Source: Ghanian Times
As part of activities marking the sixth anniversary of the Access Bank flagship 'W' Initiative, the Bank has hosted leading women across Africa in a virtual Pan-African Women Conference to highlight the importance of creating an enabling environment that helps women to thrive.
Source: Aljazeera
Helpio allows victims in northern Nigeria to report cases anonymously and seek help, amid widespread fear of stigmatisation and soaring sexual assault figures.
Source: Dabanga
A delegation of women in charge of the agenda for the next negotiation process in the South Sudan capital, Juba, visited Member of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Mohamed El Taayshi, yesterday.
The meeting was held to discuss how women's participation in official negotiations between the transitional government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu, could be enhanced in the upcoming negotiations.
Source: Capital News
Gender-Based Violence cases hit record high numbers in Kenya in 2020, raising concerns on the safety of women and girls who are the most vulnerable and affected in the society, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Statistics released on Thursday by the Ministry of Public Service and Gender show that there was a 36 percent spike in GBV cases in 2020 when 5,009 cases were recorded.
Source: Aljazeera
Displaced people from Ethiopia’s western Tigray region report cases of rape, looting and extrajudicial killings allegedly perpetrated by Amhara forces.
Warning: The story below contains descriptions of extreme sexual violence.
Source: Nyasa Times
The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) has faulted the Malawi Government for what it described as a lack of clear commitment by authorities at the seat of government at Capital Hill to enhancing the participation of women in public procurement.
The human rights watchdog has since demanded that the government should assume an affirmative action by reserving 30 percent of public procurement for women in an effort to address the glaring gender inequalities in the public procurement sector.
Source: Global Trade Review
The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) has issued a three-year partial risk guarantee facility to support women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Burundi.
Source: The Rwenzori Times
Woman MP for Mitoma District, Hon Jovah Kamateka, last week moved a motion for resolution of Parliament urging government to develop and enforce policies and strategies to protect girls against teenage pregnancy and child marriages.
The legislator is pushing for government intervention in laying strategies and putting in place measures to address the rising cases of teenage pregnancies both during and post the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: Front Page Africa
The National Executive Committee of the Liberty Party (LP) has resolved to implement a gender sensitive policy that would see both women and men gain equal seats for both elected and appointed positions.
Source: DownToEarth
Less than 10% of women in 3 West African countries have a say on sex, family planning, and healthcare.
Source: New Dawn
African women represent more than 70 per cent of workers in the informal sector. However, many women continue to face barriers to trade opportunities, such as access to raw materials, increased economies of scale, integration into regional and global value chains, technological challenges, and access to finance to name a few.
Source: New Zimbabwe
Internationally acclaimed writer, Tsitsi Dangarembga has blamed the perpetuation of sexual abuse on the country's patriarchal system.
Through her writings, the novelist has highlighted the plight of Zimbabwean women whose rights she has been advocating.
Source: Nation
Three women are among the ten candidates on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) interview list for the position of Chief Justice (CJ).
The trio, Prof Patricia Mbote, Justice Martha Koome and Justice Alice Jepkoech Yano, have built their careers in their own rights in line with the legal profession.
Source: Aljazeera
Seven years after the abduction of 279 girls from a government school in northern Nigeria, authorities have failed to find a strategy to protect schoolchildren and their right to education, according to a human rights group.
Source: GroundUp
Birth control pills freely distributed in Zimbabwe are being smuggled into and sold in South Africa.
Many Zimbabwean women prefer these pills above those from South African clinics.
The market is fuelled by the struggle women have to access health facilities.
Source: Radio France Internationale
A number of women's rights groups have filed a case against the government of Mali at the Ecowas regional court to try and force the authorities in Bamako to take action against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The initiative could set a legal precedent and have wider implications on the continent.
The legal filing, confirmed by RFI on Monday, at the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria, is challenging the Malian government's failure to enact laws or policy to make FGM illegal.
Source: Africanews
Zara Oumar is now living safely in Cameroon after escaping from Boko Haram, which held her hostage for four years in Nigeria's neighboring Sambisa forest.
Her two young sons are a product of rape by the militants.
“They told my dad they want to pick me up and take me and threatened they would kill us all including him. When my father accepted, they also took other girls in the village by force and that's how we ended up in this bush in which I didn't know anyone," she told Africanews.
Source: Daily News
ACTIVISTS have urged the government to step up the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV), especially in the Lake Zone where the problem is now becoming serious.
It is reported that some families in Lake Zone have come up with the malpractice of abandoning their female children in thick forests after becoming pregnant before undergoing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a practice which is also banned in the country.
Source: Front Page Africa
Monrovia — Liberia is expected to host a 5-day decolonized ECOWAS Meeting. The expected meeting will take place in Monrovia from the 13-17 of April 2021 with specific focus on ECOWAS women.
The theme of the expected meeting is "Empowerment of Women in the ECOWAS Region" and will be held at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town.
Source: World Economic Forum
Childcare is a challenge for working mothers the world over. In developed nations, it’s often the cost that is a barrier to women rejoining the workforce. But in other parts of the world, childcare for working mothers is virtually non-existent.