For me the most provocative aspect of Robert Mugabe’s presidential run-off campaign this time around is the abuse of word empowerment and its simultaneousy use of women -- particularly in adverts that are inserted in mainly the State media. I am particularly revolted by an advert in support of Robert Mugabe’s ‘empowerment’ policy or stance (whatever you may call it) inserted by a group who I am hearing of for the first time, called the Young Women Movement (YWM).

Whether we talk about homophobia or xenophobia, we need to acknowledge the fact that these are hate crimes and that for as long as human rights are not seen as indivisible, these violations will continue in other forms and this continent of ours that we call home will perish.

The alarming increases in food prices are devastating to societies’ most vulnerable populations. United Nations (UN) Secretary General-Ban Ki-moon recently noted, "This steeply rising price of food - it has developed into a real global crisis.” The World Bank estimates that food prices have risen by 83 percent in just three years.

Apart from the Government demonstrating its commitment to improve education by allocating Sh1.86 trillion in the 2007/08 budget, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training is faced with a challenge of pregnant girls dropping out of school year after year.

The Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance has released a position paper on the crucial SADC Protocol on Gender and Development to be placed before heads of state when they meet in South Africa in August.

Prisca Mutale, a Chinsali resident in Zambia’s Northern Province sold her two daughters aged 10 and 12 for marriage to help her to feed the other six children in her care. She says it was her last resort, since the father of her other daughter abandoned her and the children.

The Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI) is conducting a massive SMS Women's Day campaign. EASSI is a woman's organisation that monitors the commitments Governments in the Eastern African countries have made to advancing women's concerns.

Mary Tal is a refugee from Cameroon and the Project Director of Whole World Women Association (WWWA), a refugee women focus group based in Cape Town.
The group is a safe space for refugee women from all over Africa to come and share their experiences, gain skills and information about issues affecting women, especially refugees. With all the stories that have been written by the women themselves, WWWA has managed to publish a story and poetry book called 'Living on the fence'.

“Why is it only 16 days?” a Johannesburg resident asks. “We need 365 days without violence against women and children.”

A series of “person on the street” interviews held with a variety of people in Johannesburg’s Melville suburb revealed mixed understanding of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, and a range of opinions about the event.

The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, due to have been adopted by Heads of State at their meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, in August, has been deferred until the next annual summit to be held in South Africa in mid-2008. The latest draft of the Protocol has had huge chunks removed and concrete commitments softened.