Embracing Partnership for Social Transformation and the Realization of Human Rights: A Pathway to Ending Female Genital Mutilation, Marginalization of Women in Political Leadership, and Other Harmful Practices Amongst the Abagusii of Kenya

  Utilizing the Abagusii community of Southwestern Kenya as a case study, the author explores how patriarchy, a social system that is embedded in a domination social configuration (Eisler, 2007), is fertile ground for several practices which violate girls’ and women’s human rights. These practices range from female genital mutilation to the marginalization of women from participating in more meaningful political leadership and decision-making processes. The author argues that cultural transformation, one of the foundational concepts of her dissertation’s research-based, transformative change leadership development framework “Bold Leadership for Humanity in Practice (BLHP)” (Abuya, 2017), can be an antidote to the prevalent culture of domination in Gusiiland, a culture which perpetuates several practices that violate girls’ and women’s human rights. The author concludes that social change agents and leaders can help foster a culture of partnership, by facilitating a shift in deeply-held cultural assumptions through transformative learning, subsequent transformative change, and cultural transformation for the realization of women’s human rights in Gusiiland. &nbsp

Conspiracy to Raid the Revenue Authority with Special Emphasis on Tax Avoidance Under the South African Legal Regime

"[I]f a taxpayer, acting on ingenious advice succeeds in avoiding the payment of tax which other taxpayers, who do not have access to such ingenious advice, pay . . . and in the result Fiscus loses tax, it is not customary for the courts to shed any tears on behalf of it; the taxpayer has done what he was entitled to do, and that is the end of the matter. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander" "If the person sought to be taxed comes within the letter of the letter of the law he must be taxed however hard the hardship may appear to the judicial mind to be. On the other hand if the Crown, seeking to recover the tax, cannot bring the subject within the letter of the law, [he] is free however apparently within the law the case might appear to be" In any tax planning strategy, the best option is to receive an amount [that] does not attract any tax at all "[H]onesty in regard to tax matters is often something different and ... less than the rest of our lives

PARIWISATA; ANTARA TUNTUTAN INDUSTRI DAN KEARIFAN LOKAL

    Abuya Busro Karim (Penulis, Bupati Sumenep periode 2010-2015. e-mail: [email protected])     Abstract This simple article reflects the condition of tourism in Madura, particularly in Sumenep region. The fact describes that it has not been easy to  develop tourism place as it demonstratess in Bali. Toursim development must be natural (sunnatullah), however it finds any handicaps that needs wise response. Madurese tourism development must consider the following: Islam as the major religion of Madurese and the human resource. Hence, tourism must protect the local people become the victim of tourism industry. A good tourism industry is not only economic oriented but also it must gives substantial challenge to Islamic and Madures culture to take role in tourism industry. Kata-kata kunci pariwisata, budaya, Madura, Sumene

Past Reflections, Future Insights: African Asylum Law and Policy in Historical Perspective

This article argues that an understanding of the evolution of asylum is an essential ingredient in the search for ideas and perspectives to the plight facing forced migrants. Using Kenya as a case study, the paper evaluates the extent to which procedures used to determine claims for asylum, protection outcomes and entitlements met international human rights and refugee law standards. It is contended that limited resources, porous boundaries and the mass movement of asylum seekers have compromised the level of protection offered to those who seek surrogate protection in African states like Kenya. In conclusion, critics in the area of asylum are challenged to undertake historical studies, as a way towards offering best practise lessons for those involved in the protection of persons forced to flee their home states

Past Reflections, Future Insights: African Asylum Law and Policy in Historical Perspective

This article argues that an understanding of the evolution of asylum is an essential ingredient in the search for ideas and perspectives to the plight facing forced migrants. Using Kenya as a case study, the paper evaluates the extent to which procedures used to determine claims for asylum, protection outcomes and entitlements met international human rights and refugee law standards. It is contended that limited resources, porous boundaries and the mass movement of asylum seekers have compromised the level of protection offered to those who seek surrogate protection in African states like Kenya. In conclusion, critics in the area of asylum are challenged to undertake historical studies, as a way towards offering best practise lessons for those involved in the protection of persons forced to flee their home states

A review of the role of civil society in advocacy and lobbying for enforcement of health policy in Kenya

