Combatting Violence Against Women in Southern Africa

Marianne Mollmann is the advocacy director for Human Rights Watch's Women's Rights Division. Mollmann specializes in reproductive rights, women in conflict, economic rights, and general women's rights issues.

Formerly an Americas researcher on women's rights at Human Rights Watch, Mollmann moved to Human Rights Watch from Peru, where she worked with Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristan and other local NGOs. Mollmann is the former co-coordinator of the Women's Working Group of the International Network for Economic Social and Cultural Rights, and the former executive director of the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala. She holds an LLM in international human rights law from Essex University and speaks fluent Spanish, French, and Danish.

Kelli Muddell is a gender specialist with the International Center for Transitional Justice. She has been with ICTJ since it opened its doors in March 2001. In addition to focusing on gender issues, she has also worked on ICTJ's Sierra Leone country program.

Muddell is currently conducting the first study to be done in the field on how transitional justice mechanisms have addressed, or failed to address, the targeting of sexual minorities during periods of conflict. Prior to joining ICTJ, Muddell interned in the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, and was a contributing writer for its World Report 2000. She has an MA in international political economy and development with a concentration in development studies from Fordham University.

Bukeni Waruzi is program coordinator for Africa and the Middle East at WITNESS.

Kudakwashe Chitsike is a Zimbabwean women's rights activist, lawyer, and the program manager with the Research Advocacy Unit (Zimbabwe), where she documents human rights violations against women, specifically analyzing the political violations and their socioeconomic effects. Prior to joining RAU in 2006, she worked for nine years in the NGO sector, in different capacities on human rights, democracy, and governance issues in Zimbabwe.

Zaynab Nawaz joined the International Women’s Program as the program officer for Asia & Latin America in December 2008. Prior to joining the Open Society Institute, Nawaz was a senior campaigner with Amnesty International, where she coordinated the international “Stop Violence Against Women” campaign from New York and led lobbying efforts on women’s human rights issues in Washington, D.C.

Nawaz has over a decade of experience in women’s human rights advocacy and has facilitated trainings with volunteer leaders and worked closely with women’s human rights defenders. She has participated in research missions to interview domestic violence survivors in Turkey and most recently worked with Native American and Alaska Native survivors of sexual assault.

Nawaz holds a BA in international relations from the College of William & Mary, an MA in international studies & diplomacy from the University of London and a certificate in international legal systems from the Institute of Human Rights (The Hague, Netherlands).