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.
Source: The New Time
Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. ~ Charlotte Whitton.
The prospect of elections this year has been met with different reactions across the political divide, with some parties confident of victory and many analysts concerned that the country is not ready.
The United Nations launched a new web portal today focusing on helping girls and women access job opportunities, training and career advice in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.
INTERNATIONAL: Michelle Bachelet Statement at 2012 First Regular Session of UN Women Executive Board
Statement of Michelle Bachelet Under-Secretary- General and UN Women Executive Director at First Regular Session of UN Women Executive Board 24 January 2012.
Many Egyptian political parties, especially dominant Islamist groups, have refused to commit to protecting women's rights and to abolishing the death penalty, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.
Assistantminister Elizabeth Ongoro yesterday empathised with families of the fourpost-election violence suspects saying they have already endured enough punishment. She saidalthough the four Kenyans facing trial at the International Criminal Court areinnocent until proved guilty, their families are already enduring agony. “Kenyansare very anxious, including the accused and their relatives,” she said inNairobi yesterday.
The Egyptian elections delivered a parliament that has one of the lowest rates of female representation in the world. Yet this is the parliament that expresses the political will of the people of Egypt. It may also be one that ignores the social realities of gender and of women’s political participation, says Hania Sholkamy
Dorcas Mbvuto, 32, was raped by a spiritual leader in her church in April 2010 on the outskirts of Queens Park West, a Bulawayo suburb. Three months later, the quiet woman was shocked when she discovered that she was pregnant with his baby, says one of her sisters, who declined to be named.
The woman who made history when she became Africa’s first female head of state has been sworn in for a second term. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who also recently jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize will serve another six year term as President of Liberia
Just two years ago, Elizabeth Sakala-Banda, a mother of seven in Zambia’s eastern Petauke district, was unemployed and had no way of knowing that an Asian micro-credit scheme could turn her life around, and help put her children through school.
Libya’s interim government and its international supporters should make it an urgent priority to build a functioning justice system and begin legal reform that protects human rights after Muammar Gaddafi, Human Rights Watch said today, in releasing its World Report 2012.
A small Kenyan study has found that more women than men feel HIV is a less serious threat after their male partners are circumcised; the study also made local news for finding that female partners of recently circumcised men found sex more enjoyable.