Category: Blog

According to an old Chinese proverb, “women hold up half the sky”. In the battle against hunger and poverty, women, and especially rural women, most certainly hold up the heavier half.

 

In order to ensure food security at the household level it is important to realise the critical role women play, and to include them in all development processes towards the achievement of food security. Throughout the world, women are the principal guarantors of nutrition, food safety and quality at household and community levels. They are the ones who often produce, purchase, handle, prepare and serve food to families and community institutions. Therefore the different rights, responsibilities and decision-making abilities of women and men need to be understood to improve food security and nutrition.

 

Development interventions aiming to improve access to food often bypass women. They give little attention to designing programmes that suit woman’s needs, education, and cultural backgrounds, or their aspirations for improving their economic and social conditions. Whereas many governments, international donor agencies and NGOs have embraced the MDGs as one of the ways to eradicate extreme poverty in the world, not much has been done to support the majority of the population affected by poverty and hunger in Africa. We are just 4 years away from 2015, and in order to achieve goal one; eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, special efforts must be devoted to promoting rural development and fostering better living conditions for rural marginalised poor women. There is a need for strong specific focus on rural women through addressing key gender disparities at various levels in the distribution and access to productive resources, information and technology.

 

Understanding poverty, the hunger cycle, and survival strategies is important for finding the best ways of supporting rural women’s productive activities. As several studies have shown, farming households adopt ‘safety first’ behaviour, including coping strategies to deal with external climatic shocks. A common early strategy that has been observed is the reduction in food intake, or change in diet. Women may switch to cheaper, less desirable and perhaps less nutritious foods or they may reduce the number of meals they take.

Women are increasing their contribution to household food security either by growing food or by earning income to purchase food. Women usually try to do both because of urgent needs. Since the agricultural crops produced by households rarely provide all the requirements of the family, cash income is necessary to meet the other basic needs. Hence women engage in off farm activities to earn extra income for food to feed their families.

 

The rights of women to land need to be given attention because of the continued importance of land to incomes, employment and food security. The important roles women play in agricultural production, the weakness of women’s formal claims over land, and their apparent vulnerability to loss as land becomes scarce are some areas that require urgent attention. Therefore, gender systems that only guarantee rights of access to resources, rather than offer opportunities of control and ownership of those resources to recipients perpetuate gender inequality.

 

Lack of women’s access to credit is a serious obstacle to improving women’s agricultural productivity, as without credit women farmers are unable to buy inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and improved technologies, or are unable to hire labour. Women’s limited autonomy implies that they control far fewer marketable assets and thus may lack the opportunity to build independent reputations for creditworthiness.

From food production to control over income, indications are that the position of women within subsistence economies is growing increasingly insecure despite their undisputedly critical roles in child bearing, rearing and feeding of families. Income in the hands of women tends to be associated with an enhancement in the family, particularly children’s, welfare. Income in the hands of men appears to increase the share of household expenditure on items consumed mainly by men.

 

Women’s inability to participate and influence critical decisions around household livelihoods is having a dire consequence on their ability to be effective in providing food for the household. Given the traditionally limited role of women in decision-making processes at the household, village and national levels in most cultures, their needs, interests and constraints are often not reflected in policymaking processes and laws which are important for poverty reduction, food security and environmental sustainability

 

Neglecting women as agricultural producers and resource managers inhibits the attainment of food security especially amongst poor households. Thus, if goal one of the MDG’s has to be achieved, marginalised rural women need greater access to education, information, credit, appropriate technology, and other resources that will ease their existing labour burden, and ensure the welfare of their families and themselves. If women are to be fully effective in contributing to food and nutrition security, discrimination against women must be eliminated and the value of their role promoted. This further requires policy reform in support of an equal playing field for both men and women. Gender inequality is deeply rooted in entrenched attitudes, societal institutions, and market forces, political commitment at the highest international and national levels is essential to institute the policies that can trigger social change and to allocate the resources necessary to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment for food security.

 

Nafi Chinery

Capacity Building Officer

AWDF

“I’m really excited that Leymah Gbowee alongside President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Tawakkul Karman have been jointly awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Award. There seems no better time to publish the interview I held with her in 2008 on the sidelines of the 2nd African Feminist Forum” Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Communications Officer, AWDF

NS: Who is Leymah Gbowee?

