overall development of a people? Likewise how can we promote awareness about economic empowerment to women of Africa? Such initiatives require the establishment of programs or institutions that will properly meet the needs of the people in discussion. Indeed this question like many others when it comes to the collective benefit of a nation or group of people is no easy undertaking. Such institutions however, require ‘investments’, sponsors, and people who are willing to commit to the ideals and vision of the institution or organization so as to develop a strong foundation likely to ensure the linear growth of such organizations.
What then began to appeal to me more, was the science inherent in the process of funding and how this translates to empowering the recipients’ of aid. The idea of social philanthropy began to become more appealing to me as I began to reflect on the way in which aid is given to Africa and how institutions are upheld or rather why they become obsolete as a result of funding. This begged the question of whether the funding which organizations are endowed with encourages self-reliance; does this funding encourage capacity building?
After discussing more of the placement options I would have once the two interns and I would have arrived to Ghana, Dr. Busia steered me towards the African Women’s Development Fund which I was happy to learn, encouraged the capacity building I had set out to learn more about. I was pleased to learn about the strategic ways in which funding was established by the AWDF so as to foster the type of social philanthropy that will enable institutions and organizations seeking assistance to remain strong without the presence of funds provided by the African Women’s Development Fund. To this extent, the African Women Development Fund does more than endow, they create a cyclic process which will enable women and their organizations to remain self sustained thereby empowering and promoting such like programs which spread awareness across the continent of Africa about issues which threaten the progress of women’s rights in Africa. Within this structure, African Women’s Development Fund addresses an issue which many institutions fail to even acknowledge; how to negotiate the incorporation of endowing a program in addition to empowering and more importantly educating its recipients. In addition to providing economic assistance, the AWDF also endows its recipients with knowledge of key concepts in finance and business that they often have the displeasure of not being aware of due to their exclusion from the private sector/business field.
I’m excited for my upcoming projects and I’ll keep all updated!
Much thanks for your time.
Hawwa Muhammad
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science
Rutgers University Intern
As it stands, prior to attaining this internship, I have always been impassioned by issues regarding women. Hence once the opportunity to work directly with women and contribute to the work being done here presented itself, I immediately seized it. More specifically, I have been keen on issues regarding women and economic empowerment and the processes which hinder the wide presence of women in the private sector. My interests encouraged me to engage in initiatives that would better assist me in arriving to the root of discovering what hinders women from implementing their capabilities and securing continued financial growth. This, however I am soon beginning to realize brings into discussion a plethora of issues concerning education, the role of culture, and other inextricable concepts.
Prior to arriving to Ghana, I was completing my third year of college at Rutgers University located in NJ, USA. I received information about an internship in Ghana via a flyer advertised on behalf of the Center for African Studies and the Women’s and Gender studies department. The main contact person for this internship was Dr. Abena P.A. Busia who has played a large part in spearheading this internship for Rutgers students and establishing the infrastructure for the program. This has been the second year that the program has been institutionalized and I am very excited to be part of this initiative.
My interests in economic empowerment, access to education, laws governing African countries, have all led me to the issue of funding. Essentially all aforementioned issues deal with the question of funding at some point or another; how do we ensure the presence of schools, and social structures that will advance the overall development of a people? Likewise how can we promote awareness about economic empowerment to women of Africa? Such initiatives require the establishment of programs or institutions that will properly meet the needs of the people in discussion. Indeed this question like many others when it comes to the collective benefit of a nation or group of people is no easy undertaking. Such institutions however, require ‘investments’, sponsors, and people who are willing to commit to the ideals and vision of the institution or organization so as to develop a strong foundation likely to ensure the linear growth of such organizations.
What then began to appeal to me more, was the science inherent in the process of funding and how this translates to empowering the recipients’ of aid. The idea of social philanthropy began to become more appealing to me as I began to reflect on the way in which aid is given to Africa and how institutions are upheld or rather why they become obsolete as a result of funding. This begged the question of whether the funding which organizations are endowed with encourages self-reliance; does this funding encourage capacity building?
