Grantee Highlight: GAMCOTRAP celebrates ex-circumcisers

Over the years, The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children - GAMCOTRAP has been engaged in consistent grassroots activism and social mobilisation through training and sensitization activities to raise consciousness of men and women on the Effects of FGM on the reproductive health rights of women and girl-children. The organization has worked closely with the communities through an empowerment process to be able to bring about change. As a result of the series of activities, the organisation has been able to register immense success leading to the first Public Declaration was made by 18 Circumcisers and 63 Communities to protect their children from FGM, on the 5th May 2007.

Sustained advocacy engaging the duty bearers at the community level has resulted to yet another success story. GAMCOTRAP will be marking the 2nd Dropping of the Knife event through a Public Declaration by 60 Circumcisers and 351 Communities in the Upper and Central River Regions of the Gambia.

As part of this land mark achievement, GAMCOTRAP will be organizing a great celebration to honour the ex-circumcisers and their communities on the 5th December 2009 at the Basse Stadium in the Upper River Region commencing at 9.00am. The Public Declaration has very strong support and commitment from their traditional rulers and Council of Elders as well as the Local Government Structures across the regions.

The activity will be presided over by Her Excellency, Doctor Isatou Njie-Saidy the Vice President and Secretary of State for Women’s Affairs. Also Secretaries of States and local and international dignitaries and young people will be in attendance.

World Sight Day: Gender and Eye Care

October 8 was world sight day and I am wondering how many of us heard about it and for those of us who heard about it, what kind of consideration we gave to it. The second Thursday in October every year has been set aside globally for awareness creation on blindness, visual impairment and the rehabilitation of the visually impaired. This year the theme for World Sight Day 2009 was “Gender and Eye Health – equal access to care”. The theme sought to highlight the fact that globally two-thirds of the people who are blind are women and girls.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), globally about 180 million people are visually impaired, of whom 45 million are blind with nearly two-thirds of people affected by vision loss being females. 80% of all cases of blindness could have been avoided with 20% being preventable and 60% being treatable.

Visual impairment is most prevalent in women and men 50 years and older. The majority of eye conditions for this age group, such as cataract, can be easily treated. However, women who form the majority of people with visual impairment do not benefit from this treatment as a result of inequal access to eye health care. In many places men have twice the access to eye care as women due to a number of reasons including accessibility in terms of cost and distance as well as lack of the power to take decisions affecting their own lives. However equal access to eye care for women and men could greatly reduce cases of visual impairment especially in developing countries.

It is ironic that in many parts of the world women do not have equal access to eye care despite the critical role they play in health care including eye health care. Women work as ophthalmologists, ophthalmic nurses, community workers, etc. Again at home it is usually women who carry the burden of care for family members who have lost their sight. In recognition of the role of women in eye care, the World Health Organization has pointed out the need to acknowledge the role of women in the prevention of blindness and visual impairment.

The causes of avoidable blindness are frequently associated with poverty and lack of access to quality eye care services. Avoidable blindness is more common amongst the poorest of the poor, women and marginalized populations. Data shows that 90% of the world's blind people live in developing countries and that people who live in the developing world are 5 to 10 times more likely to go blind than people who live in highly industrialized countries. Poverty therefore is a critical contributory factor to blindness.

Vision health could be maintained through improved access to health care, including regular, comprehensive dilated eye exams, which would facilitate early detection and treatment of eye diseases. Weight reduction is also a good strategy to prevent eye disease since obesity is a risk factor for diabetic eye disease.

It is therefore pertinent for women to take their health care into their own hands and seek regular medical care for all diseases that affect their lives especially their eyes. We all have a right to see this beautiful world.


Beatrice Boakye-Yiadom
Acting Grants Manager
AWDF

GENDER BUDGETING AS A TOOL FOR POVERTY REDUCTION: CONCEPTS, PRACTICES AND CAPACITY IMPLICATIONS BY THE AFRICAN CAPACITY BUILDING FOUNDATION. (ACBF)

A Review
By
Rose Mensah-Kutin (PhD)

1.0 Introduction
• NETRIGHT and interest in gender budgeting. 3-year capacity building initiative to benefit members.
• Awareness of a number of publications on the subject. Example: those under the South African initiative
• Pleasant surprise that a new addition had been produced.
• Congratulate the ACBF and all involved in the process and also to AWDF for hosting the launch, given its own leadership and commitment to gender equality promotion in the context of Africa.

