Category: News

Wed 3rd February, 2016
6:00 pm
DON’T CALL ME BEAUTIFUL

Alliance Francaise Accra – Exhibition hall, Accra
“I cannot think of a significant life moment, I have had, that didn’t involve some woman. These photographs are both a song in celebration of the African woman, and a criticism of how our societies deliberately impede their every movement.” This is Nana Kofi Acquah’s artist statement. More than a photo exhibition, this event will also feature poetry and a sound installation by the Nana Kofi Acquah himself.

Youth, parents and even grandmothers came together for a day-long sports and culture fair in Nairobi’s Kibagare district hosted by Young Women Campaigning Against Aids (YWCAA), an NGO which focuses on HIV-AIDS prevention and advocacy.

The event, held January 27, was an opportunity for fun and games showcasing the group’s activities and handiwork, as well as an education day.

The day began with a gripping opening soccer match featuring grandmothers, guardians and parents of the girls, after which YWCAA’s team faced girls from other Nairobi teams, captivating all those present.

After winning teams were handed trophies, it was time for sensitization on drug abuse, Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights and HIV/AIDS. The active participation in the sessions showed clearly that the community both appreciated the information and wanted more.

“The event was a great success, with a higher turnout than we expected. The general public including the youth and adolescents were enthusiastic and actively participated during the question and answer sessions,” said Ms. Perez Abeka the group’s Executive Director.

Perez, who noted the personal growth of the girls within the organisation, commended several of them for their hard work, ambition and commitment to better themselves. It was the same commitment that propelled the formation of the organisation.

Working in bars helped shape the mindset of the early members of YWCAA who paid for their university education through part-time work as bar waitresses. This exposure opened their eyes to the socio-economic impact of HIV and the vulnerable nature of their work environment. Although the focus of the organisation was initially on bar waitresses, they’ve expanded their coverage to the youth, orphaned and vulnerable children and grandmothers.

The cultural extravaganza is the climax of a one-year project executed by YWCAA with funding from AWDF. The project seeks to use sports, culture and the creative arts as tools for prevention and advocacy on HIV/AIDS, and to serve as a means of empowerment for young women. The group’s participants benefit from an extensive mentorship program and training in various skills including dress making, bead work, beauty, hair dressing, drama and music.
YWCAA’s work continues to serve as an inspiration to the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) and the world at large.

By Moiyattu Banya

A group of over 50 Sierra Leonean women have marched on the nation’s parliament house to affirm their support for a Safe Abortion Bill passed last year.

Authorities prevented the women from invading a meeting convened by Christian and Muslim leaders on Wednesday to discuss the bill which was brought before parliament in December 2015, but is yet to be signed into law by the president.

The bill would legalize abortion for women and girls with pregnancies of up to 12 weeks and even after 13 weeks under special circumstances which include sexual assault, rape, incest or medical complications which might put the life of a mother or child at risk. Legislators have worked closely with women’s activist organizations and key stakeholders to debate the benefits of the bill for women as well as the healthcare system in Sierra Leone.

The women, who were from a coalition of different women’s rights groups, have championed the bill as a victory for reproductive rights saying it would reduce illegal and unsafe abortions. Sierra Leone has the world’s highest maternal mortality rates in the world according to the World Health Organization, with a high proportion of deaths resulting from unsafe abortions.

“It is not a fight against morality or religion,” Jayne Flynn-Sankoh, an activist said. “It(the bill) is a pathway to the independence of women …the Bill seeks to protect the sexual and reproductive health rights of women.”

“We are not saying that we don’t want to have babies, we are saying let us make a decision.We need to protect our women and girls who are getting pregnant through rape, incest or have a medical condition that may put her life or the fetus in danger. It is about safety and choice,” Ajara Bomah, another activist, said.

The activists say they will continue to organize more advocacy efforts around the Bill.

C

Click here

to listen to Nassau Fofana, a former gender advisor to the President’s interview on BBC radio about the bill.

