The two women running for the presidency of Cameroon have broken a psychological barrier among women about aspiring for high political office, says a campaigner for women’s participation in politics.
After winning some concessions, women still face uphill battle in Arab societies with long-standing culture of male domination.
Source: Rand Corporation
Nearly a dozen current and former first ladies joined RAND, the United States Department of State's African Women Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) and the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) today to highlight and promote women's leadership and economic empowerment across Africa.
The journey so far marks 51 years of Nigeria's independence. Looking at the prospects available to the society, men glaringly appear to be privileged and advantaged. And the women? Their song has been that of marginalisation in all spheres.
Hopes for a female-controlled HIV prevention tool have been dealt a blow by the termination of one part of a large African trial after it failed to show effectiveness.
Source: IPS
Less than 10 percent of the world's political leaders are female, according to United Nations figures, but many of them were present Monday at U.N. headquarters in New York, where they reiterated calls for increased participation for women as critical to both economic development and democracy.
Brothers, husbands, boyfriends and fathers are key actors in the creation of a world where girls enjoy the same rights as boys, and will themselves benefit from greater gender equality, stresses a new report from Plan International released Thursday.
The streets around the headquarters of the world's leading financial institutions – the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund – have been transformed into a canvas over the last three days.
If women farmers were given more tools and resources, the number of hungry people in the world could be slashed by 100 to 150 million.
Ethiopia called today from the General Assembly not only for immediate aid to help the 13.3 million victims of drought and famine in Somalia and elsewhere in the Horn of Africa but also for the “even more crucial” means to achieve sustainable development in the region.
Moammar Gaddafi famously surrounded himself with a personal coterie of female bodyguards during the decades he ruled Libya. But it was more a sign of his eccentricities than a real commitment to equality for women in this conservative Islamic society.
Source: IPS
MIDRAND, South Africa, Sep 30, 2011 (IPS) - African women who bear the brunt of the continent’s conflicts now demand to play a defining role in peacekeeping.
Next Wednesday September 28, scores of women from all over the country will flock to Freetown to talk to the UN about peace in Sierra Leone. The event takes place at the Taia Hotel Resort, Lumley Beach during the UN Open Day.
Source: IPS
"Please God, make my breasts disappear." Joyce Forghab used to pray the same line every night during the month she was suffering from breast ironing. The shocking practice, carried out by a quarter of mothers in Cameroon, is meant to reverse female sexual development.
Source: UN News Centre
28 September 2011 – Newly independent South Sudan is among 34 countries awarded grants today by a United Nations that seeks to end violence against women, along with another first-time recipient, Iraq.
Source: Gender Across Borders
Earlier this year, 28-year old Abigail Agborku became pregnant unexpectedly. Already a struggling mother of three, she sought to terminate her pregnancy. But something went wrong. She didn’t get the right advice, didn’t have adequate access, and didn’t know where to turn. She ended up in the hands of a quack, as too many women do, and died soon after.
Source: The Star
The Bill to amend the Constitution has been published, providing for extra seats to ensure that there are no more than two-thirds from either gender in the National Assembly or Senate. This is similar to the CoE's suggestion, rejected by the Parliamentary Select Committee in Naivasha. Like the provision for counties in fact.
Source: Times of Zambia
Zambia has come a long way in trying to achieve social, economic and political development. Several initiatives have been put in place by many stakeholders, all aimed at addressing the development challenges that this country has faced.
Source: IPS
"Every quarter, more than a hundred women with fistulas – including many younger than 20 years old – are admitted for surgery in Maniema province," says nurse Julie Mawazo. "The number of affected women who don't have the means or awareness to come in must be far greater."
Source:Daily Nation
Kenya has been praised for passing laws and policies that promote gender equality.