2.0 Features of the book
• Published by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), a renowned capacity building institution
• 187 pages, colourful, accessible language, handy.
• How to go about it
• Six sections: overview, Gender budgeting experiences analysed (3chapters); Comparative analysis across African regions; Conclusions and recommendations.
• Relevance and the modesty with which this is articulated

3.0 Key Issues In the book
3.1 Useful learning points from the model cases presented
• How it was done, challenges encountered, opportunities, successes etc
• Women’s active involvement as critical

3.2 Diverse nature of the experiences presented
• No one model is best
• Australian experience: first attempt and its implications. Shows the dangers of an initiative that is located only inside government
• South African model: Example of comprehensive research coverage of all sectors and all levels of government. It demonstrates an alliance between parliament and NGOs
• Ugandan model: A country where there are opportunities for an early participation in the budget process of non governmental- actors. It also shows the role of the World Bank and IMF in the process

• Rwanda Model
• Government political commitment to tackle gender inequality.
• One of the things Ban Ki-Moon, the UN boss first commended during his visit to that country in March was the country's attainment of gender parity at all levels.
• national consultations on gender responsive budgeting hosted by the line Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning and that of Gender and Family Promotion.
• During the consultations, findings quoted from a study conducted by United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in some districts of Rwanda, indicate that there is an acute shortage of gender expertise necessary for gender analysis, planning and budgeting.
• This is basically one of the reasons these consultations were held, to emphasize the need to consider gender budgeting while considering the overall budgeting process.
• Rwanda, despite the fact that it has received a positive nod as one of the first sub-Saharan African countries to have attained one of the 3rd Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is at a shortfall when auditing the effectiveness of aid in advancing gender equality and women empowerment.

3.3 Methodological approaches
• Providing institutions with mechanisms to address gender inequities in development.
• Limits of the methodology: secondary data which is acknowledged by the study itself. So possibility for this to be addressed next time round.

3.4 Women demonstrating leadership in a male-dominated space:
• 80 countries have so far done it
• Women’s contribution to knowledge creation enhanced.
• Demystification of budgets/economics

3.5 Demanding accountability from governments on their commitments to gender equality.
• Locating this effort within the context of international instruments such as CEDAW. 192 countries of the UN, 185 ratified CEDAW. 90 are parties to CEDAW’s optional protocol; 51 of 53 African states have ratified CEDAW, 24 signed the optional protocol: International Bill of rights for women.
• Other instruments: AU Constitutive Act

3.6 Information on gender equality is provided
• International processes
• Civil society efforts
• What is happening on gender issues in case study countries

4.0 Relevance of the Book
• Politics : sharing of available resources
• Accountability issues
• Commitment to gender equality
• Role of civil society
• A way to do it and possible consequences and impacts
• “public budgets are not mere economic tools, but summarize policies in monetary terms and express political priorities.”

5.0 Limitations/Challenges:
• Gender budget in the context of neo-liberal economic development (no critique of economic policy frameworks: problematic)
• How do we ensure gender budgeting leads to poverty reduction?
• Financial crisis: two-sided argument
• Amount of work involved and complexity of the budgeting process itself and yet its relevance and therefore how it can form part of overall struggles of women
• What about the issue of reforming the budget process and budgeting itself?
• Methodology of secondary data and its limits. However the book itself acknowledges these limitations so in a way creates possibilities of overcoming them next time round.
• Concerns about limits of gender mainstreaming
• Extent of influence in decision-making processes
• No country in West Africa? Nigeria and Senegal have some processes.
• Nigeria
• There is work in progress in Nigeria on gendered budget analysis at the national and local levels.
• Women in Nigeria see the current political climate as an opportunity to follow up on the three important reviews concerning gender equality: the 10-year reviews of the Beijing World Conference on Women, the International Conference on Population and Development, and the World Summit on Social Development.
• This has provided an opportunity for Nigerian women to appraise their government, not only in terms of creating an enabling environment for women to participate fully in governance, but also for demanding gender equality policies for economic and social development.
• This is expected to contribute to defining a new and just political agenda, incorporating elements of government transparency and accountability in socio-economic policies, expenditure and social impact.
• Senegal
• Senegal government is supportive of women’s participation at decision-making levels, and women's representation in strategic ministerial positions has increased.
• However, despite growing trends towards participatory democracy, women’s contribution in the economy continues to be undermined and women’s work in the care economy remains invisible in national accounts and budget mechanisms.
• Given the emphasis on promoting an enabling environment for private businesses, it is crucial to monitor the implication of such policy shifts on the allocation of national budgets.
• Ghana
• Some efforts by Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC): Four Ministries.
• NETRIGHT

