Tag: human rights

Why Reforming the Termination of Pregnancy Act Can No Longer Wait

Michael Gwarisa

By Edinah Masiyiwa I have been closely following recent developments on access to safe abortion for women and girls in Zimbabwe. As I reflect on the Women’s Action Group’s (WAG) campaign on safe abortion in the early 1990s, I am encouraged by how far the country has come on this issue. When WAG advocated for access to safe abortion then, the organisation faced intense opposition that ultimately silenced the public campaign. Quiet, behind-the-scenes advocacy continued, eventually resulting in post-abortion care being adopted as a key component of reproductive health services—an…

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South African court rules that men can take wife’s surname

Healthtimes

South Africa’s highest court has ruled that husbands can take the surname of their wives, overturning a law that barred them from doing so. In a victory for two couples who brought the case, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law amounted to gender-based discrimination. Henry van der Merwe was denied the right to take the surname of his wife Jana Jordaan, while Andreas Nicolas Bornman could not hyphenate his surname to include Donnelly, the surname of his wife, Jess Donnelly-Bornman, the public broadcaster, SABC, reports. Parliament will now have…

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#JUSTIN: Don’t Use Lockdwon To Clampdown On Human Rights, United Nations Warns Zim Government

Healthtimes

THE United Human Rights , Office of the High Commissioner (UNOCHR) has warned the government of Zimbabwe against clamping down on human rights under guise of lockdown restrictions. HealthTimes In a statement, the United Nations Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,  Liz Throssell  said they were concerned at allegations in Zimbabwe, which suggest that the authorities may be using the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to clamp down on freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association. Among the latest incidents, investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono…

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