Source: Scotsman
ONE of the more difficult questions I found myself being asked when I was a United Nations under-secretary-general, especially when addressing a general audience, was: “What is the single most important thing that can be done to improve the world?”
Campaigns to lower the rate of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Sierra Leone are having some impact, but efforts to ban the practice have failed thus far, and despite a push to communicate its health risks, many still believe FGM/C promotes good health and hygiene.
A group of Pygmy women singers from Likouala, in the extreme north of the Republic of Congo, has released a music album, which they and their backer hope will help safeguard the rights of the country’s Baka Pygmies.
It's a country the size of all of western Europe, with enormous mineral riches that enable the artifacts of modern life, from mobile phones and tablets to circuit boards and solar panels. It is also, by many accounts, the worst place to be a woman.
Noting that women have not benefited equally from progress made in achieving the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a senior United Nations official today highlighted the need for more to be done to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Source: PlanUK
THE announcement today by the United Nations and the Pakistan government of a ‘Malala Fund’ to educate underprivileged girls has been welcomed by child rights organisation Plan International.
Source: UN Radio
27% of all victims of human trafficking officially detected globally between 2007 and 2010 are children, up 7 per cent from the period 2003 to 2006.
That according to the 2012 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons released by the UN Office on drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The Report, which is based on official data supplied by 132 countries, notes that also worrying is the increase in the number of girl victims, who make up two- thirds of all trafficked children. Girls now constitute 15 to 20 per cent of the total number of all detected victims, including adults, whereas boys comprise about 10 per cent.
The vast majority of trafficked persons are women, accounting for 55 to 60 per cent of victims detected globally. However, the total proportion of women and girls together soars to about 75 per cent, with men constituting about 14 per cent of the total of detected victims.
Executive Director of UNODC, Yury Fedotov, commenting on the findings, says “Human trafficking requires a forceful response founded on the assistance and protection for victims, rigorous enforcement by the criminal justice system, a sound migration policy and firm regulation of the labour markets.”
human trafficking victims
A group of United Nations human rights experts today voiced deep concern about Egypt’s draft constitution, and called on its Government to ensure equality, non-discrimination and protection and promotion of women’s rights in the final text.
Policy-makers and survivors convened at United Nations Headquarters in New York today to build consensus and identify common strategies on ending the pandemic of violence against women and girls.
Promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in international development after the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals is the aim of a two-day meeting which opened in Vienna on Thursday.
Women in Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are calling on President Barack Obama to lend resources and influence in putting an end to the brutal violence against women taking place in that country.
In recent months, we have seen just how interconnected global food markets have become. Droughts in North America, Europe and central Asia have led to decreased global grain supplies and high food prices, which in turn have affected the ability of African communities—particularly in food-importing countries—to feed themselves. With 239 million people on the continent undernourished, Africans must take greater ownership over how they get their food.
Source: DailyNation
Egyptians are to start deciding Saturday whether to adopt a new constitution backed by Islamists including President Mohamed Morsi, or reject it as urged by the opposition which fears it will usher in sharia-style laws.
Source: DailyMaverick
"16 Days of Activism For No Violence Against Women and Children" came to an end on Monday, with Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe announcing a new National Council Against Gender Violence. Does a mere two-and-a-bit weeks of talking about violence, and the establishment of yet another council, amount to an effective response against South Africa's gender violence epidemic? By REBECCA DAVIS.
Source: HeralaldZW
The Women's University in Africa and the United Nations Children's Fund yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will see the two institutions partnering in a number of educationand training programmes.
Source: TimesofZambia
THE story of Nancy Hamaambo in the new vision paper in monze that her uncle turned her in to a sex slave after repeated and forced sexual encounters is sad indeed.
Source: AswatMasyra
An Egyptian women's rights group asked women to wear red and vote "no" in the referendum on a draft constitution written by an Islamist-led assembly.
Source: RNW
In recent weeks, the project to reform Ivory Coast's family code has caused a stir across the country. Some people have even cited the revision of Article 58 as cause for the government's recent dissolution. Yet, for some families already practising gender equality, the new family code is not simply second nature: it's the way forward for Ivorian society.
An Egyptian women’s rights group asked women to wear red and vote “no” in the referendum on a draft constitution written by an Islamist-led assembly.
The full power of the international community will be harnessed to fight those who commit sexual violence in the Central African Republic, according to a senior UN official visiting the country.