Extending sexual health and reproductive rights through the Court: Analysis and lessons from FIDA – Kenya & Ors v The Attorney General & Ors High Court Petititon No 266 of 2015
Posted: 24 October, 2019 Filed under: Nimrod Muhumuza | Tags: botched abortion, failure to pay, Kenyan law, physical health, prohibitive cost, reproductive rights, sexual health, social well-being, woman's rights 1 Comment
Author: Nimrod Muhumuza
Lawyer and LLD candidate, Dullah Omar Institute, University of Western Cape
On 3 December 2013 and 24 February 2014, the Kenyan Director of Medical Services respectively withdrew the 2012 Standards and Guidelines for Reducing Morbidity and Mortality from Unsafe Abortion in Kenya, and the National Training Curriculum for the Management of Unintended, Risky and Unplanned Pregnancies.
In June 2018, JMM, at just 18 years of age, died as a result of a botched abortion in an attempt to terminate a pregnancy resulting from rape. Activists and JMM’s mother petitioned the High Court of Kenya linking the withdrawal of the guidelines to JMM’s death which they argued was a violation of her right to life, and her right to health. It would be first time under the new 2010 Constitution of Kenya that Court would flesh out the application of sexual and reproductive health rights, particularly the right to abortion, to a particular demographic: teenage girls from economically and socially impoverished backgrounds. The Court also had to determine, if it found that JMM’s rights had been violated, the appropriate remedies available to the petitioners. Read the rest of this entry »
The Global Compact on Refugees: A breakthrough opportunity in addressing the protracted refugee crises in East Africa
Posted: 4 October, 2019 Filed under: Juliet Nyamao | Tags: Agenda for Sustainable Development, climate change, climate changes, East Africa, Ethiopia, flee, fleeing war, forced displacement, Global Compact on Refugees, human rights violations, humanitarian funding, Kenya, migration, New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, refugee camps, refugee self-reliance, refugees, SDG, sub-Saharan Africa, sustainable development, Uganda, UN, United Nations, war 2 Comments
Author: Juliet Nyamao
Human Rights Attorney, Kenyan Bar
In recent years, the world has witnessed an explosive increase in the number of refugees and internally displaced persons. The upsurge in forced displacement has increased the demand for humanitarian assistance and strained the limited resources of host nations, majority of which are developing economies. The resulting economic strain compelled the international community to develop sustainable mechanisms for protecting refugees and displaced persons in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Read the rest of this entry »
A human rights approach to internet taxes in Africa
Posted: 17 September, 2019 Filed under: Tomiwa Ilori | Tags: African Charter, bloggers, Communication Service Tax, digital rights, e-commerce, expensive broadband, freedom of expression, freedom of speech, Ghana, ICESRC, ICTs, internet, internet taxation, Kenya, Nigeria, Online Content Regulations, protecting internet rights, right to access information, sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania, tax, taxation, Uganda, UN Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty 1 Comment
Author: Tomiwa Ilori
HRDA Alumni Coordinator/Researcher: Democracy, Transparency and Digital Rights Unit, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Due to increasing underdevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa, many governments have looked towards several means to make up for deficits in domestic fiscal planning. One of the means through which governments have financed their budgets is by levying higher taxes on companies and individuals to be able to raise revenue.