LG: How do I describe who Leymah is? Usually I will start with my children because that is one identity I really love (I have 4 biological and 1 adopted child) but I think I am a person who from a really young age has been looking for answers to life and this was reinforced during the early years of the Liberian war. I am a helper and a woman who loves herself. I am an activist at every level. Everything that touches a woman’s life, a girl-child’s life and a child’s life touches my being. I have a lot of compassion and a lot of energy. I find it difficult to relax. I was brought up in a home and was the fourth child of five girls. I had a mother who was an only child and a father who is sympathetic to feminism. It was my father who resisted us being subjected to female genital mutilation. I come from a family of activists. My grandmother got divorced thrice and taught us that if a husband brought in the charcoal or rice you should be able to bring the salt. I will also describe myself as a politician; I have a head for politics.

 

NS: I only became aware of your work through ‘Pray the devil back to Hell’…

LG: (wry smile) that’s funny because that is not what I focus most on. What I pride myself on the most is starting WIPSEN – Liberia from scratch and bringing it to international standards and through that making progress in the lives of women and children. While I celebrate ‘Pray the devil back to Hell’ I celebrate WIPSEN, which was founded by Thelma Ekiyor and myself.

 

NS: What is WIPSEN about?

LG: The co-founder of WIPSEN, Thelma was also the founder of a previous organization WIPNET, which focused on grassroots activism and what we realized, was missing was the links between policy and grassroots activism. Some of these grassroots women who were very good mediators were not being called up to serve as mediators at an international level. Good initiatives like resolution 1325 were also not filtering down to the grassroots. WIPSEN however focuses on peace and security governance, which allows us to fill in those gaps so at the moment for example we are working with the army in Liberia to ensure that women’s issues are reflected in policy.

 

NS: Where do you get your strength from?

LG: I get my strength from my faith in God. Pain has a way of moving people to 2 levels. When you are in pain you want revenge or you want the pain to go away. From the age of 17 till I turned 31 all I saw was different versions of pain. The situation went from bad to worse to ridiculous. It’s almost like you are sinking and you can see no end. I experienced this personally and this was also the experience of other women in Liberia. This is how I started working to build peace in Liberia and I was grateful when the women said ‘we trust you, guide this process”. Daytime was the time for action and night-time was when I would do my strategic thinking and planning. During the war it was the pain that gave me the most energy. There is a scene in ‘Pray the devil back to Hell’ when we barricaded the men in the venue where the peace talks were being held. That was the time when I was most angry; I wanted to grab an AK47. I started stripping like I had threatened to do (The documentary ‘Pray the devil back to Hell’ explains that it is a taboo for African men to see the naked bodies of their Mothers so stripping in front of men is an act of defiance)

 

NS: How did you meet Abigail Disney? (Abigail Disney is producer of ‘Pray the devil back to Hell’)

LG: That was a weird one. I had gone to the US to attend university in Virginia; no one knew I was there. I got invited to speak at the 5^th anniversary of 1325 and Swanee Hunt told me that ‘Someone is looking for you – Abby of Disney world’. So Abby and I had a meeting and she asked me about the work I had done and told me that she wanted to explore this as a movie. We went back to Liberia and set up a meeting with key people and Abigail’s team interviewed lots of people, took tons of footage and images of film. When I saw the final piece I thought they had done a good piece.

 

NS: What kinds of support do women working in peace building need?

LG: One of the things I firmly believe in is giving the support that is needed. Never underestimate work anyone has done. Validate and show confidence in what women do. When we started it was a lonely road. We started our activism with $10 from a woman’s handbag. For two months we were fundraising. We had no support from NGOs and initially had a church help us with fundraising. When we went to Accra for the peace talks we thought we would be there for three weeks but we ended up being there for twice that time. AWDF gave us support, which enabled us to stay, and women from Northern Ghana gave us support. They sent us 5 women who sat down and cried with us. When the press asked the women why they were there, they said, ‘When our time comes, the Liberian women will help us’. That’s the kind of support we need. Technical, financial and moral support – it makes you feel good. At the same time we also heard that Nigerian women had presented a statement on our behalf. That’s what we need to do. When we hear something has happened women all over Africa need to start mobilising.

 

NS: How have you found the AFF so far?[1]

LG: Spaces like AFF is where I come to rejuvenate. Over the past year I have been mellow and quiet. Yesterday during the trial (As part of the AFF a ‘Feminists on Trial’ session was held which explored through a mock trial critical issues that feminists need to address) I was jumping about and people said, ‘This is the old Leymah’. You are able to rejuvenate when you are with women who share the same challenges…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Stephanie Glover 612.424.3634, usawdf@gmail.com

 

 

Jackie Copeland-Carson, Ph.D. Named to Head

African Women’s Development Fund USA

The African Women’s Development Fund USA (AWDF USA) has selected Dr. Jackie Copeland-Carson as its first USA Executive Director. Her appointment is effective September 15, 2011. Presently she is the president of Copeland Carson & Associates, a global philanthropy consulting firm providing services in the US, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. Dr. Copeland-Carson is founder and chair of the Pan-African Women’s Philanthropy Network, a diverse and growing coalition of Pan-African women leaders and their allies devoted to African and African diaspora development. PAWPNet, an AWDF USA partner, is the convener of the innovative Pan-African Women’s Action Summit, a bi-annual leadership conference recently held in Minneapolis, Minnesota from August 10^th-14^th, 2011.

