Zimbabwe's women are doubly disadvantaged by the country's four-year-old economic crisis. They are not only expected to manage dwindling, inflation-hit household budgets, but many are also victims of a corresponding rise in domestic violence. "We see an average of 10 new clients a day - and of these an average of three are seeking peace orders in matters of domestic violence, and some of the reasons have to do with financial issues," Emilia Muchawa of the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association told IRIN.

A distance-learning project developed by Fahamu for human rights organisations in Southern Africa has reached the finals of the Stockholm Challenge Award for 2003/2004. It was selected from among 900 applicants from 107 countries to be one of 24 finalists in the education category of the award. The project, 'Adilisha: Human Rights Capacity Building in Africa', was developed by Fahamu to strengthen the campaigning, advocacy and managerial capacity of human rights and advocacy organisations in Africa. This was done by providing distance-learning courses using CDROM based interactive materials that were facilitated by email and combined with regional face-to-face workshops.

Fighters who took part in Liberia's armed conflict have been raping and looting civilians in areas that lack international peacekeepers, despite a ceasefire and peace agreement in the country, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released ahead of a major international donors' conference on Liberia in early February. "Despite the peace accords, civilians in rural Liberia are still being raped, looted and forced to work for fighters from all the warring factions," said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Africa division. "More peacekeepers are needed to stem the violence and ensure that the disarmament program is successful."