Source: News Deeply
Women are hugely under-represented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). UNESCO’s Women in Science report found that they account for only 29 percent of researchers worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa, this figure stands just slightly higher, at 30 percent.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Parents of some of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria three years ago hailed on Thursday their planned return to school in September, but said the families should be involved in the "healing process".
Ghana is set to have its second successive female Chief Justice with the appointment of Justice Sophia Akuffo, all but confirmed. Her nomination is to be officially announced by the President at a press briefing later today.
The role of the activist within Rwanda is extremely fraught as it involves balancing the desire and need to express oneself in order to build a better future for the country, while entering increasingly dangerous territory for even attempting to do so. Diane Rwigara’s bravery is a call to other activists within Rwandan to begin to assert themselves peacefully on their government, reminding it that they want to be heard, reminding it that they too are part of its developmental project.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has said the federal government has concluded plans to improve the standard of midwifery practices in the country. This is coming as a Nollywood actor and producer, Jim Iyke, was unveiled as the Special Envoy/Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child health. Adewole made this known yesterday during the commemoration of the 2017 International Day of the Midwife (IDM) in Abuja.
Author: Alice Mapenzi Kubo
Sources: Pambazuka News and African Studies Centre Leiden
When Ghana attempted to restructure the women-dominated shea industry in line with foreign imposed structural adjustment programmes, the women protested. Since then, technological assistance and other initiatives by the government in collaboration with various knowledge institutions have enabled women shea producers to expand their professional knowledge and networks, and introduced them to new markets.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
At midday in Abimbo village on the Kenyan shore of Lake Victoria, 32-year-old Rachel Atieno is busy spreading out her silver cyprinid fish to dry in the sun. Atieno, a mother of five, has sold the fish since her husband died 10 years ago leaving her to support her family. With no other income, she was left with no option but to trade sex with the fishermen for a share of their catch. Sex-for-fish, known locally as "jaboya", is common practice in Abimbo village in western Kenya's Siaya County and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
The Makerere University academic Dr Stella Nyanzi has been released on bail after a four weeks behind bars. The don is facing cybercrime related charges. The Buganda Road Court on Wednesday granted Dr Nyanzi a non-cash bail of $2,857 (Ush10 million), with sureties of similar amount. She is accused of cyber harassment after allegedly referring to President Yoweri Museveni as a "pair of buttocks" on her Facebook post.
For most of her life, Saida Soukat’s days were filled with the routines of the farm, working the fields and minding the cattle. A recent Tuesday found her doing something far different, though, speaking before a group of women during their biweekly protests to demand a halt in the state-sanctioned privatization of traditional tribal collectives, called the Sulaliyyate lands.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Some of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted three years ago by Islamist Boko Haram militants refused to be part of a group of 82 girls freed at the weekend, a mediator involved in the release said on Monday.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Kenya will double maternity leave to six months from three if a bill before parliament is passed in a bid to boost the health of mothers and babies.
As the sun’s morning rays stretch across the sky, a long line of women carrying bundles of firewood on their heads walks past the Sipepa Rural Hospital in remote western Zimbabwe. They proceed to the hospital’s backyard where close to 900 villagers have lived in tents since their homes were destroyed by flooding after a tropical storm, Dineo, hit in February.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Boko Haram militants have released 82 schoolgirls out of a group of more than 200 whom they kidnapped from the northeastern town of Chibok three years ago in exchange for prisoners, the presidency said on Saturday.
Women in Zimbabwe have few political role models. Former vice-president Joice Runaida Mujuru made history in 2004 when she became the first – and so far the only – woman to join the country’s presidium, a standing executive committee. Today, out of 26 government ministers, only four are women.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
In the small maternity ward of a run-down health clinic in Delft, a half hour drive from Cape Town, the wooden benches in the waiting area are filled with young women and girls from the poor surrounding townships.
Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Women's Wing has expressed gratitude at government's decision to sign the SADC Gender Protocol following the review.
Uganda and Tanzania trail behind the rest of the East African countries on the score card sheet when it comes to the implementation of gender policies and law, a new study reveals. The report titled: "The EAC Pilot Gender Barometer and Challenges in Information Gap" score card is largely based on how citizens perceive governments in terms of existence of laws and policies and their effective implementation.
Members of Parliament and human rights activists have asked government to enforce the laws in the mining sector to protect the right of women in the sector. The MPs and other stakeholders said women in the minerals sector face a lot of challenges, which need to be addressed
As part of the World Economic Forum on Africa 2017, we're recognizing six entrepreneurs who demonstrate the positive role women are playing in creating opportunities and preparing the region for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Diane Shima Rwigara on Wednesday declared her interest to run for the Rwandan presidency, becoming the first female independent candidate. In her manifesto, the 35-year-old said she will work to eradicate poverty, champion free speech, and provide health insurance for all Rwandans.