An independent public charity and start-up foundation, AWDF USA was created as the US sister organization of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) based in Ghana. It shares AWDF’s mission to empower women to lead African development. AWDF, created by Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Dr. Hilda Tadria and Joanna Foster more than 10 years ago, is the first foundation created by Africans to support women-led nonprofit organizations throughout the continent. A recipient of many international awards, AWDF has made over $US17 million in grants to support more than 800 nonprofit organizations in 42 African countries.

A recent study by the World Bank and African Bank reports that African migrants worldwide gave more than $40 billion to their home countries to support extended family members and community projects in 2010. AWDF USA will mobilize support for African development from the US African diaspora and others committed to African development.

According to Her Excellency Adeleye-Fayemi, who is also AWDF’s president and First Lady of Ekiti State, Nigeria, “AWDF recognizes that there is a worldwide community of Africans living in the diaspora and others who want to support African development—especially through women’s leadership. AWDF USA will be an accessible means for the US-based African diaspora and all Americans to advance women’s leadership for development.” Reflecting the priorities of African women, AWDF USA will support women’s rights, reproductive health, economic security, governance and peace, as well as arts and culture.

Dr. Abena P.A. Busia, chair of the AWDF USA search committee and its board secretary, notes that “After a search and review of almost 100 candidates, we could not find anyone more knowledgeable of both philanthropy in the African diaspora and on African continent to lead AWDF USA. Dr. Copeland-Carson has the expertise and the hands-on technical skills to ensure AWDF USA’s success.”

For Dr. Jackie Copeland-Carson, “I have long admired AWDF’s pioneering work on African women’s issues. It is at the forefront of an African philanthropic renaissance, blending the best of traditional and global giving to create an entirely new development model that puts women at the center. I am honored to be the first executive director of AWDF USA and look forward to raising public awareness and support in the US for African women’s development.”

A respected African diaspora philanthropy scholar and advocate, Dr. Copeland-Carson, trained as an anthropologist and urban planner, has almost 30 years of experience in the foundation field. She has been an executive, evaluator, trainer or researcher with numerous philanthropies, including global or African-focused private foundations such as the Ford Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Bertelsmann Foundation and TY Danjuma Foundation among others. She has worked with some of the US’s largest community foundations, including the Philadelphia and Hartford foundations. Also, she has been a consultant on evaluation and strategic planning with philanthropy associations, including, for example, the Women’s Funding Network and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. As founding managing director for philanthropic services at US Bank’s Private Client Group, she had sales, regulatory and grantmaking responsibility for foundations clients throughout the US.

International human rights activist, Naomi Tutu, notes that “Jackie is the right leader at the right time for AWDF USA. She brings the vision, passion and know how needed to increase support for our Motherland throughout the US.”

Dr. Copeland-Carson’s writings are influencing trends in multiple fields. For example, “Pan-Africanizing Philanthropy” (Palgrave, 2012); “Kenyan Diaspora Philanthropy” (TPI/Harvard University, 2007); “Promoting Diversity in Contemporary Black Philanthropy” (Indiana University, 2004); Creating Africa in America (University of Pennsylvania, 2004) examine various issues in the African diaspora, community development and women’s leadership.

A recipient of the Bush Foundation’s prestigious Leadership Fellowship recognizing her contributions to community leadership, she has been on the boards of more than 20 nonprofit organizations, including the Association of Black Foundation Executives.

Dr. Copeland-Carson holds two masters degrees, one in urban planning and the other in cultural anthropology, with a Ph.D. in anthropology (African/African diaspora and South Asian concentration) all from the University of Pennsylvania. Her undergraduate degrees are from Georgetown University in literature with a certificate in African studies from its School for Foreign Service with studies at Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.

For information about AWDF USA, contact Stephanie Glover, AWDF USA Publicist, at 612.424.3634 or usawdf@gmail.com

 

On the 4^th of August 2011, I attended the ‘Adventurers in the Diaspora Series’ at Accra’s Golden Tulip. The topic for discussion was “Revitalising Ghana’s National Museum of Arts”, and judging by the huge turnout the subject was clearly of interest to a large number of people. There were several ‘distinguished’[1] persons on the panel. This is how members of the panel were described in the event posted on Facebook:

 

“Mrs. Frances Ademola -artist and owner of Ghana’s first private art gallery, the LOOM

Mr. Seth Dei—Ghana’s largest collector of contemporary art and whose Dei foundation supports various Ghanaian artists and indigenous high-tech initiatives. He is also a partner at Blue Skies industry, a pre-eminent agro-business based in several countries around the world.

