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	Within ten years women will have changed Africa by Graça Machel The Elders Mozambique   Graça Machel discusses progress on gender equality in Africa and her long involvement in the struggle to end child marriage. The story was published in English on Metro International.   Metro: What''s your reaction to this year''s Nobel Peace Prize?   Graça Machel: Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to three outstanding women from Liberia and Yemen is a recognition that while women pay the highest price in conflicts, they are equally leaders in peace-making and rebuilding.   M: Does Africa have gender-balance today?   GM: In many African countries there has been progress. Women have access to education, professional careers, even political life. But the progress has been slow. Women are 50 per cent of the population, so they should make up 50 per cent of business leaders, for example. Where we Africans have made better progress has been education. There we can talk. The female government ministers and members of parliament you see today – there are even some vice-presidents and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as an elected head of state – serve as a model and show African women, "we can make it".   M: Is a fundamental change afoot in Africa?   GM: I think that in 10 years time Africa will be a completely different landscape. It''s already happening. With regards to women: skilled and ambitious women will be at the highest levels of decision-making, both in politics, business and science and technology. There''s a new generation of female leaders coming.   M: In other words, young talented Africans won''t go abroad to study and pursue a career, as you did when you went to Portugal?   GM: Lots of Africans attend university at home; in fact, we now have more female than male students. But young Africans should study abroad to get wider horizons and learn about the global family Africa belongs to. It''s important that they go to the best universities in the world and get internships in the best companies in the world – and then come back to Africa with that expertise. Then they''ll be able to build Africa, but also relate to the globalised world.   M: In the West, girls are exposed to a very sexualised culture at an extremely young age. Is the West actually a worse place for girls to grow up than Africa?   GM: Our era is very impatient for girls to grow. It''s not exclusively a European, African or Asian issue. We, as humankind, have come to a level of morality where some people see human beings as a commodity. That''s why there''s a huge industry trafficking girls, and prostitution and pornography. That''s because some people in the 21st century believe that money is something you can get at any price, even if it means buying or selling a human being. Young women are especially vulnerable. I don''t think the West is better place to be for young women than Africa or Asia. African and Asian girls face the prospect of child marriage, but what do you say when a girl is sexually abused in the West? The question we have to consider is: what happens when a generation chooses money as the top priority?   M: As a young revolutionary, you joined Mozambique''s first government after independence. Have your visions for Mozambique and Africa been realised?   GM: Partly. I gave my youthful years to a cause that has not been completely fulfilled. I thought we''d have eradicated illiteracy by now. I thought every single child would be attending school by now. I thought there would be more women in top positions by now. On the other hand, when I look at how many young women are now at university, I think, "OK, we''ve done pretty well". It wouldn''t be fair for me to say that there hasn''t been any progress. Mozambique has one of the highest levels of female Members of Parliament. It even has a female Speaker of the Parliament. In the judiciary, too, there are many women. I''m proud of the progress that has been made. But am I happy? No! I want much more to happen! I want women to protect their interests and fight for the rights.   M: Why do you feel so strongly about child brides?   GM: I''ve been involved with this ever since I became Minister of Education. I noticed that girls were fully involved in school at age seven, but when they turned 10 they suddenly dropped out. That''s because in African cultures girls go through certain rituals around age 10, which prepare them for adulthood. That includes marriage. The girls accept it as normal to get married. But the girl doesn''t choose whom to get married to – her family does. Usually there''s an exchange of favours, or parents settle debts by marrying of their girl. After a girl gets married she''s expected to prove her fertility, so she''s forced to give birth when starting when she''s 11 or 12 years old. Of course, her body is not ready for that, so she risks complications like a burst uterus, or she may even die at childbirth.   M: Why has so little changed?   GM: Things have changed! In the past two decades, the number of African girls enrolled in secondary school and universities has grown fast. But 10 million girls are still married off every year, and that''s why I''m concerned about. The problem is that the world doesn''t talk about it. People talk about maternal mortality, but not child marriage! It''s because girls marry young that they so often die in childbirth. Nobody is paying attention to these girls'' plight.   