6.0 Lessons:
• Best impact when led by governments and driven by civil society.
• Initiatives that involve only government or only civil society may not be effective. Combination is more likely to succeed.
• One off training events or seminars not an answer
• Should be institutionalised within the budgetary system and the budgeting process in the preparation of the budget and while through the outcome and performance budget so it is self sustaining, effective and mandatory.
• Importance of research and relevant research to provide needed base and facts to inform policy changes and support advocacy
• Donor driven initiatives not sustainable and don’t have required results. So need for political will and commitment to gender budgeting for it to be an effective tool to reach the goal of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

7.0 Way Forward:
• Women engaging economics
• What is happening in our own country?
• More Comparative analysis needed
• Primary data and analysis
• Critique of the framework and assumptions used
• Impact assessment studies over time.
• Measures of development: need to include those by civil society e.g. Social Watch.
• An important contribution to the store of knowledge on the subject of gender budgets: that it can be done.

SOAWR Annual Review and Agenda-Setting Workshop

Theme: “Spreading our Wings: A Multi-Sectoral Approach to Women’s Rights”
5-7 October 2009, Panafric Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya

COMMUNIQUÉ

We, the undersigned members of the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR), a pan African Coalition of organisations working for the promotion and protection of women’s human rights in Africa: Having assembled in Nairobi, Kenya from 5th-7th October, in the spirit of partnership as SOAWR Coalition members, with representation from the African Union Commission (AUC), and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM);

Recalling the African Union (AU) member states’ commitments in the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) in 2004 to achieve ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (hereinafter referred to as the Protocol) and usher in an era of domesticating and implementing the Protocol as well as other national, regional and international instruments on gender equality by all States Parties;

Reaffirming that implementation of the Protocol is imperative to the realisation and enjoyment of women’s rights and the achievement of Africa’s development goals and aspirations;

Concerned that despite the significance of this Protocol in the development process of Africa, as of October 2009 twenty-six (26) member states have not ratified the Protocol, including five (5) member sates that have not even signed on to the Protocol;

Further concerned by the democratic and economic recession in Africa characterized by: enactment of laws that curtail citizens, civil society and media freedoms; adoption and implementation of discriminatory laws such as indecent dressing laws; high levels of unemployment; food insecurity; and discrimination and attacks against sexual minorities; which individually and collectively affect the implementation of the Protocol and the advancement of women’s rights in the region;

Gravely concerned about the threat to lives of human rights defenders and infringements of freedoms of association that impact the promotion, realisation and enjoyment of human rights and women’s rights in some AU member states;

Considering the great opportunity presented by the African Women’s Decade (2010-2020) that will be formally launched in June/ July 2010 to facilitate the full and accelerated implementation of the Protocol and achievement of agreed gender equality targets at different levels;

Acknowledging that the full and accelerated implementation of the Protocol can only be achieved by using a Multi-Sectoral Approach which ensures that all organs of the African Union and governments as well as civil society actors and the private sector work together to promote the realisation of the rights guaranteed in the Protocol;

Hereby recommend as follows:

Recommendations to the African Union Commission

1. Commit resources in its annual budget for each of its Commissions to support the provision of expertise to support member states in the realisation of their commitment to adopt and utilise the Protocol at national levels using the mandates of the various government sectors e.g. health, rural development, etc;
2. Ensure that mechanisms are in place to urge member states that have not ratified the Protocol to take the opportunity to do so before the launch of the African Women’s Decade;
3. Lend support to member states who have difficulties in reporting on implementation of the SDGEA commitments;
4. Strengthen the office of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to report consistently on the status of implementation of the Protocol and make recommendations for further actions.

Recommendations to State Parties to the Protocol

1. Adopt measures that build the state’s capacity to domesticate, implement, and monitor the implementation of the Protocol;
2. Adopt a multi-sectoral approach as the framework to implement, monitor and evaluate implementation of the Protocol by aligning the linkages between gender equality and each sector of government and ensuring the necessary budgetary allocations,
3. Take all necessary actions to ensure that the provisions of the Protocol are mainstreamed in all national policy decisions, legislation, development plans, programmes and activities in all spheres of life and meet the reporting requirements as agreed upon under the SDGEA on progress in this regard;
4. Hold consultations widely with civil society organisations working on women’s rights issues, women’s groups, citizens’ groups and other strategic stakeholders when developing plans for implementation and review;
5. Repeal all existing laws that are discriminatory against women and ensure the protection of the rights of all women and their human dignity in accordance with the Protocol and other international human rights instruments like the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which has been acceded to by 51 countries in Africa;
6. Actively support the creation at the United Nations Human Rights Council of a new special mechanism that would focus on women’s equality before the law and thereby assist in the removal of all laws that discriminate against women.

