Monday 11 February 2013

I seriously think that something should be done to stop this before things get out of hand like seriously.Women are no longer safe in a place they call home.Now women feel like prey instead of feeling at home in their communities.We need to stop this promptly. we can not wait for the next person to do it for us because while you wait it could be your sister,daughter,aunt or even yourself who is next... lets fight against this and end this brutality before we end up with no tears at and feel very outraged without anything to do.

South Africa Gang Rape Death Shocks Nation
Anita Powell (07 Feb)

The brutal gang rape and subsequent death of a South African teenager has shocked the nation. South Africa’s incidence of sexual assault is very high, with no relief in sight. But top officials say this latest assault may be a wake-up call, much like the gang rape of a New Delhi woman in December has been for India.

Even in a nation considered the rape capital of the world, Anene Booysen’s story is shocking.

The 17-year-old was found at a construction site in the Western Cape on Saturday. She had been repeatedly raped. A doctor told a local newspaper that her attackers had sliced her open from the stomach down. The doctor said it appeared they had pulled out her intestines with their hands. She died Wednesday.

A health department official said staffers at the hospital were receiving counseling because her injuries were so horrific.

Booysen managed to identify one of her alleged assailants before her death - her 22-year-old ex-boyfriend. Three more suspects have been arrested.

President outraged

The outrage has reverberated up to the very top. President Jacob Zuma expressed his outrage and called for stiff punishments for the attackers.

Presidential spokesman, Mac Maharaj, said Booysen’s death could represent a turning point for South Africa, much as the rape and murder of a young New Delhi woman did last year in India.

”Maybe, in a perverse way, this is something that will trigger a reaction where the entire community, with society as a whole, government, police, the courts and the communities working together will act in concert to stamp out this scourge in our society," said Maharaj. "It is a deep-seated problem and it is not something that can be overcome by one singular act. It needs a change of behavior, not only on the part of the rapist, but it needs a change of behavior amongst all of us so we all become parties to removing this scourge.”

Rape, a frequent crime

South African police documented more than 64,000 rapes last year.

A widely cited 2010 study found that more than a quarter of South African men have admitted to raping a girl or woman. One in seven men admitted to gang rape.

Gender rights activist Dumisani Rebombo is one of those men. When he was 15, his friends teased him and told him he wasn’t a man. So, in an attempt to prove his manliness, he participated in a gang rape. The victim never reported the crime and he was never charged. But 20 years later, he found her and apologized to her. She told him her life had never been the same.

Community outcry

Today, he heads the One Man Can project, which works to educate rural communities about rape. He says he thinks gender inequality is a big factor behind South Africa’s rape epidemic.

”I cannot say, 'these are the reasons why,' but I think the underlying factor is how we socialize boys and girls, differently, and there many examples we can take. From birth emanates the notion that men are, or should be, superior and should be treated with more respect and dignity than women," said Rebombo.

He says he doesn’t accept arguments that seem to exonerate men from responsibility.

”If men, because of patriarchy, could be CEOs of companies and president, and so forth, and be in high positions, I don’t see why men cannot control themselves when they are around women," Rebombo said. "So I don’t take that. I don’t take that men rape because they are poor and they are therefore they were just drinking, because there’s nothing to do. We have poorer countries surrounding South Africa and we don’t have these type of atrocities widely reported."

March against women's violence

Activist Zubeida Shaik is one of the organizers of a planned mass march against women’s violence in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

The marches will be held on Valentine’s Day (February 14), but don’t expect hearts and flowers. That approach, she says, is long gone. Instead, she says, her group is making demands, going into communities and forcing them to confront the problem as a group. She says she’s seeing increasingly brutal attacks on women.

”We’re placing demands now," she said. "It’s no longer about being polite about rape. It’s not about saying, you know, ‘we’re going to advocate, and we’re going to lobby, and we’re going to do all of this with government structures and institutions etc.’ That’s gone now. We’ve done that. It hasn’t worked, we’ve got to move on, we’ve got to make it a community problem or find solutions within the community because that’s where the problems are."