AWDF’s 5th CEO Forum on Leadership and Communications for Women Leaders of Women’s Rights Organisations in Africa took place in Nairobi, Kenya between 10 -12 August 2015. The three-day convening brought together 21 vibrant women executives from 8 organisations across Africa, including Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. The program featured two main facilitators, Hope Chigudu and Paula Fray, who will serve as coaches leading the participants through a 10-month coaching program following the forum. Over the years, the focus of the CEO Forum has deepened and expanded. The forum and coaching program are also growing just as the participants are also developing their leadership and communications portfolio.

With each forum, the experience shared by the organisers and participants pushes the Capacity Building Program to take risks and try new and different processes. So, the forum and coaching program are interactive and responsive, shifting and changing over time like the women leaders who take part. Through this process, the Capacity Building Program is creating a unique framework that promotes African feminist leadership and coaching as a model for implementation for women’s rights organisations throughout Africa and, potentially, around the world. The idea is to mobilise more resources to support African women and organisations to build a compelling leadership practice that infuses the whole organisation. This can provide routes for the democratisation of leadership among staff and board members, so that human resource talents and skills can be adequately tapped and utilised for greater viability of the organisation. This can provide much needed support to the CEO and senior management team. With feminist leadership, leaders are built to carry the vision of the organisation into the future.

5th CEO Report Final

Introduction

Attempts to address the gender dimensions of governance, peace and security in Africa are often
plagued by several undermining tendencies. One tendency is that gender and, derived from this,
women’s concerns are presented as a standalone issue by an active women’s movement. This is done
without thorough engagement with the entire peace, security and governance environment. Mainstream
peace and security processes generally deal with gender and the women’s agenda as a peripheral
issue. They relegate it to the shadows of the governance and security debate. Policy interventions
aimed at achieving gender related transformation in peace and security have not delivered meaningful
change on the ground.
This policy paper discusses this disconnect between policy, scholarship and activism and the reality
on the ground; and its underlying causes. It makes proposals for relocating gender considerations in
mainstream governance, peace and security discourse and practice. Ultimately, the hope is that this
might begin to bring a systematic shift in the way all parties address gender issues. As such, this paper
brings several interrelated issues into focus:

● The relationship between governance, peace and security.
● The value of examining processes through which state and society forge a common understanding
around the protection of their citizens – and the place of gender in this. A key question is: why does
gender inequality remain relegated to the background while other issues occupy the foreground
of national conversation?
● The opportunities peace and security processes provide for reform of security governance in favour
of excluded citizens, particularly women, who are often at the receiving end of gender inequality.
The paper highlights the role of policy frameworks such as UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
● The constituency of actors who can help elevate the gender equality agenda as articulated in
Resolution 1325 in the policy and decision making arena.
● Despite efforts, the failure to achieve transformation in society and change for women toward
gender equality.

The summary section of this paper above includes three sets of recommendations for analysts, policy
practitioners and women’s organisations and activists.

Policy paper by: Dr Fumni Olonisakin

Bringing Gender Dimensions back from Obscurity (web version)17_12_15

Introduction

There have been some significant gains for women in Africa over the past 15 to 20 years. Women are taking positions of leadership in increasing numbers in political, economic, legal and social fields. In Rwanda, women constitute 64% in parliament, ranking it as the leading nation globally for representation by women in a legislature. In 2005, Africa witnessed the first woman president with the election of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia. In 2011, we had the second woman president, President Joyce Banda. There is legislation in countries such as Ghana, Kenya and South Africa against domestic and other forms of gender based violence. In 2010, the African Union (AU), launched the Decade for Women.

While these achievements are welcome, there is still a big deficit in implementation of key international and national policies and laws. Thirty years after the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), many girls and women still do not have equal opportunities to realise their rights as recognised in law.

The report below examines this in depth.

Policy Paper by: Everjoice Win

Feminist Organizing for Women’s Human Rights in Africa (final web version)

AWDF is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Afua Naa Lamle Viana Owoo, our first Communications Specialist who passed away in London on January 5, 2016 from breast cancer.

