The year 2003 was one of great success for Equality Now in achieving various campaign objectives. After seven years of sustained advocacy, the New York-based sex tourism company Big Apple Oriental Tours was finally shut down. Legislation to give women property rights was passed in Uganda, and in Ethiopia, justice was served when a man who abducted and raped a 13-year-old girl was finally convicted of these crimes together with his gang of accomplices. The Africa Regional Office of Equality Now convened a coalition of African women’s organizations, which undertook an intensive advocacy campaign for the new Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. Adopted by the African Union in July, the Protocol recognizes a woman’s right to abortion, calls on states to prohibit the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) by law, and proscribes the abuse of women in advertising and pornography. These important advances were the result of collective action by women and men determined to improve the lives of their children and future generations.
