Burundi has freed a final batch of 1,846 political prisoners, including some accused of involvement in ethnic massacres and the assassination of the president in 1993. Human rights activists, including the largest group Ligue Iteka, said they wanted the constitutional court to cancel the releases arguing it was against Burundi's constitution and international law to free detainees charged with murder. Some 1,453 prisoners were released in January and February as part of a plan by President Pierre Nkurunziza to free all prisoners accused of politically-motivated crimes during the tiny central African nation's civil war.

President Kibaki launched an awareness campaign driven by the National Anti-Corruption Steering Committee last week. The agency, which seeks to change Kenyans' attitudes towards corruption, was launched in 2004 but has only recently embarked on public activities. SUNDAY NATION interviewed its executive director, Mr Polycarp Ochilo.

The phenomenon of blogging has exploded globally, with the new medium being hailed for its ability to democratise the global conversation. But that doesn’t mean the blogosphere doesn’t reflect existing prejudices within society. Sokari Ekine explores the more sinister side of the blogoshpere, focusing specifically on the abuse of women.

Last weekend the number of blogs topped the 30 million mark, according to the UK Guardian technology section. In it’s leader entitled “In Praise of the Blogosphere” it suggested that blogging “is graduating from being a minority sport to a mainstream activity”. It listed three factors that had led to this huge spate in the growth of blogs: the ease of setting one up; the functionality of blogs that has grown to include video and audio clips plus a wide range of social networking features, particularly the use of “tags” for sharing music, bookmarks, books and photos; and most importantly that “they are becoming politically and socially important as like-minded people around the world share thoughts and pictures and call decision-makers to task”.

The article, like most on blogging, presents a scene of harmony and freedom of speech as the economic and technological barriers to publishing are removed, enabling the democratic grassroots media (New Media Musing) to speak out as they choose.

Other articles on the blogosphere are written in a similar vein, using phrases like “citizens media revolution” (Our Media) “social media”, “grassroots media”, “mavericks of the online world” and so on. Having blogged for two years I cherish the technology that enables me to say what I like and how I like. I do not have to consider editorial constraints or advertising interests. The only standards I have to adhere to are my own. I am free as the wind to speak as I wish.

But there is a dark side to the blogosphere. As Rebecca Blood writes:

“The weblog's greatest strength - its uncensored, unmediated, uncontrolled voice - is also its greatest weakness…”

She argues that the editorial and adverting constraints on the mainstream media ensure that ethical standards are maintained. However, the lack of constraints on blogs, which at the same time make them so vibrant, compromises their integrity and therefore their value.

But blogging is not just about writing. It is also about the interaction between the writer and the readers. The writer is exhibiting their ego and the reader is engaging in overt voyeurism. We bloggers know when someone has been to our blogs, how long they spend there and what they read. After all that is why we are writing. We created our online identities so others would take a look and watch and try to discover through our words who we are and what we think.

The African blogosphere is one sphere that has seen a huge growth of new blogs in the past 6 months. For example in Nigeria the number of blogs has trebled in the last 9 months and each month new blogs are being created. The majority of African bloggers are still men, although the number of women is slowly increasing. African blogs tend to fall into three loose categories. First, journals or diary blogs, topic specific blogs such as technology or music blogs, and current affairs and political blogs with commentary.

The African blogosphere is no more homogenous than Africa itself. Each blogosphere tends to have it’s own characteristic such as more conversations between bloggers or less topic specific blogs and more commentary and so on. For example the Nigerian blogosphere tends to be equally divided between all three blog types but with more women writing journal and diary type blogs than men. Some countries are not as developed as others. The Ethiopian blogosphere, though relatively quite small, is very active and dominated by political commentary blogs. Kenya is the largest, followed closely by Nigeria.

Recently Nigeria in particular, has become the sight of much intolerance expressed through homophobia and misogyny. The abuse of women has been particularly disturbing. Comments have been left on womens’ blogs and posts, written using misogynist language against women and lesbians.

This is not to say that there is anything objectionable about someone expressing opinions against homosexuality whether via a comment or through a post on a blog. However these are not simply rational comments. The comments and posts are personalised and the language used is derogatory and misogynist, such as “lesbos need a dick whipping”, “bitches” and “menopausal bitches”. In some instances individual women have been stalked and intimidated even as far as names being revealed. Whilst individuals are entitled to their opinions, when the conversation degenerates into offensive hate speech advocating violence against women and homosexuals, this is not acceptable.

Because people see the blogosphere as a space where they can express themselves freely and often anonymously, they feel they do not have to adhere to the constraints in speech that they would in the non-cyber world. These issues become more apparent as the number of blogs grow and as people from different backgrounds and countries are brought together in one huge global blogosphere. At any one time there are thousands of conversations taking place.

People who would not normally have contact with each other whether because of geographical space or just personal preference now have the possibility of sharing conversations. The blogosphere reflects the non-cyber world in that the lack of shared values, ideological consensus and cultural differences amongst people can and does result in conflicts and confrontations between groups and individuals on their blogs. Thus the dichotomies of gender – male and female; sexual preference be it heterosexual and homosexual; geographical location; Africa the homeland and Africa the Diaspora; African and non-African - all have the possibility of being exacerbated because except in the case of gender these pairs are not often thrown together within the same space.

With specific reference to Nigeria and other African countries, women are being abused when they do not conform to certain types of behaviour. The emerging female voice on the Nigerian blogosphere is often in contrast to the prescribed gender roles in Nigeria that do not threaten existing patriarchal systems. Women can and do use their blogs to “speak” out against male oppression in ways they may not do in their daily lives. Blogging anonymously they feel free to express their aspirations for a different Nigeria where women are not subservient to male domination. Many men find this problematic and feel they are loosing control and power over women. Their response is to use misogynist and homophobic language to berate and intimidate the women who speak out.

Women in the Diaspora are exposed to a more sexually open environment and one where sexism and homophobia are not so socially acceptable. This is a further challenge for men in the “homeland” who may resent and fear this freedom because it may influence “their” women at home. It is common to berate those living abroad as having lost their cultural traditions and become soiled by western society which is viewed as being morally inferior. As I mentioned earlier the blogosphere provides people with the opportunity to develop an exaggerated ego and to engage in voyeurism.