After discussing more of the placement options I would have once the two interns and I would have arrived to Ghana, Dr. Busia steered me towards the African Women’s Development Fund which I was happy to learn, encouraged the capacity building I had set out to learn more about. I was pleased to learn about the strategic ways in which funding was established by the AWDF so as to foster the type of social philanthropy that will enable institutions and organizations seeking assistance to remain strong without the presence of funds provided by the African Women’s Development Fund. To this extent, the African Women Development Fund does more than endow, they create a cyclic process which will enable women and their organizations to remain self sustained thereby empowering and promoting such like programs which spread awareness across the continent of Africa about issues which threaten the progress of women’s rights in Africa. Within this structure, African Women’s Development Fund addresses an issue which many institutions fail to even acknowledge; how to negotiate the incorporation of endowing a program in addition to empowering and more importantly educating its recipients. In addition to providing economic assistance, the AWDF also endows its recipients with knowledge of key concepts in finance and business that they often have the displeasure of not being aware of due to their exclusion from the private sector/business field.
I’m excited for my upcoming projects and I’ll keep all updated!
Much thanks for your time.
Hawwa Muhammad
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science
Rutgers University Intern
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Rethinking Pan-Africanism
Recently we attended a fascinating lecture by Dr Thandika Mkandawire who spoke about the need to rethink Pan-Africanism. For the benefit of all who were unable to attend this lecture we have provided a brief summary of the lecture below.
According to Dr Thandika Mkandawire, African intellectuals must focus their efforts on designing a new democratic Panafricanism that will strengthen the continent's capacity to exploit the vast human resources (both at the levels of the Diaspora and the Continent), and natural resources in order to eliminate poverty and disease which have been Africa's burden for so long. Efforts of intellectuals must also be aimed at weaving a web based on Africa’s great cultural diversity. If Africa does not integrate we will remain a slave to the western world. And this new Panafricanism should adopt a more democratic and participatory process as a basis for the Panafrican project.
There is the need to rethink panafricanism given the fact that political unification and economic integration of the continent have so far failed to materialise, when assessed against the dreams of the main figures of the Panafrican Movement and programmes prepared for Panafrican conferences, and declarations and speeches of African leaders. They failed when compared to other regional co-operation projects in other continents (Europe for example). They failed in relation to the needs of Africa.
This failure of Africa’s economic integration can be attributed to the lack of national basis for regional integration, which Dr Nkandawire attributes to the obstacle that an authoritarian government represents (Anything coming form the outside world was to serve the selfish interest of one person or a cluster of people.
This environment which made the African Union a matter for heads of states and which explains that it is said in the preamble of the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU): "We the heads of state and government" and not "We the African peoples".According to Dr Nkandawire this was the reason why former Tanzanian president, late Julius Nyerere described the OAU as the "Committee of Dictators".Therefore, he said, "if Africa is to unite, the spokesmen of the different political constituent elements of Panafricans should derive their power from the people.
It is necessary that the platform for the Union should have a democratic base. The lesson that can be drawn is that it was naive to think that African dictators could unite Africa".There is therefore the urgent need to create more space for more negotiation with the larger world and to rethink Panafricanism not as a State’s Project but the people’s project.
Rissi Alabi - Executive Assistant/Programme Officer (Francophone Africa), AWDF
Grace Amenyogbeli - Administrative Manager, AWDF
According to Dr Thandika Mkandawire, African intellectuals must focus their efforts on designing a new democratic Panafricanism that will strengthen the continent's capacity to exploit the vast human resources (both at the levels of the Diaspora and the Continent), and natural resources in order to eliminate poverty and disease which have been Africa's burden for so long. Efforts of intellectuals must also be aimed at weaving a web based on Africa’s great cultural diversity. If Africa does not integrate we will remain a slave to the western world. And this new Panafricanism should adopt a more democratic and participatory process as a basis for the Panafrican project.
There is the need to rethink panafricanism given the fact that political unification and economic integration of the continent have so far failed to materialise, when assessed against the dreams of the main figures of the Panafrican Movement and programmes prepared for Panafrican conferences, and declarations and speeches of African leaders. They failed when compared to other regional co-operation projects in other continents (Europe for example). They failed in relation to the needs of Africa.
