Year: 2017
ECOWAS Court makes first pronouncement on Maputo Protocol: Rules in favour of plaintiffs in case of Dorothy Njemanze & 3 Ors V Federal Republic of Nigeria
ECOWAS Court makes first pronouncement on Maputo Protocol: Rules in favour of plaintiffs in case of Dorothy Njemanze & 3 Ors V Federal Republic of Nigeria
The ECOWAS Court today, 12 October 2017, delivered its judgment in the case between Dorothy Njemanze and 3 others v The Federal Republic of Nigeria. The case centered on the violent, cruel, inhuman, degrading and discriminatory treatment the Plaintiffs suffered at the hands of law enforcement agents in Abuja Nigeria.
The women by name, Dorothy Njemanze, Edu Ene Okoro, Justina Etim and Amarachi Jessyforth were abducted and assaulted sexually, physicaly, verbally and unlawfully detained at different times between Janaury 2011 and March 2013 in the hands of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and other government agencies, such as the police and the military. They were arrested and accused of being prostitutes simply on the grounds that they were found on the streets at night.
In its judgment, the Court held that the arrest of the Plaintiffs was unlawful and violated the right to freedom of liberty, as the Defendant State had submitted no proof that these women were indeed prostitutes. The Court also found that branding the women prostitutes constituted verbal abuse, which violated the right of these women to dignity. Further, the Court held that the arrest violated the right of these women to be free from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; and also constituted gender-based discrimination.
The Court found that there were multiple violations of articles 1, 2, 3 and 18 (3) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 25 of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol); articles 2, 3, 5 (a) and 15(1) of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); articles 2(1), 3, 7 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); articles 10, 12, 13 and 16 of the Convention against Torture (CAT); and articles 1, 2, 5, 7 and 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
The 1st, 3rd and 4th Plaintiffs were each awarded damages in the sum of Six Million Naira. However, the claim of the 2nd Plaintiff was dismissed for being statute barred under the Protocol creating the Court.
It must be noted that this is the first time an international court has pronounced on violations of the Maputo Protocol.
The case was filed 17 September 2014 and was a joint action between Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), Alliances for Africa, Nigerian Women Trust Fund and the law firm of SPA Ajibade, with support from Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).
ARTICLE REPRINTED FROM : HERE
Nancy AKANBOMBIRE
Nancy AKANBOMBIRE
Nancy is a gender, and monitoring and evaluation consultant with seven years’ experience in gender and development, research, policy analysis, participatory community engagement and project monitoring and evaluation. She has worked for over 5 years as the Project Manager at JMK Consulting Ltd where she was responsible for the design of capacity building programmes, implementation of research, as well as monitoring and evaluation.
Prior to joining AWDF as the Capacity Building Specialist, she was the Gender Expert for SMEC International Pty Ltd, a Progrmme Management Consultant for the Ghana Power Compact II, under the Millennium Development Authority.
Nancy holds a master’s degree in Environment, Development and Policy from the University of Sussex (UK) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Integrated Development Studies from the University for Development Studies. She has certificates in Gender Mainstreaming from the University of Sussex and a certificate in Project Management from the Project Management Research Institute of Ghana. She also holds a certificate in Gender and Diversity from the Radboud University in the Netherlands.
Nancy is a member of the Ghana Gender and Energy Networking Group.
Rita Nketiah
Rita Nketiah
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Rita Nketiah is a second-generation Ghanaian-Canadian currently completing her PhD research in Critical Human Geography at York University, with a focus on second-generation immigrant transnationalism among young adults of Ghanaian origin. She completed two previous degrees (Honours Bachelors and Masters) in Women and Gender Studies from Western University and the University of Toronto, respectively.
Rita is currently an advisory board member for the Sankofa Initiative (ISDAO), a new LGBT fund supporting activists in West Africa. She also has over ten (10) years of experience of feminist activism and scholarship with a focus on Black/African women’s empowerment, anti-racism and Pan-Africanist movement-building. Rita has had the opportunity to work for several international development agencies including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF HQNY) and the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) as a Gender Research consultant. She is also a creative writer, publishing in online spaces, such as This Is Africa (TIA) and Pambazuka. Rita has joined the African Women’s Development Fund as the Knowledge Management Specialist.[/tp]
Dahmata Yabre
Dahmata Yabre
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Dahmata Yabre is a development practitioner and a professional translator, with a strong interest in gender initiatives and women empowerment issues. Prior to joining AWDF, she worked with the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) on the Mandela Washington Fellowship Programme under YALI, the Young African Leaders Initiative.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Translation from the School of Translators in Ghana. She also holds an interdisciplinary Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.) Degree with a specialisation in Conflict Studies and Management from the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt in Germany.
