Unintended pregnancies and unsafe Abortions: Exploring violence, consent, and bodily autonomy among young women in Sub-Saharan Africa
Women make up 50.2% of the Sub-Saharan African population. The average age of sexual debut for females in Africa, is below 18 years with reported statistics in some countries of 78% of females having had sexual debut before 18. Generally, Sub-Saharan region governments either prohibit or do not expressly guarantee young people below 18 access […]
Beyond the learning symposium: reflections on SRHR activism
I had the privilege to attend the MenEngage Africa Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Learning and Exchange symposium in Nairobi, Kenya in August this year. I deem it a privilege, as it continues to be rare for grassroots activists to afford access or curate regional convenings, particularly in an anti-queer and elitist landscape. I was […]
Power To Youth Malawi undergoes meaningful and inclusive youth participation training
Youth advocates in the Power to Youth (PtY) Program Malawi now have skills to meaningfully participate in the development of their communities and serve as agents of change in deconstructing toxic socio-cultural norms experienced by women and girls. This is due to the Meaningful and Inclusive Youth Participation (MIYP) training facilitated by Sonke Gender Justice […]
Power To Youth partners share gender transformative approach journeys at GTA symposium
Power to Youth partners shared good practices, challenges, and lessons learnt during the Gender Transformative Approach (GTA) Linking and Learning Symposium in Kenya from April the 12th to the19th. Given that the GTA task force set out to capture stories of change in 2024, the symposium was aimed at facilitating and supporting countries to reflect […]
Youth Capacity Building Workshop and Conference on Gender Norms and FGM Advocacy
Our Youth gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to participate in a five-day capacity building workshop on Gender Norm and Female genital mutilation (FGM) Advocacy. The workshop was held from 27th September – 01 October 2021. The workshop’s aim is important to strengthen young people’s capacity on GTA to enable them to challenge harmful social and discriminatory […]
Gender Transformation Training for Traditional and Religious Leaders
Under the Global Spotlight Initiative, MenEngage Africa engaged Religious and Traditional Leaders for a Gender Transformation Training in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in eliminating harmful practices such as FGM and child marriages, tackling toxic masculinity and promoting gender equality from 13th- 17th September 2021. We were honoured to be joined by Chief Theresa Kachindamoto, a […]
Annual General Meeting for MenEngage Youth
The Annual General Meeting for MenEngage Youth was held in Tanzanzia from the 7-8th of September in Tanzania and hosted all representatives from the MenEngage Youth countries. The youth gave updates on their country plans and key highlights and regional updates from the MenEngage Global were presented.
Women Standing Together for Gender Equality in Nairobi
UN Women advisory group to meet with African Queens, princesses and women Chiefs at gender equality meeting in Nairobi.
Faith leaders, activists and members of MenEngage Africa network discuss Religion, Gender and Sexuality during five-day workshop
Participants from all over Africa gathered to interrogate the power religion has to influence societal norms and mindsets.
UNDP in Sudan adapt Sonke’s One Man Can campaign to the Sudanese context
In post-conflict settings men often experience a loss of power coupled with unemployment. To reinstate their power, some become abusive to their partners and families. It is against this backdrop that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sudan, together with the Sudanese government decided to adapt Sonke’s One Man Can Campaign to the Sudanese […]
Sonke’s International Programmes and Networks Manager to join UN Trust Fund in Washington DC
Today and tomorrow, Sonke’s International Programmes and Networks Manager, Itumeleng Komanyane joins the United Nations Trust Fund (UNTF) in Washington DC at the United States Congress to meet with Congressional and Senate staffers and talk about UNTF’s “Engaging Men to Strengthen the Implementation of GBV Laws” project. Sonke and MenEngage Africa (which Sonke co-cordinates) worked […]
The challenges of facilitating change in resource-poor communities
The problem of gender inequality and gender-based violence (GBV) cuts across class, religion, geographical location, race and ethnicity. All over the world, there are numerous campaigns, projects and programmes that strive to bring about gender justice and human rights in a variety of affected communities. Working in the African context, and particularly in poorer communities […]
Coming together to change laws on gender-based violence in Kenya
Sonke Gender Justice is in the process of closing out the tri-nation United Nations Trust Fund (UNTF) project that has put funds towards ending gender-based violence (GBV) in Rwanda, Kenya and Sierra Leone. The team started out in Rwanda on the 9th of February and is currently in Nairobi evaluating the successes and lessons learnt […]
Sonke, Promundo and MenEngage at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict
Sonke is at the “Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict” in London – it is described as the largest ever gathering on this subject. Today, together with Promundo-US, we launch or new IMAGES study in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which reveals high levels of gender-based violence, as well as […]
What does Sonke Gender Justice do?
Do you know of Sonke Gender Justice? Sonke (meaning “together”) is a South African based NGO that works in South Africa, throughout Africa and through global mechanisms to promote gender equality, positive ideas of masculinity and gender, sexual health & reproductive rights, and human rights – especially those that intersect with gender, sexuality, sexual health […]