This failure of Africa’s economic integration can be attributed to the lack of national basis for regional integration, which Dr Nkandawire attributes to the obstacle that an authoritarian government represents (Anything coming form the outside world was to serve the selfish interest of one person or a cluster of people.
This environment which made the African Union a matter for heads of states and which explains that it is said in the preamble of the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU): "We the heads of state and government" and not "We the African peoples".According to Dr Nkandawire this was the reason why former Tanzanian president, late Julius Nyerere described the OAU as the "Committee of Dictators".Therefore, he said, "if Africa is to unite, the spokesmen of the different political constituent elements of Panafricans should derive their power from the people.
It is necessary that the platform for the Union should have a democratic base. The lesson that can be drawn is that it was naive to think that African dictators could unite Africa".There is therefore the urgent need to create more space for more negotiation with the larger world and to rethink Panafricanism not as a State’s Project but the people’s project.
Rissi Alabi - Executive Assistant/Programme Officer (Francophone Africa), AWDF
Grace Amenyogbeli - Administrative Manager, AWDF
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
And the first woman vice-president of Ghana is...?
Yesterday I watched a programme on one of the local Ghanaian channels called 'Mbaa Nkomo' which translates from the Akan language as 'Women's conversations'. This is quite a popular show run entirely in Akan, one of the local Ghanaian languages which is quite rare in the terrain of Ghanaian broadcasting. I am normally not a big fan of the 'box' but the topic caught my attention. The topic was on women being nominated for the vice-presidency position of the Ghanaian political parties. I have found the conversations around women's political participation this year in Ghana to be quite interesting because for the first time I keep hearing people (both men and women) from all parts of society advocating for greater political participation by women and in some cases advocating for gender parity.
The format for 'Mbaa Nkomo' is usually to have selected speakers talk on the chosen subject and to have the audience respond with their thoughts. The speakers for this occassion were two queen mothers, a woman member of parliament, the Acting Director of the Ministry of Women and Childrens Affairs ( a woman) and a male reverend. The first queen mother who spoke talked about Ghana being the black star of Africa, her argument was if Ghana is the black star of Africa we should take the lead in all things including ensuring women reached the highest posts in government. She cited examples of other female leaders including Yaa Asantewaa who led the Asantes in battle against the British, Margaret Thatcher of the UK, Gelda Meir of Israel and a queen mother from Akim whose name I missed and is also unfamiliar to me ( I googled queen mother of Akim but had no luck) Can anyone reading this post who knows this queen mother comment below?
The Ag Director of MOWAC spoke about the importance of proportional representation and referred to the fact that 53% of Ghana's population consists of women. The woman MP did what I think of as a 'Sojourner Truth'. She said, and I paraphrase ' you see how confident and assertive I am, who says women are not assertive and cannot lead. There are many women in parliament who are even more confident than I am and will make good vice-presidents'. The reactions of the audience was very interesting to watch as the camera would pan from the speaker to the crowd. You could tell that many of the women were either members of women's religious groups or other women's associations. Many of the women were nodding and listening intently as the speakers spoke and would very often burst into spontaneous applause.
The reverend who was the only male on the panel of speakers said as far as he had been concerned he would prefer to have had a female president and made an argument for women being unlikely to be corrupt. The final queen mother to speak was adamant in her call for a woman vice president...the case that most of the speakers made time and time again was that since all the political parties had already chosen their presidential candidates (who are all men), then they should ensure they choose women vice-president.
What are your thoughts on women's political participation? If you are like me you are pleased that President Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson was Africa's first democratically elected woman President but nervous about the challenges she undoubtedly faces in ruling a country post conflict. If you are like me ( an African feminist) you were probably rooting for Hilary Clinton to be nominated as the Democratic party's presidential candidate but wondered whether she would be committed to women's empowerment or would pursue politics as normal. Despite these challenges I am personally in favour of gender parity in politics on the basis of fairness and a greater likelihood that based on their socialisation and experiences women are more likely to lead in a more fair, equitable and just manner. If they don't, well, I reckon they wouldn't be any worse than male leaders. What are your thoughts?
