News

The Malawi High Court has quashed the convictions of 24 people, primarily women, for the vagrancy offence of ‘being idle and disorderly persons.’

From next year Parliament will be the battleground for a renewed standoff over the conditions under which pregnancies may be terminated. ACDP MP Cheryllyn Dudley’s Private Members Bill on the proposed amendments to the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act has already been slammed by rights groups and gender activists calling it a setback for women’s reproductive rights. Dudley, however, told ParlyBeat this “panic is unnecessary”.

As Parliament this month gives itself the usual pat on the back for the “activism and responsiveness” displayed in the more than 1 400 committee meetings held this year, questions remain on how effective it exercised its oversight role in burning issues like irregularities in the Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa).

Political parties were given a deadline of 1 February 2018 to respond to questions regarding internal sexual harassment policies and the number and outcomes of sexual misconduct complaints they have received. This followed the #NotourLeaders Campaign that recently put the spotlight on political parties’ handling of sexual misconduct complaints against members and government officials. It was found parties’ responses are often “insipid, sluggish and inconsistent”. The drivers of the campaign – the Dullah Omar Institute’s Women and Democracy Initiative, gender activist Lisa Vetten and Lawyers for Human Rights – are now calling for more decisive leadership and for policy gaps to be addressed.

Opposition MPs have welcomed a recent court order that averted another grants crisis in the social security agency (Sassa) and spared Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini another national embarrassment. This time the crisis loomed for foster care grants. This is the second time the courts had to intervene to ensure continued payment of grants. The DA and IFP also vowed to ensure legislation is amended for a more sustainable solution to foster care grants in the country when Parliament reopens next year.

Jaap de Visser presented at the 32rd Conference of the Institut Arabe des Chefs d'Entreprises (IACE) in Sousse, Tunisia. IACE is an NGO in Tunisia that works to support the private sector in Tunisia. This year's IACE Conference (7-8 December 2017) was dedicated to decentralisation.

Since 25 November, during the 16 Days of Activism, the #NotOurLeaders has covered 20 cases of politicians from a spectrum of political parties and people in senior government positions who have faced allegations of sexual misconduct. The nature of the misconduct has included demanding sex for jobs or promotions, verbal and physical harassment, sexual assault, and rape - including rape of children. Some of the people covered by the campaign are facing criminal charges while others have faced internal complaints or disciplinary action. All of the cases have been reported on by media.