India’s sobering New Year’s eve
On December 16th a 23-year old student was gang raped by six men in New Delhi. She died from her injuries in a hospital in Singapore on December 29th. All six men have been arrested and charged with murder. The name of the victim has not been released yet. With this sad story India has reached a tipping point. The outcry over this horrible attack has not ebbed after a day or two but rather intensified. Men and women are protesting with an intensity India has not seen before when it came to cases of rape. Many New Year’s eve festivities have been cancelled as the country is mourning the...
Read MoreThe most important piece in the gender equality puzzle?
Today I went to a panel on the Status of Women and Girls around the World. Experts Judith Morisson, Judithe Registre and Merle Lefkoff spoke at the 64th Conference of World Affairs (CWA) in Boulder. All three panelists agreed that women’s rights have taken a huge step forward over the last 15 years on a global level. Of course a large number of inequities still persist. Eventually the conversation touched on the role of men in this conversation. Men’s privileges or the loss of them come into play as soon we talk about women gaining more power. All three women acknowledged that...
Read MoreTunisia and Egypt – time to dream a little
In order to create change in our world we must have visions, be optimists and believe in the seemingly impossible. Creating peace and democracy in the Middle East has been a riddle that has stymied many of the brightest thinkers of our times. We deal with dictatorships that ignore basic human rights since it’s in our best interests. Oil and the Cold War were two big deciding factors for these alliances. Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran, however, we have added the fear of countries falling into the hands of fanatical religious leaders that are not only hostile to the Western world...
Read MoreWhere We’re Heading at Ubuntu Now
It’s been a fabulous 2010 for Ubuntu Now, thanks to supporters like yourself and, of course, thanks to a great FIFA World Cup in South Africa. As you might expect, we did indeed shut down so we could focus on the Round of Sixteen, the Quarterfinals, Semi-Final and the final showdown between Spain and the Netherlands, with that fateful goal by Andrés Iniesta! The next World Cup is in Brazil in 2014 and we’re already starting to explore how we can identify worthy non-governmental organizations (NGOs) so we can establish a long-term supportive relationship with them and help raise...
Read MoreWhat happened to the South Africa Project?
Long-time supporters might be wondering why in the last few months we’ve changed our focus from being the South Africa Project to the broader topic of rape prevention and equality throughout the world. Have we given up on South Africa? Most assuredly not! In fact, our involvement and commitment to helping the situation out – and the non-governmental operations we work with like Sonke – is undimmed. We continue to be passionate about our ability to empower South Africans to create a more equal, more harmonious future. What’s changed is that the FIFA 2010 World Cup has...
Read MoreGuilty as charged!
On behalf of all the women of South Africa, especially those who have been directly affected by gender based violence: a big applause to everyone at Sonke Gender Justice Network – we salute you! There are few things in life as beautiful and awe inspiring as a group of courageous men standing up for the rights of women. In a country with extraordinary high levels of gender violence it is a victory that will bring hope and much needed belief in the South African judicial system. The journey started on 22 January 2009: while addressing 150 Cape Peninsula University of Technology...
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