An official in the Western Cape told a local news station that young people should not ”get into situations at 3 in the morning where they place themselves in danger.”

Shaik says the official’s comment only contributes to the problem.

”It’s because of statements and comments like that that people’s perceptions become so warped about this. Because in a sense, he was blaming this young woman. And the same thing happened in India, where they also said, ‘oh, but why was she out at that time of the night?’ Now, if a woman is not free to move around whenever she wants to, wear whatever she wants to, what kind of society are we living in,” asked Shaik.

Thursday 22 November 2012


"From peace in our Homes to Peace in the world:Lets challenge all forms of Gender Based Violence and End violence against women and men"

by Janet T Bhila
Hubby loses tooth in fight over pot (Herald of November 14 2012)
Lets all condemn domestic violence in Zim (Nehanda Radio 18 November 2012)
DJ bashed by lover (Daily news of November 13 2012)

Gender Based Violence is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is based on socially ascribed 
 (gender) differences between men and women. http://researchandadvocacyunit.wordpress.com/tag/16-days-of-activism-against-gender-based-violence/. 16 Days are meant to raise awareness on issues to do with gender based violence and end gender based violence.
 
The Interagency Gender Working Group is a network that promotes gender equity it says that the violence may take many forms, such as sexual abuse,physical violence, emotional or psychological abuse, verbal abuse, or beatings during pregnancy.

In its 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the world governing body, the UN, defines GBV in Article 1 as “Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical,sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."Further, Article 2 of the Declaration points out  that the definition should incorporate and not be limited to acts of physical, sexual and psychological violence in the family, community, or perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs. These acts include: spousal battery; sexual abuse The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action expands this UN definition.It clearly identifies violence against women as including violations of the rights of women in situations of armed conflict, including systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy; forced sterilization, forced abortion, coerced or forced use of contraceptives; prenatal sex selection and female infanticide. It also recognizes the particular vulnerabilities of women belonging to minorities: the elderly and the displaced; indigenous, refugee and migrant communities; the disabled; women living in rural or remote areas.

Thus, the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence became one of several initiatives, mainly by feminists, to raise awareness and eliminate GBV in the world. It came out of the Global Campaign for Women’s human rights. In June 1991 the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership with participants from the first Women’s Global Institute on Women, Violence and Human Rights (a forum involving 23 women from 20 countries) called for a Global Campaign of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence from November 25 to December 10 in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights, and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights including of female children;rape, including marital rape; female genital mutilation/cutting, and other practices harmful to women; non-spousal violence; sexual violence related to exploitation; sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in school and elsewhere; trafficking in women; and forced prostitution.http://www.mmpz.org/sites/default/files/GBV%2016%20Days%20Campaign%20Report.pdf

In many recent articles written by the press there has been reports of how women have been beaten up or killed for issues where we can all agree that the issue would have not been solved by the outcome of the matter.For example in  Raviro Sherekete's Story (Man kills brother's wife over sex -herald 10 November 2012). My opinion this kind of behavior is not  called for. After her death he remains with a conscience that will haunt him the rest of his life and  a jail term that will make sure he will miss out on a larger part of his life.The question to ask is WAS WHAT HE DID WORTH IT ?HOW DID IT SOLVE THE PROBLEM? We all need to let God deal with our inner selves,and let him be in control of everything that goes one in our lives other wise all we work for our families,our jobs,the nice house you have will be hard work going down the drain.
  
As we are all taking part in 16 days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign let us all bear in mind that fighting does not solve any problem neither does it assist us in getting what we want to be done,in fact it only makes matters worse.Let us all work together in ending violence against gender (men and women).

 TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS AND YOUR RIGHTS.GENDER BASED VIOLENCE CAN BE STOPPED AND IT BEGINS WITH YOU. 

Thursday 31 May 2012

Sexual harrasment should stop among humans

                                                                   
Janet Tatenda Bhila



·       
         Subtle pressure for sexual activity;
·        Patting or pinching;
·        Deliberate brushing against another person's body;
·        “Friendly” arms around the shoulder;
·        Deliberate assaults or molestations;
·        Sexually explicit pornographic pictures posted in view of all employees;
·        Demanding sexual favors, accompanied by implied or overt threats concerning an individual's job, grades, letters of recommendation, etc.;
·        Explicit offers of money for sex.
     Stalking .

