Newly empowered Islamist leaders stood up for Arab democracy Friday, saying extremists need to be brought into the fold and chiding the West for objectifying women and income inequalities.
Source: The Guardian
Despite a quota system to boost female participitation, the gender imbalance is still heavily skewed towards men.
The Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF-4) which took place in Busan, Korea, from 29th November to 1st December 2011 saw some progress being made in the aid and development effectiveness process but there are still a number of outstanding concerns.
Breast cancer continues to be misunderstood, under-diagnosed and fatal, particularly in developing countries, say researchers, despite more than one million official annual diagnoses and almost half a million recorded deaths annually.
Source: UN News Centre
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called today on business leaders attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to increase their investment in women’s education and health to ensure their well-being and encourage their participation in the world economy.
Referring to a situation as a "woman's issue" has often meant that it is not regarded as significant. Unlike other forms of intolerance, society often defines gender roles as a matter of culture, not ethics. But current events throughout the Middle East call that assumption into question.
The idea first took shape in conversations between two old friends, musician Peter Gabriel and inventive entrepreneur Richard Branson. What the world needs now, they decided, is a nucleus of wise elder statesmen and women to grapple with seemingly intractable global issues that governments and international institutions overlook or have failed to correct.
Since the Industrial Revolution, global output and wealth have grown immensely. A number of factors have driven this growth - specialisation and the division of labour, the invention of the company with its risk-limiting quality, and of models for assembling financing for large projects, technological changes that let us harness the energy of fossil fuels, and innovations in management and communication.
A pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has said that four prominent Kenyan suspects should be charged with crimes against humanity and face trial, supporting charges against two potential presidential candidates, the country’s top civil servant, and a radio journalist over their alleged role in post-election violence in 2007 and 2008.
Population growth and rising consumption by a minority of people around the world are fuelling global land acquisitions and Africa is a “prime target”, says the International Land Coalition.
As debate rages over the use of gender quotas in the boardroom, an increasing number of countries are introducing them to further women’s representation in the political domain.
Source: Gender Informational Network of South Caucus
The World Economic Forum anticipates an increase in the number of female leaders at its annual meeting in Alpine Village of Davos – and its record to date – after introducing a minimum quota for women executives last year.
Strong support for ending state of emergency laws, but abolition of death penalty opposed.
Source: Albawaba
Thousands took to the streets in Egypt to protest against the military junta. By late Wednesday night, the conversation had turned away from the military council and on to Egypt’s most pressing social problem: sexual violence against women.
African countries and development partners are advocating for the improvement of the systems that capture births, deaths and causes of death among their populations, especially the causes of death among women and children, to improve human rights and assist in proper planning and allocation of resources.
A South Sudanese women’s alliance on Wednesday said the National Constitution Review Commission (NCRC) did not fully represent their interests after its swearing ceremony on Tuesday.
Source: Sudan Vision
Independent Expert on Human Rights Mohammad Othman Chande affirmed his concern about the issues women and child rights and protection of civilians in the region.
Source: Tanzania Daily News
A LAW to protect rights of mothers and adolescent girls in accessing reproductive health services is in the offing.
Source: IPS
A campaign to stop people buying merchandise from street vendors is gaining momentum in Malawi’s main cities of Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu after the small-scale traders went on a rampage undressing women and girls wearing trousers, leggings, shorts and mini-skirts.
Source: Women News Network
As the women of Egypt stress concerns over food security, human rights, political exclusion, sexual harassment and demeaning treatment in public places, along with reports of rape and attacks made against those who were publicly protesting throughout the year. Today the movement of women to push forward is evident in what some say is the largest gathering to date on the year anniversary of the revolution in Egypt.