Source: News24
A 15-year-old girl is undergoing treatment at the Nairobi Women's Hospital in Kenya after she was forcibly circumcised and raped by her brother and father's friend.
The hospital, however, declined to give further details about the girl.
According to the Daily Nation, the east African country's youth and gender affairs cabinet secretary Sicily Kariuki, who visited the victim on Wednesday, condemned the incident and called for the culprits to be brought to book.
Cases of sexual and gender-based violence have been on the rise in the country, with Capital FM reporting that women are the most affected group.
The most prevalent forms of sexual and gender-based violence include rape and attempted rape, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, forced and early marriage, domestic violence, marital rape, trafficking and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
According to statistics, FGM affects up to 3 million girls a year, despite government’s effort to eradicate the practice.
Reports also indicate that girls below the age of 14 are likely to undergo the cut if the mother was circumcised.
Source: The Daily Caller
The Egyptian parliament is drafting new legislation that would ban Islamic burkas and veils for women in public areas and government buildings.
Amna Nosseir, a female Egyptian member of parliament (MP) and a professor of comparative jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, called for the ban, arguing that contrary to popular belief, the wearing of burkas and veils is not required by Islam — in fact, she said it’s inherently un-Islamic to do so.
“How did Islam impose the niqab [veil] if Muslims are asked in the Quran to lower their gaze?” said Nosseir to the Egypt Independent. She then quoted the Koran to defend her claim: “Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.”
Nosseir said that in reality, the tradition of women wearing clothing that covers the face is of ancient Jewish origin that existed in the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula.
“In the Talmud, if a woman leaves her house without her head and face covered, she is breaking Jewish religious law,” she explained.
Nosseir claimed that the Koran only calls for Muslim women to dress modestly, which does not necessarily mean wearing clothing the covers the entire face. Of course, there are some who disagree with her interpretation.
“Communities are destroyed wherever immorailty spreads,” said Fouad Abdel-Moneim, a colleague of Nosseir’s who also teaches at Al-Azhar University. He claimed during a telephone interview with Al-Assema news channel that all Sharia scholars agree that the veil is required by Islam. Abdel-Moneim instead thinks laws should be passed barring women from wearing clothes deemed too revealing.
“Ban nudity instead of banning the niqab,” said Abdel-Moneim.
Egypt has enforced several regulations limiting the use of veils before. Cairo University banned nurses and medical professionals from wearing veil in the school’s affiliated hospitals in February of this year, and academic staff were prohibited from wearing it in September 2015.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak started an entire government campaign in 2009 attempting to completely remove the veil from Egyptian society.
Source: The Telegraph
A rape charge filed against one of Nelson Mandela’s grandsons has been provisionally withdrawn after prosecutors said they needed to look at new evidence that had emerged.
Mbuso Mandela, 25, the son of Mr Mandela’s son Makgatho, was due to stand trial on Wednesday accused of raping a 15-year-old girl in a trendy Johannesburg pub last year.
The woman claimed he forcefully kissed her, put his hands in her underwear and then raped her in an alleyway outside Mamma’s pub in Greenside on August 7. She said she had screamed for help throughout.
After several hearings in the case last year, South Africa’s national prosecuting authority said it had decided to withdraw the case for now as they were investigating new evidence.
"We have now obtained new information that requires further investigation," Phindi Louw, a prosecution spokeswoman, said.
"The charge could be reinstated at a later stage, pending our investigation," she said.
Meanwhile the 15-year-old complainant was, she said, "seeking mechanisms to cope with the trial".
A prosecution source told a Sunday newspaper shortly after the incident that the alleged victim told police she had been in a relationship with Mr Mandela but later told him she only wanted a platonic relationship and he "had refused to accept this".
Mr Mandela was arrested in August 2015, and spent 10 days in custody before being freed on bail. He had appealed in an affidavit submitted to the court not to be tried “as a Mandela but as a normal person”.
The large extended family of the anti-apartheid activist who became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 has been in the headlines repeatedly over the years for legal woes over money, property disputes and assault.
Mbuso Mandela’s lawyer argued in a previous hearing that the sex was consensual and that the girl had posted her age on social media as 16, meaning she was over the age of consent.
Prosecutors produced the girl’s birth certificate showing that she was 15 but the accused’s lawyer argued that the name on the certificate differed from the names under which she laid the charge against him.
He also produced an affidavit from a chef working at the pub who said he saw the pair kissing before the alleged rape took place.
