Biography
Ms. Zerbo coordinates our MDG3 project, which is funded by the Dutch Foreign Ministry and focuses on strengthening women’s civil society organizations in seven countries—Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Niger, and Senegal—to address issues of violence against women and women’s civic participation. Ms. Zerbo, who joined our staff in September 2009, holds a Master of Science degree in political science and international relations from Suffolk University in Boston as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. Her training and interest in women’s health, advocacy, and political participation—particularly in Africa—eventually led her to Rwanda, where she consulted on a recent community health project for Partners in Health. Previously, as a student and young professional in the United States, she took part in conferences and meetings related to gender issues at the United Nations in New York. She is fluent in English and French.
In connection with our MDG3 Project, which seeks to curb gender violence and expand women's political participation, we are reposting this statement by UNDP. The original post can be found here.
Twenty-eight African Ministers in charge of Gender Affairs and more than 600 other high level participants from 43 African countries participated in a Regional Review of “Beijing + 15” from November 16th through the 20th in Banjul, the Gambia.
The purpose of the conference was to gather decision-makers, NGO’s, Women and Youth organizations, among other stakeholders, to look at progress made in Africa since the Beijing Summit on women 15 years ago, and to address challenges for the implementation of the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Africa. The government of The Gambia hosted the conference and was supported by the UN System in the Gambia, with UNDP as the lead agency.
The UNDP Country Office Gambia received both financial and technical support from RBA and BDP for that assistance, which was provided by UNDP in various areas such as the recruitment of a team of consultants comprising of a Gender Expert, two Communication Specialists and a Website Developer. The teams assisted the Government’s Women’s Bureau in producing the Beijing National report for The Gambia, the AU Solemn Declaration Report, and the NGO Beijing Scheduled Report for The Gambia. A highly informational website, http://www.beijingplus15.gm, was also developed for the conference.
Diverse communication materials, including a PSA in four languages and a documentary showcasing best practices in the Gambia on the Beijing Platform for Action 12 critical areas were produced by the communication team, which worked hand in hand with colleagues from the UNECA.
The Vice President of the Republic of the Gambia in her statement on behalf of the President of the Republic of the Gambia thanked the UNDP Country Office in the Gambia for providing significant preparatory assistance. According to Dr Aisatu Njie Saidy, “the meeting in Banjul is of special significance in that it creates a forum to review progress so far realised, revisit the strategies and possibly come up with the necessary adjustment to enable collectively deal with the many pressing challenging gender issues in Africa”. She further said that the contribution of African women to the continent development is clearly evident as African women are well known for their brilliance, creativity, hard work, commitment and unwavering determination to shape their own destiny.
Ms Chinwe Dike, the Resident Coordinator of the UN System in the Gambia and UNDP Resident Representative stated that “it is indeed time to call on all actors and stakeholders engaged in promoting gender equality, and especially on governments to account for their stewardship. This call includes the United Nations which after the 2009 GA meeting has also recognised the need to revamp its gender architecture to achieve greater effectiveness in the promotion of gender equality.”
Regional Bureau for Africa deputy director Elizabeth Fong went further to explain that UNDP has adopted a two-fold approach to gender mainstreaming. She said: “Firstly, we support the empowerment of women to expand their capability opportunities, and choices, as well as to claim their rights and move into full substantive equality with men. Secondly, we are supporting the capacity development of governments to respond positively to women’s interest and concerns”.
Ms Fong pledged that UNDP will work to support initiatives that empower women to claim their internationally agreed rights in every development sphere, and support government to be both pro-active and responsive in advancing the realization of these rights.
She confirmed that the gender equality strategy of UNDP is the tool used for the integration of gender into our core development work.
In implementing the UNDP gender strategy, UNDP in the Gambia has supported the government in building the capacity of women to fully participate in the electoral processes.
In her statement at the opening of the conference, Mrs Fatou Jassey-Kuyateh, Permanent Secretary of the Vice President, reiterated her government’s commitment to place women in decision-making positions as evidenced by the number of top offices occupied by women such as the Vice President, the Speaker of the national assembly, three ministers, one deputy minister and three other national assembly members.
The Beijing+15 conference in the Gambia concluded with strong feedback and input from participants and ministers from the countries represented. Once again, African governments’ delegates confirmed their commitment to mainstream gender in their policy and address challenges based on the recommendations of the meeting. Some of these focus on the economic empowerment of women by creating employment opportunities through targeted entrepreneurship and skills, as well asbusiness development paying particular attention to rural women. They also call for countries to put in place measures aimed at accelerating agricultural production through advanced technologies. The Beijing+15 eighth Africa Regional Review Conference has indeed been a major landmark on African women’s journey from “Commitment to Action” .
The U.N. Secretary-General’s campaign to end violence against women was officially launched for the West Africa region on 26 November 2009. Held in Dakar, Senegal, and led by UNIFEM, the celebration was an exciting and moving one, with a short play by local artists, a performance by a local singer, dancing, testimonials by women from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal, and speeches by representatives from several countries, U.N. agencies, ECOWAS, and the Senegalese Ministry of Justice.
