Sonke Gender Justice

News Category: Sonke News

  • Women in the labour market in Tanzania

    Tanzania Woman
    Photo: Flickr/UN Women

    Eliminating gender disparities in all forms of life and empowering women have been an important agenda of the Tanzanian government since the early days of independence. Efforts to bring women into mainstream development and setting out the development agenda to address the imbalance between women and men have been undertaken in all spheres of life.

    The need to address this imbalance was reflected in the “Socialism and Self-Reliance Policy” of 1967, whose main pillars were social equity, human dignity, and gender equity. In 1992 the government of Tanzania launched a “Women’s Development Policy” and later revised it in 2000 to a “Gender Development Policy”. Additionally, in 2006, the government developed a “Strategic Plan on Gender”, striving to address gender gaps and inequities between women and men with a particular focus on economic empowerment, access to and ownership of resources, employment, and food security and nutrition.

    Building on the National Development Vision 2025 that aims to achieve a high quality livelihood for its people, including gender equity and the empowerment of women in all socio-economic and political relations,. the vision is aligned as well in the Women Development and Gender Policy (URT, 2001; URT, 2013) that calls for rectifying the historical imbalances between women and men through removing barriers that hinder women to utilise their potentials as well as removing social-cultural barriers such as norms, values, and cultural practices that continue to subjugate women to inferior social position.

    Despite the significant efforts undertaken in Tanzania, gender differences still persist across many aspects in the labour market: Women are still experiencing different forms of inequalities and violence such as sexual harassment, unpaid work, and inequality in decision-making and management roles. More women are experiencing sexual harassment at workplace; false beliefs that question and undermine the capacity and ability of women working in the business sector; women joining higher ranking jobs have been much lower than for men; the labour market is still sex-segregated, with women concentrated in low quality jobs, which offer low employment status and low remuneration.

    Findings from the Human Rights and Business Report (2019) published by the Legal and Human Rights Centre, an NGO based in Tanzania, revealed that 8% of female workers experience sexual harassment as one of the common forms of gender-based violence (GBV) at their workplaces. The report also shows that most companies do not hire women, claiming that they have no capacities to work in factories and industries.

    Working in factories and industries is regarded as a masculine job that requires men for operation. Besides, the proportion of employed women in decision-making and management roles in government, large enterprises, and institutions is still a challenge. As reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (2014), the share of males in senior and middle management occupations (82.6%) is higher than that of females (17.4%).

    Moreover, unpaid work, participation barriers and control of women’s income by men still persist in Tanzanian households. Iffat Idris’s research (2018) on mapping women’s economic exclusion in Tanzania shows that a greater proportion of women (69.9% versus 64.0% men) work in agriculture. Unpaid family helpers constitute 34.5% of those employed in agriculture – there are more than twice as many females as males in this category.

    Additionally, women in Tanzania face discrimination in the labour market in terms of security, heath and legal protections. A study done by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (2019) shows that when most women become pregnant in the business sector, they are denied paid maternity leave and, usually, forced to find another job.

    With the prevailing conditions, there is a need to design workable actions and policies which are inclusive and focus on addressing constraints women experience in the labour market. The government, through the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children and other relevant line ministries should put in place workable policies to address gender gaps in all spheres of life so as to improve the labour market and to expand opportunities for women to fully participate in socio-economic activities, and consequently, leverage a high level of development for all.

    The government should also ensure that the private sector adopts affirmative action policies to protect women from any form of discrimination at the workplace, including promotion of women into managerial roles. Lastly, civil society organisations should work jointly to raise community awareness about the entrenched norms and attitudes that constrain women’s rights and welfare from the grass-root level.

    Written by Yared Bagambilana, MenEngage Tanzania Co-Ordinator.
    Edited by Khopotso Bodibe, Communications & Media Specialist, MenEngage Africa.

  • Taking stock of the representation of women in senior positions in Kenya

    Kenyan Business Women
    Photo: Flickr/BBC World Service

    The percentage of women in senior leadership positions among the top Kenyan companies and in the government is still dramatically lower than that of men.

    The obstacles hindering women in senior leadership positions in Kenya are either cultural, economic or political factors. These are supported by gender stereotyping and patriarchal structural norms that continue to be stacked high up against women in society. As a result, educated and successful women in high positions experience sexism from their peers and communities.

    This problem can be eliminated by the government and civil society organisations through implementing leadership programmes that develop, connect, mentor and educate young potential women leaders.

    But in spite of the challenges that exist, some progress has been made as this article outlines below.

    Kenya has developed several policies and frameworks to promote women’s representation in senior positions. Article 27 of the 2010 Constitution guarantees equality and freedom from discrimination. It states that every person is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law.

    Beyond the Supreme law, the development blue-print Kenya Vision 2030 has reinforced the same. Other policy and legal frameworks have been enacted to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non-discrimination. These include the National Human Rights Policy and Action Plan; the Marriage Act 2014; the Matrimonial Properties Act 2013; the Land Act 2016; and the Draft National Policy on Gender and Development, among others.

    Kenya has also recognised that women’s economic empowerment is critical to achieving gender equality as well as sustainable development which encompass productive employment and decent work for all, ending poverty and reducing inequalities. To this end, the government has put in place various programmes that include gender mainstreaming, affirmative action and gender-responsive budgeting.

    The government has also set aside special catalytic funds dedicated to women, which include:

    • A Women Enterprise Fund that provides micro-finance credit and other financial support for women; and
    • The Uwezo fund that gives seed money as start-up capital to special interest groups.

    The Kenyan Constitution has served the gender agenda impressively well.

    Article 27 (8) states that: “The State shall take legislative and other measures to implement the principle that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender.”

    In addition, the Constitution reserves 47 seats for women in the National Assembly and 16 seats for women in the Senate, courtesy of Article 98.

    Subsequently, there has been tremendous growth in women participating and holding key positions. The trajectory has been upward. After the 2013 general elections, women’s representation in Parliament increased from 22 women in the 11th Parliament to 86 in the 12th Parliament, while 96 women were elected as members of County Assembly.

    In 2017, Parliament had three women elected and 18 nominated to the Senate, three women elected as Governors, 98 women elected as members of County Assembly, while 599 were nominated in the fulfillment of the two-thirds gender principle at the County level.

    Other sectors fared much better with women accounting for 57% of all practicing lawyers, 49% of magistrates, 41% of High Court judges, 36% of County Commissioners, 33% of Members of County Assemblies and 31% of Senators, to mention some important sectors.

    The road towards achieving gender equality is long and arduous, but this is a goal that the country should never tire to move towards in order to ensure the development of all in our society, particularly the less privileged – girls and women.

    Written by Elias Muindi, Programme Officer, Kenya MenEngage Alliance.
    Edited by Khopotso Bodibe, Communications & Media Specialist, MenEngage Africa.

  • Sonke and Promundo launch online portal on men and HIV to support global efforts to increase men’s use of HIV services

    Sonke Gender Justice, and Promundo are excited to launch a new online resource developed with support from UNAIDS: a web-based portal on men and HIV. The portal contains up to date research and data on the state of men’s HIV access to and utilisation of HIV services, men’s health outcomes, and a comprehensive set of resources on how to best engage men in the HIV response – for the sake of men, their partners and families, and for public health.

    In launching the men and HIV portal Aeneas Chuma, UNAIDS Director a.i. for Eastern and Southern Africa, said: “Attention to men in the HIV response is needed urgently. Men’s poor HIV outcomes are bad for everyone. When men do not know their HIV status and are not on treatment they are more likely to transmit HIV to their sexual partners. When they get sick it is usually their partners, especially women and girls, who take care of them. When men die, their partners, families and communities grieve them.”

    The portal features research and data showing that men are much less likely to get tested, access treatment or achieve viral suppression than women are, men are over-represented in new infections and their rate of HIV acquisition is declining more slowly than women’s, men are 70% more likely to die of AIDS than women are, and their rate of death is declining much more slowly.

