Activists attending the public hearings on the controversial Traditional Courts Bill in Parliament were shocked yesterday when women were told debate and comment on the Bill were not welcome.
Their push for a quota system has yet to bear fruit, but women have growing political influence – and that should be celebrated.
In Ghana, the media have made important contribution to the country's socio-political development. However, in spite of women's immense contributions to the development of democratic space, the media continue to marginalise women's concern and issues.
THE EQUAL FUTURES PARTNERSHIP AND UNITED STATES COMMITMENTS TO EXPAND WOMEN'S POLITICAL AND ECOMOMIC PARTICIPATION
Source: IRIN
Children in the Kivu provinces of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are not only getting caught in the crossfire of the area’s ongoing violence, but also facing health risks, threats of forced recruitment by local and foreign militias, and interrupted education, say officials.
INTERNATIONAL: Stronger Actions Needed to Prevent Conflict-Related Sexual Violence – UN and Partners
Source: UN News Centre
The United Nations and its partners today stressed that stronger actions and commitment are needed from world leaders to prevent conflict-related sexual violence and to secure justice for survivors of gender-based crimes.
Women farmers in Côte d’Ivoire are achieving greater autonomy and economic independence thanks to new varieties of cassava.
The UN agencies known as the H4+ support priority countries that take concerted actions to meet the Millennium Development Goals on maternal and child health. UNFPA has identified Zambia as one such country. The following feature shows some of the "Good Practices" the country has undertaken to expand access to reproductive health.
Source: SABC
Women's rights are human rights, President Jacob Zuma said in a speech prepared for delivery at the high-level event on women's access to justice on the margins of the 67th sitting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
To boost and empower women in the security and legal system, Kenya is setting up an association of women police officers to promote their role in law enforcement and security reform. The National Women’s Police Association will be a platform where policewomen can develop leadership skills, support one another and advance gender sensitive policies and practices throughout the force.
Muslim women’s rights. These three words— whether uttered by religious fundamentalists, progressives, politicians, activists, believers or nonreligious people in the West or the East — have been debated, co-opted, claimed, defined and redefined, and are at the heart of some of today’s most contentious debates worldwide.
United Nations officials today urged countries to implement measures to improve women’s access to and participation in justice systems, stressing that the rule of law can help break down gender barriers.
Half of the violence against women in Morocco comes from their own husbands, a situation that needs to change, a minister from the North African nation said Monday.
If Zimbabwe's nationalists had waited until now to recruit people to wage the fight for liberation, they would have failed dismally.
From Washington to Wall Street to Twitter, writers, academics, and business leaders are pointing to the empowerment of women as key to many of the world's greatest challenges. They're publicizing the research and amplifying hard facts, like the fact that when women have equal access to agricultural resources, 100 million to 150 million fewer people will go hungry.
This unflattering outlook is contained in the latest report by the 2012 SADC Gender Protocol Barometer, an annual tracking report of regional performance against the targets of the Southern African Development Community Protocol on Gender and Development set for 2015.
The testimonies from the five young women recently rescued from sex slavery in Iraq were so heartrending that many members of parliament in the committee room shed a tear.
The deputy speaker of the National Assembly has said that the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) member states are committed to improving women's status and ensuring their equal rights.
Source: IPS
In 1996, Maria Mamerita Mestanza Chavez, a 33-year-old Peruvian mother of seven, was threatened with imprisonment if she did not comply with the government policy of undergoing sterilisation. After suffering post-operative complications for which she was refused treatment, Chavez died nine days later.
Woe unto a mother who goes to deliver in Mulago hospital at night or early morning. Chances are she could die.