GL Opinion and Commentary Service
Country Filter:
The Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service provides mainstream media with fresh perspectives on the news.
Initiated in 2003, the Service aims to produce ten opinion pieces each month from writers across Africa on topical news items. These articles are integrated into various media sources and are uploaded onto the GMDC website for online viewing.
This service provides an opportunity for contributers to speak their mind on a variety of relevant and often controversial subjects.
To view articles please scroll below or for specific search terms, click here
If you are interested in contributing to the service or publishing any of the articles, contact Saeanna Chingamuka at editor@genderlinks.org.za.
*When publishing articles from the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service, the Service must be cited.
Boys’ sexual assault by women
05 December 11
Regional relevance: South Africa
When Mixo* was a boy growing up in Limpopo, a woman who lived in a nearby hut would call one of the boys playing outside to come and see her. The first time she called him, she asked the boy to take off his pants. Afraid, he ran away. But after some of his friends came out boasting about having sex, he got curious.... [read more]
Will COP 17 outcome prove the people wrong?
05 December 11
Regional relevance: International
“We want justice! We want justice! We want justice,” chanted thousands of people from across the globe while marching along the streets of Durban towards the International Convention Centre (ICC) this past Saturday. They sang and shouted demanding climate justice. [read more]
Women marchers at COP 17 demand climate justice
05 December 11
Regional relevance: International
On Saturday 3 December, scores of people from different walks of life marched through the streets of Durban demanding climate justice. Chanting slogans such as “A people UNITED can never be DEFEATED,” women and men from civil society, youth, faith based organisations, and trade unions, among others, joined hands... [read more]
Teenage fathers need support
05 December 11
Regional relevance: Regional
My son turned "free!" - his word - not mine in August this year. As I reflect on that Saturday three years ago when he came into the world at quarter past three in the afternoon, weighing in at 2,9 kilogrammes and measuring 49 centimetres long, I marvel at the challenges, joys and fears that have characterised my... [read more]
When it happens at a gender activist’s door during 16 Days
05 December 11
Regional relevance: Regional
It’s 5.30 in the morning, still blurry-eyed I sit up to feed my nine month old daughter who is busy cooing as she attempts to utter her first few words. It is the beep on my phone that fully awakens me and I curse at how information technology has revolutionised the way we live. People can even enter your bedroom. [read more]
L’impact du changement climatique pèse lourd sur les épaules des femmes malgaches
04 December 11
Regional relevance: Madagascar
La conférence sur le changement climatique à Durban a suscité de nombreux espoirs, notamment en Afrique où l’on attend des solutions pour faire face aux séquelles de ces bouleversements.
Madagascar n’en est pas une exception. Selon une dernière enquête publiée par le World Wildlife Fund, Madagascar... [read more]
Trash into treasure, waste pickers speak at COP 17
04 December 11 | (2) Comments
Regional relevance: International
Have you ever looked at his or her face? (S)he is always dressed in some darkish clothes, with many stains, carrying the ubiquitous sack, or is it a black polythene bag? Yes, may find it difficult to remember the person’s face, since you usually see only a hunched over back and hands rustling and rummaging through... [read more]
No climate justice without gender justice
04 December 11
Regional relevance: International
Roshanthi Fernando from Sri-Lanka recalls how fishing on the shores of the island used to be easy a decade ago. She remembers how people from her area could simply go and catch fish without using sophisticated fishing methods. Sadly, this is now history.
“When we first noticed this, we thought things would go... [read more]
Changement climatique, la fin des potagers des femmes mauriciennes
04 December 11
Regional relevance: Mauritius
L'agriculture a été depuis la nuit des temps un moyen de subsistance dans un monde féroce. Elle a été aussi un moyen pour les femmes de se nourrir, ainsi que leurs enfants. Les femmes représentent 70% de la population mondiale qui vit au-dessous du seuil de pauvreté, leurs moyens de subsistance dépendant... [read more]
Women with disabilities at higher risk of GBV, HIV/AIDS
04 December 11
Regional relevance: Malawi
Silvia Chungu,* now 14 years old, was born borne disabled in a village in Phalombe District, southern Malawi. When her father found out neither of her legs functioned properly, he divorced her mother just a few months after the baby girl’s birth. He married another woman after vowing that he could not be a father... [read more]
