Articles about Gl Opinion And Commentary Service
Watered down media achievements
15 June 10 | (2) Comments
Regional relevance: Zimbabwe
After seven years of devastating effects of Access to information and protection of privacy act (AIPPA), the media and the population at large have welcomed the registration of four newspapers in Zimbabwe, which are Newsday, Daily News, Daily Gazette and The Mail. The latest is News Day, the new private daily... [read more]
Sterilisation court case exposes stigma, gender inequality
04 June 10
Regional relevance: Namibia
Windhoek, 4 June; Namibia’s ongoing court case involving the alleged sterilisation of three HIV-positive women without their consent has exposed serious human rights violations within the public health system that may be hitting women hardest. [read more]
Porous borders allow human trafficking to flourish
31 May 10
Regional relevance: Mozambique
Ressano Garcia, 31 May. Jose Antonio* admits he has never been employed in the formal sector. For the past ten years, Antonio has plied his trade at Ressano Garcia, the busiest border post between South Africa and Mozambique, assisting undocumented migrants to travel across the border. “It’s easy when you have... [read more]
Kofi Annan, women’s empowerment key to continent’s progress
25 May 10
Regional relevance: Africa
Amid what he characterised as renewed grabs for Africa’s resources, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that women’s empowerment remains crucial for Africa’s development and must be prioritised as the continent moves forward. [read more]
Mauritius records many gender firsts in elections
21 May 10
Regional relevance: Mauritius
Quantitatively Mauritius has not yet made the 30% women in parliament committed to in the 1997 SADC Declaration on Gender and Development, but qualitatively the Prime Minister seems to be doing some catching up. If this trend goes on, we have every reason to believe we will attain the 30% women target, if not more,... [read more]
Who’s Feeling It? : Informal traders and the World Cup
17 May 10
Regional relevance: South Africa
As the whole country gears up for the quickly approaching World Cup 2010, not everyone is happy. Informal traders are waiting for a response this week from FIFA to demands made last week at a demonstration outside “Soccer City” protesting their exclusion from World Cup commerce. In the shadow of the Coca-Cola... [read more]
Traders protest exclusion from World Cup
12 May 10 | (1) Comment
Regional relevance: South Africa
Facing what they say is economic exclusion from South Africa's upcoming World Cup, informal traders marched on FIFA's South African headquarters in hopes of securing their place at the games, and their livelihoods. [read more]
Women sidelined in the 2010 General Elections
08 May 10
Regional relevance: Mauritius
Official results of Mauritius’s most recent elections released on 6 May 2010 shows a 0.5% decrease in women's representation in parliament, sliding from 17.1% to 16.6%. Unless this situation is corrected with the best loser system, Mauritius will follow the trend of gender losses in two Southern African countries... [read more]
World Class Cities for All ahead of World Cup
26 April 10
Regional relevance: South Africa
On 27 April, just a few days before Labour Day, South Africa commemorates sixteen years since the country’s first all–inclusive elections. Yet, while the country has made some progress economically and politically, this vision of an inclusive society has fallen short, and the advent of the upcoming World Cup has... [read more]
Mauritius elections, another step back for SADC women in Parliament ?
21 April 10 | (1) Comment
Regional relevance: Mauritius
I have never been very good at mathematics, but when I look at the number of women fielded by the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM), Mauritius’ main opposition party (know as the “alliance of the heart”) for the May 6, 2010 general elections, I think I am right. Eight out of 60 does make only slightly more... [read more]