Recommendations to Civil Society

1. Take the opportunity of the African Women’s Decade to advocate for the universal ratification of the Protocol by member states and demand for increased and sustained budgetary allocation for women’s empowerment issues as part of the regional and national development programs and agenda;
2. Strengthen partnerships with member states to facilitate comprehensive adoption of a multi-sectoral approach in implementing the Protocol;
3. Utilize the African Women’s Decade to mobilise African women at all levels in advocating for the implementation of the Protocol as well as to celebrate women who have significantly contributed to the promotion of women’s rights in Africa;
4. Actively advocate for the creation at the United Nations Human Rights Council of a new special mechanism that would focus on women’s equality before the law and thereby assist in the removal of all laws that discriminate against women.

Recommendations to the United Nations and other Development Partners

1. Allocate resources to support the successful implementation of activities for the African Women’s Decade and for adoption of a multi-sectoral approach in implementing the Protocol and other key human rights instruments which promote and protect women’s human rights and freedom in Africa;
2. With reference to the UN Resolution No. 1888 of September 30, 2009 demanding that all parties to armed conflicts take immediate action to protect civilians, including women and children, from all forces of violence, we urge the UN Secretary General to expedite action and appoint a special representative to provide coherent and strategic leadership to address sexual violence in armed conflict situations as recommended in the Resolution.

Adopted on the 7th of October 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya
[Original Text in English]

Signatories:
Alliance for Africa
African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)
Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA)
Cellule de Coordination sur les Pratiques Traditionnelle Affectant la Santé des Femmes et des Enfants (CPTAFE)
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights
Centre for Justice Studies and Innovations (CJSI)
Coalition on Violence against Women in Kenya (COVAW)
Eastern Africa Sub-regional Support Initiative (EASSI)
Equality Now-Africa Regional Office
FAHAMU
FAMEDEV-Inter-African Network for Women, Media, Gender and Development
FEMNET - African Women’s Development and Communication Network
Girl Child Network
Federation of Women Lawyers of Kenya (FIDA-Kenya)
Forum Muhler
Inter-African Committee on Harmful Traditional Practices (IAC)
Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS)
Legal and Human Rights Centre in Tanzania (LHRC)
Oxfam GB
People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA)
Sister Namibia
Strategic Initiative for the Horn of Africa (SIHA)
Tomorrow’s Child Initiative (TCI)
Uganda Women's Network (UWONET)
Women of Liberia Peace Network (WOLPNET)
Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF)
Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA)

Blog Action Day: Climate Change and Women

I could not agree more with Arun Agrawal in his paper on the Social Dimensions of Climate Change, prepared for the Social Development Department, The World Bank, Washington DC, March 5-6, 2008 in which he stated “Climate change will be pivotal in redefining development in the twenty-first century. How nations, societies, communities, and households respond to the impacts of climate changes and variability to which the world has already been committed will in many instances determine their prospects for growth, equity, and sustainability”.

People’s (poor) response to emergencies and situations in general vary and this is more so when it is around issues of poverty and livelihoods. In Africa for example, it is a daily struggle for women and girls to address food security and livelihood issues. Women largely depend on natural resources such as land and water bodies for their survival and they have adopted different coping strategies and utilized varied networking systems to survive on these resources (which are depleting at a fast rate) and yet they have little or no control over these resources.

Today, the world is confronted by another huge challenge; the impacts of climate change and unfortunately this is not receiving the attention it deserves. The international community has failed to seriously and fully address the causes and consequences of climate change, which now poses a major threat to lives and livelihoods of people living in poverty, the majority of whom are women. It is indeed incredible and unacceptable to see, hear and read daily about the damage of climate change.

Climate change is environmental change, which is also driven by humans – it is fundamentally a human problem. The impacts of climate change are expected to seriously (and disproportionately) affect the livelihoods, health, and educational opportunities of people living in poverty. Those with special burdens and/or vulnerabilities such as women, ethnic minorities, and people living with HIV/AIDS are feeling yet another pressure in global warming – one that is fundamentally unjust.

It is time for institutions, governments and individuals and indeed each and every one of us to collectively and individually work at addressing or reducing the impact of climate change on people living in poverty who mostly have not contributed to the problem.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted at the 1992 UN Summit for Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. This agreement established the “Conference of the Parties” (COP) and the “UNFCC Secretariat” as the institutional frameworks to support an international process to promote and develop relevant strategies on climate change negotiations to ensure that participating countries commit to a universal objective of reducing emissions .Similar to other international processes however, these discussions have not sufficiently articulated the gender issue as critical for mitigating climate change. This is inspite of the increasing visibility of women’s agency in critical arenas at all levels and sectors of society. Even though some gender analyses have been done, especially around Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs), the tendency has been to focus exclusively on women in developing countries . A huge gap therefore needs to be filled.