Naa Lamle joined AWDF in October 2001 and led communications and media work for the Africa Launch in November 2001. She directed AWDF’s first documentary Women of Substance I in 2002. Naa Lamle, a professional filmmaker, did extensive work around social justice issues.

She was a committed and meticulous worker with a great passion for documentary and filmmaking. She is survived by a 14-year old daughter and her aged mother.

Naa Lamle was an organised and meticulous person who gave detailed attention to the documentation of her work with bold labelling and captioning of every material and document arranged neatly on her desk. Additionally, Naa Lamle would be remembered for her loud hearty laughter, a doting mother to her baby- the first baby we all adored who was brought in to work daily.

Abigail Burgesson, AWDF Special Programmes Manager

January 14, 2016 – Today, the World Health Organization (WHO), declared the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia and says all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa.

It’s a day to celebrate, yet the consequences of this outbreak – the worst the world has ever known, are devastating: over 11,000 deaths out of 28,000 infections in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the three worst affected countries, and economies and lives shattered.

Liberia was first declared free of Ebola transmission in May 2015, but the virus was re-introduced twice since then, with the latest flare-up in November. The last confirmed patient in Liberia has tested negative for the disease following two consecutive 21 day incubation cycles of the disease.

“More flare-ups are expected and that strong surveillance and response systems will be critical in the months to come,” WHO said in a statement.

For us at AWDF who have been deeply involved with assisting women’s groups from the start of the epidemic, the welfare of women must continue to be a priority for local, government and regional leaders. The critical support which will be needed to get families back on their feet, children in school and health systems running, must not be denied.

“We need support for the women affected by Ebola and those involved in the fight,” says Djakagbe Kaba, who heads the Association Guineenne pour L’Allegement des Charges (AGACFEM), an AWDF grantee which was instrumental in coordinating Ebola prevention and education efforts in Kissidougou, one of the worst affected areas.

“After Ebola I hope we can help women resume their work in soap-making and agricultural production. Though the epidemic has passed, we must still be observant and remind people to always wash their hands. Preventive measures must continue,” Kaba said.

All our efforts will be needed in the months to come to ensure that the necessary prevention, surveillance and response capacity across all three countries are put in place and that more women are ready to shoulder responsibility in these efforts. Please make a donation now.

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is happy to announce a new initiative led by the young feminists of our organisation.

Happening this December, The Young Feminists Gathering (YFG) is a space of learning, engagement, solidarity and creativity for women between the ages of 18-35.

YFG will take place each month at the AWDF Resource Centre in Accra, Ghana.
The Young Feminists Gathering focuses on these core objectives:

Learn more about how women’s movements are shaping the continent and world.
Discover what African feminism is all about and how it transforms the lives of women.
Practice solidarity, develop new skills and share strategies of success between women.
Create exciting projects that tap into our collective dreams and actions for social change.
Innovate new experiences together and raise the vibrations of feminist consciousness (ex: book readings, writing groups, performances or exhibitions, film screenings and interactive workshops).

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Football and human rights education are a potent mix for the girls of Skillz Street, a program created by the Zimbabwe chapter of Grassroots Soccer, an NGO which uses football (soccer) to educate, inspire and mobilise young people against the spread of HIV.

Skillz Street, which is supported by the African Women’s Development Fund, creates a safe space for adolescent girls to play football, while taking action in their community and fostering vital conversations about sexual and reproductive health and rights.

‘It would be selfish of me not to recommend this program to my friends. It is an eye opening program,” said Olivia Muchemwa, a recent beneficiary.

Founded by four professional football players, Grassroot Soccer works with vulnerable 13-18 year olds through local coaches who equip them with the knowledge, skills and support to help them avoid contracting HIV. After the success of programmes in Zambia and South Africa, the group went on to create Skillz Street in Zimbabwe in 2010.