While there may be legitimate reasons for states to levy taxes, in order for a tax system to be regarded as good and effective it needs to comply with at least five basic conditions: ensure a beneficial system; transparent in collection and use; less bureaucratic and equitable – every person should pay a fair amount of taxes not injurious to their well-being. While Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) potentially impact the global economy, not all economies have thrived equally. In most sub-Saharan African countries, the impacts of ICTs have been least felt which damages the prospects of democratic development in the region. Read the rest of this entry »
The perpetual endeavour: Gender-mainstreaming and sustainable development in Kenya
Posted: 20 August, 2019 Filed under: Juliet Nyamao | Tags: abuse of women, Agenda for Sustainable Development, Constitution of Kenya, discrimination, electoral violence, gender inequalities, poverty, unjust laws 6 CommentsAuthor: Juliet Nyamao
Human Rights Attorney, Kenyan Bar
According to Amnesty International’s Africa 2017/2018 report, women disproportionately bear the brunt of poverty. Persistent discrimination, marginalisation and abuse of women and girls, have systematically become institutionalised by unjust laws. Although the Constitution of Kenya guarantees equal rights and freedoms for both men and women, long-standing gender inequalities have significantly impeded the overall contribution of women and girls in achieving Kenya’s sustainable development agenda. Read the rest of this entry »
#IAmToufah makes the message clear: We are not going to wish the rape crisis away
Posted: 25 July, 2019 Filed under: Satang Nabaneh | Tags: #IAmToufah, #Jammeh2Justice, #TimeIsUp, culture of rape, Fatou ‘Toufah’ Jallow, gender-based violence, human rights abuses, President Jammeh, rape, sexual crimes, sexual violence, The Gambia, women's rights, Women’s Act 2010 Leave a comment
Author: Satang Nabaneh
Project Officer, Women Rights Unit, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
In dealing with past human rights abuses and upholding standards of respect for human rights, The Gambia’s transition from an abusive regime to democracy must also entail justice for victims of gender-based violence. Consequently, the most illustrative example of addressing sexual violence being part of the democratisation of society happened last month when 23-year-old former beauty queen, Fatou ‘Toufah’ Jallow accused former President Jammeh of rape.
Toufah detailed her story from the starting point of winning the state-sponsored beauty pageant in 2014 when she was 18 years old. Over the next few months, Jammeh lavished her with cash gifts and other favors including installation of running water in her family house. She was offered a position as a “protocol girl,” to work at the State House, which she declined. She also turned down his marriage proposal. During a pre-Ramadan Quran recital at State House, Jammeh locked her in a room and told her: “There’s no woman that I want that I cannot have.” She said that he then hit and taunted her, injected her with a liquid, and raped her. Days later, she fled to neighboring Senegal.
Embracing teenage sexuality: Let’s rethink the age of consent in Kenya
Posted: 12 July, 2019 Filed under: William Aseka | Tags: adolescent pregnancies, age of consent, age of discretion, chastity, children rights, consent, Conservative parents, double standard, Kenya, legal regulation, nudity, protecting teens, puritanical laws, romantic partners, safe sex practices, sex, sexual health, teenage sex, teenage sexuality, teenagers, war on sexuality 2 Comments
Author: William Aseka
Human Rights Lawyer
When the Court of Appeal in Eliud Waweru Wambui v Republic Criminal Appeal No 102 of 2016, raised the issue of reducing the age of consent for adolescent, there was panic in the whole country. Everyone including leading renowned children rights advocates rejected this idea even without reading the judgment of the court. The judges in this case stated it is rather immature for adults to think that ‘teenagers and maturing adults, do not engage in, and often seek sexual activity with their eyes fully open’. The judges were of the opinion that even though teenagers might not have attained the age of majority, they may have ‘reached the age of discretion’. However, before this case, the High Court in CKW v Attorney General & Director of Public Prosecution stated that the offense of defilement under the Section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act is for the best interest of the child. In CKW case, unlike the Eliud Waweru the accused was a teenager like the victim. In fact, at the time of the offense occurring, both parties were sixteen years of age. The stark reality is that a consensual sexual relationship between two 16-year-olds is a criminal offense in Kenya. These draconian and puritanical laws are largely the product of a conservative political culture that has transformed the fight against child molestation into a full-blown war on teenage sexuality. We now live in a moral milieu so toxic and muddled that we lump together as “sex offenders” teenagers who send nude photos to each other with clergymen who rape toddlers. A first step toward reversing this madness — and actually protecting the health and safety of teenagers — would be to revise the age of consent downward to a threshold in accordance with those of other nations.
