ABANTU for Development, a gender and policy advocacy Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has called for the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill before the 2024 general elections to boost women’s representation in governance structures.
2024 Theme: Let’s act on our commitments: End Child Labour!
This year's World Day will focus on celebrating the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999, No. 182). It also presents an opportunity to remind all stakeholders to improve their implementation of the two fundamental Conventions on child labor - Convention No. 182 and Convention No. 138 concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment or Work (1973).
"I represented someone who had killed his wife over infidelity accusations and at that point, he said he had caught the wife red-handed. In a fit of rage, he started attacking the two. Still, the alleged lover escaped through a window and the woman was beaten to death," said Ms. Julian Mugova, a legal practitioner from Bulawayo, who has been dealing with cases involving Gender Based Violence (GBV).
When medical personnel in Africa’s most populous country flee overseas, there is a big problem. Who caters to Nigeria’s over 200 million population when less than half of registered doctors practise in the country and the larger percentage have migrated to greener pastures? Worse still, there is less investment in healthcare infrastructure. Who feels the brunt of the exodus more?
Ndey Rose Sarr, UNFPA country representative to The Gambia, has said that Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is a harmful and a human rights violation. She added that it is also a sexual rights violation and child rights violation that should not be allowed by The Gambia.
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON —
Chad’s female leaders and activists have strongly condemned what they say is their negligible representation in President Mahamat Idriss Deby's first civilian government after a three-year transition from military rule. The women voiced their concerns during a meeting in Chad's capital, N'djamena, on Monday.
On Friday, the Together Against Rape and Sexual Violence campaign launched an initiative to pressure the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to commit to prohibiting sexual violence in armed conflict. They are urging the parties to sign the “Instrument of Commitment to Prohibit Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict” to create a record of accountability and end impunity in Sudan.
Luanda — The role of women in the development of the country's oil sector was highlighted Tuesday in Luanda during a lecture on the "contribution of African women in the creation of new leadership."
SOURCE: UNFPA West and Central Africa
The inaugural National Forum on Gender Equality, "Agenda Igualdad," concluded successfully on May 11th, 2024, marking a significant milestone in the commitment to gender equality in Equatorial Guinea. The three-day forum, held in Djibloho, was chaired by her Excellency Mrs Manuela Roca Botey, the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea and organized by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Gender Equality with the support of the United Nations. The Vice President of the Parliament, several Ministers, representatives from the government, Parliament, Senate, civil society, UN Resident Coordinator and UN Representatives, Youth, women activists, and various social sectors participated, underlining the importance of a unified approach to achieving gender equality.
Monrovia — Famata Dean's Liberia Under 20 girls' team will face Guinea in their quest to return home from the West African Football Union U-20 tournament in Senegal with silverware.
YAOUNDE —
Cameroon is observing World Menstrual Hygiene Day (May 28) with caravans visiting schools and public spaces to educate people about social taboos that women should not be seen in public during their menstrual periods. Organizations are also donating menstrual kits to girls displaced by terrorism and political tensions in the central African state.
Lagos State Government has recorded an all-time high rate of domestic violence in the last year.
SOURCE: DABANGA SUDAN
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) reported today that several victims of gender-based violence (GBV) in Darfur have endured unwanted pregnancies due to inadequate access to medical attention. Harrowing testimonies by survivors shed new light on the realities of GBV at the hands of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan.
The online conversation surrounding women's participation in the labor force is heavily polarized, according to a new report by the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC).
Tanzania, in keeping with global political trends, reserves 30% of seats in parliament for women. These so-called special seats were introduced with multiparty politics in 1992, in response to the low numbers of women elected to positions of power.
ASAYITA, Afar Region, Ethiopia – Imagine being a midwife in a remote, fragile context, like the Afar region in Ethiopia. This hot low-land and desert-like area has been affected by conflict, driving up the headcount poverty rate to 30 percent. This has worsened food insecurity for Afar’s population, who mostly make a living as livestock farmers and are often dependent on government support. The conflict conditions have also damaged thousands of healthcare facilities in the northern part of the country.
DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti – “There are so many young girls who get pregnant and have hidden, illegal abortions. Young girls are forced into sex work, and many are forced to undergo female genital mutilation.”
Published in 1992, Daughters of Africa is a groundbreaking volume of writing by women of African descent. It was followed by an expanded second edition, New Daughters of Africa, in 2019. The mind behind the books is pioneering Ghanaian-born publisher, writer, and editor Margaret Busby. She became the first Black female publisher in the UK at 20 when she co-founded Allison and Busby in 1967. The company was the first to publish several significant writers during her two-decade tenure.
Make Every Woman Count (MEWC) is looking for RESEARCH FELLOWS!
Are you a self-directed, cause-driven individual with strong research and communication skills? Are you looking for an opportunity to work with a women's rights organisation? Are you looking for a challenging work experience? If you answered yes to these questions, then apply to be a volunteer Research Fellow with MEWC!
GOMA, DR CONGO —
In the eastern reaches of the Democratic Republic of Congo, women entrepreneurs in Goma continue to catch the eye of the business world, thanks to their creativity and resilience. Thirty-year-old Deborah Nzarubara is one of Central Africa’s pioneers of beekeeping, repeatedly recognized worldwide for the quality of her honey and its contribution to environmental preservation.