As the African Heads of State and Government meet during the 16th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, under the theme-“Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values, the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) Coalition congratulates the African Union for elaborating a comprehensive framework on gender equality and women’s empowerment as a shared value. ‘The African Union has a comprehensive set of shared values on gender equality and women’s rights. What African women need is action on commitments made by their leaders at the national level to protect, promote and fulfil women’s rights.’

East African Caravan on Maternal Health arrives in Kampala on July 14th, 2010 An estimated 536 000 maternal deaths occurred worldwide in 2005. Slightly more than half – 270 000 – of these preventable and unnecessary deaths occurred in the sub-Saharan Africa region alone. One in sixteen women and girls die giving birth in Africa. 14% of those who do, die from unsafe abortions and 60% of these women are under the age of 25 years of age. Nigeria, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo are among the six countries that are responsible for 50% of all deaths globally. Yet,

(Wambui E. Karanja)– Mozambican women celebrate a new law that protects them from violence– On 11 July 2003, the heads of State and government of the African Union (AU) adopted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. The African Women’s Protocol seeks to promote and protect the rights of African women by reinforcing existing international human rights standards to address the continent’s specific violations of women’s rights. It commits state parties to combat all forms of discrimination against women through legislative, institutional and other measures. If there were a