Malusi lets go of self-hatred to forge a new life
Malusi educates men and boys about gender issues in South Africa. He came to this work as a result of losing access to his young daughter. When he and her mother broke up, he was prevented from seeing her and slid into a pattern of drinking and drug use. Eventually, Malusi saw that his only […]
Zondi’s inspirational story about returning home to take up the position of chief
When his father became ill, Zondi was unexpectedly asked to return to his village and take over the position of Inkosi or chief. Although he was nervous at first, Inkosi Zondi has been able to address problems facing women, children and youth in his community. By sharing a story about a small bird, he explains […]
UNDP in Sudan adapt Sonke’s One Man Can campaign to the Sudanese context
In post-conflict settings men often experience a loss of power coupled with unemployment. To reinstate their power, some become abusive to their partners and families. It is against this backdrop that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sudan, together with the Sudanese government decided to adapt Sonke’s One Man Can Campaign to the Sudanese […]
Sonke and partners march on parliament in support of TAC’s TB campaign
Sonke Gender Justice, Treatment Action Campaign, United Front, People’s Health Movement and other civil organisations marched to parliament in support of TAC, to demand attention and call upon MPs and the government to take drastic measures to fight TB and improve treatment for people suffering from TB. [Photographs by Sivu Nomana]
Melikhaya’s story on access to clean water
Without access to clean water, Melikhaya worries that his mother will not be able to recover from her illness. He also worries that his siblings may get sick from the food he prepares with contaminated water. Melikhaya’s story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0NTf4XDTCo) is a plea to government to provide clean, running water to all people living in South […]
Sonke participates in screening and discussion on violence against women
On Friday, Sonke’s Dumisani Rebombo participated in an Alliance Francaise Pretoria and High Commission of Canada film screening of POLYTECHNIQUE and a discussion “Violence Against Women Knows No Boundaries… How do we stop it?) Here is Dumisani with fellow discussion panellists Nicola Christofides from University of Witwatersrand and Roseline Engelbrecht from Women in Farms. Wits […]
Sonke’s International Programmes and Networks Manager to join UN Trust Fund in Washington DC
Today and tomorrow, Sonke’s International Programmes and Networks Manager, Itumeleng Komanyane joins the United Nations Trust Fund (UNTF) in Washington DC at the United States Congress to meet with Congressional and Senate staffers and talk about UNTF’s “Engaging Men to Strengthen the Implementation of GBV Laws” project. Sonke and MenEngage Africa (which Sonke co-cordinates) worked […]
Nombasa dreams that one day her village will be safe for girls and women
Nombasa is a teenage girl growing up in the rural Eastern Cape who aspires to become a gynaecologist. She dreams that one day her village will be safe for girls and women, but she wonders whether such dreams can come true in a community where women and girls are rarely afforded an opportunity to flourish, […]
Sonke calls on SA government to fund national plan to end gender-based violence NOW!
Sonke’s delegation in NYC at the March for Gender Equality (going on right now) on International Women’s Day with UN Women – We’re calling on the South African government to fund a national plan to end gender-based violence NOW! #NSPNOW [CP]
Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day
If you’re in or near New York City, join Sonke Gender Justice at The March for Gender Equality! We’ll be calling on the South African Government to finally develop, fund and implement a long overdue National Plan to End GBV. Will our government listen? Or will more lip service and empty promises ensue, despite the […]
Tomorrow is International Women’s Day
Tomorrow is International Women’s Day. If you’re in or near New York City, join Sonke at The March for Gender Equality! We’ll be calling on the South African Government to finally develop, fund and implement a long overdue National Plan to End GBV. Will our government listen? With current trends, gender equality won’t be a […]
The challenges of facilitating change in resource-poor communities
The problem of gender inequality and gender-based violence (GBV) cuts across class, religion, geographical location, race and ethnicity. All over the world, there are numerous campaigns, projects and programmes that strive to bring about gender justice and human rights in a variety of affected communities. Working in the African context, and particularly in poorer communities […]
Coming together to change laws on gender-based violence in Kenya
Sonke Gender Justice is in the process of closing out the tri-nation United Nations Trust Fund (UNTF) project that has put funds towards ending gender-based violence (GBV) in Rwanda, Kenya and Sierra Leone. The team started out in Rwanda on the 9th of February and is currently in Nairobi evaluating the successes and lessons learnt […]
More photos on Sonke’s involvement in march for national plan to end gender-based violence
Photos from Sonke intern Seda Tan capture our colleagues doing our part to march and call for the national plan on #GBV
Father’s Day: a reminder that a model of manhood that encourages emotional engagement is already here
June 15 marks the fourth Father’s Day I’ll spend without my dad. He died in January 2011, which means that, for me, the day most people get together to celebrate their fathers has become a poignant reminder that he is no longer with us. The first few years after his death were incredibly hard. But, […]
Sonke celebrates World Refugee Day
Today, on June 20th, the world celebrates World Refugee Day. In Cape Town, civil society organisations and artists from all over the world gathered to honour the courage and strength of the millions of men, women and children who fled their homes under threat of persecution. About a hundred people attended the event which was […]
Sonke, Promundo and MenEngage at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict
Sonke is at the “Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict” in London – it is described as the largest ever gathering on this subject. Today, together with Promundo-US, we launch or new IMAGES study in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which reveals high levels of gender-based violence, as well as […]
Sonke’s Carol Bower and Wessel van den Berg write about violence in our homes and society
South Africa has just gone to the polls for the fifth time since 1994. In the build-up to what many have described as the most important election since, significant attention was paid to the kind of country South Africans want to live in. There was talk of better education, more focus on employment creation, better […]
Sonke’s Kopano Ratele on Jodi Bieber’s solo exhibition QUIET
Sonke’s Board Chair Kopano Ratele in front of an image photographer Jodi Bieber took of him as part of a series of work examining masculinities. The photograph is part of a solo exhibition QUIET, currently on show at the Goodman Gallery. Kopano told an audience at a dialogue on “Masculinity, Power, Equality and Justice” at […]
Sonke staff at Daily Maverick gathering
Sisonke Msimang and Vuyiseka Dubula, members of Sonke’s advocacy and accountability team in action at today’s #DMGathering.
Oscar Pistorius’ conviction is the exception with regard to female homicides in SA
Considering only 37% of intimate partner female homicides in South Africa lead to conviction, Oscar Pistorius facing sentencing today is in the minority of killers of women in SA. A 2004 MRC study showed the average sentence for perpetrators of intimate partner femicide was 10.7 years. Since Pistorius was only found guilty of culpable homicide, […]
Jody Williams and other Laureates refuse to attend the Nobel Summit
Jody Williams of Nobel Women’s Initiative – one of Sonke Gender Justice’s partners – told the Cape Argus that her and other Laureates’ refusal to attend the Nobel Prize Summit in Cape Town if the Dalai Lama was not given a visa to attend would “send a message that the South African government’s appalling treatment […]
Sonke staff meet in response to complaints by Isikhalo Samadoda and Social Imbalance Movement
Today, staff from Sonke Gender Justice are at a meeting organised by the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) in response to complaints lodged by the men’s organisations Isikhalo Samadoda and the Social Imbalance Movement. The organisations sent letters of complaint to both the CGE and the Department of Justice and Correctional Services claiming that women’s […]
The youngest Nobel Prize winner in history
Sonke celebrates the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize: the youngest recipient ever, Malala Yousafzai, who championed the right for girls to be educated in Pakistan and continues to have threats made against her from the Taliban who shot her in the head for her activism on behalf of girl students, and Kailash Satyarthi of […]