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
The format for 'Mbaa Nkomo' is usually to have selected speakers talk on the chosen subject and to have the audience respond with their thoughts. The speakers for this occassion were two queen mothers, a woman member of parliament, the Acting Director of the Ministry of Women and Childrens Affairs ( a woman) and a male reverend. The first queen mother who spoke talked about Ghana being the black star of Africa, her argument was if Ghana is the black star of Africa we should take the lead in all things including ensuring women reached the highest posts in government. She cited examples of other female leaders including Yaa Asantewaa who led the Asantes in battle against the British, Margaret Thatcher of the UK, Gelda Meir of Israel and a queen mother from Akim whose name I missed and is also unfamiliar to me ( I googled queen mother of Akim but had no luck) Can anyone reading this post who knows this queen mother comment below?
The Ag Director of MOWAC spoke about the importance of proportional representation and referred to the fact that 53% of Ghana's population consists of women. The woman MP did what I think of as a 'Sojourner Truth'. She said, and I paraphrase ' you see how confident and assertive I am, who says women are not assertive and cannot lead. There are many women in parliament who are even more confident than I am and will make good vice-presidents'. The reactions of the audience was very interesting to watch as the camera would pan from the speaker to the crowd. You could tell that many of the women were either members of women's religious groups or other women's associations. Many of the women were nodding and listening intently as the speakers spoke and would very often burst into spontaneous applause.
The reverend who was the only male on the panel of speakers said as far as he had been concerned he would prefer to have had a female president and made an argument for women being unlikely to be corrupt. The final queen mother to speak was adamant in her call for a woman vice president...the case that most of the speakers made time and time again was that since all the political parties had already chosen their presidential candidates (who are all men), then they should ensure they choose women vice-president.
What are your thoughts on women's political participation? If you are like me you are pleased that President Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson was Africa's first democratically elected woman President but nervous about the challenges she undoubtedly faces in ruling a country post conflict. If you are like me ( an African feminist) you were probably rooting for Hilary Clinton to be nominated as the Democratic party's presidential candidate but wondered whether she would be committed to women's empowerment or would pursue politics as normal. Despite these challenges I am personally in favour of gender parity in politics on the basis of fairness and a greater likelihood that based on their socialisation and experiences women are more likely to lead in a more fair, equitable and just manner. If they don't, well, I reckon they wouldn't be any worse than male leaders. What are your thoughts?
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Mother of the Year
I had settled in to the flight from Entebbe to Nairobi on Monday June 30th , feeling a bit sorry for myself. I had to catch the 5am flight out of Entebbe, which meant leaving Kampala for Entebbe at 3am which in turn meant I got no sleep. The flight attendant offered us some local papers, so I picked out the day’s edition of the Ugandan national daily, The New Vision. There it was on the front page, ‘Mother cuts off defiler’s penis’. By the time I finished the story, my spirits were up and I have been in a great mood ever since.
According to the newspaper report, Angelina Kyomugisha from Rugyerera village in Kashari County, Mbarara district, Uganda, was weeding her banana farm, when she heard her 10 year old daughter cry out. The cries persisted, and she went over to have a look, only to find 40 year old Geoffrey Mugarura ‘defiling’ her little girl. Angelina took this horrifying scene in, and proceeded to do what every mother in the world ought to do if they find themselves in her situation – she pounced on Geoffrey and promptly cut off his penis. Just like that. Then she flung it as far as she could into the bush.
Geoffrey howled, till neighbours appeared to find out what the fuss was all about. They then proceeded to help search for his severed penis, till one of them noticed a dog running off with something in its mouth. They threw a stick at the dog till it dropped what was left of his snack. At this point in the story I was laughing so hard I had to control myself for fear being thrown off the flight for being a nuisance. The helpful neighbours then rushed Geoffrey to the hospital for treatment. One of the doctors who treated Geoffrey was able to confirm that they would refashion what was left of his penis so that he could at least urinate with it. As for any other business, well, the dog had taken care of that.