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[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Dahmata Yabre est une traductrice professionnelle, active dans le secteur du développement et ayant un grand intérêt pour les initiatives du genre et l’autonomisation de la femme. Avant de rejoindre AWDF, elle a travaillé avec le Conseil International pour la Recherche et les Échanges (IREX) et l’Institut de la Société Civile Ouest-Africaine (WACSI) sur le programme Mandela Washington Fellowship sous YALI, une initiative pour les jeunes leaders africains.
Elle a une Maîtrise en traduction, obtenue à l’École des traducteurs au Ghana. Elle est également titulaire d’un Master II interdisciplinaire en politique publique (M.P.P.) avec une spécialisation en études et gestion des conflits de Willy Brandt School of Public Policy à l’Université d’Erfurt en Allemagne.[/tp]
AWDF mourns Marren Akatsa Bukachi: a feminist, a sister and a friend.
AWDF mourns Marren Akatsa Bukachi: a feminist, a sister and a friend.
Her active role in the African Feminist Forum and Ugandan feminist forum helped shape both of these spaces. She was a constant voice for progression, and knew that the future of the feminist movement relied on inclusion.
Marren was the Executive Director of the Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI), a feminist organisation that was founded in 1996 to monitor how governments in the region implemented the 12 critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action. She helped sustain feminist spaces on the continent with an immense passion and commitment to her feminist Ideals and it was easy for those who met her to see the feminist spirit within her.
Her voice, her energy and her passion will be greatly missed.
Rest Well, Marren, you have made an indelible mark
Resource Centre Day: African Feminists Doing Research
Resource Centre Day: African Feminists Doing Research
Are you interested in learning more about African feminist theories?
Do you want to learn how to be a feminist researcher?
Do you want to know more about how to use Wikipedia to tell African women’s stories?
Join the AWDF staff for an afternoon of trainings, conversations and deep critical thinking about African feminist theory and praxis.
This session will be open to AWDF staff and (feminist) public interested in deepening their knowledge of African feminist research practices and learning more about Wikipedia usage.
Register for the event HERE
Women’s Funds continue to fund change: 101 grants awarded for First Round of LFS
Women’s Funds continue to fund change: 101 grants awarded for First Round of LFS
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In early 2017, four women’s funds joined forces to launch the first calls for proposals for Leading from the South- a new funding stream dedicated to funding advocacy and lobbying by women’s rights organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East. The fund was initiated with support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of their commitment to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 5 oriented to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The LFS fund is being implemented by four women’s funds; three regional funds: African Women’s Development Fund (Africa and the Middle East Region), Fondo Mujeres del Sur (Latin America and the Caribbean) and South Asia Women Fund (Asia); and one global fund: AYNI – the Indigenous Women’s Fund.
The first calls for proposals was met with tremendous response from women’s rights organisations across the global South. After a rigorous assessment process, the four funds are pleased to announce a total of 101 grants, representing 7.9 million Euro awarded to southern women’s organisations working to transform society towards equality and full exercise of rights for all women. Funded organisations are based in a total of 50 countries and will be implementing initiatives in 67 countries.
To read the press release in full click the links below
PRESS RELEASE_LFS 1st round 2017_ENGLISH
Press Release Aug 2017 FRANCAIS Final logo
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Au début de l’année 2017, quatre fonds d’appui aux femmes ont conjugué leurs efforts pour lancer les premiers appels à propositions dans le cadre du projet « LE SUD AUX RÊNES DU LEADERSHIP », un nouvelle initiative de financement destinée à financer les activités de plaidoyer et de lobbying des organisations qui oeuvrent pour la défense des droits des femmes en Afrique, en Asie, en Amérique latine, dans les Caraïbes et au Moyen-Orient. L’initiative a été lancé avec l’appui du Ministère Néerlandais des Affaires Etrangères dans le cadre de leur engagement pour la réalisation des objectifs du développement durable, en particulier le ODD 5 qui vise à soutenir l’égalité des sexes et l’autonomisation des femmes et des filles. Le projet« LE SUD AUX RÊNES DU LEADERSHIP » est exécuté par quatre fonds d’appui aux femmes dont 3 fonds régionaux à savoir Le Fonds Africain pour le Développement de la Femme qui couvre l’Afrique et le Moyen-Orient, Fondo Mujeres del Sur qui couvre l’Amérique Latine et les Caraïbes et South Asia Women Fund qui prend en compte l’Asie. International Indigenous Women’s Fund – AYNI quant à elle, est une organisation internationale.
