U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa

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e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za


SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 310
25 November - 1 December 2006


CONTENTS:

ZAMBIA: More than 10 girls raped every week
ZIMBABWE: More than 60 activists held, 40 beaten, claims NGO
NAMIBIA: Orphans bear the brunt of WFP cash shortfall
MADAGASCAR: The island goes to the polls on Sunday


ZAMBIA: More than 10 girls raped every week

Zambian nongovernmental organisation (NGO) revealed this week that it 
records eight cases of rape of young girls every week at its centre in 
the capital, Lusaka.

The statistics released by the Young Women's Christian Association 
(YWCA) recorded 10 cases of rape of adult women every week. A joint 
report by the Victims Support Unit of the Lusaka Division of the Zambia 
Police Service, the YWCA, Women in Law in Southern Africa, a rights NGO, 
and the government's Child Justice Forum released more shocking 
statistics: almost half of married women aged over 15 reported being 
battered or physically abused by their husbands, and 53 percent of women 
overall experienced physical violence.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56528


ZIMBABWE: More than 60 activists held, 40 beaten, claims NGO

More than 60 protesting Zimbabweans, some carrying babies, were arrested 
and at least another 40 were allegedly assaulted by the police in the 
country's second city, Bulawayo, on Wednesday.

Activist organisation Women of Zimbabwe Arise, which had organised a 
peaceful march to mark the launch of a 'People's Charter', a declaration 
on political and economic rights, and the '16 Days of Activism Against 
Gender Violence', an international campaign running until International 
Human Rights Day on 10 December, said demonstrators had congregated near 
the government offices in the city centre to read out the People's 
Charter when about 30 riot police arrived and started arresting them.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56566


NAMIBIA: Orphans bear the brunt of WFP cash shortfall

A funding shortfall faced by the United Nations World Food Programme 
(WFP) could force thousands of vulnerable Namibian children to go hungry 
in the coming weeks.

Since reopening its Namibia office last year, specifically to provide 
support to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the north, where 
HIV/AIDS prevalence reaches 40 percent, the agency has not received a 
single donation towards its operation. According to the UN Children's 
Fund (UNICEF), around 120,000 Namibian children under the age of 17 have 
lost one or both parents, of which about 57,000 have been orphaned by 
HIV/AIDS.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56579


MADAGASCAR: The island goes to the polls on Sunday

Four and a half years after being elected president of Madagascar, Marc 
Ravalomanana is set to seek a second term in the election on Sunday. 
Although lauded for rehabilitating the infrastructure, opinion is 
divided over whether he has helped alleviate poverty.

Voters are not expected to come out in large numbers and, citing 
electoral process irregularities, some competing candidates are already 
questioning the possible outcome.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56587See report: 
See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56597


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