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MEDIA CENTER Gender, Culture and Rights in South Africa NEW YORK and JOHANNESBURG (28 January 2005) — The Population Council will co-host Gender, Culture, and Human Rights, a conference to be held from Tuesday, 1 February to Thursday, 3 February. The Johannesburg-based event will convene researchers, government officials, and leaders from nongovernmental organizations to address practical, current issues that impede gender equity. Topics being discussed include gender, health, law, religion, and violence. After an overview of gender and culture in post-apartheid South Africa, participants will address legal challenges to realizing rights, including a dialogue about the enforcement of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act. Religious beliefs—both traditional and modern—and their impact on gender is another agenda item; speakers at one session will present the opportunities and challenges embedded in faiths ranging from Islam to African Religion Womanist Theology. University professors will then join government representatives in an exchange about masculinity, men’s roles, and the possibilities for positive engagement between men and women. The Population Council’s Dr. Saiqa Mullick will discuss male involvement and reproductive health service delivery issues. Violence is a prominent item on the meeting schedule, with attendees presenting ideas, experiences, and perspectives on many facets of gender-based violence. Dr. Jane Chege, also from the Council, will discuss findings from her research on gender relations, violence, and reproductive health. The final session will include roundtable discussions to develop ideas to confront and overcome the problems discussed during the conference. In addition to providing opportunities for interaction and awareness raising, the organizers of Gender, Culture and Rights designed the conference to foster collaborations, develop creative solutions to gender inequity, promote a cultural climate conducive to gender rights, and positively inform governmental and nongovernmental policy and practice. The meeting is a joint effort of the Population Council, the Foundation for Human Rights, the Human Sciences Research Council, the Commission on Gender Equality, and EngenderHealth.
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