Above are examples of sexual harrasements that normally take place in our day to day runnings.It has happened to someone and it is up to us to be aware of what is happening around us and be able to stop it before more people get hurt.

It is mostly women that are affected by this because the harassers often have more power and control over their victims.This happens due to the myth or belief that women should always be submissive to the man.

The number of abuse cases is rising in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone and other African countries, statistics show. Whether that means more children are being victimized or more are coming forward — or both — is impossible to determine, experts say.
The impact is apparent in Zimbabwe, where a child rights group estimates that at least 2,000 child rape victims have died of AIDS since 1998. “Literally for the first time in Zimbabwe’s history, child abuse is no longer a taboo subject,” said James Elder, a Unicef spokesman.

 One in three of the 4,000 women questioned by the Community of Information, Empowerment and Transparency said they had been raped in the past year. A survey conducted among 1,500 schoolchildren in the Soweto township, a quarter of all the boys interviewed said that 'jackrolling', a term for gang rape, was fun. More than 25% of South African men questioned in a survey admitted to raping someone; of those, nearly half said they had raped more than one person, according to a new study conducted by the Medical Research Council (MRC).It is estimated that 500,000 rapes are committed annually in South Africa.A 2010 study led by the government-funded Medical Research Foundation says that in Gauteng province, home to South Africa's most populous city of Johannesburg, more than 37 percent of men said they had raped a woman. Nearly 7 percent of the 487 men surveyed said they had participated in a gang rape.

The survivors normally feel anger frustration and some blame themselves for letting themselves be abused.In most cases some even get to the extent of changing schools,dropping out of school or even venturing into harmful practices if they are not helped in time.

The law everywhere is out to get harassers who deprive women and men of their freedom... ( Janet 2012) Please in helping others you are helping yourself....

Victim friendly units in all police stations are out there to help us lets use them.I f by any chance we face sexual harrassment anyone whom we can trust can be told or better yet the victim friendly unit or any organisation near you that deal with such issues will be of tremendous help.

Let us all set out to get educated about our rights and what happens around us it is up to us to make a stop to such inhumane practices.


Friday 25 May 2012

Champion women’s rights, Africa urged


President Mugabe yesterday challenged governments and civic society across Africa to champion and protect the rights of women and the girl child.

He was speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Global Power Women Network Africa chapter in Harare.
He said the launch of the Global Power Women Network Africa chapter took the issues of women emancipation and empowerment a step further.“After the launch, the real work will begin and call for the same passion, unity of purpose and consistency in pursuing the goals which have characterised this women’s network this far.

“Of particular note will be the challenge of giving unstinting support to women candidates of every cue and cry; of varying professional qualifications; driven by different talents and capabilities to realise their potential in the collaborative work of Global Power Women Network, the African Union and UNAids,” he said.
The women’s network, said the President, was focused on the fulfilment of Millennium Development Goals numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 of the United Nations.

He said the working theme for the meeting, “Getting to Zero”, appropriately summarised the desire to eradicate, once and for all, impediments to women empowerment, gender equality and equity.

“It is a firm commitment to the eradication of the HIV and Aids pandemic and the alleviation of extreme poverty.
“I am told that deliberations from this conference will culminate in the ‘Harare Call to Action’ which will subsequently be presented to Heads of State and Government through the African Union system.”

President Mugabe said it was befitting that one of the conference’s objectives was to call upon governments and partners to affirm high-level national leadership and country ownership in the implementation of HIV and sexual reproductive health and rights.

The objectives are both immediate and long-term while future conferences will be held either annually or biennially depending on resources.Venues shall be rotated among African countries and each conference will develop its own theme.

Yesterday’s conference came against the backdrop of other ongoing programmes aimed at achieving the same goal.“I am pleased by this collaboration with the African Union and the desire by Global Power Women Network to further the already ongoing programmes like Campaign on Accelerated Reduction on Maternal Mortality in Africa.
“By launching CARMA, Africans have shown that over the past six years (starting with the Maputo Plan of Action 2006) they are determined to accelerate the availability and use of universally accessible quality sexual and reproductive health services,” said President Mugabe.

