Statement by UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Lakshmi Puri at the High-Level debate organized by UNESCO on the occasion of the International Day of Peace. 21 September 2012.
The founder of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), Bineta Diop, has urged the media to show a positive image of marginalized groups, particularly women and young men.
Dr Angela El-Adas, the Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), has said 125,141 persons out of the estimated 225,000 Ghanaians living with HIV and AIDS are women.
New study argues that to succeed, breed conservation efforts must empower women.
Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to build stronger economies. This was said by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Ms Elizabeth Thabethe during the Women's Entrepreneurship Conference held in Milan, Italy.
Source: The Guardian
Not only does gender equality lead to higher economic growth, it is key to ensuring a fairer world for both men and women.
Source: Sokwanele
Women in Zimbabwe constitute 52% of the population meaning that they are in the majority. This statistic does not translate to women's proportionate representation in decision-making processes. Women are under-represented and are often left on the sidelines, while men position themselves as the front runners in politics as political leaders, in the law as judges, in business and corporate giants as directors and top management. The advantage that men enjoy, and the disadvantage that women endure are due to a number of political, social and economic factors including the nature of politics characterised by patronage and violence, the patriarchal nature of society, gender stereotyping and how these factors impact women's decision making abilities, the distribution of wealth and women's inability to access resources to improve their financial status.
However there are various regional and international instruments that seek to improve women's participation in decision-making among these the Protocol to the SADC Gender and Development Protocol, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Zimbabwe has done very well in ratifying these regional and international instruments, signifying its willingness to be bound by the provisions therein. The implementation of these regional and international norms has, however, not been as smooth. It has been hampered by a plethora of challenges- top of which is the non-domestication of these norms.
This has largely been a function of the dualist system that the Constitution of Zimbabwe advocates; namely that any conventions or treaties that Zimbabwe signs and ratifies cannot become binding and have the force of law unless Parliament puts in place an Act of law giving them such force. Now, Zimbabwe is in a process of making a new Constitution, whose likelihood of becoming 'THE' Constitution of Zimbabwe is becoming more real by the day. It is hence trite that in light of that development this analysis be conducted to determine if at all, the possible adoption of a new constitution will improve the implementation of regional and international standards that seek to improve women's participation in decision-making processes.
All over Africa, young men and women have missioned across the country and arrived in Lagos, Nigeria. All they want to do is show off what they have made. Maker Faire Africa is more than your typical startup event: it actually shows off innovations, inventions, and initiatives that solve immediate challenges and problems, and then works to support and propagate them. Put another way, this isn’t just a bunch of rich people talking about how their apps are going to change the world.
Source: UN News Centre
The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women will give more than $8 million in grants to local initiatives in 18 countries to deal with the issue, the UN agency tasked with advancing gender equality announced today.
ZIMBABWE needs to enact a policy that enables more women to venture and participate in key sectors that drive the national economy, an official with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has said.
While the 2011/12 crime statistics showed an official drop in the number of reported rapes, it still remains morbidly high. It reflects crisis levels in South Africa. A potent symbol of the culture behind those rapes is the men who try to pay their victims not to press charges
As Kenya gets ready for voter registration this month, ahead of the country’s Mar. 4, 2013 polls, women’s rights organisations are hoping that the provisions for gender equality in the new constitution will mean significantly increased representation in the government.
Overshadowed by daily reports from a horrific war in Syria, lingering violence in Libya and sporadic protests in Egypt and other regional nations, a struggle to salvage and advance the rights of women caught up in the revolutions of the Arab Spring is reaching a crucial stage.
Incomes have slipped to their lowest level in a decade since Madagascar’s 2009 coup d’etat, and, in parallel, domestic violence has sharply risen.
Egyptian bullies who sexually harass women in the streets, often taking advantage of mob situations and the anonymity these provide, are getting a taste of their own medicine – and they don’t like it.
Only 38 women – of a total of 586 candidates – will contest parliamentary seats in Sierra Leone’s November elections, and the blame for this can be laid squarely on the shoulders of the current group of female lawmakers, according to Barbara Bangura, the director of the women’s organisation Grassroots Empowerment for Self Reliance.
Source: The Guardian
Tennis stars spend afternoon coaching young players in club in Lagos before answering questions from children.
A United Nations high level taskforce on women, girls, gender equality and HIV for eastern and southern Africa has called for accelerated efforts in protecting the rights and well-being of women and girls in South Africa.
Efforts to hammer out a new constitution are getting messy as its authors fight over the role of sharia law, the power of the presidency and women’s rights.
Gisèle* sits in the relative safety of a clinic for victims of sexual violence in the district of Ituri. The mother of three, whose husband was killed during recent fighting, tells a harrowing but sadly typical story about her experience in the conflict in this part of eastern DRC.