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Women & gender
RSS FeedGlobal: Legal systems failing to prevent abuse of teen girls
2012-10-15, Issue 601
Adolescent girls are not getting enough legal support to stop them falling prey to rights abuses, particularly sexual violence, according to legal advocacy group Equality Now. 'Legal systems around the world just don’t work for girls,' Yasmeen Hassan, global director of the New York-based organisation, told TrustLaw in an interview. Key legal obstacles include: girls’ ignorance of their rights or how to exercise them; the fear of stigma, not being believed or being blamed for abuse; further victimisation of girls by the justice system; and lack of tailored support services, says 'Learning from Cases of Girls’ Rights', a recent report from the Adolescent Girls’ Legal Defense Fund (AGLDF).
Botswana: Court rules women are no longer second-class citizens
2012-10-15, Issue 601
A landmark ruling on 12 October by Gaborone’s High Court found that gender discrimination based on Botswana’s customary law is unconstitutional. The court ruled on a case brought by three sisters, all over 65 years old, challenging a Ngwaketse customary law that holds the right of inheritance to the family home belongs to the youngest son. 'Critically, the judge made it clear that discrimination cannot be justified on cultural grounds before rejecting out of hand the argument put forward by the Attorney General that Botswana society was not ready for [gender] equality,' Priti Patel, deputy director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), said in a statement. SALC supported the sisters’ case.
Sierra Leone: Women, debt and detention
2012-10-15, Issue 601
Many Sierra Leonean women who are unable to repay small debts end up in prison for want of decent legal representation after their creditors report them to the police, meaning that civil disputes turn into criminal cases. An estimated 10 percent of all charges issued by the Sierra Leonean police involve the failure to repay small debts. The criminalization of debt upsets the livelihoods of the accused who are mostly petty traders. Their children at times are forced to live with them in detention and their incarceration often breaks up families and deepens poverty, said Advocaid, a Sierra Leonean civil society group helping women and children offenders.
Africa: Raising awareness about the reality for women experiencing violence
2012-10-16, Issue 601
Developed by the GBV Prevention Network in collaboration with over 100 Network members, 'In Her Shoes' is an interactive, educational tool that raises awareness about the day-to-day reality for women experiencing violence and encourages activism among service providers and community members. By 'walking in the shoes' of survivors, participants gain powerful insight into the many obstacles women face as a result of violence. Click on the URL provided to download in English or Swahili or to find out more.
Malawi: President pushes reproductive rights
2012-10-04, Issue 600
Malawi's first female president, Joyce Banda, is pushing for family planning efforts in her African nation. Her new Initiative on Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood will provide better access to reproductive health services for women in Malawi, in the hopes that girls will stay in school longer instead of becoming pregnant.
Mali: Small steps to women’s economic empowerment
2012-09-26, Issue 599
Traditionally women cannot own or inherit land in Mali, despite being primary workers on the land, so they have no control over the farms proceeds. However, they can control the income from small-scale processing of agricultural products, provided they buy the raw materials rather than taking them from the family granary. This Panos blog post explores the issues.
Egypt: Fighting Egypt's sexual harassment epidemic
2012-10-01, Issue 599
It has already been labelled as an "epidemic" by rights groups, but it seems in post-revolution Egypt sexual harassment has become worse rather than better. The harassment of women continues on the streets, at times escalating to mob levels, and it has now reached the point where taking steps to eradicate this social malaise has become an absolute necessity. A 2008 study by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights (ECWR) revealed shocking figures that 83 per cent of Egyptian and 98 per cent of foreign women in the country have been subjected to some form of sexual harassment.
Tunisia: Rape victim accused of 'indecency'
2012-10-01, Issue 599
Tunisian civil society is rallying in support of a young woman who was raped by police officers in what they say is part of a broader assault on women's rights by religious conservatives. There is widespread outrage after 27-year-old victim was summoned by the investigating judge on Wednesday to face chargers of 'indecency' from the two men accused of raping her, in what many argue is an attempt by the authorities to intimidate her.
Morocco: Dutch abortion ship heads for Morocco
2012-10-02, Issue 599
A Dutch 'abortion boat' has set sail for Morocco, its first trip to a Muslim country, to provide abortions to women who are exposed to grave health risks if treated domestically, its organiser said on Monday. The group says that, according to figures published by the Moroccan government, between 600 and 800 abortions take place every day in the north African kingdom, where the procedure is illegal and taboo.
South Africa: Women told their comments on Traditional Courts Bill are not welcome
2012-09-23, Issue 598
Activists attending the public hearings on the controversial Traditional Courts Bill in Parliament were shocked when women were told debate and comment on the Bill were not welcome. A number of civil society organisations and rural women have travelled to participate in the public hearings on the Bill which has been widely criticised for entrenching gender inequality and possibly subjecting millions of rural South Africans to a ‘second class’ justice system. It is feared that the Bill, which is before Parliament’s Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Development, in its current form gives patriarchal traditional courts enormous power to undermine the Constitutional rights of women and children.