I will therefore like to recommend the following;

• A paradigm shift in the conception of economic growth and development for Africa. Dependence on western models should be transformed into context specific analysis of the real needs of different groups of women and men that builds on local knowledge and resources to promote the wellbeing and security of women and men. .

• Women’s experience and knowledge of climate change processes is critical. Their different relationships with men on natural resource issues must be acknowledged, harnessed and utilised in mitigation and adaptation measures. As well, their specific vulnerabilities must be well articulated so that appropriate responses and interventions can be made to enhance their well-being. In this regard, women’s own coping strategies in times of crises should be identified as sources of strength that could serve the basis for evolving innovative policies to strengthen their security in areas such as food, water, health, land capital and technology.

• The UN has mandated countries to promote gender equality and women’s rights in all processes of development. It is therefore important for the women’s movement in Africa to take full responsibility and ownership of the gender and climate change discourse to ensure the full implementation of UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol (KP) measures take women’s specific concerns into account. This requires that greater knowledge and awareness is crated around gender and climate change issues at all levels.

• While more work needs to be done around gender and climate change in industrialized countries, it is equally important to deepen analyses around gender equality issues and climate change in developing countries, especially Africa. This will create greater understanding about its implications for human security and promote alliance building for articulating critical priorities for women in local national, regional and international decision-making.

Nafi Chinery
Capacity Building Officer
AWDF

P.S: This post is AWDF's contribution to Blog Action Day's focus on Climate Change

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Have you had your breast checked lately Sisters, especially the old “schoolers?” In fact this call is also to you “new and middle schoolers” as well. No Sister is exempt from this call.

The Month of October has been designated Breast cancer awareness month through out the world to create awareness around breast cancer, a devastating but treatable cancer that can be managed if detected early and the catch phrase is if detected early.

Many Sisters and some men have lost their lives, with its attendant economic and social consequences, to this disease that with modern medicine and technology can be managed. No sister should die or even suffer needlessly from breast cancer. A simple breast examination which can be done by one’s self can save a breast and even a life. If you have not mastered the art of examining your breast you can always ask your doctor or any medical personnel for that matter to conduct a breast examination for you. Sisters over 40 years are however encouraged to have a mammography screening once a year in addition to the regular breast examinations.
Many sisters fear the loss of their breasts and therefore would rather not examine their breast which can lead to the detection of a lump or other unusual changes that could give an indication of the need for a more thorough examination of the breast by a health professional. That is to say, many sisters would rather be in denial. But in this case what you do not know can kill you and fast too.

My mother lost her life to breast cancer, a battle she lost so early simply because the disease was detected too late, simply because she was not examining her breast regularly that is if she ever did, simply because awareness was not so pervasive.
Do we Sisters have to go through this same fate in this day and age when there is information explosion, when public health practitioners and activists are for ever reminding us to examine our breast regularly? Please do the right thing, go get a breast examination now and remember to regularly if possible monthly at least examine your breast.

It is very important that we imbibe the fact that regular breast examination will likely lead to early detection of any abnormalities of the breast and therefore can increase the chance of saving the breast and a life. Laziness, procrastination, “I don’t carism”, seeing oneself as being exempt, looking at breast cancer as being far fetched or a disease for a particular category of people can result in late detection of breast cancer. Therefore all hands on deck sisters, tout it as loud as you can, tell all the sisters who will listen, convince those who will not listen to examine their breasts regularly and let us save not only a breast but a life as well.

Beatrice Boakye-Yiadom
Acting Grants Manager

GRACE USHANG’S DEATH AND THE INDECENT DRESSING BILL

Grace Ushang was a young Nigerian woman who had every right to expect a bright future. Now she is dead merely because she was female. On the day that Nigeria celebrated its 49th Independence Anniversary on 1 October 2009, NEXT Newspaper reported that Ms. Ushang from Obudu in Cross River State, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving in Maiduguri, Borno State, was raped to death by some men still at large, who, according to the story, “took offence because she was wearing her Khaki trousers – the official uniform of the youth corpers.”