He said the launch of CARMA demonstrated that Africa cared as the programmes encompassed the mobilisation of the necessary political will to co-ordinate and harmonise interventions around country-led plans and the support of current efforts towards saving the lives of women and infants.

He said Zimbabwe, through the Ministries of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development and Economic Planning and Investment Promotion had introduced the Gender Responsive Economic Policy Management Initiative.“This course builds the local capacity of policymakers and economic development practitioners to mainstream gender into economic development policy formulation.”

The President took a swipe at rapists, saying they did not deserve to be treated like normal human beings. He lamented the rot that had penetrated society in which people had the nerve to rape even babies. The President also castigated homosexuality, saying it took away the rights of women and was therefore unacceptable.“I do not know what others in the gay world believe, but here we do not live in that world. “You can’t talk of women’s rights if you live in that world.
“When God gave Adam a woman to give him company, that was the beginning of mankind. God gave the woman the talent to give birth and so we must respect the woman and recognise her rights,” said President Mugabe.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms Navanethem Pillay said Africa continued to face challenges in supporting rights-based responses to HIV and sexual reproductive health for women and young girls.
She said leading causes of death among women of reproductive age were complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.“In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, young women aged between 14 and 24 are as much as eight times more likely than men to be living with HIV.

“Vulnerability to HIV amongst sexually active young women, gender based violence and discrimination, as well as an inability to access sexual and reproductive health services, are causing an explosion of multiple epidemics,” said Ms Pillay.

Ms Pillay added that the starting point in addressing the epidemics was to recognise that all people were equal in the enjoyment of their human rights.

When women’s sexual and reproductive rights were violated, she said, they were denied the ability to have full autonomy over their bodies to lead healthy and productive lives. They were also denied the chance to decide if and when to give birth to new life.

“A human rights based approach requires that women are seen as agents who control and have decision-making power over their own health, as holders of rights and entitlements rather than passive recipients of a charitable service.
“Some of the most difficult leadership calls are those that ask governments to step forward to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights that must be realised for us to effectively address HIV and the sexual and reproductive health of women and girls.”

Source

Welcome Statement by the President of Global Power Women Network Africa and Deputy Prime Minister to the Harare High Level Meeting – Republic of Zimbabwe

Welcome Statement by the President of Global Power Women Network Africa and Deputy Prime Minister to the Harare High Level Meeting – Republic of Zimbabwe

Global Power Women Network Africa in collaboration with the African Union and UNAIDS will host its inaugural summit on the 24th and 25th May 2012 in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is during this important event that in the evening of 24 May, the Global Power Women Network Africa Chapter will be officially launched. The momentous events coincide with Africa Day celebrations to buttress the importance of women and girls’ rights and empowerment.
The launch summit seeks to promote amongst other things accelerated action on gender equality and women’s sexual rights. It is an acknowledged reality that poverty and HIV have a woman face. Addressing and curbing the scourge of HIV and AIDS can be effectively done partly through resolving gender imbalances in our societies that consign women to perpetual poverty and economic subordination to their male counterparts.
We hope to use the forthcoming summit to scale up women action on key benchmarks like the Kampala Action, Maputo Action, Abuja Declaration and the Abuja Call to Action. The MDGs 4, 5 & 6 and the targets agreed during the 2011 UN High Level meeting on HIV/AIDS. Special focus will be on MDGs 1, 2 & 3. This meeting shall serve as a strategic political platform for all parties in advancing innovative game changing actions that positively impact on women and girls in Africa with “The Harare Call to Action” as a major outcome.
For this coming event our rallying call is:
  • Zero  new HIV infections
  • Zero  maternal and child mortality
  • Zero tolerance to violence against women and girls
  • Zero hunger and poverty.
Lastly, on behalf of the executive of Global Power Women Network Africa and on my behalf as its President, I congratulate as well as thank all of you who have worked tirelessly to make this dream come true. In unity we are primed for greater heights.
Thank you,
Hon. Thokozani Khupe [MP]
Deputy Prime Minister –Republic of Zimbabwe &
President of Global Power Women Network Africa