    For the global HIV and AIDS response to be effective, greater attention must be paid to addressing the crisis of men and boys’ HIV outcomes, within the broader prevention and response efforts. The portal will support and inform public health researchers, policy analysts, health care providers and civil society advocates eager to take action to engage men to promote equality and improve health outcomes for all.

    The portal points to two major strategies for getting men into HIV services and improving health outcomes for all 1. challenging harmful gender norms; and 2. improving health system policies, programmes, and service delivery strategies and provides a rich set of resources to advance these strategies, including journal articles, key reports and literature reviews.

    Mabel Sengendo, Regional Programmes Manager at South Africa-based Sonke Gender Justice pointed to the importance of engaging men to transform harmful and inequitable gender norms. She said, “We now know quite a lot about how to challenge restrictive gender norms that compromise both women and men’s health, including what sorts of interventions are effective at increasing men’s support for gender equality and reducing the likelihood that men acquire or transmit HIV. To effectively address women and girls vulnerabilities to HIV, and to improve men’s HIV-related outcomes, we must implement far more ambitious interventions aimed at advancing gender equality and improving men’s access to HIV services.”

    Sengendo affirms that the portal will be a resource for reaching men in all their diversity. She said: “It is critical to reach men facing multiple layers of marginalisation and stigma, including discriminatory laws and policies, who may struggle to access health services, such as people who inject drugs, men in prisons, men who have sex with men, men who sell sex, migrant and refugee men, young men, and others who face legal and de-facto discrimination.”

    Dean Peacock, Senior Advisor for Global Advocacy at Promundo says the portal will also assist those trying to understand the health-system challenges that contribute significantly to men’s low levels of uptake for HIV-related services and how to address them. He said: “Health policies and systems seldom include a clear focus on how to get men into HIV services. When they do men are far more likely to get tested and start treatment. The men and HIV portal provides state of the field evidence on what works to get services to men and should be a valuable resource for anyone working to improve men’s HIV outcomes.”

    After years of relative inaction on men and HIV, the portal is intended to support and amplify all the good work now taking place to get men into HIV services and to engage men to transform gender norms and promote gender equality.

    You can access the portal directly, here: www.menandhiv.org

    For questions or comments please contact:

  • A grass-roots intervention to end FGM in North-West Cameroon

    Grass Roots Intervention FGM Cameroon

    Meet Aisha, an 18 years-old girl from a Muslim community in the Ngohketuja division of a town called Ndop, in the North-West Region of Cameroon. Aisha is a mother of two, and the baby she is carrying in her hands is the last of the two. At age 13, Aisha was circumcised and later married off at 15 into a polygamous home. She is the second wife of three wives. Aisha says FGM and early marriage are common practices in her community, as many of the girls are circumcised and married off between the ages of 13 and 15. According to Aisha, she has been made to understand that this practice is an ancient one and it’s done to ensure that young girls who are experiencing puberty are prevented from becoming promiscuous. Because these young girls are often given out for marriage at a tender age to men who are often much older than them, FGM is done to ensure fidelity of the girls in their matrimonial home.

    Aisha says it has become routine for most young girls as they are made to believe that sex is to pleasure men and bring forth children.

    After listening to Aisha’s story, Mother of Hope Cameroon has since engaged in a sensitisation tour to several rural communities where we carry out education campaigns against the practice of FGM. These campaigns consist of focus group discussions involving men, women, young girls and boys. They also include meetings with chiefs and other traditional leaders. During these sessions, we try to understand the perceptions of the different groups on the issue of FGM. We also analyse the reasons why this practice is so prevalent in specific communities.

    Grass Roots Intervention FGM Cameroon
    Focus Group with community members in Mbissah

    During our sensitisation and educative talks, we highlight the ills of FGM from not only a health perspective, but also the way it affects and limits youn women’s potential. We encourage traditional leaders to break traditional myths about femalehood that continue to promote FGM. During focus group meetings, young women have the chance to express how they felt about such practices in the presence of adult men, women and community leaders. So far, Mother of Hope Cameroon has been able to carry out these campaigns in over 10 communities within the North-West Region.

  • Kenya MenEngage Alliance nominated for DIAR award

    Kenya

    MenEngage Africa Alliance is very proud of Kenya MenEngage Alliance (KEMEA) for being nominated to receive an award in the national Diversity and Inclusion Awards and Recognition in Kenya. In this conversation with Khopotso Bodibe, Communications and Media Specialist for MenEngage Africa Alliance, Elias Muindi, Programme Officer for KEMEA, tells us more about the award.

    KHOPOTSO: Elias, congratulations on being nominated for the National Diversity and Inclusion and Recognition Awards! Tell us about this award.

    ELIAS MUINDI: Thank you very much. This is the third edition of the national Diversity and Inclusion Award for Best NGO on Gender Equality. That is where Kenya MenEngage Alliance has been nominated. The purpose of the award is to celebrate NGOs that run projects or promote programmes that contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment. So, the national Diversity and Inclusion Awards and Recognition celebrate companies, government agencies, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and individuals who champion diversity and promote inclusion at the workplace and society at large.

    Elias Muindi

    KHOPOTSO: You have been nominated in the category Diversity and Inclusion Award for Best Non-Governmental Organisation on Gender Equality. Tell us about the work that you do in this particular field.

    ELIAS MUINDI: Yes. One of the key things is involving men and boys in promoting gender equality. The activities we undertake are the sensitisation of religious leaders and the sensitisation of men and boys on gender equality. We also work in the fields of female genital mutilation and early child marriages. I think we have been recognised because of our innovative ways in engaging men and boys.

    KHOPOTSO: Tell us more about this innovation that you bring around working on issues of gender equality and justice, particularly working with men and boys.

    ELIAS MUINDI: Yes, we have a programme that we call Dads & Daughters, where we engage dads and their daughters on ending FGM and early child marriages because FGM is very prevalent. It stands at 21% in the country. So, we decided to have a forum where we can have the dads and the daughters together so that they can share. Dads can listen to their daughters for what they go through, and their expectations and their aspirations in life. We also get the opinions of dads, which is important because in African contexts, dads have immense power at home. When they say FGM or early child marriage will not happen for my daughter, it will not happen. So, we always for commitment of the dads towards supporting their daughters in education and helping them at home and supporting them at school so that they can achieve their dreams.

    KHOPOTSO: For how long has the Dads & Daughters programme been running?

    ELIAS MUINDI: It has been happening for two years. And most rganisations in the country have replicated it in their programmes. Even programmes in Uganda have also shown interest in it. It is a strategy that is working because dads commit to support their daughters and to support initiatives that promote gender equality.

    KHOPOTSO: Which of the programmes that you are running do you reckon might have possibly earned you this nomination?

    ELIAS MUINDI: Oh, yes. We have been involved in technical meetings to develop action plans, for example, for cross-border FGM in East Africa and the Horn of Africa. And we have been involved in national conferences on GBV, FGM and child marriages. We have been seen on such platforms. We are also very active on social media about what we do. I suspect that one of the government agencies (because we have been involved in government initiatives) submitted the name of our organisation.

    KHOPOTSO: What does it mean for Kenya MenEngage Alliance to be nominated for this award?

    ELIAS MUINDI: It is a privilege for us to be nominated because men have not been involved in initiatives of ending GBV. Now that we are nominated it gives us the opportunity and the energy to work harder towards achieving gender equality. It will also help us grow and create more awareness on matters of diversity and inclusion as well as inspire more actions towards everyday inclusion in the society.

    KHOPOTSO: Voting has opened already and it will close on the 28th of February 2020. How can people vote for you?

    ELIAS MUINDI: One can go to the awards website www.diarawards.com/vote. We are on the first category of anyone. Just click KenyaMenEngage Alliance and then scroll downwards where there is vote and click on vote. You will have voted for us.

    KHOPOTSO: Well done on the work that you have been doing, Elias, and congratulations on the nomination. Hopefully, when we speak with you next time you will have won this award.

    ELIAS MUINDI: Thank you very much. Yes, we hope to win this award.