M: If the West told Africans and Asians to stop child marriage, wouldn''t it smack of colonialism?   GM: No. Today child marriage is treated as if it''s a family issue, so politicians don''t deal with it as a political or cultural issue. Many people are very cautious to go against an issue that''s seen as an entrenched tradition, a cultural practice or even part of indigenous religious beliefs. But this is a universal issue. You can''t say, "this is not my business". But the leadership for this social ill has to be taken by the countries themselves. And it''s not just Chad, Niger, Ethiopia and Mozambique – it''s many countries.   M: One part of the equation are the men who marry these young girls. Can they be taught not to?   GM: It takes at least a generation to change social ills. Families have to be taught that it''s not in their interest to sacrifice their future. Young men are a crucial piece in this. We have to teach them that selling girls is not tolerable. Then, when they become adults, they may not marry young girls. The young generation of men has to learn that girls and women don''t need a brother, a husband or a father to be in charge of them.   M: What about girls who have already been married off? Are they a lost generation?   GM: In Ethiopia there''s a program for young wives. Some of these girls leave their marriages and start a completely new life. But in most cases it would be very difficult to undo the marriage. But we can help the young wives to get a better life. They can get an education, which allows them to develop skills so they can learn a living. That brings back their self-confidence. They can even become empowered women who lead a fulfilling life.   * Child married before age 18: 72%: Chad; 66%: Bangladesh; 63%: Guinea; 61%: Central African Republic; 49%: Ethiopia; 47%: India; 40%: Dominican Republic; 39%: Afghanistan; 23%: Colombia; 22%: Ecuador.. Visit the related web page
	Journalists reporting on human rights need greater protection by Margaret Sekaggya UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders   March 2012   Recent global events have highlighted the fact that journalists and media workers reporting on human rights issues are particularly vulnerable to threats and attacks, an independent United Nations expert said today, calling for greater protection for those who carry out such vital work.   “Because of the potential impact on society that journalists and media workers can have by disseminating information about human rights through a wide array of media, those individuals are often threatened, wounded and killed in an attempt to silence their voices,” stated Margaret Sekaggya, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.   “Their work is of extreme importance in holding Governments accountable. However, those same Governments often crack down on them, including through threats, harassment, arrests, detentions, and in the worst of cases killings,” she added in a report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, which is currently meeting in Geneva. Restrictions on media and press freedom, and impunity around violations against journalists and media workers defending human rights can foster a climate of intimidation, stigmatization, violence and self-censorship that can have a chilling effect on their work, according to the expert.   “States should publically recognize the role of these defenders and ensure prompt and impartial investigations and the prosecution of those responsible for violations against them,” she wrote.   Presenting her report to the 47-member Council, Ms. Sekaggya said the ‘Arab Spring’ helped focus global attention on the extraordinary risks rights defenders face while promoting and protecting human rights in all regions of the world.   She also expressed deep concern that State actors, including Government officials, State security forces and the judiciary, are reportedly the perpetrators of many of the violations committed against these defenders.   “Journalists, environmental, student and youth rights defenders and those working on land issues are in significant need of protection,” she told the Council. “Most of these risks directly affect their physical integrity and that of their family members, but also involve the abusive use of legal frameworks against them and the criminalization of their work.”   The popular protests in countries across the Middle East and North Africa have also shed light on the situation of defenders of youth and student rights. “History shows us that youth and students have played a key role in the promotion of human rights and in placing new ideas on the human rights agenda.   “However, members of youth and student movements are in many cases seen as troublemakers rather than serious actors who can fruitfully contribute to public debate,” she said. “Their voices deserve to be heard, and they should not be threatened as a result of their engagement.”   The expert also highlighted the plight of defenders working on land and environmental issues, such as the impact of extractive industries. In her report, she noted that both State and non-State actors are involved in violations against this group of defenders, and underlines the disturbing number of killings and physical attacks reported to her.   “Human rights defenders have the right to protection, and it is the State’s responsibility to ensure this protection, so that defenders can carry out their important and legitimate work in an enabling environment,” she underscored. Visit the related web page
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