YOUNG WOMEN IN SOUTHERN AFRICA COMMIT TO CREATING CHANGE THROUGH SOLIDARITY AND COLLECTIVE POWER!

On the first day of the Young Women's Feminist Course organized by Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa and Africa University in Mutare Zimbabwe, I became aware of a few distinct things that would shape our journey as young women. One of them was our unique abilities shaped by our various backgrounds.

We came in as 36 distinct individuals from nine countries in Southern Africa, individuals with various concepts about feminism and what being a feminist entails. We are not a homogeneous group as we have experienced life differently thus we have different abilities, skills and gifts that set us apart, one from the other. 

We engaged in heated debates,  self reflection, and critical analysis of spheres of society that some of us were not comfortable to question. We did not always agree on certain issues yet, as we leave this course we each have a vision that involves seeing a balance in power relations between men and women, women as equal and effective contributors towards development in all spheres of society and each of us believes we need to be proactive and act collectively in order to effect the change we want to see. 

We have been together for nine days learning and sharing each according to the elements that make them unique. We recognized that we were different yet we we found a common standing in the fact that even though we each experience it in different settings and varying degrees, we all experience injustice stemming from the system of patriarchy. 

As we analyzed how patriarchy manifests and maintains its power over women most of us realized that in many instances, as women we aid the system to grow stronger when we, for whatever reason, choose to be silent when we should speak out or question injustice experienced personally or by other women, when we remain inactive when we should be moved to act against unfair and inhuman treatment of women, when we uphold and enforce social, religious and cultural values that perpetuate the oppression of women and when we discriminate against other women on the basis of their age, physical ability or status. 

As we strive towards claiming our equal share of power we should take time to pause and undertake an honest evaluation of ourselves not only should we hold others accountable but we Should also hold ourselves accountable in order to ensure that we are not following patriarchal norms within our structures. 

As we graduate from this course I feel a a common understanding among most of us, a commitment to take what we have learned, shape it according to our special talents and abilities and draw on each others strengths and experiences including the experience of our elder sisters to  contribute collectively towards effecting change at community, country, regional, and global level.

 By Wala Nalungwe!

The Power of ICT's/ Social Media in Womens Movements!

I am currently in Johannesburg South Africa at the Feminist Tech Exchange organised by Womens Net and Just Associates (JASS) Southern Africa.  I am so excited about being here because the FTX is empowering me in my knowledge and usage of ICTs and their effective and strategic use.

Not only that, the FTX is also equipping me with added essential skills to deepen my usage of technology within the African Women's Movement.

My participation in such a forum like the FTX is timely in that I am member of a young Zambian feminist movement dubbed: Generation Alive. Generation Alive is a movement formed by young Zambian women from heterogeneous backgrounds and is committed to giving voice and visibility to young women in decision making and leadership.

I am now cognizant of the powerful role that ICTS and social media play in creating and influencing change, and as such for the past 2 days, I am usually online trying to explore new ways that I can effectively use the internet through social media and other forms of ICT's such as the traditional ones like radio, telephones, cell phones which are all essential tools that can be utilized towards the attainment of the movement's goals.

This particular Feminist Tech Exchange was organised by Women's Net and JASS. Womens Net is a feminist organisation that works to advance gender equality and justice in South Africa,  through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and JASS is dedicated to strengthening the voice, visibility and collective organising power of women.

Being at this Feminist Tech Exchange has given me an opprtunity to see ICT's from a new light. For instance Im now aware that ICTS/ social media are a powerful tool for attaining gender equality and stopping patrachy! ...no doubt!

by: Chanda B Katongo

Young Women in Zambia Launch a Feminist Movement

Like in many Southern African countries, women in Zambia are still underrepresented in government and nongovernmental organizations – and particularly in leadership positions.

Women make up just 14 percent of Zambia’s Parliament, which falls far short of the original target goal of 30 percent set by the Southern Africa Development Community, SADC, states and the current goal of 50 percent set by the SADC and the African Union.

The underrepresentation of women in decision-making in Zambia is what united a dozen young Zambian women from various backgrounds and nongovernmental organizations – including myself – to form a feminist movement called Generation Alive. The movement encourages young Zambian women to attain leadership roles in politics and civil society.

Wala Nalungwe, a Generation Alive member, described the movement as an initiative that unites young women from various educational, social and economic backgrounds and draws on their strengths to bridge the gaps in leadership.

“We are committed towards creating a balance in power dynamics between men and women and between young women and older women,” Nalungwe says.

The movement aims to train and coach at least 10 young Zambian women in leadership by 2016 and get them to vie for office in the 2016 Parliamentary elections.

Nalungwe says that Generation Alive wants to achieve a significant membership base of young female leaders from all spheres of society that have the capacity to influence policy formulation, program design and implementation in Zambia.

Another Generation Alive member, Nana Zulu, described the movement as “a collective effort empowering young women to articulate issues affecting them.”

“Generation Alive is here to create an environment where emerging young female leaders in Zambia can interact and share experiences with older women leaders so as to bridge the generational gap in women’s leadership,” Zulu says.

Generation Alive was formed after several leadership and political facilitation trainings conducted in Zambia by the Southern Africa chapter of Just Associates, JASS, a global community of justice advocates. After the trainings, the group identified the need to increase young women’s participation in decision-making and formed Generation Alive. Although JASS Southern Africa guides and assists the movement, the group says that its biggest challenge is inadequate resources.

Generation Alive is currently researching the proportion of young Zambian women who are in leadership positions or have decision-making roles. The group members say they hope to channel their collective power to transform the lives of young Zambian women.