DISCUSSION PIECE ShutterStock Although relatively new, the discourse around Business and Human Rights (BHR) has become increasingly relevant in recent years. This is especially true due to the increasing amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into African countries, as well as the continued march of globalization. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNTAD) World Investment Report … Read More
Priscilla Thindwa
Priscilla Thindwa is a Content and Research Intern: Data Feminism at Data-Pop Alliance. She holds an MPhil in Justice and Transformation, a Bachelor of Social Science in International Relations, Political Studies and Social Development from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Priscilla’s expertise is in the area of women’s rights and the political and socio-economic institutions protecting these rights.
Prior to joining Data-Pop, Priscilla worked as a Programme Associate with Youth and Society where she conducted research and investigations into various human rights violations and provided assistance in project implementation. Prior to that, she worked at the Malawi Human Rights Commission conducting civil and political rights investigations, mediated conflicts and researched a range of human rights-related issues. Priscilla also interned with one of Africa’s top think tanks, the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). She was a visiting scholar for the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, and in that role she engaged in projects focused on the promotion of the rule of law and good governance in Africa. Priscilla is well-versed in the national, regional, and international systems and frameworks guiding human rights in Africa generally, and Malawi specifically.
As part of her women’s rights advocacy efforts, she served at Africa Unite where she facilitated human rights workshops on GBV in underprivileged high schools in Cape Town. She assisted in developing a gender-based violence workshop curriculum that gives young people a heightened understanding of gender, its power structures, and the ways these may lead to violence.
Her passion for women and girls’ rights goes beyond her research, but also her voluntary mentorship of young people in her surrounding communities. She continues to mentor and counsel young girls in the SOS Children’s Village (orphan care facility). She is passionate about agribusinesses and in her spare time, she works with women in remote areas of Malawi by helping them access capital and markets for their farm produce. She also serves as a board member of Carifika as the Director of Women’s Entrepreneurship and as the Director of Women’s Affairs and Gender Equality with the Movement of Advocacy Group in Southern Africa (MAGSA).