Source: IPS
When Aisha Diis* and her five children fled their home in Somalia seeking aid from the famine devastating the region, she could not have known the dangers of the journey, or even fathom that she would be raped along the way.
At least 50 editors from both the electronic and print media in the country are scheduled to meet in Dar es Salaam today to discuss what media can do to contribute to the fight against gender-based violence in the country.
Today, Nigerians in Abia, Abuja and Lagos will engage in a walk to protest against the non-deliverance of justice to ABSU 5 who committed the heinous gang-rape of a young woman and the general university policy on sexual violence. On August 16, 2011, at Abia State University (ABSU), a woman whose age is between 16 and 22 was gang-raped by five men.
The 66th General Debate of the UN General Assembly closed this week with evidence of firm commitments to gender equality throughout the speeches of high-level government representatives. Emphasizing the importance of international efforts to achieve gender equality, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also announced USD 5 million to UN Women.
Women should be used more often to mediate disputes, because they can sometimes be more effective.
UN Women and Ghana’s Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs MOWAC), other UN partners and security services in commemoration of the UN International Day of Peace have held a forum during a UN Open-Day on women peace, and security.
Leadership Newspapers Group yesterday entered into a partnership with a non-governmental organisation, Global Association of Female Attorneys (GAFA) on the war against violence on women.
The Swaziland Chapter of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce Industry’s first assignment will be to assist in organising the first ever women’s conference in the SADC region.
In July, Shaima Ghassaniya was found guilty of driving in the Saudi city of Jeddah. The penalty for defying the country’s ban on female drivers has been a sentence of 10 lashes. The verdict comes only days after Saudi Arabia’s recent moves towards liberalization.
Source: The Guardian
Britain reducing bilateral aid for projects in developing nations from nearly £60m to £41m in next four years. Britain is cutting back bilateral aid for HIV and Aids projects in developing countries by almost a third over the next four years, according to data from the Department for International Development.
A council of over 35 Libyan women will convene at the Kempinski Nile Hotel in Cairo from October 7-9 to set strategies for promoting women’s rights and female political participation in post-Gaddafi Libya.
The involvement of men is key to the success of the gender-equality movement, but changing long-held social structures and convincing men of the importance of equal opportunities for women will not happen overnight, experts say.
Source: UN News Centre
Thirty-two women leaders from 16 West African countries are meeting in Senegal today to attend a series of United Nations-backed training sessions aiming to boost the participation of female mediators in peace processes across the region.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has taken a significant decision by giving Saudi women, for the first time, the right to vote, to run in municipal elections and to be appointed as full voting members of Majilis al-Shura (consultative council).
In the recent past, land rights activists have been expressing their fears and concerns about the malicious trend of selling or leasing large farmland to foreign multinational companies and governments, without taking into account what will be the impacts on indigenous communities.
It is a well-established fact that there exist inequalities between men and women due to a long history of male dominance, advanced by cultural, religious, economic and political institutions among many societies. As a result, the majority of women who constitute 52 percent of Zimbabwe's population are largely "disempowered".
Source: Examiner
On Monday, October 3, 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will meet with 40 women entrepreneurs from 36 African nations participating in the 2011 African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program, at the U.S. Department of State.
More than 30 international experts and women's rights activists appealed for Egypt's women to be given greater scope on the country's political stage, for the elimination of gender stereotypes, and for erasing inequalities in education, training and resources.
The 2011 Women's Platform for Action in Africa opened here at the Pan-African Parliament today. The Conference was officially opened by the President of the Pan-African Parliament, Hon. Dr Moussa Idriss Ndélé, who pledged the support of the Pan-African Parliament to women participation in peace negotiations and conflict resolution and decision making
African women who bear the brunt of the continent’s conflicts now demand to play a defining role in peacekeeping.