Abstract Advocacy and lobbying are more taking an ever more central place in health agendas of African countries. It is impossible to have a conversation about public policy these days without someone mentioning ‘civil society’. Unfortunately, clarity and rigor are conspicuously absent within civil society. Advocacy and lobbying for enforcement of health policy is called for because of civil society’s tendency to concentrate on commercial interests rather than health equity. A States’ first duty towards citizens is to respect the right to health by refraining from adopting laws or measures that directly impinge on people’s health. There is evidence from the literature of civil society organization (CSO) intervention in support of primary health care, equity in health and state health services. Our desk review yields 38 online documents. Information obtained from the desk review is analyzed vis a vis interviews from visits to three selected key informants who are a government official involved in health policy formulation at the ministry of health and two civil society organizations officials from the health NGO network. Key themes emerging from our consultations are discussed during the 27Th annual scientific conference hosted by the Tanzania Public health association at St. Gasper conference centre, Dodoma, Tanzania 2-6th November 2009. From a PowerPoint “oral” presentation participant’s queries are input. Based on our interpolation of the civil society consensus articulated at the Tanzania Conference we establish that the centrality of a right to health framework is an important basis for policy. Our interviews establish that countries should ensure that public health principles and priorities are clear and legally binding; countries should have a clear coordinating mechanism on issues of trade and health that involve government, particularly health ministries and civil society. Civil society needs to disseminate health and trade information in assessable ways. Challenges faced by lobbyists are foreign funding for capacity building initiatives and availability of technical expertise to inform the policy making process adequately.Keywords: Advocacy; representation; lobbying; HENNET, policyRésumé Le plaidoyer et le lobbying prennent de plus en plus une place importante dans les programmes de santé des pays africains. Il est devenu quasiment impossible de tenir une conversation sur la politique publique sans que quelqu’un ne parle de “société civile”. Malheureusement, il manque de la clarté et de la rigueur dans la notion de société civile. Le plaidoyer et le lobbying dans le renforcement des politiques de santé est nécessaire à cause de la tendance de la société civile à se concentrer sur les intérêts commerciaux plutôt que l’éthique en santé. Le premier devoir des États envers les citoyens, est de respecter le droit à la santé en s'abstenant d'adopter des lois ou des mesures qui pourraient toucher directement la santé des individus. IL existe des preuves de la littérature des organisations de la société civile (OSC) des interventions en faveur des soins de santé primaires, l'équité dans la santé et les services de santé d’état. Notre étude théorique a fait la revue de 38 documents en ligne. Les informations obtenues de la revue ont été analyses et ont servi à faire des entretiens individuels avec trois informateurs-clés que sont un fonctionnaire du gouvernement impliqué dans la formulation de politiques au niveau du ministère de la santé, et deux membres des organisations de la société civile et du réseau des ONG de santé. Les principaux thèmes émergents de nos entretiens ont été discutés lors de la 27ième conférence scientifique annuelle de l’association tanzanienne de santé publique tenue du 2-6 Novembre 2009 au centre de conférence St Gasper à Dodoma en Tanzanie. Après une présentation “orale” par power point, les contributions des participants ont été prises en compte. Sur la base de notre interpellation au consensus de la société civile définie à la Conférence de Tanzanie, nous montrons que la centralité du droit à un cadre de santé est une base importante pour la politique. Nos entretiens permettent d’établir que les pays devraient s'assurer que les principes et les priorités de la santé publique sont clairs et juridiquement contraignantes; les pays devraient avoir un mécanisme clair de coordination sur les questions du commerce et de la santé qui impliquent le gouvernement, en particulier les ministères de la santé et la société civile. La société civile a besoin de diffuser l'information sanitaire et commerciale de façon évaluable. Les difficultés rencontrées par les lobbyistes sont les fonds étrangers pour des initiatives de renforcement des capacités et la disponibilité des compétences techniques afin d'informer le processus décisionnel de manière adéquate.Mots clés: Plaidoyer, Représentation, Lobbying, HENNET, Politiqu

The Pain of Love: Spousal Immigration and Domestic Violence in Australia—A Regime in Chaos?

A fundamental step that the 1994 Australian Migration Regulations developed into the immigration framework was to grant certain concessions to non-Australian spouses and interdependent partners who suffer domestic violence at the hands of their Australian counterparts. Victims of domestic violence are eligible to apply for permanent residence notwithstanding the otherwise applicable two-year waiting period. To understand the domestic violence exception, this Article explores the jurisprudence that has emerged from courts and other immigration tribunals. The Article proposes that further legislative and policy changes should be made in order to seal identified gaps, and to provide clear guidance to interested parties, judges and tribunal members who hear such matters

A Comparative Analysis of Malaria Control Programmes Targeting Delivery of Over-the counter Antimalarial Drugs in Kenya

Background: The retail sector is an important channel for increasing access to adequate treatment of fevers in Africa. The objectives of the thesis were to assess the performance of three malaria control programmes targeting private medicine retailers (PMRs) by addressing coverage, utilisation, impact on PMRs' knowledge, practices and implementation processes in Kisii central, Kwale and Bungoma districts of Kenya. Methods: The thesis used mixed methods including retail audits, surrogate client surveys based on post intervention cross sectional surveys in intervention and controls and mapping of outlets in intervention areas. Qualitative methods including record reviews, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with programme stakeholders were analysed using thematic framework and policy analysis. Results: There was a significant impact on PMR knowledge and practice of an NGO-led participatory training programme in Kisii-central district with 60.5% of trained PMRs selling AQ medicines adequately compared to 2.8% in the untrained ones (OR; 53.5: 95% CI 6.7, 428.3). There was some evidence of a limited impact for the MoH-led participatory training programme in the Kwale district, where 18.8% of trained PMRs sold AQ medicines adequately compared to 2.3% of control PMRs (OR; 9.4: 95% CI 1.1, 83.7). This study was unable to show evidence of impact in the social marketing programme in Bungoma district. In terms of coverage, Kisii central covered 27.1% of all outlets in the study sites, compared to 14.1% and 16.7% in Kwale and Bungoma districts, respectively. Policy analysis indicated that, deliberate and careful management of the implementation process, actors involved and establishing a transparent management system with a flexible decision-making processes, is key to successful uptake and impact at retailer level. Conclusions: PMR interventions operationalised through various institutions in the district level settings at moderate scale are likely to impact on PMR knowledge and practices and lead to increased coverage of appropriate treatment to target populations. Implementation management play a major role in determining programme impact, and should be areas of focus in planning and managing public health programmes