Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
October 8, 2004
Caitlin Stanton
Warmest greetings from Addis Ababa (where it actually a bit cold and rainy, but warm greetings none the less!) I know Muadi and Marlene will be writing too, and I hope I won't duplicate too much or bore you or anything, but I just wanted to share a few quick thoughts from Beijing +10 Africa.
First of all, we are so excited to hear about the first African woman
to receive the Nobel Peace Prize- Wangari Maathai from Kenya-- that
Nobel Prize committee is on a roll!
We have the privilege of being here in the UN building with several
hundred dynamic, powerful women (and a few like-minded brothers)
representing over 200 NGOs from across the continent. We have attended
plenary sessions, hosted a successful Now or Never Fund meeting, and
met with some of our advisors and colleagues, all of which we will
share more about.
The murder of the lesbian rights activist in Sierra Leone has touched
people here, and brought some attention to the issue, importantly.
Lesbian rights were somewhat glaringly off the agenda for the
conference, and an activist (Liz Frank) from GFW grantee Sister Namibia
pointed that out in a powerful commentary the second day of the
conference where she also talked movingly about the murder. She is part
of a newly formed Coalition of African Lesbians that has members in 14
countries. When she talked about the work of the Coalition, some of the
other women started whispering, talking behind her back, etc. Bisi
(director of AWDF and former GFW board member for new folks) was
chairing the session and gave a strong reprimand, talking very clearly
about sexual rights as a fundamental part of the human rights all the
activists were here working on. She was very strong on this and it was
very important that she took this stance publicly in such a strong way,
as she has quite a bit on influence here. Afterwards some women did
come up and spoke appreciatively to the representative of Sister
Namibia, but it has been difficult to see so many women's rights
activists slow to stand up for their lesbian sisters, especially after
such a terrible crime.
The lesbian activists from Africa are incredibly courageous and risk
their lives and careers, and even their partnerships with other
"women's rights" organizations to do the work they do and to live
openly. They deserve any and all support GFW can give, and it is
equally important that GFW is visible in its support for lesbian rights
as this also influences how other women's rights organizations see the
issue.
All in all, sexual rights have emerged as a key theme, and also
surfaced in Now or Never Fund discussions. Primarily, this is about
women's right to choose when and with whom they sex with and their
right to decide when and if they want to become pregnant. These basic
rights are talked about as primary to advocacy not just for lesbian
rights and reproductive rights, but in terms of their relationship to
the spread of HIV/AIDS, to rape as a weapon of war, to violence against
women, etc.
We have also been privileged to meet so many amazing women...the
founder of Malawi's first ISP, one of Somalia's Parliamentarians, women
working within Muslim communities in Mozambique, and a particularly
dynamic woman who is ensuring that women are part of Liberia's peace
process (and basically making sure that process stays on track by
initiating negotiations with both rebel and government groups.) Wow.
Watch for more from Muadi & Marlene! We miss you & are sending our best!
Caitlin
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