Young trio shine at Fair
WOMEN in developing countries, including South Africa, who are dependent on US health assistance, have been bearing the brunt of increasingly conservative US anti-abortion policies for the past two years.
So said local civil society organisations SECTION 27 and Sonke Gender Justice, who are concerned at the recent wave of anti-abortion laws made under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Trump’s signing of the Alabama Human Life Protection Act was a direct attack against advancing sexual and reproductive rights of women globally, the organisations said in a joint statement.
“The Alabama law is the most restrictive law passed in the US to date, as it only allows for a woman to access an abortion if her life would be in danger and does not provide for exceptions in instances of rape or incest.
“Under the law, doctors who perform abortions could be jailed for up to 99 years. There have been other similar laws passed in the US this year, including in Ohio and Georgia where a ‘fetal heartbeat’ law prohibits abortions after a heartbeat is detected in an embryo, as early as five to six weeks into pregnancy.”
The Alabama act was likely to be legally challenged by those who believe that it was inconsistent with the US Supreme Court’s decision Roe v Wade in 1973, which protects a woman’s right to abortion within the US, said SECTION 27 and Sonke Gender Justice.
In 2017, Trump reinstated the Protecting Life in Global Health Insurance Policy – also known as the “Global Gag Rule” – that requires foreign NGOs accepting US global health funding to agree that they will not perform or “actively promote” abortion as a method of family planning.
US funding goes toward HIV/Aids, malaria and family planning, with many South African NGOs dependent on US global health assistance for the provision of critical health services, particularly relating to HIV treatment and reproductive health.
“We continue to monitor the impact of the Global Gag Rule. We stand in solidarity with movements resisting the erosion of women’s rights to dignity and autonomy across the world and in particular our allies in the US during these times of oppression,” the NGOs said. THREE young scientists flew the South African flag, winning prizes at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Isef) in the US.
The event is the world’s largest and most prestigious high school science fair.
The Eskom Expo for Young Scientists said the big South African winner at the fair in Phoenix, Arizona was Hritik Mitha from Johannesburg’s Bryanston High School, who received the United States Agency for International Development second place award for innovation and development in the energy and water category.
Mitha won a cash prize of $3 000 (R43 000) for a project on increasing the overall energy-efficiency of solar panels by modifying standard solar panels to extract the thermal energy that would otherwise be dissipated as waste heat.
The project investigated whether a coil and magnets could generate electrical energy using wind, an efficient, renewable and free resource.
“I am happy that over a year of hard work, dedication and resilience to complete the project was recognised as worthy to win an award by an international society at Intel Isef.
“It was a dream come true, and the fact that I won this award, despite the hardships I faced in the past, including multiple failures, really made me proud of the resilience I maintained throughout my Eskom Expo for Young Scientists journey to get to Intel Isef,” said Mitha.
Other winners included Runè Edeling from Eunice High School in the Free State and Shaziyah Laher from Nizamiye Al Azhar Institute in the Eastern Cape.
Edeling won the fourth award of $500 in the physics and astronomy category for her project on using dimple technology to optimise the aerodynamics of heavy motor vehicles. Laher won the fourth award in chemistry for her project on organic, biodegradable alternatives to plastic.
Eskom Expo executive director Parthy Chetty said making it to the fair was a major achievement for the students. “Winning at Isef is about the best you can achieve on the international stage.”