Makgatho Mandela was Nelson Mandela’s son with his first wife Evelyn. He worked as a lawyer and died of Aids in January 2005.
Source: CNN
Women in Africa spend 40 billion hours a year walking to get water, according to the United Nations.
The practice dates back generations, can be extremely dangerous and prevents communities from reaching any sort of gender parity
A world away, on her farm in Iowa, singer/songwriter Lissie is trying to do something about it.
"I grew up in America. My life's been way different," Lissie told CNN's Isha Sesay.
"I'm no expert on politics. It's just a gut instinct. It's my humanity, and I really care a lot about what's happening to people. ... I feel that we have to talk about it, and we have to stop it. I think women, when we're equal, whether it's our pay or being able to control our own bodies or little girls not being sold into marriages, then we're going to bring peace to this world, because we're going to stick up for ourselves."
The latest single off Lissie's new album, "My Wild West," is called "Daughters" -- an anthem for female empowerment.
The track was inspired by the documentary "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," which chronicles the peaceful, women-led movement that resulted in the end of Liberia's civil war in 2003 and the election of the country's first female president.
The seeds of success: Agricultural start-ups in Africa
In that spirit of positive change, Lissie has partnered with a nonprofit called charity: water. The group says it has helped 5.6 million people around the world by providing clean, convenient and sustainable access to water. Through March 15, 100% of the proceeds from "Daughters" will go to charity: water and directly to people in need.
"By bringing in wells and monitoring them, it empowers women," Lissie says. "It gives them a position of leadership. It gives them time to get educated. There's a lot of statistics that show that if women are brought into the economy, we'd be able to end poverty in Third World countries much sooner."
Indeed, a recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development study found that an increase in female labor force participation -- or a reduction in the gap between women's and men's labor force participation -- results in faster economic growth.
Source: The Citizen
In the past 20 to 30 years, African governments and a number of organisations have made substantial commitments towards creating gender equality and have put in place laws and policies in support of this.
Source: CIO East Africa
More than 120 leaders and influencers in business, politics, technology, media, philanthropy, fashion and entertainment will be participating in the first annual Leading Women Summit presented by MTN Business in association with Forbes Woman Africa, which will be held in Johannesburg on March 10, 2016.
Source: The Herald
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe, in partnership with UN Women and Zimbabwe German Society, is hosting a conference on "Women and Migration" in celebration of the International Women's Day.
Source: The Monitor
Kampala — Women's Day was quite a special one for many females in the fabric of Ugandan sport.
Source: The New Times
Access to finance is still an impediment to realising women's financial freedom, women activists have said.
Source: CNBC Africa
Women in Africa are creating opportunities for themselves and giving back to communities and that is what makes women entrepreneurs in Africa different, says Melanie Hawken, Founder of Lionesses of Africa.
Source: Angola Press
Luanda - Angolan women have not yet reached 50 percent in the decision-making bodies, as established by Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Source: The Southern Times
Every day, rural women in Zimbabwe play a critical role in ensuring agricultural productivity and food security in the country. These women, notes a policy brief produced in September by Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST), titled "Gender and Food Security in Zimbabwe", also provide 70 percent of the labour in the agricultural sector.
Source: All Africa
Rwanda ranks sixth in closing gender gaps in the world, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2015.
Source: all Africa
On 18 November 2015, UNAMID Gender Advisory Unit (GAU) in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund and Darfur states Security Council Resolution (SCR) 1325 committees, organized an open day to mark the 15th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Source: ItNewsAfrica
The digital divide between men and women can only be overcome if all interested parties adopt a multilateral approach – one that starts with digital literacy and focuses on making tech relevant to women and girls.
Source: All Africa
The assistant director at the Women's Bureau asserted the Gambia's commitment to end violence against women and girls. This, as he said is evident by the ratification of a number of important instruments with the provision concerning violence against women and girls.
Source: All Africa
Each year, the world observes the Sixteen Days of Activism from 25 November, International Day of Violence Against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day.
Source: All Africa
Msumarini, Kenya — In this rural village in Kilifi County, on Kenya's east coast, a group of women run a thriving bakery. On a good day, they make dozens of large cakes and over 100 cupcakes.
Source: all Africa
There is nothing glamorous about sanitation. Talking about faecal sludge can be something of a conversation stopper. The initial response to mentioning World Toilet Day is often a smile.
SOURCE:Â The Point
Safe Hand for Girls, an organisation for the rights of girls, in collaboration with UK-based newspaper the Guardian, on Monday started a weeklong seminar geared towards ending the perennial practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).