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04 April 2024
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Story Lunga Luthuli
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Dr Juliet Kamwendo champions gender-inclusive climate action in Africa. Her expertise at the recently held AFR100 workshop highlighted vital steps towards sustainable and equitable development.
Dr Juliet Kamwendo, Lecturer and Programme Director for Gender Studies in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the University of the Free State, is spearheading efforts to integrate gender considerations into Africa's climate restoration agenda. Reflecting on her involvement, Dr Kamwendo stated, "This is particularly crucial, as women make up almost 50% of the population in Africa, and the depletion and degradation of land affect them disproportionately."
She recently served as a gender expert at the AUDA-NEPAD AFR100 workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 25 to 29 March 2024. This initiative aims to restore forests and degraded land across Africa by 2030, with a focus on gender equality.
The workshop emphasised the integration of gender perspectives into the AFR100 project, acknowledging the disproportionate impact of land degradation on women. Dr Kamwendo's expertise highlighted the need to empower women in climate change interventions, addressing existing gender inequalities exacerbated by environmental degradation.
“Women – who are primarily responsible for household food security and water provision – bear the brunt of environmental degradation, leading to increased workloads, reduced income opportunities, and heightened vulnerability to climate-related disasters. Furthermore, the loss of forest cover and biodiversity further exacerbates the challenges faced by women, particularly in rural areas where they depend heavily on natural resources for their livelihoods,” added Dr Kamwendo.
Her participation highlights academia's crucial role in fostering inclusive and sustainable development, emphasising interdisciplinary collaboration to tackle complex environmental challenges. Through initiatives such as AFR100, stakeholders are working towards a more resilient and gender-responsive future for Africa.
Elinor Sisulu to present lecture at the UFS
2008-07-30
Human rights activist, Ms Elinor Sisulu, will deliver a Women’s Day lecture, titled: “Voiceless and voteless, fleeing zanuphobia into xenophobia: A Zimbabwean woman’s perspective of National Women’s Day” at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein on Wednesday next week.
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She was invited by the Faculty of the Humanities at the UFS to deliver the lecture on Wednesday 6 August because of her stature as an activist and writer and her views on the topical issue of Zimbabwe.
The Vice-Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities, Prof Engela Pretorius, said the UFS was keen to engage the larger community on these kinds of issues and invites all interested people to attend.
Ms Sisulu is a writer, human rights activist and political analyst. Born in Zimbabwe, she was educated in Zimbabwe, Senegal and the Netherlands.
She combines training in history, English literature, development studies and feminist theory. In 1994 she published an award-winning children's book, “The Day Gogo Went to Vote”.
Her biography about her mother-in-law and father-in-law, titled “Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In Our Lifetime”, was published to critical acclaim in December 2002. The book was runner-up in the 2003 Alan Paton Non-fiction Award and won the 2003 Noma Award for publishing in Africa.
Ms Sisulu works in the South African office for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, the major umbrella body of Zimbabwean non-governmental organisations.
The lecture will start at 19:00 in the CR Swart Auditorium on the main campus in Bloemfontein.
Light refreshments will be served.
Those wishing to attend must please make a booking with Hettie Beukes at 051 401 2240 or beukeshs.hum@ufs.ac.za.
Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za
30 July 2008