The cavalier brutality of this morbid tale of criminal vigilante action is compounded by the official response to it. The Director-General of the NYSC reportedly travelled to Maiduguri ostensibly to discuss this crime with the State’s law enforcement authorities. Rather than denounce this for the crime that it is and reassure our young graduates on national service that their wellbeing preoccupies the highest levels of decision making, the Director-General merely advised Youth Corpers to “take their personal security seriously because whatever we provided is not enough. They must learn to be security-conscious.” Pray, how?

The compounded crimes that killed Grace Ushang painfully return our attention to the pervasiveness of violence against women in Nigeria and the growing resort to vigilante action to police vague notions of feminine propriety and decency.

In 2008, the Chairperson of the Nigerian Senate’s Committee on Women, Senator Ufot Ekaette introduced a bill in the Senate to prohibit so called “indecent dressing”. At the public hearing on the Bill in July 2008, there was a consensus that its provisions portended great danger for the safety and security of Nigerian women. The Bill proposes to grant intolerably dangerous powers of arrest and invasion of the most intimate privacies of the woman’s body imaginable to both police officers and ordinary citizens to undertake vigilante action against women they merely perceive to be “indecently dressed”.

Senator Ekaette’s Bill covers any female above 14 years wearing a dress that exposes “her breast, laps, belly and waist… and any part of her body from two inches below her shoulders downwards to the knee” (such as the much-admired Fulani milk maid). Also liable to become a criminal if this Bill were to become law is any person dressed in “transparent” fabric (such as Lace) as well as men who expose any part of their bodies between the waist and the knee (such as men relieving themselves by the roadside). All these people and more would presumably attract arrest from zealous policemen. If this Bill becomes law, there will not be enough prisons or mortuaries in Nigeria for its victims. It will licence vigilante violence against women, leading to fatalities like the fate that befell Grace Ushang.

Grace Ushang’s story demonstrates the fallacy of the justifications for laws like the Senator Ekaette’s Indecent Dressing Bill. Those who wish to commit crimes of sexual violence need no excuse. They must be treated like the predators they are. If a woman, like Grace Ushang, dressed in regulation clothing prescribed by the Federal Republic of Nigeria is considered to be so indecently dressed as to be put to death by the most vile acts of violence imaginable, how do we guarantee the safety and security of Nigerian women in the uniformed services, such as the Armed Forces, Police, Prisons Service, and Immigration?

The killing of Grace Ushang is part of a pattern of violence against women that deserves urgent attention across borders in this year of the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In some countries of Sahelian and East Africa and the Middle East, women who survive rape get put to death for allegedly bringing dis-honour to their families. Or are charged with zina (adultery) as they “have made love”; as any form of sexual intercourse consensual or non consensual, can be translated to mean “love making”.

Only recently in Sudan, Lubna Hussein, a former employee of the United Nations, along with 12 other Sudanese women, were charged with the offence of dressing indecently for wearing trousers. Sudanese law prohibits ‘dressing indecently’ in public. Absurd? Yes, certainly, by Nigerian standards, where no person bats an eyelid at the sight of women in jeans, or in offices, clad in trouser suits – or so we thought until Grace Ushang was raped to death. Sudan’s laws, however, criminalise a woman’s dressing, prescribing lashing and an unlimited fine for any woman ‘in public’ dressed like a ‘man’.

Lubna resigned her employment at the UN, which would have granted her immunity from trial, to compel the courts to take a stand on an issue she feels (quite rightly) should be a matter of public concern, because they impact directly on her human dignity, freedom of choice and privacy. By her action, Lubna placed Sudanese ‘justice’ in the global spotlight and should, hopefully, trigger change in policy and law in that country.

We may not yet have a law that determines what a woman (or man) can wear but there can be no tolerance of the growing tendency towards vigilante enforcement of notions of indecency. Sudan and Nigeria have similar lawmakers it seems. Surely, someone sat down and determined for Sudan, in his opinion, what is permissible as a woman’s choice of dress, and garnered Parliamentary support for his personal belief that wearing trousers was an abomination that should be penalized. In the same manner, some persons in the Nigerian Senate are unilaterally and arbitrarily attempting to decide for Nigerians what should be the acceptable form or mode of ‘dressing’ for women. No account has been taken of the diversity and the culture in both countries, or even of the fact that in African rural settings, women routinely expose much more, without giving a thought to it being ‘indecent’. Nor has there been any reckoning of the effect that this will have on the safety of women.

As Sudan struggles with the implications of its indecent dressing laws, and its courts struggle to find ways around it, Nigeria’s own lawmakers appear bent on imposing these retrograde and potentially explosive laws over here. While they are looking for ways to move forward, our legislators seem determined to throw us back into the past.

