Zambia is being praised for entrenching democracy and making good progress in increasing primary education enrolment, reducing maternal mortality and HIV-related deaths.
Civil Society groups, women rights activists as well as the Women Caucus in Parliament have expressed their reservations about the President's silence on women and children issues in his state of the nation's address to Parliament.
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today called for systematic and comprehensive strategies to empower women in rural areas to maximize their potential to combat extreme poverty and hunger, and help them facilitate sustainable development in their communities.
Source: Zambia Daily Mail
TWO Zambian women have taken the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) to a higher level: they will climb the 5,892 metre high Mount Kilimanjaro next week to raise awareness.
Source: GNA
Unite Africa Campaign, a Non-Government Organisation against gender-based violence, in collaboration with civil societies at the weekend organised a walk to raise national and global awareness on ending violence against women and girls.
Source: The Herald
A rapist yesterday stunned the court when he attempted to flee seconds after he was convicted of raping a deaf woman.
Source: Womens E-News
Women's rights groups are criticizing Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, for neglecting women's rights violations in an apparent rush to defend political Islam.
Source: Rwanda Focus
Having many children was previously considered a blessing in many African cultures, but with the rising cost of food, education and health; most parents and policymakers today think otherwise.
Source: Heritage
Newly inducted Gender and Development Minister, Julia Duncan-Cassell, has warned men, whom she says are abusive of women and children to "refrain from such act or face the full weight of the law." She sounded the caveat last Thursday, when she formally took over from outgoing Gender and Development Minister, Varbah Gayflor, at a well attended ceremony held at the Gender and Development Ministry in Monrovia.
Source: The Monitor
Gulu Resident Judge Wilson Musene has urged magistrates to expedite sexual and gender-based violence cases before their courts.
Source: Public Agenda
Women continue to be under- represented in public offices. Government has also reneged on its assurance of appointing at least 40 percent women to public offices.
Source: International Food Policy Research Institute
Washington, D.C. — A significant new breakthrough in the measurement of women's empowerment in developing countries is launched today. The "Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index" (WEAI) is the first measure to directly capture women's empowerment and inclusion levels in the agricultural sector.
Source: Gulf News
The status of women in the Arab uprisings is to be discussed by The Doha Debates, following concerns that political Islam might impose new restrictions on them.
Source: Tanzania Daily News
THE Women's Legal Aid Centre (WLAC) Director, Ms Theodosia Muhulo has underscored the importance of joint efforts from all people in the society in fighting gender based violence, saying that without cooperation from the grassroots the problem would remain unsettled.
Source: Institute for Security Studies (Pretoria)
The African Women's Decade (2010-2020) is a bold political initiative that aims to put women at the centre of development on the continent. Launched in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2010, with roots traceable to the UN First World Conference on Women, held in Mexico city in 1975, this initiative aims to create conditions under which the participation of all African women in the continent's socio-economic development can be guaranteed.
Agriculture currently provides a livelihood for roughly 1.3 billion smallholder farmers and landless workers, of which nearly half – close to 560 million – are women.
Source: Daily Nation
Cameroonian women have called on the government to respect national and international conventions it signed by ensuring parity between men and women in appointments to top positions and elective offices.
Source: The Monitor
The International Women's Day may be that special time set aside to commemorate the strides women have made and go back to the drawing board and plan the future of this gender, however every day is a celebration of womanhood. The pride, success and determination ingrained in the being of every woman. Some women shared why they feel blessed to be who they are.
Source: New Times
Over 2,000 women have benefited from the ongoing mass cervical cancer screening campaign organised by Partners in Health (PIH), a US-based organisation.
Source: Nairobi Star
Women MPs will launch a mentorship programme to encourage youthful women vie for political positions. Thorough the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association, the female legislators are seeking to identify young women whom they will teach how to achieve the objective through civic education.