Source-http://www.globalpowerwomennetworkafrica.org/welcome-statement-by-the-president-of-global-power-women-network-africa-and-deputy-prime-minister-to-the-harare-high-level-meeting-republic-of-zimbabwe/

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Zim set to Host the Global Power Network Africa High Level Meeting

By Beatrice Savadye

Zimbabwe will this week host a  high level Global Power Network Africa Summit set for 24-25th of May 2012 in Harare.

The summit which is running under the theme “Accelerating Action for Women Empowerment and Gender Equality in the area of HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights” will draw the delegation of about 300 parliamentarians, development partners, civil society leaders, and African women entrepreneurs from across Africa.

The Global Power Network Summit which is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Hon Thokhozani Khupe has organised this high level meeting in collaboration with African Union and UNAIDS .
The meeting is expected to be “a strategic political platform to advance innovative game-changing approaches that positively impact the lives of women and girls in Africa in relation to HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and to accelerate action on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in particular Goals 3, 4, 5 and 6″.

More women than men in Sub-Saharan Africa are living with HIV. In 2010, women accounted for 59% of people living with HIV on the continent, with young women aged 15 to 24 being at particular risk. In some countries women in this age group are up to six times more likely to be infected than young men of the same age.

In 2010, an estimated 390 000 children under 15 years were newly infected with HIV globally of that total 350,000 were in Africa. More than half of all maternal deaths are estimated to occur in Africa, with an average maternal mortality ratio of 620 per 100 000 live births, a significant proportion by AIDS-related causes.

The outcomes of the high level meeting will be tabled at the African Union Heads of States summit to be held in Lilongwe in July 2012 as well as the International AIDS Conference in Washington in July 2012.

Tuesday 8 May 2012

Gwenn speaks…

In most societies, women and girls face power imbalances, unequal opportunities, discrimination and human rights violations including widespread violence inside and outside the home. In Zimbabwe, out of the estimated 1 023 038 adults living with HIV, 608 700 are both young and adult women. The high HIV prevalence among women is a result of the engendered nature of decision making in our country and continent.
Young women’s state of limited access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) information and services as well as limited skills and ability to negotiate for safer sex, including condom use have placed many of us at high risk. Given this background, I believe with the given opportunity to be part of the Young Women Leadership programme as an advocate and leader representing young women I will be able to make a difference.

Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) challenges remain a challenge for girls and women in our continent and these have been causing a range of negative effects including unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions, increased number of sexual violation cases and new STI/HIV infections. These SRH challenges are profoundly embedded in the social, cultural and political fabric of our society and as a young woman with enthusiasm and who is empowered with skills and abilities, I believe together with other young women in SAWYNet we will address these challenges and proffer solutions the world has been waiting for.

“The participation of a young woman for the good of all girls and women will be the most powerful ray of hope for the generations to come.” (Gwenn T.T Chimuti 2011)

With regards to Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) and HIV and AIDS, being a young person with a strong passion for other youths and a leader have positioned me to better understand the trends, challenges, gaps and achievements in ASRH and HIV programming in Zimbabwe and this has been a place of advantage as I am now well informed. Meaningful involvement and participation have been experiences that made me realize that the future of young people in Zimbabwe and their sexual and reproductive health lies with how I represent them. A strong sense of responsibility and accountability are traits that have been instilled in me over the years and I believe together with SAWYNet youth leaders our continent will be a “haven” for all youths.

I’m a young person who believes in touching people’s lives and making a difference and as a leader I believe I will be able to mentor many young people who will also rise and develop our African continent. Volunteerism has proven to me the best way to sustainable development and has many other benefits like curbing the challenge of unemployment and enables the young people to gain experience and skill without much cost.

A time will come and now is … when the most unforeseen and almost forgotten being will change the world. The SAWYNet team – Young vibrant and powerful team of young women is here and will surely turn the tide for the good of humanity!!!