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Welcome to yet another edition of the MenEngage Africa newsletter. What a great way to end this year by sharing with you the tremendous work that individuals and organizations are doing around promoting gender justice within the African region. We are proud members of the global MenEngage Alliance and as a network, we take pride in the collective effort toward advancing gender justice, human rights, and social justice in Africa.

In this edition I must say, we are excited to share with you on how MEA and its partners in the region embarked on the campaign to ignite action around the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. And, for the first time in the history of MEA, you will meet the media personalities who were acknowledged and awarded for dedicating their work towards promoting gender equality in their countries and in the region!!

This opportunity as the editor for this edition of the MEA newsletter, has made me respect the tremendous work and dedication every MEA member has put forward towards promoting gender justice in their families, communities, places of work, countries, and the entire African region. I can proudly say, I believe in all your efforts. My prayer is that you too get inspired to promote gender justice as you read the articles of this newsletter.

I sign off by wishing you peaceful holidays and a happy new year!

Warm regards,

Zaituni Nabateregga,
Gender Transformative Approaches Specialist at Sonke Gender Justice


** MENENGAGE NEWS & VIEWS
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** CONFERENCES & SYMPOSIUMS
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** MenEngage Africa, Sonke Gender Justice host SRHR Symposium in Boksburg, South Africa ([link removed])
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The MenEngage Africa Sexual Rights Health and Rights(SRHR) Learning and Exchange Symposium which took place from the 21st to the 23rd of October in Johannesburg South Africa, was an important event that focused on the theme of "SRHR for All: Building a Better Future for Africa's Youth." The symposium brought together a diverse range of stakeholders committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights in Africa. The three-day event was hosted by Sonke Gender Justice and MenEngage Africa in collaboration with partners such as the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Save the Children International (SCI), Frontline AIDS, The Global Network of Young People Living with HIV (Y+ Global), UNESCO, Community Centre for Impact, The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and technical partners. The symposium was attended by over one hundred delegates representing most regions in Sub-Saharan Africa. These included a diverse group of young people, religious and
traditional leaders, LGBTQI+ persons, and allies.
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** CONFERENCES & SYMPOSIUMS
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** Journalists shine at the MenEngage Africa Kgopotso Bodibe Media Awards! ([link removed])
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MenEngage Africa and Sonke Gender Justice held an award ceremony to honour the journalists who have worked tirelessly towards promoting gender equality on the 12 of December 2023. The event was held in memory of the late Khopotso Bodibe, a renowned journalist who dedicated his life to raising awareness about gender-based violence and the importance of women's rights.

The event provided a platform for journalists to share their industry best practices, and exchange ideas on how to be transformative in storytelling.

Sonke’s Co-Executive Director and MenEngage Global Co-Chair Bafana Khumalo acknowledged the late Khopotso Bodibe for fearless reporting on HIV and AIDS, his distinctive personality, infectious laughter and described him as a “giant” in the media fraternity.
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** MenEngage Africa
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** 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence on Women and Girls highlights ([link removed])
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The Global 16 Days Campaign is a crucial worldwide movement that aims to put an end to the violence that women and girls face on a daily basis. The campaign is a call to action that unites individuals and organizations across the globe in the fight against gender-based violence. To commemorate this significant period, MenEngage Africa partners came together to organize a range of activities in their respective countries.

These activities were designed to raise awareness about the importance of ending gender-based violence and to inspire action amongst young people across the African continent. One of the events that took place was a series of workshops that focused on educating young people about the various forms of violence that women and girls face.
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** News
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** Sonke Gender Justice, WILPF and MenEngage Africa Peace and Women meeting in Nigeria ([link removed])
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Sonke Gender Justice, MenEngage Africa, and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) met in Abuja, Nigeria from the 5th to the 8th of December 2023. The purpose of the regional convening was to review and validate the Men, Militarism, Peace and Security Strategy developed by MEA in partnership with WILPF whose overall goal is to advocate for a more peaceful and inclusive continent where citizens can enjoy and realise their rights. The Men, Militarism, Peace and Security Strategy states that addressing militarism, militarized masculinities, sexual and gender-based violence particularly among women and girls during and post-conflict times as well as promoting the participation of women in decision making and peace processes as envisaged by UNSCR 1325 is crucial towards building a peaceful, inclusive and gender just society.
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** News
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** Power To Youth Commemorates 16 Days of Activism
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Power To Youth advocates in Malawi and Uganda joined the international community to engage in the 16 Days of Activism 2023 dubbed: UNITE! Invest to End Violence Against Women and Girls through community engagement, social media campaigns and sensitization against GBV.