    Diar Nomination Poster

  • Our work is about deconstructing masculinity

    Deconstructing Masculinity

    “In our quest to achieve gender equality, we must be guided by the principle that our mission as MenEngage Africa (MEA) Alliance is to deconstruct masculinity. It’s not about creating a men’s and boys’ club. Ours is a platform to hold ourselves as men – as well as other men – accountable and to challenge patriarchal structures. Our movement is for all: men, women, boys and girls,” said Bafana Khumalo, co-chairperson of the alliance at the opening of its two-day Annual General Meeting (AGM), which opened in Abuja, Nigeria, on the 12th of February 2020.

    The meeting brings together 22 countries from the West, East, Southern and Central African regions where we have active networks working with men and boys, alongside women-led human rights organisations, to close the gender equality gap. It was an opportunity to take stock of our past activities towards attaining gender justice as well as to map the way forward to step up our intervention campaigns.

    Deconstructing Masculinity

    The need to attain gender equality is urgent and it is a commitment that our countries have made in ratifying the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), of which Goal 5 encourages us to work towards achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. “We cannot wait until 2030 to see gender equality. Women suffer more catastrophe and we cannot accept this because women’s rights are human rights,” Khumalo added in his opening remarks.

    Other speakers at the opening plenary, echoed this sentiment. The representative of the Swedish government, our long-standing partner and funder, His Excellency Carl-Michael Grans, the ambassador of Sweden in Nigeria, pointed out that gender equality is not primarily about being fair to women. “It benefits the entire society, men and boys included. Research shows that gender equal societies enjoy better health, stronger economic growth and higher security,” he said.

    Deconstructing Masculinity

    However, he warned that we will never achieve gender equality without involving men and boys. “This is especially the case in countries where women and girls are underrepresented. Nigeria (host of the MenEngage Africa AGM) is an illustrative example – where onIy five per cent of the Members of Parliament are women — and the situation is similar in many countries,” Ambassador Grans said.

    Deconstructing Masculinity

    MenEngage Africa Steering Committee chairperson, Hassan Sekajoolo, called on the 22 member countries to strengthen governance and redouble their efforts in working with men and boys to achieve gender equality, saying “patriarchy is sustained by culture and religion, thus every small effort in every corner of the world counts to change the status quo.”

    The two-day AGM discussed a variety of issues, including the importance of how to espouse feminist values as an alliance that works with men and boys to achieve gender equality, advocacy on safe abortion and the impact of the Gag Rule, MenEngage Africa work in conflict-affected countries, preventing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), legal regimes in our member countries and how to position ourselves to advocate for progressive laws, scaling up our work in MenCare (a global fatherhood campaign) in Africa, and plans for the MenEngage Global Symposium which will for the first time be hosted in Africa.

    Deconstructing Masculinity

  • MenEngage Africa AGM – opening remarks made by Swedish ambassador to Nigeria

    The Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Carl-Michael Grans, gave the opening address at the MenEngage Africa (MEA) Alliance Annual General Meeting (AGM), which opened in Abuja, Nigeria, today (12 February 2020). In his opening remarks, the ambassador emphasised that gender equality is not about being fair to women only, but he pointed out that the approach benefits the whole society. Sweden is a long-time supporter of our work, through the funding support we receive from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

    Introductory remarks, MenEngage Africa Annual General Meeting

    Feb 12th, 09:05, Bolton White Hotel, Abuja

    MEA AGM

    Dear MenEngage members, and partners from around the continent, Ladies and Gentlemen.

    As Sweden’s Ambassador to Nigeria, it is a great pleasure for me to be here today, to declare this Annual General Meeting of the MenEngage Africa Alliance open – the first ever to be held in Nigeria (from what I understand).

    Sweden has a long tradition of promoting human rights and gender equality both nationally and internationally.

    In October 2014, yet another step was taken as Sweden became the first country in the world to launch a feminist foreign policy. Since then, Canada has adopted its own feminist policy for international development and France has announced that it too would be pursuing a foreign policy that incorporates gender-equality into all activities.

    Countries like Spain, Tunisia and Mexico – and organizations like the World Bank and the OECD – are showing a lot of interest.

    We a re glad that our firm stance on gender-equality has inspired others. At the same time, we are very mindful of the fact that these, sometimes lofty, priorities, need to be translated into concrete action to deliver real results.

    That is why Sweden, through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, is proud to be a long-standing partner to the MenEngage Global Alliance – and a supporter of the growing network of members in Africa.

    We will never achieve gender equality without involving men and boys, especially in countries where women and girls are underrepresented. Nigeria is an illustrative example – where only five per cent of the Members of Parliament are women – and the situation is similar in many countries.

    MEA AGM

    Because gender-equality is not primarily about “being fair” to women – it benefits the entire society, men and boys included. Research shows that gender equal societies enjoy better health, stronger economic growth and higher ’ security.

    It also shows that gender equality contributes to peace, and that peace negotiations in which women have taken part have a better chance of leading to sustainable results.

    Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy is quite simple. It is based on asking questions concerning Rights, Representation and Resources for both men and women:

    • Do they have the same rights – to education, work, marriage, divorce and inheritance – as men?
    • Are women represented where decisions affecting them are made – in parliaments, in business negotiations, on boards and in legal systems?
    • Is gender equality taken into consideration when resources are allocated – in government budgets or development projects?

    When we have answered these questions, we can start thinking of ways to affect positive change. This change will undoubtedly take time and require many small steps – but it is possible.

    MEA AGM

    The fact that you are all here today is proof of that.

    With these remarks, I would like to thank you all for the important work that you do and wish you productive and inspiring days here in Abuja.

    The Embassy of Sweden will be looking forward to the outcomes and next steps from this meeting, as it will shape how we – together – can continue to contribute to gender equality in Nigeria and on the continent.

    I hereby declare the Annual General Meeting 2020, of the MenEngage Africa Alliance open.

    Thank you.

  • First ever MenEngage Madagascar Symposium

    Madagascar

    MenEngage Madagascar is pleased to announce that it will host its first ever Symposium on March 27th 2020. The Symposium will bring together over 100 specialists to address issues related to gender and masculinity under the theme: “Men and boys for gender equality”.

    The Symposium’s overall aim is to promote the value of involving men and boys in efforts to reduce foster gender equality between men and women. Specifically, it will focus on the following:

    • Discussing issues related to social norms around gender and masculinity in Madagascar;
    • Creating public awareness on why it’s necessary to engage men and boys in order to ensure that the rights of women and girls are recognised and achieved; and
    • Strengthening and widening the MenEngage Madagascar network by exchanging good practices and expertise.

    Find out more details about the Symposium here.

  • New co-leadership team calls for renewed collaboration and commitment for gender justice in 2020 and beyond

    MenEngage Africa congratulates Bafana Khumalo, who served as our chairperson in our formative years, on being appointed as the new co-chair of the MenEngage Alliance Global Board.

    Khumalo has been involved in MenEngage Alliance since its founding in 2007 and has decades of experience working on issues related to gender equality. With a long and accomplished track record in the NGO sector, Bafana is a well known figure in the field of women’s rights, gender equality and transforming masculinities, including SRHR for all, HIV prevention and gender-based violence.

    In this open letter – along with Joni van de Sand, Director of the Global Secretariat of MenEngage Alliance – Khumalo and his co-chair, Humberto Carolo, share their vision for accountability, collaboration, and service to gender justice in 2020 and beyond.

  • Tribute to fallen champion of women’s & children’s rights in Tanzania

    In the passing on of Sabas Masawe in the early hours of 26th September 2019, Tanzania has lost a champion in the struggle for women’s and children’s rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Until the time of his death, Masawe was the Executive Director of Dogodogo Centre, which works to influence policy-making for children through advocacy and networking, especially in the areas of child abuse and HIV/AIDS, as well as chairperson of MenEngage Tanzania (MET) Network, a network of civil society organisations and activists formed in 2014 to work with men and boys, alongside women’s rights groups, to promote gender justice and transformation across the country. In addition, he was the chairperson of Tanzania Child Rights Forum (TCRF) and a regular participant and influencer in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Children’s Dignity Forum.