The sexual nature of the comments left by some men on blogs indicate the sexualisation of this voyeurism. Young men are able to feed each other’s ego and sexuality by egging one another on as they publicly engage in “male” chat about women, much of which includes the use of misogynist language. Some women also participate in these “conversations”, cheering the men on as they act out their “machoness” and collude in the abuse of their sisters.

It needs to be said that the numbers of men engaging in abusive behaviour is relatively small. In fact a number of male bloggers have themselves been very outspoken against the abuse of women, whether in the blogosphere or in the non-cyber world, but there are still many who though not participating in abuse are silent. Despite the abuse, women are determined to continue blogging, to expose misogyny where it exists, and to find ways of supporting each other just as they have always done and continue to do so offline.

The sheer number of blogs and the global nature of the blogosphere allows for the potential exchange of ideas, empathy and tolerance across the numerous dichotomies that exist in an increasingly complex and changing world. For Africa, the rapidly developing blogosphere provides the possibility of bringing about a much-needed alternative and progressive voice and cross continent collaboration through a citizen’s media. It is important that these possibilities are not side tracked or diminished by a few destructive non-progressive elements. African bloggers of today are pioneers and as such it is the duty of all of us to create a blogging environment where women are free to express themselves without fear.

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks,

* Please send comments to [email protected]

Sources:

Guardian Technology:

Kenya could be heading for a political climate similar to that in the early nineties should the opposition make good its threat to force early elections in the wake of commando-style attacks on the Standard Group, East Africa's oldest media organisation. Leading lights of the Orange Democratic Movement, which organised demonstrations in support of the media last Tuesday, are confident that there will be no going back until the government calls for early elections before the scheduled date of 2007.

The United Nations food agency says it has been forced to reduce food aid rations to some 230,000 Somali and Sudanese refugees living in two camps in remote areas of eastern and northeastern Kenya as a result of insufficient funding. The ration cuts for refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps come as WFP struggles to raise US $170 million for its operation to feed 3.5 million Kenyans affected by severe drought.

The European Union has defended the on-going Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) negotiations with 16 east and southern African countries. EU head of delegation to Kenya, Eric Van der Linden, has urged African policy makers to view the talks as a trade and development tool. "The EPAs are the only means of maintaining the long standing relationship with the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries dating back to the Lome conventions," Van der Linden told negotiators from the region meeting in Nairobi. Under the Lome Convention, 79 former colonies of major European countries enjoy preferential access to the EU market.

Uganda's divestiture programmes have suffered a setback after the World Bank declined to extend its technical support to the Privatisation Unit. The Bank cites political interference, lack of transparency and the sluggish pace of disposal of public assets as the reasons for its decision. The World Bank said last month it would not extend the facility, which lapsed at the end of 2005. The Privatisation Unit officials say they may not be able to finance the areas the World Bank has been funding at international level, but add that they can seek local funding alternatives.

Britain has thrown its weight behind recent decisions by international lenders to delay aid to Kenya. High commissioner Adam Wood said Britain was a key partner of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and would, therefore, support their conditions. The Bretton Woods institutions have withheld the funding to press the Government to act tougher on corruption and reforms. At the weekend, World Bank country director Collin Bruce said Kenya stood to miss out on close to Sh15 billion in aid if it did not speed up economic reforms.

About $4 million is needed immediately for the setting up of national facilities for testing, training technicians and sample collection. The Ugandan Cabinet is set to meet to discuss how to raise the $14 million needed for the setting up of a national plan for preparedness and response to avian influenza (bird flu). Although no case of bird flu has been confirmed in the country, officials are leaving nothing to chance over the H5N1 virus, which has already affected poultry stocks in Nigeria, Egypt and Niger, and which is potentially fatal if passed on to humans.

Tanzania's Williamson Diamonds Limited (WDL), will soon start providing antiretroviral therapy to employees, their families and people living in the surrounding villages. A medical officer-in-charge of the Mwadui Hospital, said the voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) centre at the hospital would offer antiretroviral therapy, now that it has secured clearance from the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS).

The Ugandan government's expulsion of a foreign journalist is the latest example of a crackdown on independent media that predates recent elections, Human Rights Watch said. At least three local journalists also face serious criminal charges on account of their work. President Yoweri Museveni, in power in Uganda since 1986, won re-election last month, giving him another five-year term. The ruling National Resistance Movement won a majority of seats in parliament in the presidential and parliamentary elections of February 23, the first multiparty poll in two decades.

More frequent and more severe droughts are likely to blight the Horn of Africa as global warming increases and commercial activities continue to destroy the environment's ability to bounce back from dry spells, leading environmental experts have cautioned. Deforestation and commercial exploitation of wetlands have brought about climate change and decreased rainfall on a massive scale across eastern Africa, and if these harmful practices continue, millions of people could face starvation annually.

The Centre for Civil Society (CCS), University of KwaZulu-Natal, would like to invite applications for researchers wishing to locate themselves at CCS for periods of either six months or a year. Six month fellowships will receive a grant of R75000 and one year fellowships will receive a grant of R150000. These may be treated as taxable income.

The DVD of the movie "The Making of a President", concerning the Malawi elections 2004, is now available through Minibus Media. Apart from including subtitles in English, German and Portuguese the DVD also contains additional features such as the profile of all presidential candidates as well as a trailer. The documentary was produced by Minibus Media in collaboration with Civil Liberties Committee.

Community Radio updates you on recent community radio related programme activities, awards, training, evaluation and research results, networks, books, and other materials recently placed on Soul Beat Africa.

Sudan's Special Court for Darfur has not been able to try officials accused of war crimes. Sudan established the court after blocking the International Criminal Court (ICC) from investigating in Darfur. To date, the court has not tried any persons for their actions during the Darfur conflict.

Over five hundred million people, nearly 10 percent of the world's population, have a disability. The United Nations (UN) is currently negotiating a treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to ensure that human rights standards are extended to people with disabilities. In order to help promote the adoption of the Convention, the Centre for International Rehabilitation (CIR) has launched the ConventionYES! Website.