Our lawmakers should focus on passing measures that promote human dignity, preclude discrimination, and guarantee human wellbeing. Instead of a law on indecent dressing, they can accord priority to enacting a law to protect all Nigerian women from the wanton violence and ensure that all perpetrators of such violence are brought to justice. As a first step, the Senate should vote down the Indecent Dressing Bill and firmly close any further arguments on it. In its place, and in memory of Grace Ushang, we need a federal law on violence against women. That would be an appropriate way to commemorate the tragedy of her senseless killing.

By
Asma’u Joda & Iheoma Obibi

Asma’u Joda & Iheoma Obibi are on the Steering Committee of the Nigerian Feminist Forum (NFF)

DECLARATION

DECLARATION

Nous, membres du Réseau des Femmes Africaines Ministres et Parlementaires de Guinée (REFAMP-GUINEE), du Réseau des Femmes du Fleuve Mano pour la Paix (REFMAP) ainsi que plusieurs autres organisations féminines, constatons avec un profond regret et amertume l’escalade de violences survenues le lundi 28 septembre 2009 à Conakry.
Cette situation est d’autant plus déplorable qu’elle était malheureusement prévisible. C’est pourquoi, dès la rupture du dialogue entre le CNDD et les Forces Vives, nous avons entrepris des démarches auprès des protagonistes et de toutes les bonnes volontés afin de relancer ledit dialogue pour éviter l’affrontement qui a conduit à ce véritable bain de sang.
Ainsi, depuis le 15 Septembre 2009, nous avons pu rencontrer successivement :
- Le Président du Conseil chrétien de Guinée,
- Le Collège des Imams de la Grande Mosquée Fayçal ;
- Le Ministre Secrétaire Permanent du CNDD,
- Les Représentants des Forces Vives de la Nation,
- Les Quatre Coordinations Régionales réunies,
- Le Premier Ministre, Chef du Gouvernement,
- Le Ministre de la Justice, Garde des seaux, membre du CNDD
- Le Ministre de la Sécurité, 1er Vice-président du CNDD,
- Le Chef d’Etat Major Général adjoint des Armées,
- Les membres du Comité Civilo Militaire
- El Hadj Bouna Kéïta, opérateur économique, membre du CNDD.
Nous avons également pris contact avec le Groupe International de Contact local.
A tous, nous avons exprimé nos préoccupations quant à la rupture du dialogue tant au niveau national qu’avec la Communauté Internationale et ses conséquences imprévisibles aux plans politique, économique, social et sécuritaire.
Aujourd’hui plus qu’hier, nous croyons fermement que pour créer un climat de paix et de quiétude, l’urgence est à la reprise et au renforcement du dialogue entre les Forces Vives de la Nation d’une part et le CNDD et le Gouvernement, d’autre part.
A cet effet, NOUS FEMMES, signataires de la présente DECLARATION, rappelons aux différents protagonistes leurs responsabilités collectives et individuelles pour une gestion efficiente de la situation née des violences de la journée du 28 septembre 2009.
C’est pourquoi, nous en appelons à la conscience patriotique de Son Excellence Le Capitaine Moussa Daddis Camara, Président du CNDD, Chef de l’Etat et Commandant en Chef des Forces Armées, des membres du CNDD et du Gouvernement, des Forces Vives, et de tous les leaders d’opinion pour arrêter les violences physiques, verbales et comportementales dans notre pays pour une transition apaisée.
Pour nous, rien ne justifiera jamais les atrocités subies par les populations en général, par les jeunes et les femmes en particulier au stade du 28 septembre à Conakry.
Nous restons convaincues qu’à la violence et à la barbarie, il faut substituer la concertation, la retenue, la mesure et surtout le dialogue au niveau national et international, sans lequel rien de durable ne peut se construire dans un pays.
Nous restons également convaincues que la République de Guinée, 82ème Etat membre de l’ONU, membre fondateur de l’OUA, de la CEDEAO, de l’Union du Fleuve Mano, et de bien d’autres organisations aux idéaux desquels elle a tant contribué, ne peut rester en marge de la Communauté Internationale.
Nous femmes leaders, citoyennes, mères, épouses, sœurs et filles, présentons nos condoléances les plus émues au Peuple de Guinée et singulièrement aux familles qui ont perdu des êtres qui leur sont chers au cours de cette triste journée du 28 septembre 2009.
Que Dieu accorde son Paradis à nos regrettés disparus.
Nous témoignons, par la même occasion, notre compassion aux personnes blessées et leur souhaitons un prompt rétablissement.
Que Dieu le Tout Puissant, le Clément et le très Miséricordieux accorde au Peuple de Guinée Sa paix et Sa Grâce. Amen