Hon. Fritz Baffour, MP- Chairman of the Museum board

Hon. J.S. Annan (MP)- Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry and ex-Minister for Education

Prof, Atukwei Okai- Secretary General of Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) and professor of African literature

David Adjaye- principal of Adjaye Associates, a world-leading architecture firm based in London and New York.

Kofi Setordji- reknowned artist and sculptor, co-director of Nubuke Art Gallery”

 

I feel like there were a lot more panelists at the actual event than described above, and I cannot remember Professor Okai being there (but I could be mistaken).

 

A couple of the panelists struck me for diverse reasons. Frances Ademola struck me, because she is a woman artist, the founder of an Art gallery and was credited by many members of the panel as the one who had nurtured their appreciation of Art, yet I had no prior knowledge of the existence of either her or her art gallery. David Adjaye because I have heard so much, and read so much about this award winning Ghanaian British architect yet I had no idea that he even visited Ghana or was in any way active here[2] and finally Kofi Setordjii because he gave a compelling call to action when he spoke.

 

At the end of the evening I was having a drink with one of my artist friends – he’s a photographer, likes to strum the guitar, writes and has an amazing eye for fashion and style.

 

Me: I want to go and check out the Museum of Arts, I had no idea one even existed.

 

Him: Yes, let me know when you want to go and we’ll make a trip of it.

 

Me: I want to see what potential there could be for AWDF to work with the Museum. We want to build an African Women’s Museum but we’re putting that on the backburner for now. Maybe we can fund an exhibition of women artists.

 

Him: [laughing] Which women artists?

 

Me: Yeah, that’s the point isn’t it? I am sure there are women artists everywhere but we don’t know about them. And it depends how you think about art – there is photography, fashion, writing…

 

Him: True. A lot of the time people do not think of photography as art…

Our conversation got me thinking. Who are the African women artists and where are they? I am especially interested in African women artists who use their art as a tool to provoke social consciousness. I started to create a mental list of African women artists that I know are doing this and then I thought, “I should blog about this and ask people to add to the list”. So that’s what I’m doing. My list is only going to comprise of people that I know in some way, and for the sake of brevity I will highlight only 10 African women artists. Either I have read their books, watched them perform, heard them speak, seen a trailer for their movie or engaged with them in some way – even if it’s only been via twitter 🙂

 

Do me a favour and add on to this list in the comments box. Let’s track who the African women artists are, what they do, and where they are.

 

Here’s my list:

 

• Frances Ademola? – I’m a bit confused as to whether to add her to the list. Is she an art gallery owner or an artist? Is the owner of an art gallery also an artist because they have an artistic eye or does an artist always create? AiD’s programme described her as an artist but in googling her I have come across this interview, which quoted her as saying, “I’m the eye of the buyer. It’s a good thing that I’m not an artist”[3]

 

• Nneka – Nigerian/German songstress who sings in English and Pidgin about the need for Africans to take responsibility for the problems we face on the continent (The Uncomfortable Truth), jogs our collective memory on the issues confronting Nigerian society whilst reminding us of the importance of remembering Ken Saro Wiwa and the causes for which the prominent environmental activist died , (Soul is Heavy) and the need for us all to recognize our inherent beauty (Beautiful). Nneka agreed in 2010 to work as an Arts Ambassador for AWDF and I’m really looking forward to exciting collaborations between her and AWDF

 

• Yvonne Chaka Chaka – One of Africa’s most powerful voices who also lends her support to many admirable initiatives. Yvonne Chaka Chaka sits on the AWDF South Africa board, is a member of the African Women Leaders Network for Reproductive Health, serves as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Malaria and also has her own NGO, The Princess of Africa Foundation. I personally met Yvonne when she attended AWDF’s 10^th anniversary celebrations in November 2010 and I was struck by how nice Yvonne was as a person. Sometimes when you meet huge stars you’re disappointed because they act like divas but Yvonne is niceness personified.

 

• Wanuri Kahiu –I get most of my updates on Wanuri via her twitter handle @wanuri . I have seen the trailer for her film Pumzi and unfortunately missed an opportunity to see the full length film at the last Environmental Film Festival of Accra yet what I have seen of her trailer has been enough to convince me that this is the type of work that organizations like AWDF need to fund if we are going to use the arts as a tool for gender empowerment. In researching Wanuri further I came across her blog and it looks like she is not only nifty with the camera but with words too.

