MenEngage Africa Newsletter 2018/2

In March, the 62nd session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women took place under the theme “Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls” at the United Nations headquarters in New York – and MenEngage Africa was there. As the meeting took place, our Campaigns and Advocacy Specialist, Mpiwa Mangwiro, wrote that commitments toward gender equality and women’s rights need to move from rhetoric to action.

Also on the occasion of the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women, MenEngage Africa’s GBV Programme co-ordinator, Mabel Sengendo Nabaggala, expressed hope in this article that the meeting would speak to rural women themselves – and in so doing make a real difference in their lives.

In April, Rwanda marked 24 years of the genocide that left about one million people dead. To mark the annual commemoration, MenEngage Africa’s Mpiwa Mangwiro wrote an article arguing that attaining peace and security requires as much planning, calculating and strategising, and as many resources as warfare does, if not more.

This year, MenEngage Africa joined other world nations in commemorating International Women’s Day under the theme ‘Time is now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives’. The alliance called on its partners in civil society and government to prioritise promoting and protecting women’s rights.

On International Women’s Day, MenEngage Zambia also acknowledged the role played by many rural and urban activists in transforming women’s lives. We salute the many gallant women, men, boys and girls who have stood up to confront the negative gender norms, cultures, attitudes and practices that have contributed to hindering the attainment of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

In Tanzania, MenEngage Tanzania together with partners belonging to the Tanzania Ending Child Marriage Network petitioned the government of Tanzania to amend the Law of Marriage Act of 1971. Tanzania has one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world.

In April, MenEngage Africa in collaboration with Kenya MenEngage Alliance and other partners hosted a Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Consultation meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. This is against the background that access to sexual reproductive health services in Africa continues to be a challenge due to a number of factors including unfavourable socio-cultural practices that may create barriers to adolescents, girls and women, and marginalised persons accessing sexual and reproductive health services and rights, including youth friendly services.