Source: UNCTAD
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not gender neutral, as it affects men and women differently. Therefore, we must not be gender blind in our responses to the pandemic, or else women will carry a disproportionately higher economic cost than men.
Globally, women are more vulnerable to economic shocks wrought by crises such as the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: The Guardian
Charity warns loss of services caused by lockdowns could result in millions of unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
Almost half of women and girls living in more than 50 countries around the world are not able to make their own decisions about their reproductive rights, with up to a quarter saying they are unable to say no to sex, a new survey has found.
Source: All Africa
The Portfolio Committee on Women has called on households to stand together and help each other, especially women, children and disabled people who remain vulnerable to Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) during the 21-day lockdown period.
Sierra Leone has overturned a ban on pregnant girls attending school, the government said Monday, adding that it sought to build a state that embraced every citizen.
As the coronavirus snakes its way around the world — canceling events, shuttering offices and suspending classes — some health experts worry that the crisis could put women at a disproportionate risk, exacerbating gender, social and economic fault lines.
Source: BBC
As more than 25 million people are placed on a two-week lockdown in parts of Nigeria in a bid to curtail the spread of coronavirus, poor people in congested neighbourhoods are worried about how they will cope, writes the BBC's Nduka Orjinmo from the commercial capital Lagos.
Source: Al Jazeera
In a "good month", about 100 girls will be brought by their families to Halima Hirsi's* underground clinic in Nairobi to be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM).
Families come here from all over the world, willing to pay $150 a time for their daughters to be cut.
"The Somali diaspora are good people for my business," says Hirsi, 69, the manager of the clinic, who also carries out procedures.
Source: All Africa
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still widely practised in the African country of Djibouti. Despite efforts by the government and development agencies to curb this practice, culture, tradition and religion continue to slow down progress.
Source: United National Population Fund
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages around the world, governments are taking unprecedented measures to limit the spread of the virus, ramping up health system responses and announcing movement restrictions affecting millions. But amid these efforts, policymakers must not lose sight of the vulnerabilities of women and girls, which have been exacerbated by the crisis, says a UNFPA guidance note released today.
Source: World Economic Forum
Senegal's start-up scene is dominated by men, the laws are complex and the taxes are high - all reasons why talented businesswomen from the West African nation shy away from creating companies, said entrepreneur Seynabou Thiam.
.Source: All Africa
The Darfur Consultative Women Forum demands security and peace, protection of (displaced) people, restructuring of the security system and weapons to be collected as top priorities in North Darfur.
Source: BluePrint
The Phenomenon of land grabbing in developing countries like Nigeria has led to worsening livelihood choices for smallholder farmers who depended on communal lands for subsistence; ADEOLA TUKURU writes: Land grabbing has become a challenge to land acquisition in Nigeria. And mostly affected are women farmers who form a majority of small holder farmers.
Her alarm goes off at 6:45am. She opens her eyes wide and sticks her leg outside her bed cover. It’s cold, her bed is warm and cosy, but she has an interview to get to. Today is not a day to snooze. She had been out of a job for such a long time, thanks to the recession. She gathered all her hope, enthusiasm and poured it into the day.
Source: All Africa
PRESIDENT John Magufuli on Monday reiterated his position on birth control, saying a large population is beneficial to the economy.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
When Namibian activist Venicia Shanjenka first saw the tweet naming and shaming a rapist in the tiny southern African country of 2.5 million, she thought it was a brave but isolated act.
One day, when my daughter was eight, I asked her to help me unload the dishwasher. She moaned, dragged her feet and pleaded for Haribo in exchange for this simple task. I asked her if she knew how lucky she was and told her that, in many homes in Nigeria, girls as young as her were forced to do chores all day, every day. They were not allowed to go to school, or eat at the table, or watch TV. She was amazed. Looking into her face, the horror of what was considered so normal during my childhood really hit me.
Source: Daily Oserver
A Civil Society Group of women led by women’s rights groups and networks has released a communique calling for reform in the New Elections Law Section 4.5 (b) and (c).
Source: The Nation
Each year on International Women’s Month, corporate organisations around the world join activists and advocates to contemplate the place of women in contemporary life and what roles everyone must play in ensuring women are more represented in public spaces. It is a time for much celebration and introspection, and hopefully lasting solutions.