When I got back to Accra, I called my Ugandan sister Solome Nakaweesi-Kimbugwe of Akina Mama wa Afrika, to confirm the story. She told me that the Federation of Women Lawyers of Uganda (FIDA-Uganda) have sent a delegation to see what kind of support the mother needs, and they will be handling her case. Women in Uganda have been talking about this non-stop since the news broke on Monday morning. The verdict is unanimous – if men do not get the message that the bodies of women and girls are not as accessible and disposable as toilet paper, they will learn the hard way.
The woman who I will now call Mother of the Year, Angelina Kyomugisha, probably never attended the UN’s Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995. She has probably never heard of the Africa Protocol on Women’s Rights or the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, ratified by the African Union. She might not know that Ugandan women’s rights activists have been trying to get a Domestic Relations Bill passed for over ten years now. Angelina might have known that in Uganda, defilement of children carries the death penalty, but she definitely has never heard of anyone paying such a harsh price for ruining the life of a child. It is however certain that Angelina would have heard stories of the hundreds of girls raped and even killed on a regular basis by relatives, acquaintances and neighbours. She would have known about how much these poor girls and their parents suffer at the hands of local law enforcement officers, the judiciary, their families and the community at large. She would have been familiar with what a friend of mine, Toyin Mejuini who runs Women Against Rape, Sexual Harassment and Exploitation (WARSHE) in Nigeria calls the ‘Rape and beg’ phenomenon.
What is ‘Rape and Beg’? This is what they call the many powerful delegations they send to intimidate parents, especially mothers of young women and girls who have been victims of violent sexual abuse. These ‘Rape and beg’ delegations usually include local elders, traditional rulers, clergy, respected opinion leaders, and even senior members of the family. If the parents still insist on pursuing the matter, they simply face other obstacles with the legal and law enforcement system till the victims are victimised all over again.
Angelina might not have known much about all the guarantees African governments committed themselves to at the conferences in Vienna, Beijing, Addis Ababa, and other places, and all the promises they made to promote and protect women’s human rights and bodily integrity, but she definitely knew about ‘Rape and Beg’. And she was not about to be begged. She was not going to wait for the creaky wheels of justice to slowly crank into action and run out of gas. She was not about to be told how to be a good mother and member of the community, and not wash their dirty linen in public. Angelina took one look at the monster standing over her daughter and decided, ‘this will be the last time you do this to any girl’.
So what if we are asked, ‘Was it right for Angelina to take the law into her own hands’? The politically correct answer is No, but this time, permit us to say a resounding Yes! Our colleagues at Action Aid have launched an international anti-violence campaign called ‘Women Won’t Wait’. Angelina has definitely heeded that call. She has decided not to wait. Angelina has sent out a message, loud and clear, which we hope will be heard way beyond the shores of Uganda’s Lake Victoria, ‘Stop abusing and killing our children. Stop violating women. Stop the culture of impunity. Protect women and girls from violence’. Since domestic violence laws, conferences, workshops, rallies, popular theatre, and protests have not managed to drive the message home effectively enough, perhaps the thought of the wretched Geoffrey’s penis in the mouth of a fleeing dog will do the trick. Enough is Enough.
Contrary to some ill-informed allegations that have made the rounds over the years, feminists are not calling for the castration or emasculation of men. Our position is a lot simpler than that. If men decide to use certain parts of their anatomy as weapons of mass destruction to wage wars on the bodies of women and girls, they will be disarmed and demobilised. Period.
Now, for those of you who are mothers or guardians of young girls, it might not be a bad idea to keep something sharp handy, you never know. And make sure you take time out to pat a dog over the coming days. One of their brethren in Uganda has done a great job.
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi
Executive Director
African Women's Development Fund
According to the newspaper report, Angelina Kyomugisha from Rugyerera village in Kashari County, Mbarara district, Uganda, was weeding her banana farm, when she heard her 10 year old daughter cry out. The cries persisted, and she went over to have a look, only to find 40 year old Geoffrey Mugarura ‘defiling’ her little girl. Angelina took this horrifying scene in, and proceeded to do what every mother in the world ought to do if they find themselves in her situation – she pounced on Geoffrey and promptly cut off his penis. Just like that. Then she flung it as far as she could into the bush.
