Integrating gender-inclusive approaches in transitional justice processes in Africa
Posted: 26 February, 2024 Filed under: Mary Izobo | Tags: African countries, conflict-related sexual violence, displacement, diverse sexual orientations, empowerment, enforced disappearances, femicide, forced marriages, gender identities, gender norms, gender perspectives, gender-inclusive approaches, human rights violations, patriarchal systems, rights of women and girls, societal transformation, socio-economic discrimination, Transitional Justice, unconstitutional changes Leave a comment
Author: Mary Izobo
International Human Rights Lawyer, Gender Equality Advocate and Governance Expert
During conflict, gender perspectives reveal the divergent impacts felt by all individuals –women, men, vulnerable and marginalised people, and those with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. As a result, transitional justice in African countries must not only acknowledge but also actively engage with these gendered realities, particularly focusing on the experiences of women and girls. In the pursuit of reconciliation and healing, it is crucial to recognize the unique impact of conflicts on women and girls, exacerbated by patriarchal systems. By embracing gender-inclusive approaches within transitional justice, we pave the path towards a fairer, more inclusive society for all.
The urgent need for more women representation in Africa: Why we do what we do
Posted: 30 March, 2023 Filed under: Maria Mulenga Kasoma, Mary Izobo | Tags: Africa, African Union (AU) Agenda, developmental agendas, exclusion of women, gender equality, gender gaps, gender inequality, global priorities, leadership, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, US-Africa Leaders’ Summit 1 Comment
Author: Mary Izobo
International Human Rights Lawyer
Author: Maria Mulenga Kasoma
Final-year law student
In December 2022, United States President Joe Biden hosted the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington, D.C. The Summit emphasised the importance of engagement with Africa on the world’s most pressing challenges and possibilities. The Summit also sought to demonstrate the United States enduring commitment to Africa, underscored the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities. “Women and Youth: Peace and Security” was one of the key themes of the Summit. Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf addressed the gathering on the role of women’s inclusion in African leadership. Under the theme, she highlighted the social and economic factors that push the exclusion of women. She further stressed the need to revise laws to ensure full gender equality.
Africa is bleeding: The Anglophone crisis in Cameroon
Posted: 4 November, 2020 Filed under: Mary Izobo | Tags: #StopCameroonViolations, 24 October 2020, Anglophone crisis, autocratic, Cameroon, democracy, discrimination, economic resources, Francophones, human rights violations, inequality, Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy Kumba, President Paul Biya, rule of law, territorial integrity Leave a comment
Author: Mary Izobo
International Human Rights Lawyer and Gender Advocate
Introduction
The failure to promote the rule of law and democracy creates an environment for conflict, often exacerbated by marginalisation, discrimination, inequality and inequity. The bitterness of citizens roused by violence is usually entrenched in lack of basic services and public infrastructure, corruption, lack of personal and economic security and lack of transparency and accountability of government to its citizens. Thus, the greatest problem of African countries is their failure to protect the economic, political, social, and cultural concerns of its people. This year, 2020 has been marred by a series of human rights violations from Lagos to Kumba, Africa is bleeding.
On 24 October 2020, at least eight children were killed, and dozens wounded by a group of armed men at the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy Kumba, in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. There has been a lot of attacks in Cameroon since 2016, however, these attacks have intensified dramatically.
Ending child marriage: A call to action
Posted: 13 October, 2020 Filed under: Mary Izobo | Tags: 11 October, ACRWC, Africa, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, both boys and girls, child marriage, complications from pregnancy, financial freedom, fundamental human rights, Gender discriminatory norms, gender-sensitive laws, girl child, ICRW, International Council of Research on Women, International Day of the Girl Child, My voice, our equal future 2 CommentsAuthor: Mary Izobo
International Human Rights Lawyer and Gender Advocate
Introduction
The International Day of the Girl Child is commemorated globally every year on 11 October since 2012 to highlight the injustices girls face based on their gender, while advancing the fulfilment of their rights, development and wellbeing. The United Nations theme for the International Day of the Girl Child 2020 is ‘My voice, our equal future.’ There is a specific emphasis on the girl child because there is a direct form of discrimination against girls who are often deprived of their fundamental human rights. Millions of girls from birth are discriminated against on the grounds of sex and gender. This year, as we commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child, it is important to bring to the world’s attention, child marriage which continues to be an unending anathema that serves as a challenge in the fulfilment and enjoyment of the rights and welfare of the girl child.
Child marriage is the marriage of a child before he or she turns 18 years of age. It is a global phenomenon that continues to obstruct the wellbeing of young boys and girls. Child marriage affects both boys and girls, but nine in ten children married off before they turn 18 years are girls. Every two seconds, a girl is married off, before she is physically, psychologically or emotionally developed enough to become a bride or mother. An estimated 650 million women and girls in the world today were married before they turned 18 years and one-third of these women and girls were married off before they turned 15 years. According to United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), out of the world’s population, 1.1 billion are girls and 22 million of them are married off before they attain adulthood.
Enforcement of lockdown regulations and law enforcement brutality in Nigeria and South Africa
Posted: 23 June, 2020 Filed under: Folasade Abiodun, Mary Izobo | Tags: accountability mechanisms, apartheid, coronavirus, COVID-19, enforcement officials, human rights violations, lawlessness, lockdown, lockdown regulations, medical facilities, Nigeria, pandemic, public health, public health interest, right to freedom of assembly, South Africa, use of force 1 Comment
Author: Mary Izobo and Folasade Abiodun
(An earlier version of this article was published by Daily Maverick)
Since January 2020, COVID-19 pandemic, has held the world to ransom and has posed a threat to public health. It has put a lot of pressure on available medical facilities with a record of more than 9 million persons infected and more than 470 000 deaths globally with numbers set to increase. In order to stop the spread of the coronavirus, several countries are taking measures such as the closure of airports, seaports and land borders, isolation and quarantining of persons, banning of religious, sporting and social gatherings, closure of schools and universities, restaurants, public spaces and complete or partial ‘lockdown’ of some countries. The lockdown of countries entails complete restriction of movement as the virus is transmitted through direct contact with infected persons or surfaces. Some of these measures as well as their enforcement , have implications on the right to freedom of movement, the right to freedom of association and the right to freedom of assembly.
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