On 29th April 2009, Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA), a Pan-African International non-governmental organization based in Kampala, Uganda will launch a 3-year project on “The Power of Women’s Leadership and Movement Building: Gender Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Conflict and Post Conflict Africa”. This regional project will be implemented in Central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Western Africa (Sierra Leone) and is supported by a grant from the MDG3 Fund, an initiative of the Netherlands Government. The overall objective of project is to contribute to improved formulation and implementation of gender responsive policies at national and regional levels that reflect African women’s experiences in conflict situations.
The project will be launched by the Netherlands Ambassador to Uganda at a Reception Dinner on 29th April 2009 at 6.30pm. The project launch will be the climax of a Regional Consultative Meeting hosted by AMwA and attended by over 30 partners from over 5 countries in Africa who will be gathered at Munyonyo Commonwealth Speke Resort from 28th – 29th April 2009 to deliberate on women’s leadership in the context of gender based violence and sexual and reproductive rights in conflict and post-conflict countries in Africa.
“AMwA is proud to be a recipient of the Millennium Development Goal3 Fund, which is a long-awaited initiative that heeds the calls from women’s movements across the world for the scaling up of funding for women’s empowerment and gender equality. In this time of financial crisis, women still continue to face violence and we – governments, donors and NGOs – need to direct all our resources to addressing and eliminating violence against women”, says Solome Nakaweesi-Kimbugwe, Executive Director, Akina Mama wa Afrika.
In several African countries, women’s sexuality and sexual and reproductive health and rights are controlled and subjugated by men under the pretext of culture, norms, morality and religion. Armed conflict worsens the violations of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. These violations include physical, gynaecological, psychological/emotional trauma and other complications such as: unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, prolonged tears, urinary fistula, faecal fistula, chronic sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS, rejection/stigma from their families and communities, post traumatic stress disorders, depression and suicidal attempts. In most post-conflict countries, many reconstruction, peace building and rehabilitation initiatives hardly address the women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.
When it comes to women’s peace and security, Africa’s current leadership is lagging behind in its accountability to women. In spite of the effects of armed conflict on women as victims and perpetrators, they have not meaningfully been involved in decision-making around peace-building, rehabilitation and reconstruction. It is therefore imperative that women are equipped with leaderships skills to enable them to ensure that government policies, programs and budgets protect women’s rights, particularly in the context of peace and security as stipulated in national, regional and international human rights standards such as UN Resolution 1325; UN Resolution 1820 the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Protocol), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Beijing Platform for Action.
For more information, please contact Solome Nakaweesi-Kimbugwe, Executive Director, AMwA at solome@amwa-ea.org / amwa@amwa-ea.org; Tel: +256414543681 /0752 463154