    “Throughout his leadership, he was steadfast in his belief that to achieve gender equality in any community, we must involve boys and men,” said Koshuma Mtengeti, Executive Director of Children’s Dignity Forum (CDF), the Secretariat for MenEngage Tanzania Network.

    “He was also passionate about the media, as he firmly believed that the media are important advocates for change in the world – having a key role to ensure access to information by communities, to influence communities for the better, and the potential to change policy makers’ perspectives. With these attributes, he believed that the media can raise awareness and participation of men and boys in advocating for women’s and children’s rights by providing accurate information and targeted messages to society, disseminating information about ending gender-based violence, and a crucial stakeholder in mobilising men and boys to participate ingender equality issues,” Mtengeti added.

    MET’s work in women’s and children’s rights has been hugely impacted by Masawe through his visionary leadership. We will remain deeply indebted to his counsel and approach. We send condolences to his loved ones – family, the entire clan, friends, colleagues and those he impacted through his work. As he rests in peace, we vow to continue the struggle where he left off. We will ensure that the human rights of women and children are achieved.

    Sabas Masawe

    Written by Khopotso Bodibe, Communications & Media Co-Ordinator for MenEngage Africa Alliance

  • NGOs advance girls’ access to sexual & reproductive health rights and services – through engaging boys and men

    “I used to live in a way that I did not know would negatively impact me and put my life at risk. I smoked marijuana every day with a group of young men in my village. We had a secret location where we would meet at 10 pm every evening to smoke weed. I was the only girl in the group. January 5th is a day I will never forget. As usual, I planned to meet up with the boys to smoke. Two of the boys from the group joined me that evening. I had no idea that my friends – boys I had bonded with for over two years – planned to rape me. Suddenly, our typical fun night turned into a nightmare, as they grabbed me and started undressing me. I started screaming and shouting for help. I guess I was lucky that night. There was a bodaboda (motor-cycle taxi) rider near the area and when he heard me screaming he came and rescued me from the group. The bodaboda rider took me home, and on the way he advised me about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the risk of engaging with bad company.”

    This is one of many survivor stories that young women tell, while many others remain untold. This survivor escaped without getting raped or being seriously hurt or even worse, being killed. Had she been raped, she could have contracted one of many sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, or she could have fallen pregnant.

    It is for this reason that HEAL (Health | Empowerment | Aid | Light) International, a member of MenEngage Tanzania (MET) network based in Arusha, north-eastern Tanzania, has been working with young men to create awareness around STIs. Through a programme called “Health Ambassador”, HEAL International establishes and runs clubs in secondary schools, through which it facilitates discussions led by male Health Officers to empower young men on issues around sexual health. The organisation specifically engages young men in learning about gender-based violence and sexually transmitted infections so that they cannot only have a healthier life, but also advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of girls and women.

    Furthermore, HEAL International reaches out to engage boys who are out of schools well as men to ensure that they also access the same education.Men and out of school boys have been provided with platforms to discuss issues regarding SRHR through dialogues with bodaboda groups and football teams. The young men HEAL International works with are able to share their sexual health concerns, have a sense of support from each other, and learn new transferable skills about cascading the knowledge to their peers and community as a whole. HEAL International aspires to create a generation of young men who are ambassadors of health equity, young men who are able to fight against gender-based violence, and young men who are advocates of healthier communities that are able to access SRHR services.

    The bodaboda rider who came to the rescue of the young woman at the beginning of this story is one of the youths benefiting from health awareness education run by HEAL International. He is one of the transformed young men who became passionate about championing women’s and children’s rights in Arusha, Tanzania.

    Almost 480 kilometres from Arusha, in the economic hub of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, another member of MenEngage Tanzania, Transformative and Integrative Build out for All (TIBA), is working on engaging men to address myths and perceptions that hinder women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) rights and services. The organisation does this through dialogue sessions at popular venues called Kijiwecha Kahawa. Kijiwecha Kahawasare popular make-shift coffee shops that you will find in many parts of Tanzania where citizens gather together to discuss current affairs in politics, sports, the economy and so on. In TIBA’s case, it gathers men together at these coffee hubs to discuss issues affecting the welfare of women and girls in their communities.

    Through the platform, men are able to visualise and adequately understand issues pertaining to teen pregnancies, child marriage and youth-friendly SRHR services at health centres.

    “There is a dearth of knowledge among community members on how their choices affect the welfare of women and girls. Girls are subjected to teen pregnancy, dropping out of school, sexual harassment and a miserable life in general due to cultural practices that perpetuate a male-dominated system. Young girls receive confusing information about sex as they make the transition from childhood to adulthood. Most end up making uninformed decisions when it comes to relationships, as they become persuaded to engage in sexual intercourse with older men who are already sexually experienced. There is a need to engage more men because they are key decision-makers in families and are given more priorities in decision-making within our communities. Thus, enlightening them about the consequences of harmful cultural beliefs and practices could generate sustainable results for the well-being and development of girls,” commented Musa Abdalah, a man taking part in a recent discussion at one Kijiwe cha Kahawa.

    The sessions, which intend to sensitise the community to adopt community-driven actions to promote human rights, especially women’s and girls’ rights, have reached more than 400 men from diverse backgrounds in Dar es Salaam.

    HEAL Tanzania
    A Kijiwe cha Kahawa dialogue

    The model adopted by HEAL International and TIBA reflect the values of MenEngage Tanzania, a member of MenEngage Africa, an alliance that works with men and boys, alongside women’s rights activists and movements, to advance gender justice, human rights and social justice in the Africa region.

    Local non-governmental organisation (NGO), Children’s Dignity Forum (CDF) is the Secretariat of MenEngage Tanzania network, which is also vested in addressing norms and cultural practices that hinder women and children from accessing SRH rights and services. It mobilises men and boys into “Fathers Groups” and equips them with adequate knowledge and skills pertaining to gender equality, child protection, positive parenting and access to, and acquisition of, SRH services by girls and women in CDF targeted areas.

    According to Koshuma Mtengeti, Executive Director of CDF, “Women and girls constitute a segment of Tanzania’s population that has for a long time been subjected to various degrees of inequality and exclusion. Clinging to cultures and traditions that are evidently harmful to their human rights is unacceptable and that must be denounced and rejected outright. A sure way to reject this is to target and involve men and boys in efforts to change the status quo. It is often men and boys who abuse the rights of women and girls, as they have been socialised into the system of patriarchy that strips women and girls of their rights. In order to turn things around, they are a crucial audience to bring on board – alongside women and girls.”

    HEAL Tanzania

    HEAL Tanzania
    Sections of Fathers Groups during the dialogues on SRHR

    This story has been compiled by Yared Bagambilana, Co-Ordinator of MenEngage Tanzania (MET) Network and edited by Khopotso Bodibe, Communications and Media Co-Ordinator for MenEngage Africa (MEA) Alliance.

  • Kwakha Indvodza on a mission to improve men’s health-seeking behaviours

    Antiretroviral therapy (ART) programmes in sub-Saharan Africa have been reporting that a disproportionately higher number of women are on treatment compared to men. Compared to women, men are less likely to go for HIV testing, less likely to start ART, more likely to start ART with advanced HIV disease and at older ages – and, thus, they have shorter life expectancies and higher mortality rates on ART.

    A lack of health awareness and a chronic unwillingness to adopt a healthier lifestyle puts men at a health disadvantage. In eSwatini, men’s health still lags behind that of women. We have a cultural script about masculinity that tells men they need to be tough, brave, strong and self-reliant. It’s exemplified in phrases like “be a man” and “men don’t cry”. Men learn from an early age that if they don’t act in this tough, hyper-masculine way they will lose their status and respect as men.

    Kwakha Indvodza

    Most men avoid seeking medical attention or delay it until all other options are exhausted. Putting off medical examinations, however, can have far more serious effects on one’s health. While working with men and boys, we have noticed some common attributes of this hyper-masculine behaviour, where Swati men refuse to seek medical attention even when indications are that they need it.

    Some of the common excuses that we often get from men are: “I don’t have time. Going to the hospital and waiting in the long queues is a waste of time”, “I often get this and it goes away on its own, so I don’t need to go to hospital”, and “I can’t go there to be attended by a woman.”