 

• Ama Ata Aidoo – Where do I start from when it comes to this doyenne of African literature? Like many people in Ghana, I first came across Ama Ata Aidoo in secondary school as “Dilemma of a Ghost” and “Anowa” were on our reading list. At university I decided to write my dissertation on the concept of ‘home’ as seen through the works of Ama Ata Aidoo and Buchi Emecheta (another stalwart of African women’s literature). In 2008, I met Auntie Ama face to face and was thrilled to be able to interview her for AWDF’s very first e-newsletter.

 

• Asa – I have been told Asa is my lookalike but that’s not why I have included her on this list 🙂 Recently I’ve heard one of her songs, which touches on the issue of sexual abuse. Please let me know what the title is if you know the song I’m describing – she sings about a young girl who has been abused and somehow the girl’s Father is involved.

 

• Jessica Horn – Jessica is a personal friend, poet and an all round inspiration to me. She’s the author of “Speaking in tongues” and a dynamic member of the African Feminist Forum’s steering committee. Jessica is also a women’s rights consultant focusing on issues of health, women’s rights and social change

 

• Leila Djansi – I first heard of Leila when her film “Sinking Sands” came out. I eventually watched ‘Sinking Sands’ with a friend and immediately afterwards was interviewed by Joy Fm for our perspectives on the film. Although we liked many aspects of the film we both felt that it’s a shame the male lead had what many may perceive as an excuse to be violent to his wife, especially as domestic violence is such an every day occurrence all over the word. Despite this, and upon continued reflection on the film I feel that ‘Sinking Sands’ is an important milestone in the Ghanaian film industry. The lead actress Ama K Abebrese did an amazing job and was well rewarded with an African Movie Award for Best Actress in a lead role. Kudos to Leila for highlighting the issue of domestic violence.

 

• Yaba Badoe – ‘The Witches of Gambaga’ is a powerful documentary, which brings us the real life stories of women condemned to live as witches at the Gambaga camp in Northern Ghana. I first saw this documentary at the 3^rd African Feminist Forum in Dakar, Senegal, and subsequently at its premiere in Ghana. ‘The Witches of Gambaga’ always provokes a variety of reactions in the audience – shock, disbelief that women are accused of witchcraft in this day and age, and a strong desire to change the status quo. It is my hope that this documentary remains a powerful tool for creating a more just world for women and men.

 

So in your opinion where all the African women artists who use their art as a tool for social justice and the empowerment of women?

 

Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

Programme Officer for Fundraising & Communications

AWDF

 

In March 2011, AWDF recognised Professor Abena Busia as one of 50 inspirational African feminists so I am especially delighted that her achievements are being celebrated publicly (and in her lifetime) on Wednesday, 29th June from 5.30pm-8.30pm at the National Theater in Accra, Ghana.

Professor Busia in my opinion is an extremely multi talented individual. She wears many hats (and wears them with elegance). Prof Busia is:

• A Professor of Literature at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA
• A critically acclaimed poet
• Co-director of “Women Writing Africa” – which has been described as a cultural restoration and publishing project which hopes to restore African Women’s voices to the public sphere
• A feminist activist – she has been involved with AWDF since its inception and currently sits on the AWDF USA board
• An inspiration and mentor to many young women including myself

If you are in Accra on the 29th of June make it a point to attend ‘Celebrating Abena Busia: Works and Achievements’ at the National Theatre. Its a free event! Further details in poster below

 

By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

Communications Officer,

AWDF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AWDF has been working in diverse ways to ensure that women play an active role in transforming their lives, families, communities, nations and the world to ensure social justice and equal opportunity for all.

A number of factors contribute to the continuous perpetuation of the subjugation of women. Lack of education, employment, skills, opportunities and income are some of the factors that prevent women from extricating themselves from the patriarchal systems and culture that so often plague many communities and cultures. Increases in the acquisition of skills has been linked to creating conditions for ensuring income earning opportunities for women that helps them to break through many of the patriarchal systems that have been built in society. Skills’ training is one way of empowering girls and young women to prepare them to take advantage of income earning opportunities. However most of these young women after acquiring the skills are unable to access the funds that will help them to set up income earning ventures.

The AWDF has over the years supported not only the skills training of women but have also supported the provision of start-up capital either in the form of equipment or funds to ensure that women who receive skills and entrepreneurial training are able to set up viable ventures that will improve their income and consequently their status in the family and community.

A signpost for “Alima Couture Mixte Coupe sur Measure” welcomes the visitor to the modest but very busy dressmaking shop set up by Alima Lemane, a 27 year old graduate of a vocational training centre run by the Association Catholique pour le Developpment Social (ACDS) based in Burkina Faso, a grantee partner of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF). AWDF over the years has been supporting ACDS to provide different kinds of skills training to young women. In 2009, AWDF supported ACDS to provide start up equipments for its graduating class. Alima was one of the beneficiaries of this support and received a sewing machine on graduation, which proved to be the catalyst for her business today.