Using a gender- specific curriculum that teaches life skills and HIV prevention, one female coach works with a maximum of 10 girls, building trusting relationships that continue after completion of the programme. The programme emphasises soccer based activities and discussions on gender norms and cultural stigmas.

So far, 308 girls have graduated from the Skillz Street curriculum in Zimbabwe with an additional 20 girls recruited and trained to act as community role models. A number of participants opened about their experience with abuse and were given help towards recovery.

For many of the students Skillz Street has been formational for their lives and for their future relationships.

“We were taught how to express ourselves, how to say no and how to challenge what other people think, ‘ said Lisa Chiwawa, one of the participants.

Participants say they are in a better position to exercise their rights and be in safe, relationships with the opposite sex and demonstrate increased knowledge of the risks regarding older sexual partners and unprotected sex.

“I learnt that it’s never the victim’s fault to be raped,” Rachel Dliwayo, another direct beneficiary of Skillz Street confidently responded when asked how she had been empowered by the program.

In 2012, Women Deliver named Skillz Street as one of the top 10 of a list of top 50 education initiatives worldwide for girls and women.

Join us in supporting work like this by making a contribution to AWDF today![/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Le football et l’éducation aux droits de l’homme sont une puissante combinaison pour les filles de Skillz Street, un programme créé par la branche de Grassroots Football au Zimbabwe , une ONG qui utilise le football (soccer) pour éduquer, inspirer et mobiliser les jeunes contre la propagation du VIH.

Skillz Street, qui est soutenu par le Fonds Africain de Développement de la Femme, crée un espace sûr pour que les adolescentes jouent au football, tout en prenant des mesures dans leur communauté et favorise les conversations essentielles sur la santé et les droits sexuels et reproductifs.

«Il serait égoïste de ma part de ne pas recommander ce programme à mes amis. C’est un programme qui fait ouvrir les yeux », a déclaré Olivia Muchemwa, une nouvelle bénéficiaire.

Fondée par quatre des joueurs de football professionnels, Grassroot Soccer travaille avec les jeunes vulnérables de 13-18 ans par le biais des entraîneurs locaux qui les dotent de connaissances, de compétences et les aident à éviter de contracter le VIH. Après le succès des programmes en Zambie et en Afrique du Sud, le groupe a continué en créant Skillz Street au Zimbabwe en 2010.

Un programme sexospécifique est utilisé pour enseigner des connaissances essentielles et la prévention au VIH, une entraîneuse travaille avec un maximum de 10 jeunes filles à la construction de relations de confiance qui continuent après l’achèvement du programme. Ce dernier met l’accent sur les activités basées sur le football et les discussions sur les normes de genre et la stigmatisation culturelle.

Jusqu’à présent, 308 filles ont obtenu leur diplôme du programme Skillz Street au Zimbabwe, à cela s’ajoutent 20 filles recrutées et formées pour agir comme des modèles dans la communauté. Un certain nombre de participantes se sont ouvertes à propos de leur expérience des abus et sont aidées à se reconstruire.

Pour beaucoup d’étudiantes Skillz Street a été formateur pour leur vie et pour leurs relations futures.

“Nous avons appris à nous exprimer, comment dire non et comment contester ce que les autres pensent” confit Lisa Chiwawa, l’une des participantes.

Les participantes déclarent qu’elles sont dans une meilleure position pour exercer leurs droits, pour être en sécurité, dans leurs relations avec le sexe opposé et ont une meilleure connaissance des risques concernant les partenaires sexuels plus âgés et les rapports sexuels non protégés.

«Je appris que ce n’est jamais la faute de la victime quand elle est violée,” répond confiante Rachel Dliwayo, autre bénéficiaire directe de Skillz Street, lorsqu’on lui a demandé comment elle avait été habilitée par le programme.

En 2012, Women Deliver a nommé Skillz Street parmi le top 10 de sa liste des 50 initiatives d’éducation dans le monde entier pour les filles et les femmes.[/tp]