I feel like I have been here before, like I have travelled this exact same road. It must be eerily familiar, to those of us who grew up and lived through the early days of…
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HIV/AIDS
“I now know how to use a tablet which is not a norm in Malawi because [many believe] tablets cannot and should not be used by a local woman like me,” says woman activist leader…
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A Look at Positive Women’s Organising in Malawi, 2005 to 2014 It is hard to conceive the magnitude of what Malawian women activist leaders with whom JASS works and the hundreds of women they represent…
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Rape of women and girls is proving to be a deliberate constant in Zimbabwe. On 3 February the Harare magistrate court concluded an ‘exceptional’ case in which Robert Gumbura, founder and supposed ‘pastor’ of an…
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When a woman has been living life like that of ‘[a] rat on a treadmill,’ tired and resigned; in a state of hopelessness, helplessness and despair, on the brink of giving up—it is hard to…
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It’s hot. 36 degrees. We are not sure the march is going to happen. How can women take to the streets with the sun burning down on their heads? As we arrive at Kamazu Statue, there are not many…
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Over two days, more than 140 HIV positive women activists met to celebrate the campaign they built to access to better ARVs and treatment literacy. As a prelude to the Global Race to SAVE Lives…
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There’s energy in the air—here in Malawi. It crackles and shimmers, builds and builds, until it feels as though we are riding on a tidal wave of collective power, of women who have come from…
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The dusty roads twist and turn. The setting sun signals the end of another day. The roads are chock full of mini busses ferrying weary workers home, street side sellers with tomatoes, ground nuts, sweet…
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Malawian Activists in workshop The reunion with the women we have been working with in Malawi was emotional. Tiwonge, who has been involved since the beginning in 2007, lifted me up in the air as…
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Hope Chigudu shares reflections about building women’s voice in Malawi and powerful stories of the ways in which grassroots women internalize the power framework and use it to challenge, resist and rebel against various forms…
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Lisa Veneklasen, JASS Executive Director, celebrates the news and congratulates JASS board member, Lori Heise: I wanted to share some great news from our fellow JASS-ist, Lori Heise. As many of you may know,…
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At the 11th AWID International Forum on Women’s Rights and Development (November 14, 2008, in Cape Town), Geeta Misra painted the landscape for ‘The Power of Movements’ by suggesting five common elements amongst movements: a…
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The latest dispatch from Hope Chigudu, this time from the North of Malawi, with Sindi Blose It’s difficult to know people till you meet them in their environment. The workshop situation can present what Chimamanda…
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This time we moved from the workshop rooms to the communities. We are humbly learning from the experience of the those who live on the margin, from their perspective, from their perseverance, from their assertiveness,…
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Written by Miles Tanhira, Information & Communications Officer at GALZ, Zimbabwe Therefore i will not keep silent.I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, i will complain in the bitterness of my soul (JOB 7…
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Public taxis are a nightmare, the screaming and rude conductors, the cursing drivers and the vulnerable passengers. Normally I don’t pay particular attention to other passengers in these dilapidated taxis, but what I witnessed today…
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This morning, the women left. We had a great time but also experienced some Oh! moments. A young woman, six months pregnant, fell really sick. The truth is she came to the workshop sick. Most…
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Some of us wore expressions of a most unprofessional glee as Victoria, one of the women at the workshop, a teacher by profession, made us smile by sharing a story of how she has been…
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Our lives are written on our bodies. Sisters! Women living with HIV who are leaders in the AIDS movement in their communities in Malawi came together for the start of a four-day workshop organized by…
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I have been reflecting on the circumstances of the women we have been meeting during the Malawi workshops, on how they live and how they cope with the changes in their lives in the context of HIV…
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Why I Will Not Join the Celebration World AIDS Day (WAD) came upon us again on the 1st of December – 2008 marking the 20th such commemoration. Surprisingly we are still doing the same things…
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Written by Amanda Awethu I cannot believe I almost gave up on coming to Cape Town for the 11th AWID Forum. I was on the verge of giving up as I had hassles trying to…
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Dear Stephen Lewis, Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to attend the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. This meaningful experience provided us with the chance to get to know the…
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These remarks were delivered at the Wilton Park Conference: Women targeted or affected by armed conflict: What role for military peacekeepers? on May 27, 2008, by Stephen Lewis*. http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/50445 Here is an unassailable truth:…
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Mbabane More than 1 500 mostly HIV-positive women staged an unprecedented protest in Swaziland on Thursday against a foreign shopping tour by eight of the ruling monarch’s 13 wives, in a country ravaged by Aids.Dressed…
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By Julian, Age 11 This AIDS conference has been full of knowledge. It wasn’t just about HIV/AIDS. It was about learning and gathering and sharing information and opinions among people with HIV and without HIV. I…
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In the final plenary session in Mexico City on Friday morning, Justice Edwin Cameron gave, as part of his address, ten reasons why criminal laws and criminal prosecutions make bad policy in the response to…
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The AIDS conference ended today. It has been an eventful week. I did not get to contribute to JASS blog as I tried to cram in as much of conference program as possible. There has…
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Tuesday at the IAC was an action packed day for me. I got to speak in front of a lot of people which was a new experience for me and it definitely made me feel…
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I’m sharing this space with my friend and sister activist, Sindi Blose, from Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa. She won’t mention the fact that she did an extraordinary job of rocking the Global Village this…
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By Ana Luisa We all made it to Mexico City last night, many exhausted from the grueling cross-Atlantic journey, but happy to see each other and excited for the upcoming week of events around AIDS…
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Welcome to the new JASS Blog! We will be reporting on our trip to the International Conference on AIDS (ICA) in Mexico City this August! Check back soon for videos, photos, and posts from the…
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