With the machine received Alima set out to practice her trade. Through dint of hard work she was able to save and succeeded in renting a shop where she currently carries out her trade. Alima’s expertise led to an invitation by the ACDS to support their training programmes. Alima therefore presently supports the training of students at her alma mater. She is at the vocational centre from 7.20 am every working day till 11.00am when she goes to start her daily tasks at her dressmaking shop. Alima is passionate about passing her dressmaking skills to other young women and continues to work at the vocational centre despite her own growing sewing centre. In order to keep her dressmaking shop active and to ensure that she does not disappoint her numerous customers, Alima has gone into partnership with a young tailor. They now have a partnership with Alima being the senior partner. The partnership allows Alima’s venture to produce clothing for women and men and also ensures that Alima’s shop stays open with customers orders fulfilled whilst Alima continues to give back to society.

The 2009 grant that AWDF awarded to the Association Catholique pour le Developpment Social covered start-up capital for trainees and the purchase of sewing and catering equipment for the training centre. The funding also supported the integration of other life skills training such as education in reproductive health issues that covered HIV/AIDS, relationships and women’s right issues. This prepared the young women to claim ownership of their rights; especially their reproductive rights as they testified about their ability to presently take informed decisions about their reproductive health and being able to negotiate reproductive rights.

Alima’s status has improved within the family and community. Today she is more assertive and confident. Alima and her colleagues who have obtained new skills are going to be more visible in their communities and they would be better able to negotiate for the public sphere and play a stronger role in decision making.

 

 

By Beatrice Boakye-Yiadom

Grants Manager

AWDF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The amazing Sylvia Tamale has edited a new reader on ‘African Sexuality’ which I just cannot wait to get my hands on. This reader is published by Pambazuka Press. Click African Sexualities a reader for details of this reader.

Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

Communications Officer (AWDF)

In April, Zee and l set off on a trip to Zimbabwe and Malawi to monitor women’s organisations that have received grants from AWDF in the last 3 years. Preparations for this visit started in February amidst mixed feelings of anxiety and fear especially about visiting Zimbabwe. There were also additional challenges including some difficulties communicating with grantees in a timely manner, visa issues, and then came the big one; a mix up of Zee’s name on her air ticket two days to our departure.

Having overcome all the hurdles, we were set for Harare. We had no particular expectations of Zimbabwe. Why? Because we relied so much on negative media hype about Zimbabwe and Uncle Mugabe. On the 10^th of April 2011 our plane landed on the territorial borders of Zimbabwe. Wow! It was simply breathtaking, the airport better than most stable African countries l have been to. The green vegetation, the organised city, tarred roads, clean environment, the infrastructure, the warm people; l was just overwhelmed by most of the things l saw. I had a blank mind about what kind of infrastructure to expect, l was highly prejudiced by western media hype and all the negativities about how collapsed the state is.

Unlike most African countries l have been to, we didn’t have to go through the problem of converting dollars into local currency, thanks to the “dollarisation” of the Zimbabwean dollar, it was simply transactions made easy! You could transact business in US dollars anywhere, anytime. Hey but it also had its bad side, we had to deal with getting rid of the extremely old notes by making sure that all of it was used up in Zimbabwe. No bank will accept the over used tired looking US dollar notes from Zimbabwe and obviously not AWDF’s finance department. The other is the issue of change in smaller notes or shillings which were just not available. Be ready to receive your change in the form of coupons or asked to take some sweets at the payment counter! As for the high cost of living we are better off not talking about it, again it is not comparable to any Africa country l have visited. But again it is understandable because of the long economic blackout the country has faced from 2000.

Our Monitoring & Evaluation visit to Zimbabwe encompassed 18 0rganisations including Hope for Africa Katswe Sisterhood, Women in Law in Southern Africa Research and Education Trust (WLSA Zimbabwe), The Women’s Trust (TWT), Creative Centre for Communication and Development (CCCD) and Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe (WFOZ). Most women’s organisations visited in Zimbabwe are just awesome and braving the odds to make impact. Their resilience and determination are encouraging and admirable.

“We find creative ways of making women’s voices heard around GBV issues whilst protecting their identity using the mobigater during the tense moments here” said Gertrude Pswarayi of CCCD.

