Source: The Star
PREGNANT women in Kiambu and Nairobi have asked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to save them from queues during the March 4 elections.
Source: The Observer (Kampala)
We have all known pregnancy to be a fountain of joy in marriage, but this is not true at school.
Source: The New York Times
At the funeral this month of Chokri Belaid, the murdered secular opposition leader in Tunisia, his widow Basma Khalfaoui, a prominent feminist, stood on the ambulance carrying his casket, her head uncovered, raising her arm to wave a defiant victory sign.
Source: Heritage
A university in Belgium, KU Leuven University, will just under two days' time inaugurate a scholarship foundation in honor of Liberian Nobel Laureate Leymah Roberta Gbowee, the Heritage has reliably learnt. The KU Leuven University, at a symposium on female leadership and sustainable development to be hosted at the university, will on Thursday, 21 February 2013 inaugurate the Leymah Gbowee Scholarship Fund for Leadership for African Women.
Source: The New Times
Effective mechanisms are needed to prevent child pregnancies that threaten the Girl Child education in the country, the chairperson of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (Fawe), Rhona Nyakurama, has said.
Source: Doctors Without Borders
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is marking the 1,000th operation to correct obstetric fistula in Gitega, Burundi, but is concerned about the future of its project.
Source: The Elders
From the women peace-builders telling senior African Union officials “enough is enough” to the activists demanding justice for victims of sexual violence: Mary Robinson blogs about the inspiring women she met during her recent visit to Addis Ababa.
Source: The New Republic
The 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries movements against detestable actions against women or gender-based violence has now reached a new acme, with the pledge of commitment to a document that puts a restrain on all forms of violence endure by women.
Originated from the United Nations and signed unto by several countries through their presidents, Liberia yesterday seized the moment which seeks to restore the dignity of women and make them whole once again. The New Republic witnessed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf appending her signature to the document co-named "Commit" at a ceremony attended by Gender Minister Julia Duncan Cassell and UN Women Representative Sheelagh Kathy Mangones.
Liberia yesterday made history by becoming the 20th nation that signed "Say No to Violence against Women" document, thereby committing itself to abrogating the intolerably intractable perpetration of despicable actions against women.
Committing Liberia to such unprecedentedly monumental initiative was a huge elation for President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who said she was touched by ongoing efforts aimed at addressing gender-base violence in the country.
At a very compendious ceremony at the Foreign Ministry before affixing her signature to the document, the President, sandwiched by Gender Minister Julia Casell and UN Women Representative to Liberia, reflected on numbers of strides her administration has made to address the issue of violence against women, and also indicated the significance of the document to what Liberia subscribes to.
She said Liberia was not in the back sit when it comes to taking actions that respond to gender-based violence issues including the crafting a national action plan on gender-based violence or violence against women.
Madam Sirleaf was specific about efforts her administration is considering such as ensuring the allocation of funds in the national budget for the implementation of the national action plan, up-scaling of efforts through the justice system to ensure that women and girls have access to the justice system, among others.
As further expression of Liberia's unwavering commitment to addressing gender-base violence issue, the president instructed Gender Minister Julia Duncan Cesell, to ensure proper popularization of the document, ensuring that Judicial and Legislative Branches of Government have access to the document.
Also detailing the significance of the "Commit" document, UN Women Representative Sheelagh Kathy Mangones recalled the seriousness of violence against women and girls, adding "Whether is in Europe, Africa, or North America, she said violence against women and girls is a serious problem and an obstacle in society."
She recognized that violence against women was an obstacle to national development as well as obstacle to human rights and economic and social development.
"As UN women, we have committed ourselves to this to mobilize attention as part of the global campaign to support general equality as well as the fight against gender-based violence," she said, and added that the commitment made by President Sirleaf provides a very strong encouragement of a strong endorsement of Liberia's commitment and provides concrete promises to address three of the key issues of violence against women."
Apart from President Sirleaf who signed the "Commit" document, about 19 world leaders have gone ahead with signing it, thus pledging their countries' commitment to the violence against women campaign.
For her part, Gender Minister Julia Duncan Casell called the initiative a manifestation of President Sirleaf's commitment to "all of the treaties and UN protocols that we signed."
By signing the document, she said, is a sign that President Sirleaf was in support of all efforts geared toward addressing the issue of violence against women.
She called for the participation of all, including the media by playing a very crucial role in educating Liberians to stop violence against women, and stop violence against men as well.
Source: Al Arabiya News
A year ago, it was not possible to speak, whether clearly or implicitly, of the Arab revolutions’ dilemmas because the crowds were still elated with the achievement fulfilled when the people acted upon the will of life and decided to overthrow regimes.
Source: IPS
The Millennium Development Goals challenged the world to cut extreme poverty in half, dramatically reduce child mortality, and make primary education universal, but Jody Heymann and Kristen McNeill say the world can do more.
Source: lethbridgeherald
In a case of tragic irony, a young woman who ardently decried violence against women was shot to death last week on the same day women around the globe staged a demonstration calling for action to stem such violence and it happened on Valentine's Day.
Source: News24
Johannesburg - South Africa is certain to come out as "one of the leaders" in a soon-to-be-released study on violence between intimate partners, a researcher said on Monday.
Source: BBC
Denis Mukwege is a gynaecologist working in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He and his colleagues have treated about 30,000 rape victims, developing great expertise in the treatment of serious sexual injuries. His story includes disturbing accounts of rape as a weapon of war.
Source: Web2forDev
CTA’s web2.0 training programme has sparked enormous interest across ACP countries. Organisations and individuals have shown themselves hungry to learn about social tools and platforms which can support their collaborative work, and how social media can be adapted to their particular contexts and needs.
Source: The New Times
Women rights activists are preparing to share Rwanda's practices in promoting gender with the rest of the world. The activists, from government, the UN and other civil society organisations, met in Kigali, yesterday, to discuss Rwanda's progress in promoting women's rights in order to share their story at the UN 57th Summit on the status of women in New York, US, next month.
Source: TheNews
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-Liberia has launched its US$32.5 million Country Program which runs from 2013 to 2017.The five-year program, according to UNFPA, seeks to improve the lives of the people of Liberia especially the youth and women.
Source: ThinkAfricaPress
Never before have women held so many positions of political leadership in Africa. But how does this reflect broader social and political developments on the continent? The role of African women in conspicuous positions of power has become increasingly prevalent.
Never before have women held so many positions of political leadership in Africa. But how does this reflect broader social and political developments on the continent? The role of African women in conspicuous positions of power has become increasingly prevalent.
Source: Sunday Trust
The Kaduna Agricultural Development programme (KADP) says it has registered more than 687 women groups under the KADP cooperatives project, to address the challenges of food security. Mrs Debora Bakut, the Head of Women in Agriculture in the KADP, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Friday that the cooperative groups were registered to access farm inputs and financial support.
Source: The Chronicle
The Central Regional Director of the Department of Women, Madam Paulina Abayege, on Thursday, noted the need for girls in the region to be encouraged to pursue technical skills training for them to compete with their male counterparts in the same field.
Source: Times of Zambia
JAPAN International Cooperation Agency (JICA) says inclusive development in Zambia can be realised by empowering women and young people in both rural and urban areas. JICA resident representative Yoshihide Teranishi said dynamic development could be ignited by improvements in the business environment and infrastructure such as roads, bridges and electricity.