Geoffrey howled, till neighbours appeared to find out what the fuss was all about. They then proceeded to help search for his severed penis, till one of them noticed a dog running off with something in its mouth. They threw a stick at the dog till it dropped what was left of his snack. At this point in the story I was laughing so hard I had to control myself for fear being thrown off the flight for being a nuisance. The helpful neighbours then rushed Geoffrey to the hospital for treatment. One of the doctors who treated Geoffrey was able to confirm that they would refashion what was left of his penis so that he could at least urinate with it. As for any other business, well, the dog had taken care of that.
When I got back to Accra, I called my Ugandan sister Solome Nakaweesi-Kimbugwe of Akina Mama wa Afrika, to confirm the story. She told me that the Federation of Women Lawyers of Uganda (FIDA-Uganda) have sent a delegation to see what kind of support the mother needs, and they will be handling her case. Women in Uganda have been talking about this non-stop since the news broke on Monday morning. The verdict is unanimous – if men do not get the message that the bodies of women and girls are not as accessible and disposable as toilet paper, they will learn the hard way.
The woman who I will now call Mother of the Year, Angelina Kyomugisha, probably never attended the UN’s Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995. She has probably never heard of the Africa Protocol on Women’s Rights or the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, ratified by the African Union. She might not know that Ugandan women’s rights activists have been trying to get a Domestic Relations Bill passed for over ten years now. Angelina might have known that in Uganda, defilement of children carries the death penalty, but she definitely has never heard of anyone paying such a harsh price for ruining the life of a child. It is however certain that Angelina would have heard stories of the hundreds of girls raped and even killed on a regular basis by relatives, acquaintances and neighbours. She would have known about how much these poor girls and their parents suffer at the hands of local law enforcement officers, the judiciary, their families and the community at large. She would have been familiar with what a friend of mine, Toyin Mejuini who runs Women Against Rape, Sexual Harassment and Exploitation (WARSHE) in Nigeria calls the ‘Rape and beg’ phenomenon.
What is ‘Rape and Beg’? This is what they call the many powerful delegations they send to intimidate parents, especially mothers of young women and girls who have been victims of violent sexual abuse. These ‘Rape and beg’ delegations usually include local elders, traditional rulers, clergy, respected opinion leaders, and even senior members of the family. If the parents still insist on pursuing the matter, they simply face other obstacles with the legal and law enforcement system till the victims are victimised all over again.
Angelina might not have known much about all the guarantees African governments committed themselves to at the conferences in Vienna, Beijing, Addis Ababa, and other places, and all the promises they made to promote and protect women’s human rights and bodily integrity, but she definitely knew about ‘Rape and Beg’. And she was not about to be begged. She was not going to wait for the creaky wheels of justice to slowly crank into action and run out of gas. She was not about to be told how to be a good mother and member of the community, and not wash their dirty linen in public. Angelina took one look at the monster standing over her daughter and decided, ‘this will be the last time you do this to any girl’.
So what if we are asked, ‘Was it right for Angelina to take the law into her own hands’? The politically correct answer is No, but this time, permit us to say a resounding Yes! Our colleagues at Action Aid have launched an international anti-violence campaign called ‘Women Won’t Wait’. Angelina has definitely heeded that call. She has decided not to wait. Angelina has sent out a message, loud and clear, which we hope will be heard way beyond the shores of Uganda’s Lake Victoria, ‘Stop abusing and killing our children. Stop violating women. Stop the culture of impunity. Protect women and girls from violence’. Since domestic violence laws, conferences, workshops, rallies, popular theatre, and protests have not managed to drive the message home effectively enough, perhaps the thought of the wretched Geoffrey’s penis in the mouth of a fleeing dog will do the trick. Enough is Enough.
Contrary to some ill-informed allegations that have made the rounds over the years, feminists are not calling for the castration or emasculation of men. Our position is a lot simpler than that. If men decide to use certain parts of their anatomy as weapons of mass destruction to wage wars on the bodies of women and girls, they will be disarmed and demobilised. Period.
Now, for those of you who are mothers or guardians of young girls, it might not be a bad idea to keep something sharp handy, you never know. And make sure you take time out to pat a dog over the coming days. One of their brethren in Uganda has done a great job.
