Pambazuka News 425: Beware of human rights fundamentalism

Vice president George Kunda on Friday charged in parliament that the government was aware of some people who had married to hide their homosexual activities. Answering a question from Chadiza MMD member of parliament Allan Mbewe during the vice president’s question and answer session, on what government was doing to curb homosexuality in the country, vice-president Kunda said the laws available were stiff enough to punish such people.

With its emphasis on gender equality, the South African constitution is regarded as a great example for many other developing countries. Yet, despite laws intended to protect the rights of women like the Sexual Abuse Act and the Domestic Violence Act, women in the country still suffer indignities at the hands of police and in court. Lisa Vetten, a policy analyst at the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre, an organisation that protects the rights of women, has been fighting for the rights of wom...read more

African trade could fall by up to 25 percent in 2009/10 from last year’s commodity-driven highs, senior executives from the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) said yesterday. The Cairo-based Bank has 33 African shareholders, and finances and promotes intra- and extra-Africa trade. “Last year was a very good year for Africa because of very high commodity prices... that got total African trade close to $800 billion”, Okey Oramah, Vice President of the trade finance bank, told Reuters in C...read more

Mauritania's political crisis worsened this week, following a statement by French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner. In a March 20th interview with Jeune Afrique, Kouchner stated that General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Chairman of the High Council of State, "has to take off his military uniform at least 45 days before the presidential election that is slated for June 6th, 2009".

Girls living in Moroccan towns are five times more likely to remain in school as their rural peers. The national attendance rate is around 60%, but is only 16.5% for girls in isolated areas. Given that the distance between rural girls' homes and schools is the primary reason for the disparity, an innovative residential programme may be the solution to keeping girls in school for more than just six years of primary education, organisers recently told a Rabat forum.

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