After the World Summit on the Information Society ended in Tunisia last November, the Civil Society Statement commented: "Overall, it is impossible not to conclude that WSIS has failed to live up to (its) expectations." In a more-recent article titled 'Pushing and prodding, goading and hand-holding', the APC presents its verdict. It comes from a perspective which believes that the ability to access, produce and share information is a key requirement for creating more equal and just societies.

Computer Aid International is seeking to appoint two new Africa Programme Officers based in their Nairobi office but travelling widely in the region to serving existing and potential new partners in West and Central Africa.

The Government of Morocco is planning to deploy a new e-government system to streamline public procurement processes, increase competitive bidding and save money for Moroccan taxpayers, with support of the Development Gateway's e-Government Grants Program. Technical assistance and seed funding for the project will come from the Grants Program, a partnership with the Government of Italy.

The African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF) is a non-profit, non-governmental, research, resource, reflection and discourse organization devoted to enhancing thinking on African development. The ARRF invites you to a Public Debate on “Why Corruption Continues Unabated: The Real ‘Speed Governors’ in the war against Graft in Kenya”. The event is scheduled for Thursday 16th March 2006 from 5.00 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. at the Kenya National Theatre Auditorium.

The report focuses on what skills and type of experience individuals need to develop a successful career in the field of international peace and conflict resolution. Its aims to provide a guideline for individuals interested in pursuing and/or advancing their career in the field. It is based on interviews with 55 employers involved in international and peace and conflict resolution work, from leading non-profit organisations, US government agencies, international organisations, foundations and universities.

In January 2006, the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) and the Network on Gender Equality of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held a joint meeting on the implications of the new aid modalities for the achievement of gender equality. This aide-memoire, written in preparation of the meeting, argues that new aid modalities may have limited or adverse effects on developing countries if they do not take into account gender perspectives and the rights and interests of women.

There is not a single country in the world today where women have the same opportunities as men, and although progress has been made in some areas in recent years, women are still disadvantaged in economic and political life. Gender equity is far from being achieved. The opportunities available to men and women are unequal in every country in the world. Almost 70% of the world's poor are women. The most obvious inequities are seen in the economic and political spheres. The exclusion of women is clearly visible in the political sphere. Although they account for more than half of the world's population, women occupy only 15% percent of seats in the world's parliaments on average.

Invasive bacterial infections are a significant cause of childhood illness and death worldwide. But clinical officers and doctors in African hospitals have few resources to diagnose and treat seriously ill children. Research in Kenya shows that simple rules based on current World Health Organisation guidelines effectively target antibiotic treatment.

Press statement on International Women’s Day,
8 March 2006
[email][email protected]

Ditshwanelo, the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, wishes to express its concern at the recent case of Ms Lesedi Ramathuba, reported in Mmegi on 1 March 2006. An alleged rape survivor, she is to be prosecuted by the State for “lying to the police after she recanted a statement saying she was raped”. The report states that her attorney, Mr Isaac Seloko, has said she “decided to withdraw the case at her own will after considering her position”. This has brought into sharp focus how little protection or legal assistance exists within Botswana for women who allege rape. Currently, an alleged rapist is able to freely contact the alleged survivor during the case. There is inevitably the serious risk of intimidation of the survivor by the alleged rapist. This could lead to the withdrawal of the report of the alleged rape.

This is a report of a "desk review" undertaken by the UK government at about the same time that the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Women was making its way through Africa accompanied by an intense campaign. (Warning - there are lots of acronyms, but it's worth the aggravation.) The Review is global and concerned specifically about maternal mortality: it argues that a human rights based approach can be achieved 'by enabling key policy actors in both government and civil society to recognise and find ways of directly addressing the economic, social, cultural and political forces that constrain'.

Activists against female genital mutilation are already working in high gear this year as the issue reaches a breaking point in many countries. On February 6, UNICEF kicked off the fourth annual International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation with rallies throughout many of the countries where the practice is widespread including Senegal, Egypt and Sudan. The UN children's agency operates anti-mutilation programs in 18 of the 28 countries where the traditional practice exists.

"Our small Cessna Caravan plane flew for two hours north of the capital Kinshasa towards the Equateur Province where our Congo Heartland is located," wrote AWF President Patrick Bergin on a recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa. "Below us were seemingly endless dense tropical forests with scattered broad sleepy water-ways winding through the trees on their way to join the mighty Congo River. Occasionally the green canopy would be disturbed by a small clearing of felled trees and smoke where a farmer had decided to strike out on his own and hunt forest animals while growing a bit of maize on the limited fertility of forest soils." Using the latest technology, NASA, University of Maryland and USAID are assisting the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) to monitor these new clearings by overlaying satellite images of the forest canopy and of large fires detected from space on a map of the Congo Heartland.

Monica Amolo's tale is one of endurance and determination: she is intent on being elected to Kenya's parliament, regardless of the intimidation experienced en route. Since trying to contest a legislative seat in western Kenya four years ago, Amolo told IPS, she has met with various forms of harassment. These range from being told that a woman's place is in the kitchen and accusations that she is a prostitute - to physical violence, and even death threats.

This research explores the development of non-government provision of secondary education in South Africa and Malawi, reviews experience in other Sub-Saharan African countries, and identifies lessons that can be learned of relevance to policy and practice. The research draws attention to some of the differences which exist in South Africa and Malawi and can be found in other SSA countries.

This paper explores the effect of education on understandings of and support for democratic government in Malawi - paying particular attention to the consequences of primary schooling, which remains the modal experience of Malawian voters. The study indicates that primary schooling promotes citizen endorsement of democracy and rejection of non-democratic alternatives even when it has taken place under authoritarian rule, without explicit civic education. It finds that the educated not only support democracy but they have a better understanding of why they are supporting it.

Lawyers say they have shut down court proceedings across Nigeria, claiming their boycott is a complete success. The Nigerian Bar Association says the protest is over the "failure of the government to comply with court orders and the violation of human rights". President Lanke Odogiyon said disregard for the rule of law was reminiscent of Nigeria under the military. He said the only case in the capital, Abuja, was the government failing to get a court order to stop the strike. The Bar Association says most of its 50,000 membership followed the call on the first day of the two-day boycott and stayed away.

The UN's top human rights forum began what could be its final session ever, but the gathering was suspended immediately to give governments time to reach a deal on its replacement. Peruvian Ambassador Manuel Rodriguez Cuadros brought down his gavel to end the meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission after just four minutes of purely procedural statements. On Friday, Rodriguez Cuadros and member governments of the 53-nation commission agreed to put their annual six-week session on ice for a week because all 191 members of the UN General Assembly had still been unable to reach consensus on setting up a new UN Human Rights Council.

UNDP Somalia seeks a consultant to support training in gender mainstreaming both within the country office and the programmes. This position will work with the Business Development Unit, and will also provide programmatic support to the project “Enhancing Women's Leadership and Governance in Somalia”.

HIV/AIDS treatment programmes using drug cocktails that are standard in the industrialised world are proving less effective in developing countries, says a study published in The Lancet today (10 March). It shows that people taking the cocktail, known as HAART, are more likely to die in the first few months of treatment if they live in poorer countries.

Kaitira Kandjii, 43, has been appointed the new Regional Director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) as from 1 April 2006, according to a report in the Namibia Economist. Kandjii takes over from Luckson Chipare, a Zimbabwean, who has worked for MISA for the last 10 years, five of the last ones as Regional Director. Before his appointment, Kandjii, the first Namibian to hold the senior post, was the head of Freedom of Expression at the MISA Regional Secretariat in Windhoek.

The Zimbabwean aims to produce and distribute a newspaper dedicated to freedom of expression and access to information for all the peoples of Zimbabwe, founded on the sacred principles of journalism - fairness and honesty.

Nyaradzai Mugaragumbo-Gumbonzvanda, Regional Programme Director for the United Nations Development Fund for Women in Eastern Africa, pays tribute to the everyday heroines of the African continent. It’s not only the women in parliament that need recognition, but also those in local authorities, in health boards, water boards, education committees, budget committees and in the home, she writes.

Rosemary called me five times this week encouraging me to write something for International Women’s Day, 2006. I was not sure what to write, say or dream about! Women in decision-making, public office, the numbers, the politics, the influence they have or do not have! I was not sure. I woke up inspired. Yes, I can indeed share my thoughts, dreams and give a eulogy to African heroines, and especially African women who continue to meet the challenges everyday, who are creating change and whose voices, views, energies and creativity is never recognized, counted or valued.

First a tribute is to my own mother, Rozaria, who gave birth to more than a dozen children, a 3rd grade graduate who sent us all to school, and lived as a widow for more than 27 years. She was never a parliamentarian or a councilor, but she was on 24-hour call in her community, supporting, contributing and advising. She sat in the local school board and was a leader in her local church. She met many, many, many challenges in life, but she also created change. She influenced the family, the community and the school. She died a leader and a queen of many hearts.

Through her work we continue to struggle for justice, for equality, for rights, for dignity and for a life free from want and fear.

Many women in Africa are like my own mother. They assert themselves within the space they have. They know what is good for their children, community and country and strive for the same. They are heroines whose names are inscribed in our hearts but whose leadership, wisdom and contribution is not counted nor recognized. We continue to wallow in the pain of the low numbers in parliament and in public office. If women are not in these public offices, they are in their houses and communities meeting the challenges and trying to make a difference. They are also trying to access public office! Just like every woman is a worker, every woman is a decision maker.

The question is how do we translate women’s skills, passion and commitment to public expression and presence in public office? Why do we have a fixation with the apex, instead of diffusing the power from the apex to the other and more important levels of governance?

Transformational leadership with women must equally be about changing the value base. It must be about the totality of women’s space and eulogizing every space in which women are making decisions. In public office, we must continue to struggle for gender parity, but not at the expense of celebrating where women are already trying to influence change and meeting many struggles.

On this international women’s day, I call on the recognition of women in decision-making beyond the numbers of women in parliament. I call on the world and Africa to measure where it matters most for women: women in local authorities, in health boards, water boards, education committees, budget committees. Since most women are the ministers of finance (some say “cashiers”) at home, why not in government, why not chair finance committees in parliament and in the local boards?

I give a tribute to every woman today, as you continue to make decisions about your family, your life and posterity. This happens in the face of discrimination, poverty, wars, HIV & AIDS and even exclusion. Women are carrying even more than half the sky, today; especially in the part of the world we call Africa.

* The writer is the Regional Programme Director for United Nations Development Fund for Women in Eastern Africa.

* Please send comments to

Despite South Africa’s progressive Constitution women’s occupation of public and private spaces remains limited and constantly under siege, writes Carrie Shelver from People Opposing Women Abuse. "As we stood outside the court on the first day of the rape trial it was clear how even those of us gathered to support the complainant in the case were under siege, our space limited to a small cordoned off area. By contrast, the supporters of Zuma roamed and merged with bystanders all of whom were only occasionally pushed back by police."

Writer Betty Caplan reports on a unique dance style that blends classical ballet, Spanish and Oriental flavours and traditional African dances to honour, celebrate, imitate and poke fun at the gloriously beautiful but vain flamingos of Kenya’s Lake Nakuru. What makes dance funny? I found myself musing on this question as I watched Kenya Performing Arts Group’s performance of ‘Flamingo Flamenco’ during the weekend of February 3-4, 2006 at the Village Market auditorium (not a place to enhance any kind of art at all – a soulless construction without even the basic facilities for artists.) The work, choreographed by Israeli Miriam Rother, takes a look at a flamboyant, gloriously beautiful but vain African bird, the flamingo. In a series of dances, the performers honour, imitate and poke fun at the Flamingo of Lake Nakuru. En masse, by the side of Kenya’s famous soda lake, it is a unique sight.

The Freedom of Expression Institute is disgusted by the high- handed, illegal and brutal attitude of the eThekwini Municipality against shack dwellers today (February 27). Early this morning, police invaded both the Foreman Road and Kennedy Road shack settlements in Durban and prevented residents from leaving the settlements. A number of shack dwellers were arrested. We have just received reports that some of the detainees have been beaten up by police at the Sydenham police station. The military-style operation of police is an attempt to prevent a shack dwellers march from taking place today. The Shack Dwellers Movement, Abahlali Base Mjondolo, had planned to march today in protest against the lack of housing. They were due to hand over a memorandum to the MEC for Housing in the Kwazulu-Natal Province.

The first time Micha De Winter walked into a child-friendly space in a camp for displaced people in Darfur in March 2005, he found 150 children crowded into 25 square metres, supervised by one animator holding a stick in one hand and a whip in the other. "What I found was quite awful. Animators received very little training. There were no materials, and the numbers of children were so huge that hardly anything meaningful could be done in terms of psycho-social support," De Winter, a child psychologist, said.

Since the mid-1990s, millions of Congolese have fled their homes to escape fighting between rebel groups and the national government in a complex conflict which has, at times, involved as many as nine neighbouring states. Close to four million people are estimated to have died as a result of the conflict which has been accompanied by widespread human rights violations. Displacement in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) peaked in 2003, with an estimated 3.4 million people forced from their homes, most of them in the east.

'Growth isn’t working: the uneven distribution of benefits and costs from economic growth', shows that globalisation is failing the world’s poorest as their share of the benefits of growth plummet, and accelerating climate change hurts the poorest most.   The report, the first in the New Economic Foundation's series of 'Re-thinking poverty' reports, reveals that the share of benefits from global economic growth reaching the world’s poorest people is actually shrinking, while they continue to bear an unfair share of the costs.

When James Kouma completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Lome University 15 years ago, he tried and tried but failed to find “a proper job”, he says. Now 38 and a father of two, he earns a perilous living driving a motor-bike taxi or “Zemidjan”, along with thousands of other young people. While West Africa’s big cities are jammed pack with jobless graduates who would agree with him, student life is far tougher nowadays across the region than it ever was.

Zimbabwe police Wednesday arrested several student leaders in the city of Bulawayo to thwart plans by students at a state university and three other institutions in the city to stage street protests against the government's decision to hike fees at state tertiary colleges. ZimOnline was unable to confirm the exact number of students that were being held by the police by late last night but other sources indicated as many as 25 students could have been arrested as they attempted to march through the city.

To mark International Women's Day, we publish today a number of articles on Islam and human rights. In this compelling article by Ayesha Imam, women’s reproductive and sexual rights within Muslim Nigeria are considered. With the recent “Sharianization” of parts of the country, new offences have been created, mostly surrounding sexuality, which has had a negative effect on women’s rights. Imam argues that while Sharia (Muslim laws) are neither uniform nor God given, the opposition between conservative and liberal jurisprudence has prevented progressive scholars and activists from establishing Muslim laws that ensure and protects the rights of women. She highlights what can be done to oppose these forces, and argues that one of the most important aspects of this task involves a “demystification” of Sharia for the Muslim communities of Nigeria (and elsewhere).

Amina Lawal was convicted of adultery in March 2002 and sentenced to stoning to death. In the wake of a new Sharia Penal Code in Katsina State, religious right vigilantes instigated a case against her for having a child after divorce without remarrying. The alleged father swore that he had not had sexual relations with her and was released. These events occurred during a heated controversy in Nigeria about the nature and desirability of Sharia (Muslim laws), rights in Muslim laws, constitutional rights, international human rights and their relationship(s) to each other. Ms. Lawal’s case was immediately adopted by a coalition of Nigerian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provided her with lawyers, safe houses, medical care, and emotional support over the eighteen-month ordeal. She also became the object of world attention, media and protest campaigns, many of which excoriated “Islamic law” as brutal and called on Nigeria’s president to pardon her and repeal the Sharia Acts. In September 2003, Amina Lawal won her appeal in the state Sharia Court of Appeal and was acquitted (Lawal Kurami v. the State).

This case is perhaps one of the best known concerning the introduction of Sharia Penal Codes in several Nigerian states in 2000. Zina, or unlawful sexual intercourse, includes adultery, punished by stoning to death, and fornication, penalized by whipping. In some of the states, men may be imprisoned in addition. These cases have been integral to the opening up of issues relevant to ensuring and developing women’s reproductive and sexual rights, and to understanding them in ways that recognises and respects both local cultures and contexts, as well as international rights agreements. The tensions between conservative religious politics and crude antiterrorism policies which are often blatantly Islamphobic must be considered in this discussion, which also involves local cultures containing a complicated mixture of ideologies and social practices, structured by power relations.

International human rights treaties and agreements, like local cultures, must thus require a “claim and critique” strategy – being aware of both local cultures and international human rights discourse, while at the same time not privileging either as superior, and thus being able to critique both. This is important so that human rights principles actually guarantee people their rights in their day to day lives; this requires that they are claimed and respected by local cultures, and are not merely written texts, so that they are seen as social and historical products, affected by the power politics and of the cultural traditions of the dominant groups in their own contexts.

Understanding that human rights constructions are themselves subject to power structures makes it possible to recognise the Western European influences on the construction of rights today. But it is also possible to accept the universality of the notion of rights, which are not static and are constantly reconstructed by those whose lives are impacted by them.

Approaches to human rights must also be constantly reconstructed. It is important that local cultural-religious norms and traditions, as well as formal national and international rights regimes must be simultaneously drawn from and negotiated with. Women’s rights groups have been integral to this process. Even though many of these groups are often regarded as in opposition to family, religious or ethnic community, they are in fact challenging not the communities themselves, but the current definitions of culture and norms of that community, and the powers of the cultural gatekeepers to maintain those definitions. It is with this background in mind that this article looks at the politics and activities surrounding zina cases under the Sharia Penal Codes in Nigeria.

Nigeria has seen a growth in religious essentialism and conservatism. However, the introduction of Sharia in Nigeria has had more to do with emotional political appeal, especially due to economic and educational issues, rather than religious sentiment.

Reactions to Sharianization were many. Christian and non-Muslims feared the imposition of Muslim religious laws on them. Human rights and other NGOs activists (including Muslims) were concerned about the religious rights of non-Muslims and the violation of constitutional provisions of secularity. Both Muslim and non-Muslim women’s rights activists were concerned that Sharia would be used as a rationale to discriminate against women and restrict their rights.

Muslim communities reactions to Sharianization were also varied – Ibrahim el-Zakzaky of the Muslim Brothers, who had previously called for the Islamization of Nigeria, opposed Sharianization on the grounds that passing and implementing harsh punishments without first ensuring just socioeconomic relations was not Islamic. Others were afraid of political abuse by those with power; as Muslims they did not want to oppose Sharia, but they did not feel they had the skills to criticize potential corruption without the ability to read Arabic or years of study of Islamic jurisprudence. Thus, there was an “uneasy public silence.” However, upon the passing of the laws there was much celebration, as many associated Sharia with morality. Morality was seen not only as sexuality, but also in terms of safety and anti-corruption, which the poor suffer most from.

The Sharia Penal Codes have created some new offences in Nigerian law, mostly around sexuality. They also recognise stoning, retributive punishments and blood fines. In theory, these laws apply to Muslims only, but it remains an open question whether Muslims have the right to choose to be governed by general Nigerian law, without having to renounce their religious identity.

Also still unresolved and ambiguous is that of the contradictions and gaps between the new Sharia Penal Codes and the Criminal Procedure Codes that determine procedures and evidence: What counts as evidence? What are the procedures? How are offenses actually defined? Further, whether the Sharia acts themselves or the nature of the punishments are subject to international human rights law has been debated. Nigeria is in fact a state party to several international human rights covenants. However, although such agreements may give rise to obligations under international law, unless they have been specifically incorporated into domestic law, they give no basis for claims in national courts. The interplay between domestic Nigerian multiple and parallel legal systems of secular, Muslim and customary laws is also problematic as they give differential rights on different issues, and jurisdiction can be contentious. Whose version of Sharia is to be upheld is another area that requires further definition.

Sharia is neither directly God given, nor uniform through Muslim history or different communities. In principle, Muslim laws are to be developed by reliance on the Qu’ran. The second source is the sunnah – traditions of the Prophet. Next is ijma, consensus about what that law is, by qiyas (analogy) and ijtihad (interpretive reasoning). At each stage there are disagreements that have led to diversities – thus, Muslim laws are and always have been subject to discussion or controversy.

Further, there are four main schools of Islamic jurisprudence among Sunni Muslims (who constitute about 80% of all Muslims). There are many similarities, as well as wide divergences. However, the scholars behind these schools did not see themselves as setting down a God-given legal code to be obeyed by all Muslims for all time. On the contrary, they were quite categorical that Muslims were not obliged to follow them if they did not believe that their reasoning from the Qu’ran and the sunnah were right. They had no intention of making their views final and binding on all Muslims. The stereotype of a single, uniform or divinely revealed Islamic law is false. However, this myth has been useful for Muslim conservatives and this can indeed by seen in Nigeria regarding reproductive and sexual rights.

In terms of zina, there are three main possibilities: zina can be seen as a sin that Allah will punish directly, except where there are voluntary or repeated confessions; the law can be seen as a deterrent but which requires high standards of proof and evidence which result in few prosecutions and rare convictions; and the politically motivated aggressive enforcing of morality through restrictive legislation and enthusiastic prosecutions. This latter case is what has been happening in Nigeria. In terms of reproductive rights for women, Sharia is equally diverse. Most Muslim jurists agree that fertility management is permissible, and that pleasure in sexual intercourse is a right for both men and women. Most also agree that Islam does not sanction female genital mutilation. Despite this, the religious right in Nigeria have described fertility management as promoting immorality and zina, and have thus attempted to prevent it.

This opposition between conservative and liberal constructions of Muslim laws, and the myth of a single uniform (conservative) Sharia, has enabled the Muslim religious rightwing to prevent progressive Muslim scholars and rights activists from establishing the legitimacy of their positions in fiqh (jurisprudence), Sharia, or non-religious laws. Ironically, many progressives and leftists in the West do the same, dismissing critical voices from within the Muslim world as “Westernized” and inauthentic. It is important to recognize dissenters as equally authentic members of the community.

Many groups are actively organising in Nigeria to establish protection for women’s rights under this new Sharianization. The primary strategy of these organisations is defending those convicted by focusing on appeals in the Sharia courts, thus buying much needed time as well as getting closer to the higher courts, which have been historically more fair to women. Appealing, with the use of arguments in fiqh, deficiencies in the acts and the bias against women in their implementation could be recognised. Alternative Muslim juristic views can also be cited. Gaining an acquittal also serves to indicate that no conviction should have been made, and is thus a vindication of the person wrongly convicted. Pursuing appeals also serves to demonstrate that people have the right to appeal and challenge injustice, including those perpetuated in the name of religion. The success of those appeals shows that it does make a difference – far fewer women and men have been charged with zina or sentenced to stoning since Amina’s case, and the two that were, have successfully appealed and were discharged within three months.

These same women’s and rights groups have also sought to demystify Sharia to the general public, through seminars, workshops, training, public discussion, lectures, articles, pamphlets, books and radio and television talk shows. This includes groups like the Constitutional Rights Project, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, the Women’s Action Collective with Women’s Action Research and Documentation, and the Nigerian office of the International Human Rights Law Group.

Demystifying Sharianization in Nigeria also involves critiques of the current class- and gender-bias in content and implementation. The poor have been the most subjected to harsh punishments. There have been fewer convictions of men than of women for adultery or fornication. Moreover, men convicted of violent sexual offences, like rape and sexual assault, have received less severe punishments (usually fines, imprisonment, or acceptance of pleas of illness and insanity), despite the stronger punishments available in the Sharia Penal Codes that are routinely meted out for consensual sex outside marriage. Women have clearly been discriminated against. Judges have ignored or dismissed women’s allegations of rape and coercion in zina cases. Before Amina Lawal’s acquittal, convictions of adultery/fornication brought against women used different and discriminatory standards of evidence than those used for men – that of pregnancy outside marriage.

The task at hand is therefore much larger than simply working to make Sharia work for women – it includes reeducation and awareness raising to change age old attitudes, while at the same time valuing local traditions and culture.

International media coverage of these cases, and of the Amina Lawal case in particular, has been staggering, relatively speaking. News reporting and petitions that have appealed to human rights have had conflicting results. While a growing awareness of rights abuses has been gained, a certain amount of hypocritical action is identified: the response of many Nigerians has frequently been to ask why people in the West are apparently so concerned about the life of one Muslim woman in Nigeria, when they have been killing large numbers of Muslim men, women, and children and are responsible for the horrors of war and its aftermath in Iraq.

While international solidarity is important to local rights struggles, and campaigns and petitions have the potential to be successful, it must be done in a way that does not portray stereotypes, nor hinder the actual protection and defense of women’s and human rights. Further, the international media and protests have largely ignored the existence of dissent among Muslims, and have downplayed the existence of protests and campaigns enacted within Nigeria. The tendency to treat the Muslim world as uniform only helps to legitimize the religious right’s monopolistic claim to speak for all Muslims and to de-legitimize the assertions of progressive scholars and rights activists. Downplaying local organizing has the clear implication that it is the pressure and power of external foreign interests that is important and not the strengthening of local cultures of rights.

In order to move forward, using local structures and mechanisms (judicial appeals, informal dispute resolution, mock tribunals organized by local NGOs, networks of sympathizers and campaigns) to resist retrogressive laws or interpretations of laws and the forces behind them is the priority. Doing so strengthens local counter-discourses and often carries greater legitimacy than outside pressure. Further, using local structures and discourses can really address the local political power struggles that are behind the political use of religions and ethnicities.

Reforming laws is of utmost importance, and will require expanding public education on Muslim laws, juristic opinions and debate on the contents of laws. This task also necessitates building solidarity among a variety of stakeholders to develop shared understanding and common strategies and platforms for women’s and human rights. Local groups must find ways to interact with and influence mass international media, to make it more accurate and nuanced. These groups must also negotiate with and influence the policies of international agencies to create informed and respectful solidarity. Campaigning for governments and media to support international policies that sustain economic justice and rights would give hope worldwide so that poverty and uncertainty do not continue to be conditions in which religious right sentiments and actors find support for discourses and laws that violate rights.

* This up-dated paper contains both summary and extracts from a longer paper, which is an edited version of a paper published in “Where Human Rights Begin—Health, Sexuality, and Women in the New Millennium,” edited by Wendy Chavkin and Ellen Chesler, Rutgers University Press, November 2005.

* Please send comments to

Providing Pambazuka News readers with a clear linkage between women’s rights and Islamic law, Dr. Muhammad Tawfiq Ladan argues that a significant relationship exists between what the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa and Sharia have to offer to Muslim communities in Africa. Detailing the basis for women’s equality as provided for within the Quran and Islamic law, this article argues that Islam recognises that while men and women are not the same, they are certainly not unequal. The article concludes with a number of important recommendations for advocates working in African Muslim countries to ensure the rights of women.

This paper argues that the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa provides a strategic platform for advocates seeking to bring women’s human rights to the attention of citizens, organizations, governments and policymakers throughout Africa. It further argues that there is a significant relationship between the Protocol and the Sharia in terms of the objective, nature and scope of women’s rights.

Hence this paper seeks to realize the following objectives:

1. To provide an overview of the Protocol with special emphasis on the key survival, development, protection and participation rights of women in Africa;
2. To establish a significant relationship between the Protocol’s core provisions and the Islamic perspective on gender equality.
3. To conclude with some viable options for effective strategies in promoting and protecting women’s rights in Africa.

The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa

This part of the paper seeks to highlight the significance and potential of, and the rationale behind the Protocol and to examine the key provisions of the protocol relating to women’s rights in Africa.

Significance and Potential of the Protocol

The African Union adopted on July 11, 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique, a landmark treaty known as the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (the protocol) to supplement the regional human rights charter, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (the African Charter). The protocol, which entered into force on 25 November 2005 after securing 15 ratifications by African governments, provides broad protection for women’s human rights, including gender equality and justice.

The significance and potential of the protocol go well beyond Africa. The treaty contains a number of global firsts. For example, it represents the first time that an international human rights instrument has explicitly articulated a women’s right to abortion when pregnancy results from sexual assault, rape, or incest; when continuation of the pregnancy endangers the life or health of the pregnant woman; and in cases of grave fetal defects that are incompatible with life. Another first is the protocol’s call for the prohibition of harmful practices such as female circumcision/female genital mutilation (FC/FGM), which have ravaged the lives of countless young women in Africa.

The protocol can help advocates pressure governments to address the underlying social, economic, political, and health-care issues that contribute to the dismal states of women’s conditions throughout Africa, and through the reliance on the Quranically dictated values on gender equality, links to the protocol can be established in order to strengthen the rights of Muslim women throughout the continent.

Gender Equality and Justice under the Sharia

The Sharia, technically referred to as a ‘believer’s law’ in Islam, has two components. The divine component is founded on the provisions of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet of Islam. The human component of the Sharia is largely rooted in the exercise of ijtihad, technically referred to as the human initiatives to embark on research, provide judicial interpretations of the provisions of the divine component of the Sharia, resort to legal opinions or fatwa, juristic analysis, discourse or interpretations, as well as analogical deductions of rule by qualified mujtahids or scholars from the letter and spirit of the Holy Quran. Hence while the divine component is immutable, the human aspect of the Sharia is liable to err.

It is generally thought that the Sharia treats women unfairly and gender equality and justice are not possible within the Islamic legal system. This assertion is partly true and partly untrue.

Partly true as far as the resort to the process of ijtihad, the outcome and application of this process is not reflective of the changing needs and circumstances of the Muslim Ummah and not consistent with the values that the Quran repeatedly asserts in four words: ‘adl (Justice), ihsan (Benevolence), rahmah (Compassion) and hikmah (Wisdom). These Quranic values are very close to, and in fact, are the essence of human rights. One cannot think of human rights of any individual or group in the modern world without these values. Justice is as fundamental to human rights as benevolence, compassion and wisdom are. One cannot have a humane society without it being a just society.

The notion is partly untrue as far as the concept and respect for human rights are quite integral to the teachings of the Quran and the practice of the Prophet. Both the Quran and the Sunnah have remained for Muslims the framework within which to promote and protect these individual/group human rights. And the Quran has recognized and supported women’s rights in particular to: independent ownership of property, education, inheritance, free consent in marriage, divorce, child custody, voting rights, and to full legal capacity. However, there is the need to improve on women’s access to justice and to practically enhance gender equality in Muslim societies.

Quranic Perspectives on Gender Equality

The expression “Quranic perspective on Gender Equality” was judged to be the most suitable title for it orients us towards discovering those core principles in the Quran itself which form the understanding framework for our societies throughout the Muslim world. It is a society based on Quranic principles which is the goal of all Muslims, even though we may unknowingly deviate from time to time from those principles. It is the conference to a Quran-based society for which we must all work if the Muslim peoples are to enjoy a felicitous future. It is not an Indonesian, Pakistani, Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, Sudanese or Nigerian version of that society that we should regard as the indisputable norm, but one firmly based on the teachings of the Holy Quran. Only therein can we find a proper definition of women’s role in society. Since it is these teachings which are the subject of this sub-heading, the above seemed the most proper title.

By this choice of title one needs to emphasize that Muslims should regard the Holy Quran as our guide in all aspects of our lives. It is not only the prime source of knowledge about religious beliefs, obligations, and practices, it is also the guide, whether specific or implied, for every aspect of Islamic civilization.

As a step in this direction, let us consider what the Quran has to teach us about gender equality in the society towards which we should be striving, and ponder its effect on the position of women. What are the basic characteristics of a Quranic society which particularly affect women?

Five characteristics, which seem basic, crucial and incontrovertible of Quranic society are to be considered. Although they are presented in a series, each one rests upon the others and affects them. The interdependence of these five characteristics makes it difficult to speak of any one of them without mention of the others, and of course they do not and cannot exist in isolation from one another.

The characteristics include the following:

The Quran acknowledges the equal status and worth of the sexes, and the first of these Quranic confirmations of male-female equality are contained in statements pertaining to such religious matters as the origins of humanity, or to religious obligations and rewards.

Secondly, Muslims abide by a dual sex society rather than a unisex society. While maintaining the validity of the equal worth of men and women, the Quran does not judge this equality to mean equivalence or identity of the sexes. The society based on the Quran is, in contrast, a dual-sex society in which both sexes are assigned their special responsibilities. This assures the healthy functioning of the society for the benefit of all its members.

Third, of utmost importance is the interdependence of all members of society. Contrary to the contemporary trend to emphasize the rights of the individual at the expense of society, we find the Quran repeatedly emphasizing the interdependence of the male and female, as well as of all members of society.

Fourth, the value of the extended family is synonymous with Islam, as it serves to improve male-female relations. Thus, family connections reaching far beyond the nuclear unit are evident in strong psychological, social, economic and even political ties.

The fifth basic characteristic of a Quranic society is that of patriarchy. In order to acquire stability and cohesiveness, within Islam, patriarchy dominates, with men assuming responsibility for maintaining society.

The above analysis thus demonstrates that while women and men may be different, they are still equal, and as such, deserve equal treatment. The Quran thus provides the basis from which women are to be seen within Muslim communities, while the protocol offers the legal protection for all African women, including those living within an Islamic context.

Conclusions and Recommendations

It is evident from the above analysis that, both the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa and Islamic law recognize the crucial role of women in the preservation of family and societal values and seek to promote and protect women’s rights as human beings, then as citizens of their respective states, and finally as members of a vulnerable group that are largely abused, disadvantaged, marginalized and discriminated against in every human society.

Further, how men and women (especially political and public office holders, religious and community leaders, gender insensitive scholars, policy formulators and implementers) perceive women’s rights and to what extent their decisions and behaviour reflect a concern over such rights, are questions that require: continuing human rights education; aggressive public enlightenment campaigns; multidisciplinary research and a cross-cultural approach to the understanding, articulation and promotion of women’s rights as human rights in the civil, political, social, economic, cultural, environmental and development contexts.

At the same time, because legal and policy reforms and ideas about human rights can only provide a receptive context for changes in behaviour and do not by themselves produce these changes, it is important also to devote our attention to the practical realities that would support or hinder these reforms. These range from the economic and health infrastructure, to patterns of family formation and dissolution, and the diffusion of ideas through education and exchange. In other words, to all those conditions that are prerequisite to the effective protection of women’s human rights and the promotion of gender equality and gender justice.

Viable Options for Advocates

First, advocates in countries that have not yet ratified the protocol should press their governments to ratify.

Second, there is the need to uphold the protocol’s objectives. Any state that ratifies the treaty immediately assumes an obligation to uphold its stated objectives: to ensure the promotion and protection of women’s human rights; to ensure the implementation of the protocol at national level; and to submit periodic reports to the African Human Rights Commission, as well as provide appropriate legal remedies to any woman whose rights are violated. The adoption and repeal of legislations, implementation of policies and programmes, and enforcement by national-level courts and other mechanisms of existing legal standards can fulfill the obligations outlined in the protocol.

Third, advocates can lobby governments to reform national laws and policies that hinder women’s human rights under the protocol. Fourth, advocates need to push national and local policymakers to enact policies and programmes that seek to fulfill women’s human rights: - e.g., violence against women; sexual discrimination against women; a woman’s right to sustainable development and to participate in governance, decision-making process at all levels and in politics. Fifth, advocates can bring cases before national courts to help address violations of women’s sexual and reproductive rights, rights to a healthy and sustainable environment etc. Sixth, treaties help advocates articulate the nature and content of women’s human rights. The language of the protocol, therefore, may be used to educate women and men, policymakers, and advocates on the meaning and significance of legal standards, entitlements, and obligations as they apply to women’ rights in Africa. Seventh, conduct trainings for those who protect, promote and advance women’s rights in Africa on the African Human Rights System and the role of the protocol.

Finally, advocates need to lobby member states of the African Union to ensure that the African Human Rights Enforcement mechanisms are effective.

*This article is comprised of extracts as well as summary from a longer paper presented at a symposium co-convened by the Babiker Badri Scientific Association of Women, Afhad University for Women, which was organised by the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) Coalition during the 6th African Union Summit in January of 2006 in Sudan.

* Please send comments to