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi
Executive Director
African Women's Development Fund
Friday, July 4, 2008
The Aid Effectiveness Train: Next Stop, Accra
At AWDF yesterday our sisters Nafi Chinery and Gifty Anim conducted a workshop on The Paris Declaration and the Aid Effectiveness Process. I have a confession to make here ‘I didn’t know much…okay, anything about the Paris Declaration’. I guess I can add this to the ‘How to be a feminist’ feature…ensure you read up on any of the major issues affecting women and development. Honestly it can be so hard sometimes to keep abreast of key issues, current issues and even the re-emergence of issues that you thought had been dealt with and was firmly in the past (Read an earlier post of Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi’s interview at CIVICUS to learn more about the re-emergence of an issue for the women’s movement in Nigeria)
So yesterday’s workshop was very much welcome for several reasons and I want to share with you what I took away from the process:
It was great to have workshops conducted by colleagues who shared their learning.
The workshop provided an opportunity for team bonding, the atmosphere was relaxed, informal and other colleagues who were far more knowledgeable than I chipped in and added more information about the subject of Aid Effectiveness, the Paris Declaration and previous challenges with Aid such as prior structural adjustment programmes which still affect Ghana and many other developing countries today.
Knowledge of the Paris Declaration and key concerns of the women’s movement which I will share with you in a 5 minute guide to the Paris Declaration below:
5 minute guide to the Paris Declaration
Unprecedented consensus by donor countries, agencies and development partners
56 action-oriented commitments for both donors and partner countries
New concepts of managing for results and mutual accountability
Built in mechanisms for monitoring progress at country and global levels
Paris Declaration guided by overarching principles of ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability
Concerns of Women’s Rights Organisations
No evidence of gender issues being comprehensively accounted for in Paris Declaration.
A lack of engagement of a broad spectrum of women’s voices and citizens voices
Will joint donor working strategies incorporate gender expertise and strengthen support for addressing gender equality and giving voices to the poor?
A lack of indicators for monitoring gender equality.
A need for mechanisms of accountability that give voice to women and the marginalised in society to monitor and demand answers of public authorities in both recipient and donor countries.
Global women’s right’s organisations have agreed to:
Ensure retention of the language of ‘gender equality and women’s empowerment’
Incorporate indicators reflective of gender equality (already been developed with the support of UNIFEM)
Call attention to the dearth of adequate reflection on gender equality and women’s rights in presentations/discussions at the round tables
Roundtables to capture the GE/WE concerns raised
Demand that women be represented as chairs of the various forums at the upcoming Accra meeting
AWDF’s Executive Director, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi has been invited to the Accra HLF 3 scheduled for the 2nd to the 4th of September 2008 which is the next key stage in the Paris Declaration process so expect more updates about the Paris Declaration and Aid Effectiveness in future blog posts.
Many thanks again to Nafi and Gifty for leading this session. What are your key concerns in regards to Aid Effectiveness and what issues would you like women activists at the Accra HLF 3 to raise? Do share your thoughts below
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
So yesterday’s workshop was very much welcome for several reasons and I want to share with you what I took away from the process:
It was great to have workshops conducted by colleagues who shared their learning.
The workshop provided an opportunity for team bonding, the atmosphere was relaxed, informal and other colleagues who were far more knowledgeable than I chipped in and added more information about the subject of Aid Effectiveness, the Paris Declaration and previous challenges with Aid such as prior structural adjustment programmes which still affect Ghana and many other developing countries today.
Knowledge of the Paris Declaration and key concerns of the women’s movement which I will share with you in a 5 minute guide to the Paris Declaration below:
5 minute guide to the Paris Declaration
Unprecedented consensus by donor countries, agencies and development partners
56 action-oriented commitments for both donors and partner countries
New concepts of managing for results and mutual accountability
Built in mechanisms for monitoring progress at country and global levels
Paris Declaration guided by overarching principles of ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability
Concerns of Women’s Rights Organisations
No evidence of gender issues being comprehensively accounted for in Paris Declaration.
