MADAGASCAR: Calls for Equality to be Written into New Constitution

Madagascan female activists are asking that the right of women to participate directly in politics be included in a new draft of the country’s Constitution, so that there can be 30 percent of female politicians in parliament by 2012 and 50 percent by 2015.

ZAMBIA: Need to Mainstream Gender Equality into all Policies

Despite the adoption almost a decade ago of a national gender policy that aims to ensure fair participation of men and women in the development process, most of the Zambian government’s policies still remain gender blind, say civil society and women's rights associations.

KENYA: Rural Parents Prevent HIV Transmission to their Children

When Samuel Mwangi’s one-year-old HIV-positive son died five years ago, he thought the death of his child also meant the death of his family’s legacy. "I wept. And to the bottom of my heart, I knew that that was the end of my generation," said HIV-positive Mwangi.

ZIMBABWE: A Chance for Women’s Voices to be Heard?

As Zimbabwe embarks on writing a new constitution with the countrywide collection of public submissions starting on Jun. 23, not all women are upbeat about the process.

ANGOLA: Changing More than Policies

She may have been little-known in political circles until now, but by putting herself forward as the first female independent presidential candidate, Luisete Macedo Araújo (50) has thrust herself into the limelight.

AFRICA: Renewing the Promise of Education for All

The World Cup is wreaking havoc with a key millennium development goal in South Africa: as the football tournament hit its stride, not a single child across the nation attended school.

MALAWI: Gay Couple Released After Presidential Pardon

Five months and a day after their arrest, the gay Malawian couple who dared to publicly declare their union with a traditional engagement party were pardoned by the president and released without conditions.

Malawi Gays Had No Chance


Rejecting the argument that the arrest and trial of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga amounted to a violation of their rights to freedom of conscience and expression as protected by Malawi's constitution, Blantyre chief resident magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa sentenced the two men to 14 years hard labour for "unnatural acts" and "gross indecency".

Sudan Election Results – Another Step Along Uncertain Road

A convoy of Omar al-Bashir supporters, hooting and chanting party slogans as it drove through Khartoum, drew only disinterested stares en route to a celebration at party headquarters on Apr. 26

SUDAN: Election Results Expected Soon

Poor access to telephone networks and lack of roads in some areas of South Sudan is delaying the submission of voting results to the election commission.

SIERRA LEONE: Anti-Corruption Campaign Nabs Top Officials

The crusade against corruption seems to be gathering momentum in this West African country, with the arrest and prosecution of senior government officials, including cabinet ministers.

UGANDA: Government Pushes Ahead With Repressive Media Law

The proposed media law is a monster, says Dr George Lugalambi, chair of a coalition fighting to preserve press freedom in Uganda. Publishers and journalists would have to apply annually for a licence, which could be revoked at will in the interests of "national security, stability and unity," or if coverage was deemed to be "economic sabotage."


UGANDA: Trying to Blow the Whistle on Corruption

The Ugandan Parliament is debating a Bill that will involve citizens in the fight against corruption following an increase in embezzlement of public funds by public servants.

GHANA: Political Parties Urged to Come Clean

There are growing fears that lack of transparency on how political parties are being funded has given rise to corruption.

RIGHTS-SIERRA LEONE: Journalists Under Attack

Sierra Leone has become a place of torment for journalists practicing their profession.

RIGHTS-UGANDA: Bearing the Pains of Double Discrimination

They endure stigma, discrimination, violence and extreme poverty, but Ugandan women living with disabilities say the greatest challenge facing them centres on their reproductive health.

SIERRA LEONE: No Easy Road to Reconciliation

Former child soldier Komba Gbondo maimed and killed many people from his hometown, and the 25-year-old is still too terrified to return.

KENYA: Construction of Dam Will Devastate Local Communities

Gideon Lepalo describes growing up in Loiyangalani, 20 kilometres from Lake Turkana, as magical. However, he fears the building of Gilgel Gibe III dam in Ethiopia, upstream of the Omo River, will soon mean that his childhood memories of the lake will be exactly that - memories.

RIGHTS-MALAWI: Full Court Trial for Gay Couple

Two men who married each other in a traditional engagement ceremony will have to undergo trial and face years of imprisonment if found guilty of having a homosexual relationship.

POLITICS-SUDAN: African Leaders Call for Peaceful Elections

With less than a month to the historic multi-party poll in Africa’s largest country, Sudan, eminent African leaders are calling for a peaceful and calm election process.

EDUCATION-SIERRA LEONE: Government Ignores Demands for Additional Teachers

Ismail Conteh has been teaching for the past year-and-a-half at a primary school in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown – without receiving a single cent. He is one of hundreds of teachers recruited by schools to match the ever-growing number of pupils.