Plusieurs organisations de femmes dans les pays du Sud ont postulé dès le lancement des premiers appels à propositions. Après un processus rigoureux d’évaluation des dossiers reçus, les quatre organisations ont le plaisir de vous annoncer un total de 101 subventions d’une valeur totale de 7,9 millions d’Euros. Ces subventions ont été octroyées aux organisations de femmes dans les pays du Sud qui oeuvrent en vue de construire une société où règne l’égalité et où les femmes jouiront pleinement de leurs droits. Les organisations bénéficiaires sont sises dans 50 pays mais réaliseront leurs projets dans 67 pays.
Cliquez sur le lien ci-dessous pour la version complète du Communiqué de Presse.
LE SUD AUX RÊNES DU LEADERSHIP: Communiqué de Presse
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The Journey of Building Positive Networks, a Profile of Herschelle Milford, CEO of Surplus People’s Project
The Journey of Building Positive Networks, a Profile of Herschelle Milford, CEO of Surplus People’s Project
When Surplus People’s Project’s CEO, Herschelle Milford, was invited to participate in the African Women’s Development Fund’s CEO Forum on Leadership and Governance in 2015, it would be the start of a journey of growth that would build networks with feminist leaders across the African continent. At the time, Milford said her “biggest drawback has always been my struggle with self-confidence and public speaking”. Milford represents an organisation that envisages a transformed and just society and stands in “solidarity with radical social movements in struggles for pro-poor agrarian transformation for food sovereignty”.
SPP research conducted in 2009 indicated that land reform and food security strategies were not well integrated in South Africa and these policies have not paid sufficient attention to the patriarchal structures which limits women’s access to productive land. South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world with a Gini coefficient of about 0.65 and there are constant struggles to ensure that the poor have access to land and resources. SPP’s discussions with women across the Western and Northern Cape – where the organisation operates — have identified inequality in food, violence against women, women’s access to land, unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse as critical issues. SPP recognises that while there is a general challenge to have more South Africans gain access to the land, that challenge is greater for women.
To this end, the SPP works with social movements and communities helping them to amplify their agrarian struggles. “Generally, I am a selfdriven person and set high expectations for myself,” noted Milford. “A positive attribute has always been my leadership style that emphasised inclusivity, transparency and shared accountability.” The Nairobi intervention, however, focused on individual skills — starting early with yoga before moving on to three full day sessions that included board governance, media training, personal care, resource mobilisation and feminist engagement.
AWDF 4th Resource Mobilisation Bootcamp 2017
AWDF 4th Resource Mobilisation Bootcamp 2017
The African Women’s Development Fund is organising the 4th Resource Mobilisation bootcamp in Accra, Ghana from the 28th to the 31st of August 2017. The Resource Mobilisation Bootcamp is one of the capacity building programmes organised by AWDF to support grantees to develop their resource mobilisation strategy. AWDF has been providing capacity building support to its grantees to enhance their ability to effectively and efficiently achieve their set mandate.
AWDF recognises that a resource mobilisation strategy is critical to ensuring the sustainability of women’s rights organisation and to this end has organised this bootcamp for selected grantee partners since 02013. As at the end of 2015, a total of over 77 organisations had benefited from the first 3 resource mobilisation boot camps.
This year’s bootcamp has 19 participants from Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria Zambia and Zimbabwe. By the end of the 4 day boot camp, participants would have drafted their resource mobilisation strategy document. They will then be supported over a 4 months period through virtual coaching to finalise the draft Resource mobilisation strategy.
Planting a seed, a profile of Lorato Moalusi Sakufiwa
Planting a seed, a profile of Lorato Moalusi Sakufiwa
When the African Women’s Development Fund invited Lorato Moalusi-Sakufiwa to the CEO Forum’s Leadership and Governance programme, a Capacity Building initiative, it would plant a small seed that would bear fruit over a broad reach of the organisation’s programmes. “For me gaining leadership skills and then leading this organisation so that, in turn, it can start building the capacity of other organisations, was a big impact,” said MoalusiSakufiwa. “There was value in being in a partnership with the leadership programme because we were able to support the leadership of other organisations.”
Moalusi-Sakufiwa is the director of the Kagisano Society Women’s Shelter in Botswana and, in 2013, the organisation received USD 20,000 from the AWDF, under their Women’s Human Rights thematic area, in order to keep the organisation’s shelter running through the provision of adequate bedding, cooking utensils and improved safety measures. The Kagisano Society Women’s Shelter was established in1998 in response to violence against women (VAW) in Botswana. Their vision is to be a leading organisation for ending violence against women in the country. The shelter does so by providing temporary shelter, counselling, community education and outreach, and completing advocacy on critical issues connected to the security of women.
Read the rest of her story below: