Gender Links, a dynamic Southern African NGO based in Johannesburg seeks a Marketing and Logistics Officer responsible for marketing Gender Links publications and services, events coordination, travel logistics and basic finance and administration duties. At least five years experience in finance and administration, knowledge of the SADC region and MS Office is required. The contract will be for an initial two year period. A competitive remuneration package will be offered, commensurate with skills and experience. Applications must be submitted by 29 September 2010 to: [email][email protected] or fax: 011-622-4732. Only short listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.

With an urbanisation rate of 4-5 per cent per annum and a staggering 38 per cent of its population currently living in cities, millions of girls in sub Saharan Africa are likely to be left behind the expanding benefits of urbanisation and technological advancement, a report by international child rights organisation Plan International says.

'We want you to bring a strong voice to the women', says President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as she launches Liberia’s first and only radio station for women. Standing in a room full of ministers, officials, journalists and community women, Africa’s first democratically elected female President knows only too well what it’s like being a lone female voice in a male dominated world.

Just days before the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) summit, Andrew Mitchell, the UK’s International Development Secretary, announced a change in direction, putting women and children at the centre of its aid policy. This shift will double the number of female and newborn lives saved by 2015, Mitchell will tell the assembled heads of state in New York on 20-22 September.

West African ministers in charge of gender issues, as well as women organizations, have started a forum devoted to taking stock of the participation of women in the region in conflict prevention, peace-building and maintenance.

This week, the Stephen Lewis Foundation launched the AfriGrand Caravan, a cross-country tour with young African women orphaned by AIDS and grandmothers faced with an orphan care crisis in AIDS-ravaged sub-Saharan Africa. The Caravan will travel to 40 communities, St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia, from September 7 to November 10, creating a forum for the women to tell their stories and engage thousands of Canadians in a meaningful dialogue about the grassroots response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.

It is mid-morning and the workday is underway. People are moving in all directions, going about their daily chores. But it is mostly women who move the fastest, many of them carrying water through the impoverished and overcrowded streets. In Mgona, on the outskirts of Lilongwe, most men have ignored the many problems faced by the community, chief amongst them issues of waterborne disease.

We took this opportunity of September 7th, 2010, marked by the meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the recent case of mass rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to denounce this war of low intensity imposed on the Congolese populations in the East of their country. The femicide, rape, atrocities, and degrading and despicable human insecurity and fear now characterize the climate of life of people in Ituri, North and South Kivu and across the DR Congo; in a strategy and complicity to balkanize the country.

iCON Women and Young People’s Academy (IWYPLA) is pleased to announce its Call for Applications for the “2010 ICON WOMEN IN BUSINESS TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP FELLOWSHIP” programme.

Kenya’s Gay community celebrated the promulgation of the New Constitution and applauded President Mwai Kibaki for signing it into law to take effect henceforth. After the promulgation of the new law, the gay community converged in a leafy suburb of Nairobi to launch independent condom and water based lubrication distribution system for the Men having Sex with other Men (MSM) Program, dubbed Safe Sex Express Theme.

Women's month in South Africa has come and gone without much fanfare, and perhaps rightfully so, since African women continue to be confronted by institutions, policies and systems within an economy that entrenches patriarchy and a fundamentalist brand of neoliberalism.

There is a division between men and women, not only in terms of pure economics, but also in the realm of technology. Women’s lack of technological access is caused by many factors, and it will ultimately hurt them. Though there is currently a wide range of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) available, there is still a division of who is allowed access to it. Women are deprived not only economically, but also in terms of information.

In line with its mandate to promote high-level scientific and academic debates on various aspects of socioeconomic development in Africa, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) hereby announces the 2010 edition of its Gender Symposium which will be held from 24 to 26 November, 2010 in Cairo, Egypt. The Gender Symposium is a forum organised annually by CODESRIA to discuss gender issues and their impacts on the development of the continent. The theme of this year’s edition is Gender, Migration and Socioeconomic Development in Africa.

On Tuesday 14 September from 6:00pm to 7:30pm, the Royal African Society hosts the launch of at the Brunei Gallery (SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG).

SPEAKERS
- Ellen Aaku (winner of the 2007 Commonwealth Short Story Competition and
contributor to the anthology)
- Susan Akono (also known as Sylvie Aboa-Bradwell – director of African Peoples
Advocacy and contributor to the anthology)
- Yaba Badoe (novelist and documentary filmmaker)
- Anne Serafin (co-editor of the anthology)

CHAIRED BY
- Margaret Busby OBE

Please RSVP at [email][email protected]

On an improvised stage “Bombón de chocolate” (Chocolate Candy) is being performed. The play, which narrates the story of an African-Colombian girl who feels rejected because of the colour of her skin, is one of the events at a special day on drug addiction and violence organised in the city of Villa Paz, in South-West Colombia. Villa Paz has a population of 4000 inhabitants, of which 54% are are women and most of whom are African descendants and whose agricultural activities are mainly related to the sugar cane.

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) seeks a consultant to conduct an external evaluation of its Project “Promoting and Improving Access to Agricultural Information using ICTs in Northern Uganda.” The duration of the assignment is 20 days including travel to the project area and desk review. The consultant should have strong skills in both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, good practice of participatory methodologies and experience in working with/in diverse cultural settings. In addition, he/she should have a proven track record in conducting evaluations of ICTs for development projects and in assessing gender concerns.

This eight-page report details the outcomes of the Parliamentarians for Women's Health project, which was spearheaded by the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) in Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania. The project sought to form networks between HIV-positive women, their communities, and members of parliament (MPs). Although the report states that results varied by country, researchers found that, overall, the project gave MPs a better understanding of women's barriers to HIV/AIDS treatment and care, and that networking strengthened women's ability to advocate on issues that affect them.

Kivulini was established in 1999 by six women who felt compelled to respond to the needs of women experiencing domestic violence in the city of Mwanza in Tanzania. The organisation seeks to address the root causes of domestic violence by working closely with community members and leaders to change attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate violence against women. In Swahili, Kivulini means "in the shade/shelter" and is intended to imply a safe place where women, men, and children feel supported.

The future of Thulani Rudd, a Swaziland lesbian arrested in 2009 following a mysterious death of her girlfriend Pitseng Vilakati, looks bleak since she has been in custody for more than a year now, has no legal representation and it is still unclear when her case will resume. It is alleged that some gay rights groups that earlier assisted Rudd with legal representation have had to withdraw since when she was arrested she made a voluntary statement that implicated her to the murder.

Despite some resistance, the fight against female genital mutilations (FGM) has recorded significant progress in Mali, with over 400 villages putting a stop to the practice. According to the directorate of the National Programme of the Fight against Excision (PNLE), the good result arose from intense advocacy and sensitization programme across the country.