Source: France 24/7 International News
For the past three years, Frenchwoman Laurence Fischer, a three-time world karate champion, has travelled to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo to help female victims of rape. Alongside the renowned surgeon Dr. Mukwege, the top athlete teaches these traumatised women self-defence and tries to help them regain self-confidence and rebuild their lives.
Source: IPS
Elizabeth Ayumpou Balang is a teacher at a nursery and primary school in Rumbek, a town in central South Sudan. It is her dream job, but it did not come easily. Like many girls in South Sudan, Ms. Balang was married, and became a mother, while just a teenager.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Buoyed by record gains in last month’s elections, Kenyan activists say they hope the nation’s top court will enforce women’s right to better political representation, following a surprise decision to nullify the presidential election.
For Kebela Gure, 30-year-old mother of five from the Adamitulu District in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, a good education for her children and an improved family income were the priorities. Today, she is on her way to accomplishing both these goals. She lives with her family in the village of Anano Sheso, where her children can access elementary school. What’s more, she has already purchased materials to build her dream home in the nearby town, where her children can continue their education in high school and beyond.
“We need peace. We are tired of conflicts. So many innocent people have died and we have to stop the violence. That is why I contribute to peace-making”, says Hadiza Adam, a 38-year-old woman from Angwan Rogo community in Jos North, located in the northern Nigerian state of Plateau. At least 4,000 people have been killed in the recurring communal violence in the Plateau State since 2001. The predominantly Muslim community of Angwan Rogo, 2.1km (1.3 miles) from the state capital, Jos, was one of the hardest hit areas. The ethno-religious crisis was precipitated by political and economic rivalry, and disputes among indigenous and non-indigenous groups. Tensions continue to simmer over land rights, allocation of state resources, as well as politics and religious differences, among other issues.
Salamatu Umar, who was force d to marry a Boko Haram fighter, holds son Usman Abubakar. Salamatu Umar was abducted by Boko Haram in 2014, when she was just 15. She and five other girls were herded in the bush. She was forced to marry a Boko Haram fighter. She and another girl eventually escaped, running away while they were collecting firewood for cooking. Umar was pregnant at the time.
For Esenam Amuzu’s peers in Ghana, teen pregnancy, gender-based violence and risky sexual behavior are often the norm. On World Population Day, she explains how sex education and access to contraception can turn girls’ lives around.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Egypt is the most populous in the Arab world with 93 mln citizens and is set to grow to 128 mln by 2030.
Source: Life for African Mothers
According to the World Health Organisation, approximately 800 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, with 99% of all maternal deaths occurring in developing countries. These figures, while having improved drastically in recent years, suggest an urgent need for maternal care in these countries to address this shocking mortality rate.
Source: UN Women
The 2030 Agenda aspires to peaceful, just, inclusive societies to underpin sustained development.
Source: United Nations University
African women have always been active in agriculture, trade, and other economic pursuits, but a majority of them are in the informal labour force. In 1985, women's shares in African labour forces ranged from 17 per cent, in Mali, to 49 per cent in Mozambique and Tanzania (World Bank, 1989).
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa
Addis Ababa, 24th August, 2017: The 4th Acting On The Call (AOTC) conference started on the 24th August 2017 at the African Union, Addis Ababa Ethiopia with a theme “Overcoming Critical Barriers to Maternal and Child Survival”. The AOTC conference which is hosted by the governments of Ethiopia and India gathered more than 500 participants from 24 countries and held in the presence of the President of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, Ministers and high level policymakers from the public and private sectors, NGOs and UN agencies including UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA and WHO.
FGM is usually motivated by cultural or religious belief systems, and is more common in some regions of Africa.
Source: Online Africa Renewal
A decade ago, African women had reason to expect change following a much-heralded global conference that set ambitious targets to transform the lives of women across the world. This year marks the 10th anniversary of that milestone event, the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China, in 1995. Like their counterparts elsewhere, African women are taking stock of progress and asking to what extent promised reforms have been implemented. They are also examining why progress has been limited in many countries and are seeking ways to overcome the obstacles.
Source: Our Africa
Status of women
Women have fought to achieve equal rights in many parts of Africa. But as in other regions of the globe, a woman’s status varies by country and region.
Several organizations working in Africa have found the most effective way to stop the practice of female genital cutting is to avoid assigning blame and help communities tackle the practice from within.
Vaginal microbicides are meant to give women autonomy over how they protect themselves against HIV. But a recent study set in Zambia shows that social ideas of masculinity mean men get to dictate how and when women use microbicides.
Uganda has made progress on HIV/AIDS, but activists say discrimination is still rampant. Now, two women who say they were fired after forced testing revealed them to be HIV positive are fighting back.
With a higher proportion of women in Parliament than any other country, Rwanda seems to be a model of equal representation and empowerment. But politicians and rights campaigners say the nation’s women still struggle to be heard.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
FGM is still taking place because it is a big source of income for the cutters. We want to see more ngaribas dropping their knives.