    Men are often embarrassed about health issues that they feel might reflect on their masculinity. This shows that it is important to engage men about health care and to address the common misconceptions that may be influencing their health care decisions.
    Kwakha Indvodza’s ambition is to ensure that men and boys, particularly those in disadvantaged areas and communities, have the information and services they need to live healthier, longer and more fulfilling lives.

    One way to reach men is by adapting HIV services to their needs and interests, a strategy that we have used through the Seyetfu Majaha Project, one of our interventions that focus on male health and aims to scale up access to HIV testing, care and treatment as well as to improve treatment adherence to achieve the national targets for HIV prevention and treatment.

    Kwakha Indvodza

    Going to the community or places where men like to be and engaging men about basic facts and transmission knowledge around HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, myths and misconceptions, condom use, Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) and other prevention services has proven to be an effective method in growing the number of men who receive HIV testing and counseling.

    Community-based testing is an important component in eSwatini, as statistics indicate that men and boys are less likely to visit the clinic for health services. This strategy will contribute to the country’s vision of ending AIDS by 2022.

    Barriers to male health provision reported by nurses in some of the hospitals in the Lubombo region, east of eSwatini, were a lack of male-friendly training among staff and a lack of dedicated spaces for males in their clinics.

    Male-friendly health services are a key strategy for improving male health in eSwatini. The Seyetfu Majaha project provides technical assistance to nine (9) facilities across Lubombo to offer male-friendly corners. Working with health care workers in developing strategies to encourage men to access clinics is an effective way of ensuring that existing clinic services are being utilised by men. Whilst dedicated spaces for men are unlikely to be feasible or necessary, all facilities have the potential to be male-friendly in terms of staff attitudes and actions.

    Despite men’s often reluctant engagement with health services, most men do care about their health and do respond to messages when the information is presented in formats that appeal to them. Helping to improve men’s health allows men to be more healthy and active citizens who can play a meaningful role in their communities for longer.

    This article was written by Hlobile Jele, Advocacy & Communications Co-Ordinator for Kwakha Indvodza (a member of MenEngage Swaziland Network) and edited by Khopotso Bodibe, Communications & Media Co-Ordinator for MenEngage Africa (MEA) Alliance.

  • Sonke and SAfm co-host dialogue focusing on the role of local government in preventing and addressing GBV

    On Thursday, 22nd August 2019, Sonke Gender Justice, in partnership with SAfm, co-hosted a live Outside Broadcast Dialogue focusing on “The Role of Local Government in Preventing and Addressing Gender-Based Violence,” as part of activities to mark Women’s Month.

    The dialogue was held against the background that local government is the level of government that is well-placed to implement policies and programmes of national government to prevent and address violence against women. Local government has a wide reach across the community since councils are located where people live, work, play and learn. Councils are civic leaders and large local employers. These close and diverse connections with the community present unique opportunities for local government to build knowledge and raise awareness of individuals, communities and organisations – an important contribution to ending violence against all women.

    A number of speakers contributed to the live broadcast, including Ms Anna Sithole – Deputy Director of Victim Empowerment Programmes and Prevention of Gender-Based Violence in the national Department of Social Development (DSD), Ms Thusani Mulaudzi – Head of Strategy and Relations in the Group Strategy, Policy and Relations in the City of Johannesburg, Mr Mbuyiselo Botha – a Commissioner with the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), Ms Chiedza Chagutah – Programme Manager for Hlanganisa Institute for Development in Southern Africa, Ms Nonhlanhla Mokwena – Deputy Chief of Party: GBV at the Centre for Communication Impact (CCI), Mr Patrick Godana – Sonke Gender Justice’s Eastern Cape Provincial Manager, as well as community members who attended and listeners who called into the live broadcast dialogue to share their views and concerns.

  • Sonke and SAfm host dialogue on “The Role of Local Government in Preventing and Addressing Gender-Based Violence”

    Ending gender-based violence in our homes, communities, churches, schools, on our streets and in our villages and cities needs all levels of government working together.

    As the level of government closest to the community, local government is well-placed to promote gender equality and to lead a comprehensive approach to preventing violence against women. It has a wide reach across the community since councils are located where people live, work, play and learn, and also manages these spaces. Councils are civic leaders and large local employers. These close and diverse connections with the community present unique opportunities for local government to build knowledge and raise awareness towards ending violence against all women.

    But, is local government fulfilling this role? If so, what are some of the best practices? If not, what are the challenges and what should be done to enhance its role to prevent and address gender-based violence?

    Come join Sonke and SAfm, together with a range of speakers from government and civil society organisations in an Outside Broadcast Dialogue to grapple with these issues.

    When: Thursday, 22 August 2019
    Time: 09:00 – 12:00 noon
    Where: Diepkloof Comprehensive Welfare Centre, 13141 Marthinus Smuts Drive, Soweto

    For more information and to rsvp, please contact:

    Khopotso Bodibe, Communications Co-ordinator, Sonke Gender Justice: 082 495 4158 or via email: khopotso@genderjustice.org.za.

  • Kwakha Indvodza calls out Swazi MP for saying pregnant teenagers should be arrested

    Kwakha Indvodza Logo

    On Friday, the 9th of August 2019, an article with the headline “Arrest pregnant under-age girls – MP, was published by the Times of Swaziland. The article reported that Member of Parliament (MP), Michael Masuku, stated that teenage pregnancy should be a punishable offence.

    Saying that making teenage pregnancy a punishable offence would reduce its escalating rate in the country is not constructive. Should the article and its headline be accurate, there are quite a number of questions that come to mind.

    Are these teenagers impregnating themselves? Why should the girl child bear the result of an act she committed with a male counterpart? Are we, as emaSwati, making any real progress towards gender equality if one party – a female – is being punished for an act committed by two parties? And last, do our leaders believe that such patriarchal opinions will make an effective change in our communities and societies?

    Worth noting in umhlonishwa (Honourable) Masuku’s statements are real issues, such as the fact that one of the major causes of teenage pregnancy is the inability of parents to talk to their children about sex, which does indeed result in misguided information from peers. Why then, is the female child being punished for crimes that are a result of a lack of parental guidance and emotional support? Should we persecute a child who is forced to drop out of school? How is arresting girls going to serve as a corrective measure for these young females?

    Falling pregnant while still at school is not something that young women usually pride themselves in.

    Instead, they often feel ashamed and are shunned by peers and families as a result of the early pregnancy. It is often found to be an obstacle to their progress and strife for a better life. It is not as if when other females see a pregnant peer they aspire to do the same.

    Young girls are already dropping out of school because of the demanding burden of being pregnant and raising a child. Arresting under-age girls may have a grave impact as being arrested carries yet more damaging and negative stigma for a vulnerable young person to deal with. As we have seen with alcohol and substance abuse, arresting girls who fall pregnant is certainly no way to solve this problem. This may significantly increase health risks or even fatalities of these under-age girls as, again due to misguided peer information, many may be tempted to illegally terminate their pregnancies or even take their lives.

    It would be more appropriate if our esteemed lawmakers would look into strengthening the implementation of the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act of 2012. The child’s home situation needs to be evaluated, as often these young people are impregnated by older men who should be the ones being punished for such offences. Arresting a pregnant under-age girl is oppressing the rights of that child and it is the duty of law enforcers to protect these children. To also say that all parties should be arrested is not a solution to teenage pregnancy. Children need to be informed about sexual behaviour and not imprisoned. Young people should have the freedom to continue with their lives, pursuing their education and dreams.

    Umhlonishwa Masuku, in his utterances, did not show qualities of a progressive leader who is in support of the human rights and equality of all genders. Furthermore, suggestions of this sort by those in positions of power and influence do little to advance our Human Rights, gender equality or public health agendas. What corrective or rehabilitative measures are to be gained by having a child bear sole responsibility of an act committed with another, often older, person?

    This statement sadly goes against what the nation hopes for – that people in positions of leadership will bring sustainable solutions not just for their communities, but for the nation at large.