Commemorating 16 Days of Activism, Youth advocates in Uganda organised the Power To Youth Festival at Isingoro District on the 2nd of December, to raise awareness among youths, families and communities on the prevention of teenage pregnancy, child marriage, and sexual and gender-based violence. This was done by establishing a secure learning platform for exchange and learning among adolescents and young people and creating awareness among duty bearers on their role in fighting GBV. Young people received information on comprehensive sexuality education, and sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The event also provided SRHR services, counselling, and free HIV testing.

Power To Youth network in Malawi participated in raising awareness against harmful practices, GBV and SGBV. They engage youths, men and boys at the grass-roots level as allies in the promotion of gender justice, positive masculinities through local radio jingles and sensitization messages. During the national launch of the 16 Days of Activism in Mzimba, they were instrumental in helping people get the right information about GBV prevention and fighting harmful practices.

The Power To Youth networks both conducted social media campaigns using posters, flyers, short videos, photo stories on preventing violence against women and girls.
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** CONFERENCES & SYMPOSIUMS
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** Generation Gender South African Coalition Empowers Men to Tackle Mental Health and Gender-Based Violence ([link removed])
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Generation Gender (Gen G) South African Coalition hosted the second installment of the “Moments with Men” national campaign. The campaign aimed to address the pressing issue of escalating male suicide rates and promote better mental health among men. The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Men at Work,’ and it sought to empower men to become allies in the fight against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

South Africa is grappling with an alarming increase in suicide rates, with men disproportionately affected. According to the South Africa Society of Psychiatrists report, South Africa is ranked tenth on the list of countries with the highest suicide rates, with 23.5 suicides per 100,000 people. Out of the 13,774 suicides reported in South Africa, a staggering 10,861 were among men. This crisis demands re-evaluating how we approach men’s mental health issues.
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** CONFERENCES & SYMPOSIUMS
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** Twitter Space Chat, Invest to End Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Public Places ([link removed])
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As part of activities for the 16 Days of Activism 2023, Sonke participated in twitter space organised by Empowering Women for Excellence Initiative, member of MenEngage Nigeria. Speaking during the space, Regional Communications and Social Media Coordinator Eucharia Nkengafack who was previously trained under MEA and MATI programmes emphasized the collective need to develop a culture of ‘’Zero tolerance’’ for all forms of violence against women and girls. As solutions to ending sexual harassment in public spaces, she dwelt on the importance of using gender transformative approaches in ending the root causes of VAWG and highlighted on the role of duty bearers and men and boys as allies in the fight against gender-based violence.
Listen to the Chat ([link removed])


** Message from MenEngage Africa Chair
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Dear MenEngage Africa partners and friends,

I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you for your contributions to the success of MenEngage. As the chair of the MenEngage steering committee, I have had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the impact of our collective efforts to engage men and boys in the pursuit of gender equality.

I would like to extend a special thank you to the MenEngage steering committee for their tireless work in steering the work of MenEngage. Your dedication, expertise, and commitment to our shared goals have been instrumental in driving our progress.

I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable role that Sonke has played in coordinating the MenEngage network. Your efforts have been nothing short of remarkable, and we are deeply grateful for your partnership. Of course, we could not have achieved any of this without the generous support of our donors. We are deeply grateful to Sida for their grant, which has enabled us to continue our important work. Thank you for your belief in MenEngage and your commitment to advancing gender equality.

We have had several key events over the past year, including the 3rd MenEngage Africa Symposium, the election of the new Steering committee, MEA SRHR Symposium, and the Accountability meeting. Each of these events has been a critical opportunity for us to come together, share our experiences and expertise, and strengthen our commitment to gender equality.

Lastly, I would like to thank all our partners for their support and collaboration. The success of our recent symposium was a testament to the power of working together, and we look forward to continuing our work with all of you in the future.

Thank you again for all that you do. We are honoured to work alongside such dedicated and passionate individuals, and we look forward to continuing our journey together towards a more equitable and just world for all.

Warm regards,

Sthembile Gumede,
MenEngage Africa Chairperson

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