The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
A remarkable young man from Tanzania, 24-year-old Mwasapi Kihongosi won the global UNiTE T-shirt design competition in 2011, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in March 2012 and led a Caravan for Change against violence and harmful traditional practices in November 2012. Mwasapi tells us how the plight to end such forms of violence became his passion.
A series of workshops on women's participation in the Darfur Peace Process were organized throughout Darfur by the African Union - United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
Hundreds of Egyptians have taken part in a protest in Cairo to demand an end to sexual violence against women.
A two-day workshop on gender violence ahead of the March 4 general election was launched yesterday in Isiolo.
Susan Shabangu, South Africa's minister of mineral resources, chose to highlight the role of women in the mining industry in her keynote address at the 2013 Investing in African Mining Indaba, currently under way in Cape Town.
Source: Aswat Masriya
A women’s initiative that goes by the name “Shoft Taharosh” (I Saw Harassment) has began a free training program to teach women self-defense against all types of physical assaults. The training sessions will begin on Friday, February 8, 2013 where Martial Arts professionals will trian 20 young women over eight sessions.
Source: Amnesty
Letting perpetrators in Egypt get away with sexual harassment and assault has fuelled violent attacks against women in the vicinity of Tahrir Square in recent months - continued impunity will only lead to further crimes, Amnesty International warned today in a new briefing.
Today UN Women joins women and men, boys and girls around the world in a call to action for zero tolerance for female genital mutilation (FGM). The adoption of the landmark resolution banning female genital mutilation by the UN General Assembly this past December is a step in the right direction. We applaud the progress being made by communities, by individuals to abandon this harmful practice and protect the rights and dignity of girls and women.
The Tepeth are mountain people of northeastern Uganda. They reside in conical huts made of sticks, thatch and mud in the semi-arid savannahs and scrubby forests of Moroto district. For generations they have subsisted by herding animals and growing crops. If the harvest is good and food is plentiful, village elders will grant permission for a 'cutting' ceremony, in which girls 11 to 14 years of age undergo a rite of passage to womanhood by having all or a portion
Source: The Independent
A young woman who accused Somalia’s security forces of rape has been given a one-year jail sentence for making a false accusation and insulting the government. A freelance journalist who interviewed the alleged victim has also been sentenced to a year in prison, despite never publishing his report.
Source: New Era
According to the SADC Gender Protocol 2012 Barometer women feature strongest in the arts, humanities and health sciences, where nursing is incorporated, while they are less often present within the disciplines of science or law, the world over.
Source: The New Times
The head teacher of Groupe Scolaire (GS) Nsinda in Rwamagana district has been suspended following reports that 26 of his students were found to be pregnant.
The teens were either found to be pregnant or recently gave birth while at school.
Source: The Star
Poor Antenatal care and parasites have been linked to high prevalence of Epilepsy in Kenya and sub Saharan Africa. A study conducted in the country and its neighbouring states of Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa revealed that epilepsy significantly more prevalent in poorer countries and rural areas.
Source: The Namibian
THE number of children under the age of five who died of hunger has dropped significantly in the Hardap Region.
The Mariental State Hospital's chief medical officer, Dr Jean-Paul Tshitende, says the number of children who have died of malnutrition in the region dropped from 14 in 2011 to five in 2012.
Source: The Observer (Kampala)
At her small house in Kyengera, Sarah Nagujja, a mother of five, has been limited to doing one job - monitoring her pale five-month-old son, Charles Kaddu. Occasionally, she looks on helplessly as the little tot struggles for his breath, then he sweats and later part of his body either freezes or turns purple. And this happens on a daily basis.
Cameroon has become the 36th African Union (AU) Member State to ratify the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa following its deposit of its ratification instrument on 28 December 2012. The Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) Coalition congratulates Cameroon on taking this important step, which demonstrates its commitment to
Woman who said she was raped by government forces, and a journalist who interviewed her, to appear in Mogadishu courtA Somali woman who said she was raped by government forces, and a journalist who interviewed her are due in court in Mogadishu on Tuesday, accused of insulting state institutions in a case that has raised concerns about women's rights and press freedom in the fragile state.
Source: Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
Addis Abeba is to host the International Conference on Family Planning which will be held for four days starting on November 12, 2013, and organised by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health.
Source: Leadership
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Muhammad Pate, has enjoined expectant mothers go to hospitals or medical centres to deliver their babies to avail themselves of the usage of health facilities.