Source: ALJAZEERA
A South African school has been ordered to suspend allegedly racist hairstyle regulations after black pupils said they had been called monkeys by teachers for wearing banned "afros", and were forced to chemically straighten their hair.
Source: Global Voices
In the midst all the fuss over France’s now overturned ban on the wearing of “overtly religious clothing”, once again we are focusing on the wrong aspect of the story: the effect, not the cause. And I believe the “cause” goes beyond religion or culture. Nuances aside, it’s something that’s common across countries and cultures that has been going on for centuries.
Source: allAfrica
Tourism Deputy Minister Tokozile Xasa says women in leadership should continuously and actively agitate for the upliftment of women.
A wave of homegrown leaders, movements and activists is sweeping across the continent and bringing with it African solutions to Africa's LGBTI people. Their efforts and alliances have resulted in palpable change in legislation, court decisions, health policies and shifting public opinion across Africa. They need support.
Source: United Nations Population Fund
“Before I entered the safe space, I was shy, and it was difficult for me to express myself. I spent my free time after school with vulnerable girlfriends my age who had left school to marry, and some were even pregnant,” 16-year-old Amelia Abadala Salimo told UNFPA. “I felt afraid to become one of them.”
Source: allAfrica
It is time for women to trust and have confidence in female candidates who opt for election in their respective constituencies, to increase female participation in decision making processes, said Bintou Fatty-Joof, programme officer at Brikama Women's Bureau.
Source: Thomson Reuters
The government of Burkina Faso has banned an annual beauty contest for women with the biggest buttocks, saying such events are sexist.
Source: UNDP
Gender inequality is costing sub-Saharan Africa on average $US95 billion a year, peaking at US$105 billion in 2014– or six percent of the region’s GDP – jeopardizing the continent’s efforts for inclusive human development and economic growth, according to the Africa Human Development Report 2016: Advancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Africa, published today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
SOURCE.allAfrica
Nairobi — The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) on Thursday urged African governments to invest in girls in order to achieve sustainable development.UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Natalia Kanem told a population forum in the Kenyan capital Nairobi that investments in girls will result in significant economic returns for Africa.
SOURCE: allAfrica
Perched on top of a bicycle, she suddenly swerves off the road to avoid a speeding car. The heavy luggage on the bicycle forces her to lose balance, but with skills of a seasoned rider, she controls the bicycle with precision-as one foot firmly grips the tarmac.Along the flat terrain of Ruhuha Sector in Bugesera District (Eastern Province), women riding bicycles is a common scene. When I visited the area, I encountered hordes of bicycle-riding women carrying anything from food, charcoal, firewood and children among other things.
SOURCE: allAfrica
Bulawayo — According to parent associations, thousands of children have been thrown out of classes around the country for failing to pay tuition
Source: MiDNIMO
Somalia’s top political decision-making forum has been lauded for endorsing a 30 percent parliamentary quota for women in the forthcoming general elections.
Source: Nyasa Times
Malawi former president Joyce Banda, a campaigner for women and girls rights, on Tuesday was shown on Ben TV of London in a popular Pauline Long interview show which she said many professional women get discouraged from entering politics because of the treatment they get when they are trying to get into positions of power – the name-calling, the scandalisation and the smear campaigns.
Source: allAfrica
More than 250 marginalised women in Africa will later this year climb Mount Kilimanjaro to advocate women's rights towards accessing natural resources, an official said on Sunday.
Source: The Guardian
Ban Ki-moon argues ‘it’s high time now’ for female leadership of the United Nations as candidates including Helen Clark and Susana Malcorra vie for top job
Source: Al-Monitor
Tunisia’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs submitted to parliament in mid-July a new draft law on the elimination of violence against women. Article 2 of the draft law extends to “all forms of gender-based violence directed against women by any perpetrator, whatever form it takes, without discrimination on the basis of birth, color, race, religion, thought, age, nationality, socio-economic conditions, civil status, health, language or disability.”
Source: IPS
The process for arguably the top political job on the planet is well underway. And the time is right for a woman and a feminist to take the helm.
SOURCE: allAfrica
This week fact-checking ninjas, Africa Check revealed that it's not actually seven million girls who miss school every month because of the inaccessibility of feminine hygiene products. And while the actual number of girls who miss school because the price of pads and tampons is fewer than 7 million, the price of pads and tampons should still be treated as a public health emergency.
Source: Daily News
Last month, the High Court of Tanzania ruled that sections of the 1971 Marriage Act, which allowed girls to be married at an age as young as 14, were unconstitutional. TECMN Chairperson, Ms Valerie Msoka, said it was shocking that the biggest stakeholder would appeal the court decision against such changes.
Source: The Guardian
Tinalbaraka Amano has done well to adapt to life in the desert. Three years ago, the 16-year-old had her own room in a suburban house in Mali’s capital, Bamako. She had school friends with middle-class aspirations and Snapchat. At Mbera refugee camp in southern Mauritania, she sleeps in a tent with her parents. Before bed, she has to shake her sleeping mat for scorpions. The neighbours are mostly nomads who have never been online or in a classroom.