Senegal’s ‘schools for husbands’ aim to keep mothers from dying sent
This week, we start in Kenya, where queer rights groups want parliament to drop an anti-LGBTQ petition on the basis of no evidence. Next, we travel to Zimbabwe, where survivors of domestic abuse are finding safety and purpose in an all-women ranger team. Finally, we stop in Senegal, where the ‘School for Husbands” program hopes to put an end to gender-based violence.
But first, in Zimbabwe, the government has started a legal reform process to recognise and protect the rights of intersex people. This comes two years after Kenya’s Supreme Court allowed the registration of intersex organisations, and earlier this year officially recognised intersex as a third gender.
For many Zimbabweans, especially queer communities, this is a step in the right direction. Activists say it could help protect intersex people from discrimination and harmful medical practices, while also moving the country closer to acknowledging LGBTQ rights.
The Justice Ministry says the reforms will include public consultations and align with Zimbabwe’s 2030 development goals to “leave no one behind.” While many rights groups have praised this move, many are expecting resistance from conservatives.
Still, campaigners believe that even starting this conversation matters. They see the recognition of intersex rights as a way to open up wider discussions about equality and dignity for all in Zimbabwe.
Don’t Miss These Stories
DW
Special taxis in Nairobi help disabled Kenyans stay mobile
Washington Blade
Kenyan queer groups want MPs to dismiss anti-LGBTQ petition
Top Picks This Week
They escaped their husbands. Then they took on poachers
Since childhood, 40-year-old Namatai Torerai* has always dreamt of becoming a police officer. Growing up in Raffingora, 45 km northeast of Chinhoyi, she was inspired by the confidence of women officers and admired their bravery. However, her aspirations were shattered when she married and divorced twice—the second marriage marked by sexual and physical violence.
“My ex-husband was unemployed, and I was working, so he would collect all my earnings to spend with his girlfriends, and if I asked, we would end up fighting,” Torerai recounts. She endured this abuse for two years, as fellow women encouraged her to be strong, since it was considered part of marriage.
This trend is prevalent in many African societies, where gender norms often normalise gender-based violence (GBV) as a way to control or discipline a woman, particularly by their intimate partners.
“Left at the mercy of chance”: Inside Mozambique’s seven-year insurgency.
For 60-year-old João Manhique*, life is bleak. A schoolteacher in Macomia, a district in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, he has watched loved ones make the heart-wrenching decision to leave after a fresh wave of attacks in December 2023.
“They won’t come back. It’s too dangerous. You never know when new attacks will happen again, even with the constant presence of Mozambican security forces,” he says quietly.
The violence, which began in 2017 with attacks on police stations in the port town of Mocímboa da Praia, marked the beginning of a seven-year insurgency that has left hundreds of thousands displaced, traumatised, and largely forgotten.
For Manhique’s family, the invasions have left deep scars.
“I had one of the worst moments of my life,” he says of the attacks.
What’s Happening Around the World
Context
Why has non-binary language become a national debate in Germany?
DW
China: A women-only secret script returns as symbol of strength
Washington Blade
Ugandan government agrees to accept migrants deported from US
The death of a one-month-old baby girl who was the victim of female genital mutilation (FGM) in The Gambia has sparked widespread outrage.
A Quick Read Before You Go
CNN
Senegal’s ‘schools for husbands’ aim to keep mothers from dying
On a recent evening in Senegal‘s capital of Dakar, an imam named Ibrahima Diane explained to a group of men why they should be more involved in household chores.
“The Prophet himself says a man who does not help support his wife and children is not a good Muslim,” the 53-year-old said, as he described bathing his baby and helping his wife with other duties.
Some of the 14 men chuckled, not quite sold. Others applauded.
Diane was taking part in a “school for husbands,” a United Nations-backed initiative where respected male community members learn about “positive masculinity” in health and social issues and promote them in their communities.