Source: UN News Centre
At the opening of the 60th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, United Nations officials today highlighted the progress made in achieving gender equality, while calling on the world to do much more to fight for women and girls' rights.
Source: Daily Trust
The Nigerian government has promised to help in the mass production of a car being developed by some woman artisans under the Lady Mechanic Initiative.
Source: Diplomat
When Fadumo Dayib announced her bid to run for President of Somalia on national TV last year, people thought she was crazy. Somalia's violent history and the life-threatening conditions that the country's politicians and activists face on a daily basis makes Dayib's choice to run for office— especially as a woman in a patriarchal culture—a brave one. "People just can't understand why I would do such a thing," Dayib says.
Source: The South African Health News Service
One pill a day will soon help keep thousands of sex workers HIV-free as South Africa is expected to announce today that it will provide antiretrovirals to thousands HIV-negative sex workers in a bid to keep them HIV free.
Source: The Guardian
Fairtrade Fortnight brings us some inspirational images of smiling farmers in Africa.
Source: Malawi24
Malawian Airlines pilot Yolanda Kaunda has become the country’s first ever female captain.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is stepping up efforts to combat rape in a bid to shake off the label of being the "rape capital of the world", the presidential adviser on sexual violence said on Thursday.
Source: Haaretz
Members of the African tribe believe that if girls are not circumcised, they won't be able to marry or have children.
Source: BBC
Africa's human rights court has ordered Ethiopia to pay $150,000 (£100,000) compensation to a rape victim for failing to protect her rights.
Source: Star Africa
The new U.S. Consul-General in Lagos, Mr. John Bray, on Tuesday called on Nigerian women to begin to consider playing active roles in eliminating barriers against women’s inclusion and empowerment.
Source: AllAfrica
The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) joins the global community to commemorate the 2016 International Women's Day (IWD) today March 8th 2016. Since the declaration of the decade of women in 1975, the United Nations has set aside March 8 every year to reflect on and celebrate women's socio-economic, cultural and political achievements. This year's theme: "Pledge for Parity," is particularly relevant as it once again calls attention to women's political advancement and progress in leadership and decision-making processes.
Source: University World News
Nothing was more fitting than identifying young and women scientists from Africa as the potential ‘next Einstein’ at the Global Gathering 2016 of the Next Einstein Forum. The forum in Senegal of 800 people from more than 100 countries is the first of a series that will showcase Africa’s top emerging scientists and connect them across the continent and the world.
Source: Gurtong
On the celebration of International Women´s Day the Heads of Mission of the European Union Delegation and EU Member States in South Sudan continue to underscore the importance of including women in the country’s peace process.
Source: Daily Times of Nigeria
Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has celebrated the International Women’s Day by holding a no-holds bar interactive session with female students of Model Secondary School, Maitama-Abuja and assured them that the 8th Senate would work to ensure that more women aspire to and occupy leadership positions in the country.
Source: NewTimes
First Lady Jeannette Kagame, was on Tuesday, awarded for her contribution towards the fight against Gender Based Violence and promotion of women empowerment in the country.
Source: AllAfrica
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched a partnership with Facebook, the Kenya ICT Authority, Judiciary and the Kenya Police to increase awareness on cyber-based gender violence.
Source: Time
Mary and her family were members of the Nuer tribe in South Sudan, caught up in a vicious power struggle between the new country’s President Salva Kiir, a member of the Dinka tribe, and his Vice President, Riek Machar, a Nuer.
Source: Huffington Post
Mariam Ibrahim Yusuf is a campaigner, a public speaker, a choir singer and a mother.
Source: News24
A 15-year-old girl is undergoing treatment at the Nairobi Women's Hospital in Kenya after she was forcibly circumcised and raped by her brother and father's friend.
The hospital, however, declined to give further details about the girl.
According to the Daily Nation, the east African country's youth and gender affairs cabinet secretary Sicily Kariuki, who visited the victim on Wednesday, condemned the incident and called for the culprits to be brought to book.
Cases of sexual and gender-based violence have been on the rise in the country, with Capital FM reporting that women are the most affected group.
The most prevalent forms of sexual and gender-based violence include rape and attempted rape, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, forced and early marriage, domestic violence, marital rape, trafficking and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
According to statistics, FGM affects up to 3 million girls a year, despite government’s effort to eradicate the practice.
Reports also indicate that girls below the age of 14 are likely to undergo the cut if the mother was circumcised.
Source: The Daily Caller
The Egyptian parliament is drafting new legislation that would ban Islamic burkas and veils for women in public areas and government buildings.
Amna Nosseir, a female Egyptian member of parliament (MP) and a professor of comparative jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, called for the ban, arguing that contrary to popular belief, the wearing of burkas and veils is not required by Islam — in fact, she said it’s inherently un-Islamic to do so.
“How did Islam impose the niqab [veil] if Muslims are asked in the Quran to lower their gaze?” said Nosseir to the Egypt Independent. She then quoted the Koran to defend her claim: “Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.”
Nosseir said that in reality, the tradition of women wearing clothing that covers the face is of ancient Jewish origin that existed in the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula.
“In the Talmud, if a woman leaves her house without her head and face covered, she is breaking Jewish religious law,” she explained.
Nosseir claimed that the Koran only calls for Muslim women to dress modestly, which does not necessarily mean wearing clothing the covers the entire face. Of course, there are some who disagree with her interpretation.
“Communities are destroyed wherever immorailty spreads,” said Fouad Abdel-Moneim, a colleague of Nosseir’s who also teaches at Al-Azhar University. He claimed during a telephone interview with Al-Assema news channel that all Sharia scholars agree that the veil is required by Islam. Abdel-Moneim instead thinks laws should be passed barring women from wearing clothes deemed too revealing.
“Ban nudity instead of banning the niqab,” said Abdel-Moneim.
Egypt has enforced several regulations limiting the use of veils before. Cairo University banned nurses and medical professionals from wearing veil in the school’s affiliated hospitals in February of this year, and academic staff were prohibited from wearing it in September 2015.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak started an entire government campaign in 2009 attempting to completely remove the veil from Egyptian society.