Source:Human Rights Watch
Morocco’s new law regulating work for domestic workers could help protect thousands of women and girls from exploitation and abuse, Human Rights Watch said today. The new law was adopted by the House of Representatives on July 26, 2016, and will go into effect one year after publication in the official gazette.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Members of Burundi ruling party’s youth league, the Imbonerakure, have repeatedly gang-raped women since a wave of political protests began in 2015. Many of the rapes appear to have been aimed at family members of perceived government opponents. Policemen or men wearing police uniforms have also committed rape.
Source: Open Society Foundation
Being a child in Liberia today is not easy. The legacy of a brutal 14-year civil war and the impact of the Ebola virus outbreak mean children in Liberia face a range of life-threatening challenges. The country’s infant and child mortality rates remain among the highest in the world. Despite these obstacles, Liberia is making strides on quality early childhood development and serving as an example for other post-conflict countries.
Source: UNHCR
Esther is one of more than 40,000 South Sudanese refugees who’ve fled to Uganda, since renewed violence erupted earlier this month. After spending days on the border, she and other new arrivals are moved to refugee settlements, where the government gives refugees a plot of land, allowing them to rebuild their homes and their lives.
SOURCE: The Guardian
Buying land to build on in Senegal can be a nightmare. There are plenty of empty-looking plots in desirable areas, but woe betide the novice buyer.
Source: Oxfam Canada
Those shifting and hiding their wealth are failing to pay back into the "care economy' -- the people who produce and reproduce the workforce of today and tomorrow.
Source: News Deeply
Putting more money into family planning programs in the developing world makes populations healthier and boosts national stability, writes John Bongaarts, vice president of the Population Council.
Source: News Deeply
Developing countries could count for more than 95 percent of cervical cancer deaths by 2035. In Liberia, a pilot HPV vaccination program aims to cut that number – but first has to overcome mistrust, misinformation and a dire lack of resources.
Source: BBC News
A group of South Sudanese artists has warned against the revenge culture following the recent conflict which led to hundreds being killed.
Source: New Times
Rwanda was this week joined by three other African countries in winning accolades in recognition of its outstanding efforts in the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality.
Source: Inter Press Service
United Nations — UN member states "are going beyond rhetoric and earnestly working to achieve real progress" towards the Sustainable Goals, the members of the Group of 77 and China said in a ministerial statement delivered here on 18 July.
SOURCE:allAfrica
A report has shown that women face challenges that often make it more difficult for them than men to adequately save for retirement. In light of the challenges, women need to pay special attention to making the most of their money.
The report published by the US Department of Labour indicated that women tend to earn less than men and work fewer years thereby reducing the amount of savings that accumulate for their retirement.
"Women stay at jobs for a shorter period of time, work part time more often, and interrupt their careers to raise children. Consequently, they are less likely to qualify for company-sponsored retirement plans or to receive the full benefits of those plans," the report said.
On the average globally, women live five years longer than men, and thus need to build a larger retirement nest for themselves.
There are some studies that indicate that women tend to invest more conservatively than men but they are limited by shorter period of time they work.
The report also indicated that women tend to lose more income than men following a divorce, a development that usually compounds their financial problems at retirement.
"Women aged 65 or older are more than 70 percent likely than men aged 65 or older to live on an income below the poverty level," the report said
Source: The New Times
The Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) has renewed commitment to develop sustainable partnerships to improve Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and end HIV/AIDS on the continent by 2030, as expressed during the 17th Ordinary General Assembly of OAFLA.
Source: The New Times
The Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) has renewed commitment to develop sustainable partnerships to improve Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and end HIV/AIDS on the continent by 2030, as expressed during the 17th Ordinary General Assembly of OAFLA.
Source: Al Jazeera
Rachel is a HIV-positive mother whose goal it is to educate pregnant women in Burkina Faso so that they will not pass on the virus to their children.
Source: The New Times
The ongoing African Union Summit has put women’s rights at the centre stage of this year’s assembly.
Source: Radio Dabanga
Khartoum — The Sudanese No Oppression against Women Initiative strongly denounces the Khartoum state Public Order Act.
Source: Namibian
THE AFRICAN Union has dedicated 2016 as the “Year of Human Rights, with particular focus on the rights of Women.” In making this pledge, the AU signalled that the time had come to prioritise the need for real improvements in women and girls' daily lives.
Source:Women's News
The White House announcement, to great fanfare, of nearly $100 million in U.S. aid via the Millennium Challenge Corporation to support school attendance by Moroccan girls is a necessary but insufficient step.
SOURCE:UN Women
World Population Day on 11 July focuses on the importance and urgency of population issues. This year’s theme “Investing in teenage girls,” calls for action to address the enormous challenges faced by teenage girls across the world.
Of the 700 million women alive today who were married as children, more than one in three were married before they turned 15.[1] As young brides, girls have to forgo their youth and adolescence years, as they take on family responsibilities. They are unable to negotiate safe sex practices and vulnerable to early pregnancy, contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Too many girls are denied the right to education and equal opportunities, keeping them in the cycle of poverty.
In 2015, world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to end poverty, combat inequalities and promote prosperity while protecting the environment by 2030. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offers a real opportunity to drive lasting change for women’s rights and equality. Goal 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls includes targets on ending all forms of violence and harmful practices against women and girls, including early and forced marriages. Turning the vision of the SDGs into reality starts with investing in girls.
The positive impact that empowered, informed teenage girls can have on their communities is unparalleled, and largely untapped. Alongside government and civil society partners, UN Women is working to break the barriers to leadership, participation and equal opportunities for girls and young women, including ending all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls. In 2016, the first Youth Forum at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) drew over 300 youth participants and developed the first-ever “Youth-Agreed Conclusions” for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, drawing attention to the specific needs and potential of young women and girls.
Investing in and unlocking the potential of teenage girls and young women everywhere should be a top priority, so that they can pursue a world of equality: a Planet 50-50 by 2030.