    Read comments made by eSwatini Member of Parliament, Michael Masuku, here.

    Issued by Kwakha Indvodza, a member of MenEngage Swaziland Network. Edited by Khopotso Bodibe, Communications & Media Co-Ordinator, MenEngage Africa (MEA) Alliance.

  • SECTION27, TAC and Sonke welcome approval of settlement agreement in Silicosis Class Action

    Sonke Gender Justice, the Treatment Action Campaign and SECTION27 welcome the Gauteng High Court’s approval of the settlement agreement in the Silicosis Class Action.

    SECTION27 represented Sonke Gender Justice and the Treatment Action Campaign in the application to certify the class in the case in 2015, arguing in that case for the transmissibility of general damages, such as damages for pain and suffering, to the surviving family members (mostly women and children) of mine workers who died due to silicosis. The Court found in favour of this contention, recognising that to do otherwise would create a strong bias against women.

    The settlement agreement makes provision for payment of damages to the widows and surviving families of mineworkers in a manner that is pragmatic and protects the interests of often poor and vulnerable women living in rural areas.

    The settlement of this important case is a victory for mineworkers and their families and a step towards justice.

    For further comment on the approval of the settlement agreement, please refer to the class representatives from the Legal Resources Centre, Richard Spoor Inc. and Abraham Kiewitz Inc.

  • Activists highlight how state capture affects everyday life

    This article was originally written for Groundup.com
    By Tariro Washinyira

    About 100 people gathered at the Central Methodist Church on Saturday morning to consider how state capture has been affecting their lives. The forum was organised by commuter activist group #UniteBehind.

    Activists representing many organisations, including Reclaim the City, Ndifuna Ukwazi, Right to Know, and Sonke Gender Justice, suggested actions to answer the forum’s key question: “How do we fight the state capture fightback?”

    In the wake of the deployment of the SANDF onto the Cape Flats, the participants also discussed whether the military can “cure problems caused by poverty”, whether Metrorail can be fixed and the meaning of the Zondo commission for most South Africans.

    People living on the Cape Flats townships testified about their daily lives. Speaker after speaker described horrible encounters with the army.

    Washeem Abrahams and Rayarn Kennis, both 17, jointly described their experiences living in Manenberg.

    Kenis said that during apartheid coloured people were evicted and moved to underdeveloped “ghettos”, like Manenberg. Because of a lack of resources people formed gangs and started fighting for power and belittling the larger community. Gangs then started to make decisions, mostly wrong ones, for the Cape Flats. He said that the government failed to stop the formation of gangs, and now they don’t have a solution to them.

    He then criticised the way the SANDF is behaving in Manenberg: “They are attacking us while we are chilling with our friends. One of my friends was slapped on the face and the other one was hit by a gun on the head. The soldiers said to my friends they look suspicious,” he said.

    Abrahams said: “I am here today, trying to figure out how I can help my community because they are too scared to say what is wrong. Mothers are being terrorised by their own sons. In places like mine you need to communicate with your neighbours but that is not happening because we don’t trust each other any more.”

    Fredalene Booysen of Sonke Gender Justice said that a week ago someone living three streets from her in Elsies River was gunned down. “In many ways the abnormal has become normal in our community,” she said.

    She said the army raided a friend’s house in Elsies River, while there was no one there. She said they broke down the door. When her friend came home she found the whole house in a terrible state.

    The Western Cape has seen a significant reduction in the number of police officers. This has been against a background of allegations of police corruption and the undermining of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, a damning report from an inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha, and a court finding that the allocation of policing in the Western Cape is discriminatory.

    #UniteBehind member Zackie Achmat described how Metrorail is dysfunctional because of state capture at PRASA during the Jacob Zuma era. He also criticised the current public protector for protecting “Jacob Zuma and his crooks instead of the public”.

    But Achmat warned that organisations will not be able to fix PRASA unless they get onto the streets and start protesting. He said that they have been talking about safe trains for women and children for two and a half years. The next action needs to be sitting on a railway line and demanding a safety plan.

  • MenEngage Mali officially launched

    Launching MenEngage Mali

    The Mali network of MenEngage Africa Alliance was officially launched at a workshop chaired by Mali’s Permanent Secretary of the National Gender Policy, Tounkara Sophie Souko on the 11th and 12th of July 2019.

    The workshop was realised thanks to the joint efforts of the government of Mali and the Secretariat of MenEngage Mali – Global Institute for Women’s Empowerment Group (GIWE Group), together with their strategic partners, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and it was aimed at the following:

    • Formalising the establishment of the network;
    • Building the capacity of network members in their roles and responsibilities;
    • Developing and adopting a budgeted plan for two years, 2019-2021; and
    • Developing and validating key advocacy, awareness and information messages.

    The Permanent Secretary thanked the GIWE Group and its partners like UNICEF and UNFPA for their commitment to the cause of women and girls and promised that the Department for the Advancement of Women is ready to support the network.

    Launching MenEngage Mali

    Speaking at the opening ceremony, Dr. Kalifa Traore, Programme Officer at UNFPA pointed out that “the launch of MenEngage Mali coincided with the celebration of UNFPA’s 50th anniversary and the date 11th July marks the commemoration of International Population Day.”

    He added that “without the commitment of men, gender equality will be difficult to achieve.”

    Traore ended his remarks by affirming UNFPA’s commitment of UNFPA to accompany the MenEngage Mali.

    UNICEF Gender Specialist, Clara Bastardes, said “the priority of her institution is on adolescents and children” and pointed out that “girls aged 18 have more problems in their homes.”

    Launching MenEngage Mali

    She urged parental involvement in all in the fights against gender-based violence (GBV), and advised those who were gathered to assess the needs of the most vulnerable populations and develop clear messages for them.

    The launch was attended by representatives from different government ministries, deputies of the National Assembly, artists and representatives from several civil society and international organisations.

    Read the full report of the launch here.

  • Society for Improvement of Rural People (SIRP – Nigeria) joins Thriving Together campaign to highlight world’s most important, yet ignored environmental action

    The Thriving Together campaign recognises that family planning is critically important not only for women and girls, but also for the environment.

    SIRP – Nigeria

    On 11 July 2019, Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP – Nigeria, Secretariat for MenEngage Nigeria) joins over 150 other leading environmental and reproductive health organisations to pledge support for a first-of-its-kind campaign: Thriving Together. Organisations that have signed up to the Thriving Together campaign form a diverse global alliance united by the agreement that improving access to family planning services is critically important for the environment and biodiversity.

    The Sustainable Development Goals call for integrated solutions. Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP – Nigeria) along with other organisations backing the Thriving Together campaign agree that whether working in health or environmental conservation, through sharing information and working together on strategic projects and policies, we can help human communities and their ecosystems thrive. Successful biodiversity conservation requires taking people, our health, and our interactions with the natural world into account.

    SIRP – Nigeria

    Increasing human pressures are among the many challenges facing planetary health. In addition, by harming ecosystems, people undermine food and water security and human health, and threaten habitats and species. Ensuring family planning is available to all who seek it is among the positive actions organisations must take to lessen these pressures.

    The United Nations (UN) projects that the global population will rise from 7.7 billion people today to 9.8 billion by 2050. However, future population growth is uncertain, and highly sensitive to small changes in the average number of children per mother. If the physical, financial, educational, social and religious barriers to people using family planning services were removed and the average number of children per mother was just 0.5 lower than the UN population growth projection that is most commonly used, global population would peak at 8.8 billion in 2050, rather than 9.8 billion.

    This is all possible through enabling the exercise of a well-recognised human right – that people should be able to decide for themselves, whether, when, how often and with whom to bring children into the world. Family planning contributes to women’s empowerment, improves family and general health, advances education and life opportunities and, by slowing population growth, eases pressures on wildlife and ecosystems.

    SIRP – Nigeria

    Other organisations backing the Thriving Together campaign across the globe include:

    • Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health
    • Centre for Biological Diversity
    • Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Conservation International

    Collectively, the organisations work in over 170 countries.

    The Thriving Together campaign is spearheaded by the Margaret Pyke Trust, which has over 50 years’ experience of family planning and is the only member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with this expertise.