The ceremony reiterated the vision and objectives of the U.N. Secretary-General’s “UNiTE to End Violence against Women” campaign. Noting the prevailing conditions in West Africa, the event highlighted some recent improvements in the region and called for more action by governments, elected officials, civil society, women’s organizations, youth, the private sector, the media, and the U.N. system.
The global campaign was officially launched on 25 February 2008 and will last until 2015. Its objective is to end impunity for those who commit violence against women and girls, mainly by raising awareness and increasing political will and resources to address all forms of violence against women and girls in all regions of the world. In West Africa, the campaign aims specifically to raise awareness, support local initiatives, create a framework for dialogue, reinforce international partnerships, and mobilize all sectors of society, including the judiciary, in order to establish a more cohesive approach to preventing and fighting against all forms of violence against women and girls.
The event in Dakar included speeches by the regional directors of UNIFEM and UNDP, the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for West Africa, a representative from ECOWAS, Mali’s former Ministry of Culture, and a representative from Senegal’s Ministry of Justice. They emphasized that the situation for women and girls in West Africa remains alarming — even though the majority of countries in the region have ratified CEDAW and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, and despite the passage of legislation to ban violence against women and girls in those countries. Speakers noted several factors that exacerbate gender violence, including HIV/AIDS, conflicts, and certain cultural practices.
The U.N. Secretary-General’s campaign is reaching West Africa at a fortuitous time, as this year marks the 30th anniversary of CEDAW and 2010 will commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action.
TrustAfrica was represented at the ceremony by Executive Director Akwasi Aidoo and members of the MDG3 team. The launch represents a milestone for West Africa, and an important event for our organization, as we are in the first phase of the implementation of our MDG3 project, whose first objective is to decrease violence against women. We could not agree more with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s statement that “violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable.”
The U.N. General Assembly’s adoption on September 14 of a resolution to create a new U.N. agency solely dedicated to gender equality is to be applauded.
It is comforting to know that the efforts of civil society organizations and women’s activists are at last rewarded and that women will have a stronger entity to look after their interests.
About a year and half ago, at the 52nd meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York, a friend told me, as we were attending a Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) meeting, that although change might be slow coming, she was sure that within a few years, the General Assembly would adopt a powerful resolution in favor of women. “The pressure on them is just too much,” I remember her saying. It was one of those moments when fighting actually meant something. We were gathered in a small room at 777 United Nations Plaza, listening to speakers and strategizing for a more powerful campaign. I am sure each one of us present at the meeting has followed, one way or the other, each step of the advancement of the campaign, until this memorable day of September 14, 2009.
I must admit though, that a question has been on my mind for several years with regards to the creation of a U.N. agency for women: why did it not occur earlier? The Mirabal sisters (in memory of whom we commemorate November 25th) were brutally killed in 1960; the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted in 1979; two of the greatest gatherings of and for women occurred in Nairobi in 1985 and in Beijing in 1995. These events, the yearly meetings of the CSW, the weakness of the four existing women’s U.N. bodies (in view of recurring and increasing violence against women especially) did not seem to really affect the General Assembly in a way that made it realize that women needed an agency with more powers.
I haven’t found an answer to the question, but the General Assembly’s resolution is an important event in the history of our fight for a reform of gender norms. We are now, more than ever, G.E.A.R.ed for the advancement of the condition of women worldwide. We do not have any excuses anymore. Let us dare hope that when the agency is created, member states will abide by their promises and work towards true gender equality.
TrustAfrica, with support from the Dutch Government, is launching a special project to advance Millennium Development Goal 3 (MDG3). Entitled “Enhancing Women’s Dignity,” the MDG3 Project covers seven countries: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Niger, and Senegal. It focuses on two main objectives:
Building capacity to decrease violence against women
Building capacity to increase women’s political participation
We’re hiring: We seek to engage four short-term consultants to compile a comprehensive database of all civil society organizations working on these issues in the seven target countries. Click here to learn more about these positions and find out how to apply.
Strategies
The MDG3 project uses research, advocacy, capacity building, and coalition building to:
Record and create databases of civil society organizations working to decrease violence against women and increase women’s political participation in the seven target countries
Advocate by organizing and sponsoring campaigns around issues of violence against women
Conduct workshops and provide seed funding to civil society organizations working to decrease violence against women and increase women’s political participation in the seven target countries
Develop mentoring and networking schemes between women leaders and young emerging leaders in the field of women’s political participation
Activities
The pilot phase of the project will run from 2009 to 2011. During this period, TrustAfrica, in collaboration with the Dutch Government and other partners, will implement several activities including the following:
Research and data analysis on issues of violence against women and women’s political participation in each of the target countries
Agenda-setting and training workshops
Capacity building and advocacy
Grants, seed funding, and technical advice for organizations working to end violence against women and increase women’s political participation in each of the target countries
Mentoring schemes and internships pairing experienced women leaders with promising young leaders
Documentation and recording of best practices around each objective in the target countries
Documentation and publication of the results attained through the MDG3 Project