Conakry, le 29 septembre 2009

Ont signé :




Réseau des Femmes Africaines Ministres et Parlementaire de Guinée(REFAMP)
Réseau des Femmes de Fleuve Mano pour la Paix (REFMAP)
Femmes Droit et Développement en Afrique (WILDAF-FADAAF)
CLUB DES FEMMES D’ACTION
Association Guinéenne des Femmes Leaders (AGUIFEL)
Association des Professionnelles Africaines de la Communication (APAC)
Coordination des ONG Féminines de Guinée (COFEG)
Association pour le Rayonnement de l’Islam en Guinée (AFRIG)
Cellule de Coordination sur les Pratiques traditionnelles Affectant les femmes et des Enfants (CPTAFE)
Réseau National des Communicateurs traditionnels (RENACOT)
Fédération Guinéenne des Réseaux de Femmes pour la Paix et le Développement (FEGUIREF-PD)
Initiative des Jeunes Africaines pour le Leadership (IJAL)
Coallition Nationale de Guinée pour les Droits et la Citoyenneté des Femmes (CONAG-DCF)
Association des Sages Femmes de Guinée (ASFEGUI)
Association Pour le Soutien au Développement des Activités de Population (ASDAP)
Association des Femmes Leaders pour la Parité en Guinée (AFELPAG)
Renaissance Africaine Pour la Femme de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (RAFAO)
Association des Femmes Entrepreneurs de Guinée (AFEG)
Association des Femmes de Guinée pour la Lutte contre les Maladies sexuellement transmissibles/SIDA (ASFEGMASSI)
Groupement des Femmes d’Affaires de Guinée (GFAG)
Femmes d'Afrique -Women of Africa For Resources & Intercultural Community Advancement (WAFRICA GUINEE)
Appui aux Femmes du Secteur Informel (AFESI)
Association des Femmes Juristes de Guinée (AFJG)

PRESS RELEASE FOR ACBF BOOK LAUNCH

IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE

2 October 2009

BOOK LAUNCH: “GENDER BUDGETING AS A TOOL FOR POVERTY REDUCTION”

The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) in collaboration with the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is pleased to announce the launch of a research book “Gender Budgeting As A Tool For Poverty Reduction” - Concepts, Practices & Capacity Implications.

The publication marks an important chapter in the African Capacity Building Foundation’s contribution to the discourse and funding initiatives on gender budgeting. The book not only identifies areas of possible capacity development in support of the development processes on the Continent, it also highlights capacity weaknesses in gender budgeting that need to be addressed by different stakeholders, in order to raise the standard of accountability and transparency in budgetary processes. Drawing on the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) framework, the publication further highlights national and sectoral gender budgeting experiences in three African countries – South Africa, Rwanda and Uganda – to showcase best-practice models for other African countries.

Findings from “Gender Budgeting As A Tool For Poverty Reduction - Concepts, Practices & Capacity Implications” indicate that:

“Budgets are not gender neutral. They affect women and men in different ways, reflecting the uneven distribution of power within society as economic disparities, different living conditions, and ascribed social roles. Despite being signatories to the major international agreements that call for gender equality, most African countries have fallen short of their promises as their gender initiatives are facing a host of challenges relating to policy implementation, program design, management and tracking, and capacity building issues.”

ENDS




About ACBF
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) is an independent, capacity-building institution established on February 9, 1991 through the collaborative efforts of three multilateral institutions -the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), African governments and bilateral donors. ACBF has 48 full members comprising three sponsoring Agencies (AfDB, UNDP and the World Bank), the IMF and 44 African and non-African countries, namely, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (DRC), Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Djibouti, Finland, France, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, India, Ireland, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, The Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Rwanda, Sao Tomé & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Zambia and Zimbabwe. ACBF’s mission is to build sustainable human and institutional capacity for poverty reduction in Africa.

About AWDF
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant-making foundation, which supports local, national and regional organizations in Africa working towards women’s empowerment. AWDF through institutional capacity building and program 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 mobilize 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)
Thelma Owusu-Boakye – Programme Assistant (Fundraising & Communications)
African Women’s Development Fund
Plot 78, Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon, Accra
Tel: + 233 21 521257
Fax: +233 21 521257
Email: nana@awdf.org or thelma@awdf.org
Website: www.awdf.org


Rutendo Kambarami
Communications Officer
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Tel: +263-4-700208/790398/9
Fax: +263-4-702915, 792894
E-mail: r.kambarami@acbf-pact.org
Website: www.acbf-pact.org