    SIRP – Nigeria

    David Johnson, Chief Executive at the Margaret Pyke Trust says: “The existence of barriers to family planning is the most important ignored environmental challenge of our day. This must change now. The Thriving Together campaign encourages cross-sectoral support between health and environmental conservation organisations, showcasing that when people can choose freely whether and when to have children it is for the benefit of both people and planet. Barriers to family planning are not only relevant to those who are passionate about improving health, gender equality, empowerment and economic development, but also to those who are passionate about the conservation of biodiversity, the environment and sustainability.”

    The Margaret Pyke Trust’s Thriving Together campaign is informed by its paper, ‘Removing Barriers to Family Planning, Empowering Sustainable Environmental Conservation’, which sets out how and why family planning is important for the environment. The Thriving Together campaign website www.thrivingtogether.global will be launched on 11th July 2019.

    SIRP – Nigeria

  • Opening remarks from UNICEF SA Child Protection Officer at State of the World’s Fathers Report launch

    Opening remarks from UNICEF SA Child Protection Officer at State of the World’s Fathers Report launch

    UNICEF SA partnered with Sonke Gender Justice for the South African launch of the 2019 State of the World’s Fathers Report, and Engaging Fathers: The MenCare Child Care and Protection Programme Brief in Pretoria on 26 June 2019. Gloria Khoza, Child Protection Officer for the organisation, gave opening remarks at the launch.

    Launch: State of the World’s Fathers Report and Programme Brief – 26 June 2019

    Good morning ladies and gentlemen.

    Let me start by wishing you all a happy Parenting Month!

    UNICEF is privileged to co-host the South African launch of the global 2019 State of the World’s Fathers Report as well as the MenCare Childcare and Protection: Programme Brief on Engaging South African Fathers.

    UNICEF has been in partnership with the National Department of Social Development and Sonke Gender Justice in strengthening the social welfare workforce in the roll-out of the MenCare Child Protection programme, with UNICEF making a specific contribution in the training of 110 social workers across five (5) provinces as well as 26 child and youth care workers in the Eastern Cape. It is through the culmination of training and qualitative research that we have reached the stage of gathering some insights on the promising results that the MenCare Child Care Protection Programme has in changing perceptions as it relates to men’s involvement in care and the reduction of violence in the home.

    As highlighted in the 2019 South African State of the Fathers report – 71% of children live with an adult man in the same household. Of these, 36% live with their biological father in the same household, and the other 35% reside with an adult man who is not their biological father.

    These statistics show the importance of including men in their various roles either as biological parents, grandfathers, uncles, and so on in initiatives that will increase men’s active involvement in the care of children, especially in the first 1000 days of life.

    Good parenting for healthy brain development in babies requires time – time to bond, time to engage in activities that inspire learning; time to eat, play and love; time together with their communities. But a lack of investment in parental leave policies, lack of flexibility at work, or inaccessible childcare means that too many parents struggle to balance work with the most precious and formative time in their children’s lives.

    This year, UNICEF has introduced its first ever Parenting Month focusing on #EarlyMoments Matter, with the MenCare Child Protection Programme being highlighted – specifically the fathers who have received training on how to be an involved, non-violent caregiver.

    The UN has committed to reviewing its policies that enable better work – life balance and for employees to be able to better support their families. As cited in the joint statement made by several UN heads of agencies – the promotion and implementation of family-friendly policies within the work environment are important because:

    1) It is the right thing to do:

    Family-friendly policies support staff to balance their work and family responsibilities so that one need not be chosen over the other.

    2) It is the equitable thing to do:

    The United Nations is committed to gender parity for its staff, at all levels, everywhere, as well as to gender equality as a global goal and prerequisite for sustainable development.

    Evidence shows that when such policies support greater paternal involvement in child rearing, this is beneficial to children’s social, emotional and cognitive growth, and decreases gender-stereotyping.

    3) It is the smart thing to do:

    Family-friendly policies are irrefutably linked to better workforce productivity and the ability to attract, motivate, and retain employees.

    4) It is the healthy thing to do:

    Studies show better development outcomes as well as learning and cognitive improvements for children whose fathers take paternity leave.

    With this said, UNICEF is privileged to be part of such an important initiative and contributing towards better gender equitable care of children and household activities. It is indeed timely that we are reminded of this in 2019, as we commemorate 30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Incidentally, today also marks 64 years since the signing of the Freedom Charter – so it is indeed a day of reflection.

    As part of our mandate, UNICEF will continue to advocate for the rights of the child, including the right to a family and freedom from all forms of violence. In partnership with government and civil society organisations, UNICEF will strengthen its efforts to raise awareness and provide technical support in building the capacity of families and communities, as well as professionals working for and with children on positive, non-violent and participatory forms of child-rearing and discipline. A big ‘thank you’ to all those who made today possible.

    Thank you!

    SOWF 2019

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  • Sonke joins march to protest Traditional Courts Bill

    The Alliance for Rural Democracy held a night vigil on 4 June 2019 with community members from seven provinces in South Africa. These provinces were all gathered in anticipation for the march that would take place the morning of 5 June 2019.

    The morning of 5 June 2019, Sonke Gender Justice, CAT members and other community members from rural areas and other civil organisations were gathered at Church Square in Pretoria to start the march to the Union Building where they would hand over a memorandum to the Office of the President.

    The memorandum, amongst other things, demands that the President overhaul regressive legislation and not sign them into law. The legislation includes: The Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Bill and the Traditional Courts Bill. The memorandum argues that the Bills are unconstitutional and should be taken back to Parliament for a number of reasons.

  • CCID holds discussion on impacts of conflict on youth’s sexual and reproductive health and rights

    On the 20th of April 2019, Community Centre for Integrated Development (CCID), the Secretariat for MenEngage Cameroon, held a discussion with young leaders on how conflicts impact the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people, with HIV being the main focus. The discussion put on the spotlight how conflict puts individuals at higher risk of contracting HIV due to potential for sexual violence, disruption of health services, forced displacement, increased poverty, placing girl children at the risk of forced and early marriage, thus exposing them to potential HIV infection. Child brides are more likely to contract HIV as their older husbands often have more sexual partners. They are more likely to experience domestic violence, and child marriage often takes girls out of school and programmes which educate about protecting one’s self from HIV.

    Both conflict and child-marriage are challenges faced by Cameroon at this time, and are both proven to increase rates of HIV and make it harder for those living with HIV to access treatment. The recommendations that came out of the workshop included:

    1. Donors, national governments, policy makers, and programmers should ensure that the basic needs of families are met as one of the most effective means to mitigate the risks of child marriage during emergencies. Families consistently identified poverty as a primary driver of child marriage during and immediately after conflict or displacement. Existing research identifies the transformative power of economic interventions in reducing child marriage practices. Families must be able to feed, clothe, house, and protect their children in order for there not to be a perceived benefit in marrying their daughters out of the family at early ages.
    2. Donors, national governments, policy makers, and programmers should invest in girls in order to build and/or reinforce girls’ intrinsic value within communities. Resources for child-marriage interventions should focus on girls: providing health, education and/or livelihood opportunities; teaching life-skills and decision-making; and/or fostering economic literacy. In particular, research highlights the importance of education in protecting girls from child- marriage. However, barriers to accessing school (distance, language, curriculum, fees), as well as other education and skills programming, persist in many humanitarian contexts and, in all cases in this research, were connected to child-marriage decisions.
    3. Programmers should ensure that adolescent girls, including child brides and adolescent mothers, are identified and reached with programming. Adolescent girls are a diverse group with unique needs, whether out of school, orphans, married and/or parenting, living with disabilities or caring for family members who are disabled, or heads of household. In order to reach them, it is critical first to know who and where they are. Donors and programme planners should engage in mapping activities and consultations to ensure identification of, and engagement with, the many adolescent girls in need of support.
    4. Policy makers and donors should recognise that child-marriage is best addressed across a variety of sectors, and designing and implementing child-marriage interventions is complex.Rarely do the root causes of this practice, which research shows are diverse, fall under the auspices of only one sector. Effective interventions require co-ordination across a variety of sectors, and should be developed based on existing learning from development contexts. Actors from education, livelihoods, health, and protection are all critical to discussions and planning around preventing and responding to child-marriage. Although interventions may most often be designed by those working on gender-based violence (GBV), much of the implementation and monitoring needs to be done by other sector actors. The new Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) guidelines on the prevention of GBV provide practical steps for how various sectors should be involved in prevention of all forms of GBV, and funding must be made available to support this model.
    5. Policy makers and donors should understand the importance of, and provide support to, as well as assessment and adaptation. As crises move beyond the acute emergency phase, interventions to address child-marriage within a displaced community will need to address the many nuanced factors that may be impacting child-marriage decisions within that community. This research highlights the importance of understanding context and diversity of displaced populations through participatory assessments with a diverse group of community members, including gate-keepers. While girls are the primary beneficiaries, programmes cannot ignore the influential persons in their lives or the environment around them. This includes engaging mothers, fathers, husbands, and community leaders in assessments and possibly in engagement strategies prior to, or during, planned interventions. Additionally, it is critical that the humanitarian community examine existing tools and determine whether they are sufficient for understanding these complexities, or whether there is a need for revisions or the development of new tools specific to this issue.
    6. Donors and policy makers should support the piloting of child-marriage interventions and the documentation of learning. Evaluation research has identified promising interventions, but research is lacking on how these can be integrated within emergency response. In humanitarian contexts, approaches to preventing and responding to child-marriage should be piloted and specifically monitored for child- marriage outcomes, including: skills and asset building of adolescent girls; parent and community education; economic interventions for household self-reliance; improving access to education; and outreach strategies to married girls, inclusive of comprehensive health and livelihoods programming.

    More information about our project can be found at from youthsrhrdistrict.org. Youth SRHR District is an online platform that publishes information about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for young people. We seek to empower youth and build their capacity to empower others through education and advocacy.

  • New Steering Committee for MenEngage Africa selected

    MEA Logo

    At the just-ended MenEngage Africa Alliance Annual General Meeting, a new Steering Committee was elected. The new Steering Committee members selected are 11 in total. They comprise of seven representatives from individual MenEngage Africa country networks, namely Uganda, Mali, Zambia, Botswana, Sierra Leone, DRC and Tanzania. The four remaining seats have been taken up by representatives from Plan International and Athena network who represent our strategic partners, a representative from Sonke Gender Justice, the Alliance Secretariat and a young person from Liberia, representing MEA Youth structure.

    Men Engage Uganda’s Hassan Sekajoolo was elected to chair the new Steering Committee, supported by Kassoum Coulibaly from Men Engage Mali.

    The current Regional Steering Committee is taking over from the outgoing steering committee which comprised of the following countries: Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, DRC, with Plan International and Athena network representing the Alliance’s strategic partners, Sonke Gender Justice representing the Secretariat and a young person from Botswana representing Men Engage Africa Youth. Desmond Lunga from Men Engage Botswana was the chair for the outgoing committee, supported by Ilot Muthaka from DRC.

    We would like to thank the outgoing Steering Committee for all the work they have done in shaping the work of Men Engage Africa over the last two years. The new Committee will serve for the same duration and their tasks will include:

    1. Providing  overall guidance and support to Men Engage Africa sub-regional and individual country networks;
    2. Working closely with the Secretariat to meet the objectives of the Alliance and to ensure compliance;
    3. Working with the Secretariat and the sub-regional and country networks on a Strategic Plan and budget to support the network;
    4. Reviewing and signing off on an annual work-plan and budget in alignment with the four-year Strategic plan and the financial needs of the Alliance;
    5. Authorising the Annual Report and Financial Statements;
    6. Assessing progress against the previous year’s goals;
    7. Ensuring adequate resources and the effective management of resources;
    8. Enhancing the network’s public image; and
    9. Contributing towards a constructive relationship between the Men Engage Africa Steering Committee, the Secretariat and its members. 

    We look forward to working with, and being led, by the new Steering Committee. We wish each and every member wisdom, grace and tenacity as we journey together over the next two years towards promoting gender transformation and social justice for all in the countries where we work.

  • Q+A with Dr Chris Ugwu, Co-Ordinator of MenEngage Nigeria

    Nigeria is the latest and newest country to start a MenEngage network in Africa. Established by the Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP Nigeria), the network joined the Alliance in July 2018. In our effort to introduce the network to our partners and friends, we asked Dr Chris Ugwu, Executive Director of SIRP Nigeria and Co-Ordinator of MenEngage Nigeria five questions about the network. We hope the answers will provide you some insight into the newest member of our family.

    How did the Society for the Improvement of Rural People learn about MenEngage Africa Alliance and what was your motivation to be a member of the Alliance?

    We found out about the MenEngage Africa Alliance through surfing the web, and because Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP) is working with men and boys to advocate on issues of gender equality, ending the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage as well as reproductive health rights, etc, these agree with the Alliance’s objectives. Because of this we thought that being a member of Men Engage Africa, along with other like minded organisations in Nigeria, would be the best thing to do, hence we sought to establish Men Engage Nigeria. Besides, being a member of a regional Alliance like Men Engage Africa would give us a national and regional visibility and a platform to advocate for the end of all forms of harmful traditional practices against women and the girl child, like FGM and child marriage.

    What is the background of your organisation?

    SIRP was formed in1988, but was officially registered as an NGO in 1999. Our programmes and activities are all geared towards working with local communities to enhance their ability to make demands for rights and services that affects people’s sustainable development, especially those under SDG 3 (which focuses on good health and well-being); SDG 4 (which focuses on quality education); and SDG 5 (which focuses on gender equality).

    What challenges have you encountered since joining MenEngage Africa Alliance and how are you handling them?

    Nigeria, just like other countries of Africa, is essentially a patriarchal society in that men and boys are valued and preferred over females. In other words, patriarchy is one issue that poses serious challenges to our advocacy programmes to end such practices as FGM and child marriage. However, we are making good in-roads in the communities where we are making interventions, which include Awgu, Akwuke, Mpu, and Nenwe, which are all based in Enugu State and highly value tradition and religion – factors that we constantly have to challenge to change perceptions. Another significant development in our efforts to end harmful traditional practices against the girl child is the involvement of men and boys in a terrain that has been exclusive to women and women’s rights organisations. There is a growing realisation that they alone cannot end gender equality challenges, hence, the need for organisations such as ours to partner with women’s organisations, under the Men Engage Nigeria umbrella, to introduce transformative norms and practices as a veritable antidote measure to practices and inequalities that harm girls and women in the country.

    What have been your network’s highlights, so far?

    Our highlights include, but are not limited to the following:

    • We have carried out seven Community Outreach programmes since our admission into Men Engage Africa Alliance last October 2018, targeting young girls who have dropped out of school because of lack of sanitary pads for use during their monthly menstrual periods.
    • We’ve not only provided 160 young girls with sanitary pads, but we have also taught them how to prepare the pads. Meanwhile, 20 drop-outs have resumed their schooling.
    • We have been on drive to increase our membership to ensure a good mix of men and women-led organisations. By November 2019, we had nine member organisations. Now we have grown to 14.
    • Our National Co-Ordinator, Dr Chris Ugwu, attended the Annual General Meeting of Men Engage Africa Alliance, which was held from 11-14 February 2019, in Nairobi, Kenya. He took part in the election of the new Steering Committee members of MEA Alliance.
    • MenEngage Nigeria now have a Twitter handle for ease of communication. Our twitter handle is @MenNigeria. Please follow and engage us on the platform.

    What are your plans for this year, 2019?

    We are planning to have the formal inauguration of MenEngage Nigeria, which we hope will take place in May. We also hope that by June we will have developed our National Strategic Plan for the next four years, 2019-2023. We also plan to conduct key advocacy visits to government functionaries (Ministers of Gender Affairs, Health, Justice and Education) and international NGOs that work in Nigeria with a view to forming new and strengthening existing relations and partnership with them to intensify the work that we do.

    Chris Ugwu