Day: December 4, 2024

More African Female Surgeons Graduate under COSECSA

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa At the 2024 graduation ceremony of the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA), held in Harare, Zimbabwe, 33% of the graduates were female. This milestone highlights the institution’s ongoing efforts to improve gender inclusivity in surgical training. During the 2023-2024 academic year, COSECSA experienced a 22.7% increase in trainee enrollment, with female enrollment rising by 4%, from 23% to 27%. Remarkably, during the exams held in Harare ahead of the COSECSA conference, women accounted for 33% of candidates. A total of 152 students…

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Financial hardships driving varsity students into semester marriages

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere Financial hardships are driving tertiary students into exploitative relationships known as “semester marriages.” These arrangements, described by students, involve male students acting as husbands and providing for female students, who, in turn, perform the duties of a wife. The “marriage” typically lasts for one academic semester. This issue came to light during a Safer Campus Campaign Dialogue on Gender-Based Violence, organized by the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Africa Trust (SAT) in partnership with Full of Life Trust (FOLIT) at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe on Wednesday.…

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