Harare 9 August: Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO) fellows from Southern Africa make their debut on South African Women’s Day at the start of a packed programme in the wings of the SADC Heads of State Summit.
“We are super excited to announce and onboard the 14 young women activists from six countries in Southern Africa on this important day and in this important month for our region,” said Gender Links Special Advisor Colleen Lowe Morna.
Women’s Day, 9 August, commemorates the march by women against the apartheid pass laws in 1956. Heads of state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have their annual summit on 17 August, the birth day of the regional group founded in 1980. The summit is rotated between the capitals of the sixteen SADC countries. This year the summit takes place in Harare, Zimbabwe.
WOSSO, a consortium between Gender Links, the Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) and a UK-based development firm, MannionDaniels, offers fellowships to women’s rights advocates from the Global South, including Africa, MENA, LATAC, and Asia-Pacific regions. The highly competive fellowships attracted 850 applications across Africa, with just 24 fellows selected for the first cohort, which wil extend for 18 months.
The Southern African fellows, from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi and Namibia, are set to attend the 6th Southern Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF) from 10-13 August in Harare, Zimbabwe. The forum’s theme, “Empowering the Future: Innovative Education for Sustainable Development in Southern Africa,” aims to foster progressive dialogue and solutions for the region.
During the SAYoF opening ceremony, Khensani Shivambu-Mabasa, a WOSSO Fellow from South Africa, will deliver a solidarity message on behalf of the 1st Cohort of Southern Africa Fellows. Out of the 24 Fellows in this cohort, 14 from Southern Africa will participate in the week-long event in Harare.
On 14 August, the Fellows will visit Murehwa Rural District Council to learn about local action on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). They will also visit Rozania Memorial Trust (RMT), a non-profit organisation in Murehwa affiliated with one of the Fellows.
Gender Links, in collaboration with the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance, will be hosting a Gender Day on the sidelines of the SADC Heads of State Summit. This event will take place on the 15th of August 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare. A highlight of the day will be the launch of the Women’s Political Participation (WPP) Barometer from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. The launch will highlight key findings from the 2024 WPP barometer.
The Zimbabwe Minister of Women Affairs, Community, and Medium Enterprises Development, Monica Mutsvangwa will deliver the key note address.
Gender Day will also feature a reference group meeting for the forthcoming #VoiceandChoice Barometer on Sexual and Reproductive Health in the region, attended by grantees of the #VoiceandChoice Fund, in partnership with Amplify Change.
Civil society organisations will issue a joint press statement on the eve of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) 44th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government commences on 17 August 2024.
During their onboarding on 9 August, fellows will undergo communication training, equipping them with knowledge of WOSSO policies, advocacy plan development, and communication strategies. The fellows will work together on honing their advocacy plans in peer learning and sharing groups, guided by GL facilitators.
They will also have the opportunity to shadow seasoned gender activists as they seek to influence the SADC agenda, including through the establishment of a Non State Actors Mechanism for civil society to engage with SADC, and a critique by civil society of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP).
The programme will conclude with a reflection on how the activists can take forward their advocacy plans individually and collectively, by engaging strategically with their governments at national and regional level.
(For more information contact Tabetha Rudo Kanengoni-Malinga – Manager, Women of the South Speak Out, WossoProg@genderlinks.org.za).