These organisations have weathered the storm of the long economic crisis, the “dollarisation” of the local currency as a result of the high inflation that have led to most organisations having ‘zero account balances’, the political polarisation of activities and the insecurity around freedom of speech. These organisations are still surviving, passionate about their work and hopeful of a brighter future amidst the political uncertainties. As aptly stated by Luta Shaba of the Women’s Trust,

“We will continue to work on and pursue issues around women political participation and the legitimisation of women in political spaces because in these political spaces critical issues around development and women are made. It is a hostile environment but we will not relent in our efforts”.

Most of these organisations work on issues such as women’s access to land, inheritance rights, political participation of women, access to justice, HIV&AIDS and sexual reproductive rights of women. As an African woman l am proud to be part of these organisations in their struggles and rage to empower women economically. I feel inspired by their fortitude and l want to encourage and support them as l look forward to replicating the lessons learned from Zimbabwe for the benefit of other countries.

By: Nafi Chinery

Capacity Building Officer, AWDF

I walked out of the airport confidently, ignoring all the traders who were trying to sell me sim cards, mobile phones or whatever else they had for sale. Then I stopped, slightly confused. Where’s the taxi stand? I wondered. I could see no taxis whatsoever. In Accra (where I had journeyed from) there were numerous taxi services at the airport. Official airport taxis, unofficial airport taxis and taxi drivers cruising by, hoping to pick up a passenger who has just arrived from Abrokyire (a trip abroad). Even before you fully emerge from Kotoka International Airport, men (and they are always men) in officious white shirts, and navy blue trousers will confront you with, “Taxi, taxi, airport taxi” but no such thing had happened here.

 

I paused and turned to one of the young men who had been trying to sell me a sim card “Je cherche le taxi”. “Qui, qui…” he responded, “Taxi ici” and tried to grab hold of my hand luggage whilst I simultaneously tried to maintain hold of my hand luggage. We walked to the main road. “This way, this way” is what I imagined he said, but there was no taxi this way. By now he had been joined by another compadre and they both resorted to hailing down passing taxis whilst simultaneously encouraging me to cross the street. Eventually a battered green taxi stopped in the middle of the road. “Tu connais l’hotel Laico?” (I can’t conjugate vous properly) “Qui” he responded, and so off we went…where to, I had no idea. In the taxi I texted my Mum, “I’ve arrived safely in Ougadougou. I’m en route to the hotel”. It did cross my mind that perhaps I should leave the safe arrival message until I had actually arrived at the hotel but hey ho, I was hoping for a safe arrival.

 

My predominant memories of Burkina will be women on mopeds, dry, dusty conditions and an amazing FESPACO experience. I’m still not used to seeing women on mopeds. Its not a sight that you ever come across in southern Ghana but in Burkina you see elderly women chugging along on mopeds, young women in little black dresses and heels on mopeds and women with their children on mopeds. “How empowering”, I thought. In a conversation with Deborah Ahenkorah (Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Golden Baobab Prize) she made a similar statement, “Women in Burkina appear so powerful. I get the impression that you shouldn’t mess with them…” Are we mistaken? Probably. Or probably not…

 

I had come to FESPACO (Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ougadougou) with three main goals:

 

• To participate fully in the festival and learn as much as possible about the current state of African film on the continent
• To speak on a panel with Amina Mama and Yaba Badoe at a CORDESIA workshop and
• To promote the work that AWDF has done in its popular culture project

 

Apart from a few logistical hitches, (printed programme booklets of the film schedule being a rare commodity, being sent all around the houses before arriving at the right place to purchase my festival and some technical hitches at one cinema) FESPACO was an amazing experience. I am already planning to attend the 23^rd FESPACO that will take place in 2013.

 

Films, Films, Films

Of course FESPACO was all about watching films. On Day 1 of the film festival I got together with Deborah and Kojo (friends from Ghana who were also attending FESPACO) and we eagerly went through the film schedule and highlighted those films we wanted to watch. Our film watching crew soon included Tsakani (whom Kojo and Debbie befriended over breakfast) from South Africa’s Arts and Culture department[1] and together we decided to challenge ourselves to watch as many films as possible! The film schedule didn’t contain a synopsis of the films so we chose films that we thought sounded exciting, and in my case I advocated for films with women directors (there were so few of those though). There were some days we watched as many as 5 films back to back.