Uganda’s blasphemy law is unconstitutional
Posted: 19 June, 2019 Filed under: Nimrod Muhumuza | Tags: belief, blasphemy, blasphemy law, constitutional validity, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, International Religious Freedom, non-religious, religion, religious ideas, Uganda, unconstitutional, violence 7 CommentsAuthor: Nimrod Muhumuza
Lawyer and LLD candidate, Dullah Omar Institute, University of Western Cape
Laws prohibiting blasphemy are astonishingly widespread worldwide with many countries criminalising conduct deemed blasphemous with disparate punishments ranging from prison sentences to lashings or the death penalty. A comprehensive report prepared by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom found that 71 countries prohibit views deemed blasphemous. These laws have dire consequences for those who find themselves on their wrong side as the most recent and much publicised case of Asia Bibi in Pakistan has demonstrated.
South of the Sahara, the report found that only four countries criminalise blasphemy. Uganda did not make that list. This is despite the provisions of Chapter III, sections 118-122 of the Penal Code Act. Sections 118-121 proscribe conduct that involves the destruction or damage or defilement of any place of worship with the intent of insulting the religion; disturbing religious assemblies, trespassing on burial places hindering burial of a dead body. The utility and legality of these provisions is not inherently the protection of religions and religious ideas and their constitutional validity will not be canvassed at this point.
Effectiveness of intervention measures to address female genital mutilation in Ethiopia: A discussion
Posted: 14 May, 2019 Filed under: Henok Ashagrey | Tags: bodily harm, Children and Youth’s Affairs, children's rights, Constitution of Ethiopia, Criminal Code of Ethiopia, cultural practice, Ethiopia, female genital mutilation, fgm, harmful customs, Harmful practices, infibulation, Ministry of Women, North Shewa, rights of children, violations, violence against women, women's rights 1 Comment
Author: Henok Ashagrey
Legal Researcher at the Secretariat of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
Despite certain signs of progress, interventions to address harmful practices in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) are still ineffective. To be effective, these interventions require more inclusivity, stronger cooperation between levels of government, and a focus on changing societal values.
Harmful practices are a principal factor in the violations of women’s rights in Ethiopia. For example, in the North Shewa rural region in the North of Ethiopia, where I come from, harmful practices against women and girls, particularly female genital mutilation (FGM), are accepted as valid cultural practice. The practitioners of FGM justify their acts on religious and cultural grounds.
Some rays of light on the plight of irregular migration within Africa
Posted: 4 April, 2019 Filed under: Cristiano d'Orsi | Tags: European Union, Horn of Africa, International Organization for Migrations, IOM, irregular migrations, Khartoum Process, migrant deaths, migrants, Niger, Southern Africa, trafficking of migrants, undocumented migrants, Western Africa 1 Comment
Author: Cristiano d’Orsi
Research Fellow and Lecturer at the South African Research Chair in International Law (SARCIL), University of Johannesburg
In 2018 alone, hundreds of witnesses confirmed more than 1 000 migrant deaths on the African continent. But researchers estimate that these numbers represent only a fraction of the overall number of deaths of people on the move in Africa.[1] According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), during the first three months of 2019, 98 migrants died in Africa (28 in North Africa and 70 in the Horn of Africa, mostly from drowning in the Red Sea whilst hoping to reach Saudi shores).[2] In 2018, the number of fatalities on the continent amounted to 1 401, mostly presumed to come from the Horn.[3]
Citizen media and the freedom of expression
Posted: 25 March, 2019 Filed under: Adebayo Okeowo | Tags: article 19(2), citizen media, civilian journalists, Human Rights Committee, human rights violations, ICCPR, police malfeasance, right to freedom of expression, right to record, serve to inform, social media 1 Comment
Author: Adebayo Okeowo
Advocacy Coordinator, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
If you have ever found yourself whipping out your phone to film or photograph police officers brutally beating up peaceful protesters, and you subsequently share that video or picture on social media, you have just contributed to citizen media. You are also someone who can be referred to as a citizen journalist. This is just one of the several scenarios in which civilian witnesses are – knowingly or unknowingly – helping to document evidence of human rights violations.
Citizen media encapsulates videos, pictures or audio produced by non-professional journalists, especially using their mobile phone as a tool. Citizen media started gaining prominence when an increasing number of civilians became equipped with smartphones and had access to social media.
