HABA TSEKA, Lesotho – “Before, I never used a condom, and I would force myself violently onto girls and young women,” said Kabelo*, 22, in rural Lesotho. A herder in Haba Tseka, he grew up in an area where violence is considered a normal, masculine trait.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
In western Uganda's Kyangwali refugee settlement, Tamari Mutesi teaches tailoring to young women who do not go to school.
Two consecutive years of failed rains have left 3.4 million Kenyans in need of food aid and 480,000 children requiring treatment for acute malnutrition. It’s the worst humanitarian crisis the country has faced since a major drought scorched the Horn of African region in 2011, and an emergency likely to persist well into 2018.
Male-headed households continue to own more land and wealth than female-headed households in developing countries, but the picture may be reversing in cities, researchers have found.
NAIKARRA, Kenya – “I woke up one morning, and my father told me that we were poor and needed money,” said Faith, describing the moment she learned she was engaged. She was 11 years old at the time.
KIGALI, Rwanda – Rwanda’s health system has seen great improvements in recent years, yet one area of health care remains underserved, particularly for young people: sexual and reproductive health.
KAKUMA, Kenya – Dalia Asinde was married 16 years ago in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She was 22 and in love, she said. But her husband soon became violent – and relentless. She lost count of the beatings, insults and torments he delivered.
London — Other countries should follow Iceland which has become the first country to make it illegal to pay men more than women, politicians and equal rights campaigners said on Wednesday.
Source: BBC News
For the first time in its history, the self-declared republic of Somaliland has passed a law against rape.
Tandahimba — Five school girls, who were impregnated, together with their parents have been arrested in Tandahimba in a crack down which followed an order by District Commissioner Sebastian Waryuba.
The pupils and their parents were, however released on bail. This was revealed by District Administrative Secretary, Mr Mohamed Azizi, on behalf of Mr Waryuba.
According to Mr Azizi, authorities are still looking for the men who impregnated the girls, who vanished shortly after the DC issued the directive.
"We have managed to arrest the girls and their parents but unfortunately those who impregnated the girls have escaped and we are looking for them," said Mr Azizi.
Child pregnancies in Tandahimba have been on the rise of recently. In 2015 some 20 cases were reported while in 2017, some 27 cases were recorded.
Speaking during a district consultative committee meeting earlier last week, Mr Waryuba said the school children, together with their parents should be detained pending investigations.
His directive is part of efforts to end pregnancies among students in the district.
He said it was intolerable that 55 school girls should be expelled from school because of pregnancy.
Gender and Human Rights activists decried the directive. They argued that the authorities should arrest the culprits rather than the victims.
Malawi has received a boost in addressing the increased cases of the Gender Based Violence (GBV) with financial assistance from the British government through the Department for International Development (DFID) with a maximum of £19 million (MK18,679,961,152).
The ANC finally joins the growing community of sex worker rights activists in recognising that the full decriminalisation of sex work is the only legal model that can respect and protect the rights of people who sell sex.
Source: The Guardian
The number of women dying from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth has almost halved since 1990, a global report has revealed.
Source: Global Citizen
In Tanzania, more than one in three girls are married before the age of 18. Child marriages prevent girls from completing their education, and can lead to adverse mental and physical health consequences. But in one region of the country, the rural province of Arusha, authorities are cracking down on child marriages — and ensuring girls go back to school in 2018.
Source: UN News
In the wake of a recent flare-up of violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations refugee agency said Friday that it is registering and assisting thousands of mostly women and children refugees arriving in Chad.
As part of its 5by20 Women Economic Empowerment Initiative, Coca-Cola Nigeria has empowered over 50 internally displaced women through the provision of quality personal development and small business appreciation training.
A DAR ES SALAAM based non-governmental organisation, Equality for Growth (EfG), has called on increased efforts to contain Gender Based Violence (GBV) against women so that they can greatly contribute to national economy.
Botswana is working hard to diversify its economy, which has historically been based on the production and sale of diamonds. The World Bank's Doing Business Report shows that the country has the highest new business density in Africa with 13.11 new businesses registered per 1 000 adults.
The Organization for Women and Children (OWORCH), a local based nongovernmental organization on Wednesday, January 4, launched a massive awareness campaign and community training to create awareness on access to justice and Sexual Gender Based Violence in Monrovia.
This year was a remarkable one in terms of women’s rights. From the euphoria of the Women’s March to the pent-up trauma released by the #MeToo disclosures, 2017 has been a rollercoaster for activists – and for most women.