 

Personally, my favourite films at the festival were:

 

• A Small Town Called Descent (South Africa)
• Dnoma (Haiti)
• Notre étrangère (Senegal)
• The last flight of the flamingo (Mozambique)
• Bullets over Brownsville (USA)
• Dusable to Obama : Chicago’s Black Metropolis (USA)
• The Figurine (Araromire) (Nigeria)

 

I liked these films for a variety of reasons and will review my ‘top 3’ below:

 

My Top 3 Films at FESPACO: A Nutshell Review and Synopsis

 

A Small Town Called Descent – this film reminded me of the best bits of a Hollywood blockbuster. It had compelling action scenes, good cops versus bad cops, a strong storyline and a romance doomed to failure. The film dealt with the hard-hitting issue of xenophobia, which centered on the murder of a Zimbabwean immigrant in the town ‘Descent’. The commander of the local police station is directly implicated in the murder and so is practically everyone else in the town (either through their action, inaction and unwillingness to speak up about the issue). We get the impression that the real puppet masters may not be the police commander or even the mob that lynched the Zimbabwean but the big businesses looking to buy up tracts of land in Descent. And of course there is the Afrikaner farmer who is the largest landholder in Descent, and was a high ranking military officer prior to the end of apartheid. We’re never quite sure how he is involved in the xenophobic attacks but we’re left with the feeling that he too is complicit

 

Dnoma – a complex, multi-layered film, which skillfully intertwined issues of race, class, immigration and sexuality. This film was located in France and combined several stories in one piece. There was the femme fatale teacher who gave her pupil a blowjob[2]. The woman who had been adopted as a child and decided to experiment with the concept of love and relationships by picking up a stranger at the train station and taking him home to make love/have sex. The young girl whose parents had moved to Spain, leaving her responsible for the care of her older sister who was dying from leukemia. The pupil (same one who had received a blowjob from his teacher) who was also a pickpocket, and was dating the girl who had caring responsibilities for her sister. The immigrant who worked long hours and sometimes came to school wearing his clothes from his job that later developed a crush on the girl who had caring responsibilities for her sister. Separate stories, yet all inter-connected and fascinating in its complexity and depth

 

Notre étrangère – A beautifully shot film, which spans Burkina Faso and France. The dominant themes deal with adoption, motherhood and the feeling of being a stranger or being caught in-between two worlds. A young girl leaves France in search of her biological mother in Burkina Faso but only finds her alcoholic Aunt who is overjoyed to see her and treats her like the prodigal daughter. The alcoholic Aunt is lonely; she has no children and despite numerous efforts has been unable to bear her own children. This is especially hard in a country, which valorizes motherhood and scorns the barren woman.

 

Whilst the young girl searches in vain for her mother, her mother is working as a cleaner in France. Although she had agreed for her daughter’s French father to take the young girl to France she never recovers from the loss of her daughter and disappears soon after the child leaves for France. The audience is aware that the mother is in France and the Aunt heard a rumour that the mother is in France but no one knows for a fact where the mother is located. The film ends without mother and daughter finding each other.

 

So how does all this relate to what I do at AWDF?

In 2008, AWDF formally launched a popular culture project at the Sixth African Development Forum held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 18^th-21^st November 2008. The launch of the popular culture project was in recognition of the need for women’s rights organisations to adopt strategies that can target a mass base of the population if perceptions, behaviours and attitudes are to be influenced.

 

In 2010, AWDF convened the first African Women in Film Forum in conjunction with the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts led by acclaimed Nollywood actress Joke Silva on the theme, “Nollywood: Women and the Dynamics of Representation”. This forum attracted a wide and diverse cross section of Nollywood’s key players including Directors, Actresses, Scriptwriters and virtually every profession connected in some way to the film profession.

 

In 2011, AWDF as part of its 3^rd strategic plan has decided to add a new thematic area to its work, “Arts, Culture and Sports”. This presents a new opportunity for AWDF to extend its support for the Arts and to consider innovative ways of achieving gender equality.

 

It is very clear to me that the visual medium is a powerful tool and one that women’s rights activists haven’t engaged with sufficiently.

 

There was a powerful documentary screened at the 22nd FESPACO, “The Witches of Gambaga”. Women’s rights organizations at the public screening in Ghana on the 15^th of February 2011 described the film as “a gift to the women’s movement”. A gift because the film depicts powerfully (in a way no report can) the abuse that women who have been accused of witchcraft face and shows the complex interplay of gender, tradition and power which leave women vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft. Not enough of such films exist, or if they do exist are not widely disseminated.

 

We need more documentaries that tell women’s stories. We need action films that have women heroines (and not just as the pretty sidekick). We need films that show women in all their beautiful diversities – working women, rich women, lesbians, activists, happy singletons, women living positively, differently abled women…We need women producers, directors, scriptwriters, actresses, distributors…

 

See you at the 23^rd FESPACO in 2013.

Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

Communications Officer

AWDF

Congratulations to Angela Dwamena-Aboagye of the Ark Foundation in Ghana for receiving a Millenium Excellence Award 2010 in the category of ‘Women’s Empowerment’. In 2005, the African Women’s Development Fund also recognised the Executive Director of the Ark Foundation with a Woman of Substance award. Congratulations Angela and all the team at the Ark