A lack of engagement of a broad spectrum of women’s voices and citizens voices
Will joint donor working strategies incorporate gender expertise and strengthen support for addressing gender equality and giving voices to the poor?
A lack of indicators for monitoring gender equality.
A need for mechanisms of accountability that give voice to women and the marginalised in society to monitor and demand answers of public authorities in both recipient and donor countries.
Global women’s right’s organisations have agreed to:
Ensure retention of the language of ‘gender equality and women’s empowerment’
Incorporate indicators reflective of gender equality (already been developed with the support of UNIFEM)
Call attention to the dearth of adequate reflection on gender equality and women’s rights in presentations/discussions at the round tables
Roundtables to capture the GE/WE concerns raised
Demand that women be represented as chairs of the various forums at the upcoming Accra meeting
AWDF’s Executive Director, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi has been invited to the Accra HLF 3 scheduled for the 2nd to the 4th of September 2008 which is the next key stage in the Paris Declaration process so expect more updates about the Paris Declaration and Aid Effectiveness in future blog posts.
Many thanks again to Nafi and Gifty for leading this session. What are your key concerns in regards to Aid Effectiveness and what issues would you like women activists at the Accra HLF 3 to raise? Do share your thoughts below
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
'All dressed up with nowhere to go' and 'How to be a feminist'
Okay, I promised in my last blog that I will give you an update of the ACHRAG awards ceremony I attended honouring our very own Ama Ata Aidoo with the highest honour of the Arts Critics and Reviewers Association Ghana (ACRAG) so here we go…there I was dressed up to the nines (I even got complimented by a lady at the National Theatre on my ‘gold’ shoes) and I was not even allowed in the awards hall because I didn’t have a ticket. As far as the man at the door was concerned without a ticket I could not enter, he didn’t care whose guest I was or that I was supposed to be on a guest list. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to reach Auntie Ama on the phone and by the time her daughter rang me back I was stuck in some serious traffic on my way back to Tema. However Auntie Ama rang me in person this morning to apologise and she is still my favourite author so all is forgiven.
The most popular blogs tend to be those that tell people how to do something so I have been racking my brains thinking of how to make the AWDF blog a ‘How to…’ blog. Let me explain what I mean, if you were running a PR company for example you could have a blog that tells people how to generate PR for free. Now let us apply that same principle to a feminist philanthropic organisation. I guess we could have blogs on ‘How to fundraise successfully’ and even ‘How to be a feminist’. I am particularly interested in the latter because I think the reality of living your life as a feminist is challenging, interesting and calls for constant self-reflection. A few days ago I was having a chat with a guy who claims to have a crush on me and he said ‘So how long have you been on the market?’ My reaction was ‘I am not for sale and I am not on the market’. My inner thoughts were ‘Aaargh, am I a cow for sale to be on the market?’. To be fair to him he instantly apologised but this for me is a small example of how the objectifying of women is normalised in society and as a feminist I think you have to be alert and challenge comments like this. Alongside challenging sexist statements you also have to know when not to sweat the small stuff. This can be quite a difficult balancing act. What are your thoughts?
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
The most popular blogs tend to be those that tell people how to do something so I have been racking my brains thinking of how to make the AWDF blog a ‘How to…’ blog. Let me explain what I mean, if you were running a PR company for example you could have a blog that tells people how to generate PR for free. Now let us apply that same principle to a feminist philanthropic organisation. I guess we could have blogs on ‘How to fundraise successfully’ and even ‘How to be a feminist’. I am particularly interested in the latter because I think the reality of living your life as a feminist is challenging, interesting and calls for constant self-reflection. A few days ago I was having a chat with a guy who claims to have a crush on me and he said ‘So how long have you been on the market?’ My reaction was ‘I am not for sale and I am not on the market’. My inner thoughts were ‘Aaargh, am I a cow for sale to be on the market?’. To be fair to him he instantly apologised but this for me is a small example of how the objectifying of women is normalised in society and as a feminist I think you have to be alert and challenge comments like this. Alongside challenging sexist statements you also have to know when not to sweat the small stuff. This can be quite a difficult balancing act. What are your thoughts?
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
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