Swaziland: Child marriages banned
2012-09-23, Issue 598
The practice of men marrying underage girls - which has been an accepted social norm for centuries but has been linked in recent years to the spread of HIV - was recently declared illegal in Swaziland. Known in SiSwati as ‘kwendizisa’, the marriage of an adult man to an underage girl was considered a legal 'grey area' prior to the promulgation of the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act of 2012. According to the 2005 Swaziland constitution, some customary practices are allowed unless they conflict with constitutional clauses.
Ethiopia: Ethiopia urged to end human trafficking of women as abuse continues
2012-09-23, Issue 598
An editorial published by the Ethiopian Press Agency has called on the government to implement new strategies to protect women in the country from human trafficking. 'Thousands of Ethiopian women particularity girls are leaving for abroad due to a number of pushing and pulling factors,' began the editorial published on Friday.
Sudan: Woman activist faces death sentence
2012-09-24, Issue 598
Jalila Khamis, a Nuba woman activist, faces charges under articles 50 and 51 of the Sudanese Criminal Act of 1991. Both articles are crimes against the state and punished by death.
Côte d’Ivoire: New cassava varieties bring women autonomy
2012-09-25, Issue 598
Women farmers in Côte d’Ivoire are achieving greater autonomy and economic independence thanks to new varieties of cassava. Cassava is an important staple food in this West African country according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, second only to yams, a similar starchy tuber. Farmers in the southern and eastern parts of the country have taken up three high-yielding varieties of cassava, known as Bocou 1, 2 and 3, which are resistant to disease and pests, according to Boni N’zué, the coordinator of the Cassava Project, an initiative launched in 2008 by the country’s National Centre for Agricultural Research.
Africa: Gendered fighter constructions in Eritrea and South Sudan
2012-09-25, Issue 598
An analysis of gendered fighter constructions in the liberation movements in Eritrea and southern Sudan (EPLF and SPLA/M), examining the question of female access to the sphere of masculine fighter constructs and the relevance of this for influence in peacetime affairs. Empirical research in both countries, in particular interviews with participants, reveals that what keeps women out of the sphere of legitimized violence is not some 'inherent peacefulness', but the exclusivist construct of the masculine fighter, which is supported by society.
Uganda: Barren women in Uganda fight stigma
2012-09-11, Issue 597
Barrenness is a delicate subject in Uganda, where the stigma attached to women who cannot bear children is strong. These women are called 'barren' or 'infertile', with some forced to leave their matrimonial homes or left by their husbands. Many turn to gynecologists, traditional healers and religious leaders for help. Medical experts say that there are 3.5 million cases of infertility in Uganda, making it a part of the 'African Infertility Belt'.
South Sudan: The biggest threat to a woman's life
2012-07-25, Issue 595
South Sudan has the worst reported maternal mortality rate in the world. A 2012 report entitled Women’s Security in South Sudan: Threats in the Home by Geneva-based think-tank Small Arms Survey (SAS) says a national survey carried out in 2006 indicating 2,054 deaths per 100,000 live births may have been an underestimation.
Kenya: Kenya shines at sex workers freedom fest
2012-07-25, Issue 595
The Kenya representatives at the ongoing Sex Workers Freedom Festival have won accolades for their passion and for spearheading a protest against US policies that do not favor sex workers. To begin with, John Mathenge, who was heading the delegation with two other female sex workers from the Kenya Sex Workers Alliance (KESWA) and the Bar Hostess and Empowerment Programm (BHESP), was accorded the Global Youth Activist on Sex Workers Award by the Global Network of Sex Workers Project (NSWP).
Africa: AU urged to do more for women's rights protocol
2012-07-25, Issue 595
The Working Group on Gender Justice in Africa has called on the African Union (AU) to encourage member states that are yet to ratify the protocol on the rights of women in Africa to do so. In a statement made available to PANA, the Working Group said the AU should ensure that states which have ratified the protocol domesticate it and ensure its implementation. So far, 32 states have ratified the protocol: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Global: Strategies of feminist bureaucrats
2012-07-26, Issue 595
Every day in international development organisations feminist bureaucrats make use of strategy, tactics, wisdom and skill to act for their principles. This Institute of Development Studies paper explores the challenges and opportunities for feminists working as women’s rights and gender equality specialists in international non-governmental development organisations, as analysed from an insider practitioner perspective.
Egypt: A case study on the rights of women
2012-07-26, Issue 595
This case study from Oxfam on the uprising in Egypt says that the revolution gave women a sense of freedom and empowerment, and seemed like the perfect opportunity to claim their rights. However, while many groups, including women, overcame their fear to speak out against violations of their basic rights, the change in power relations threatened to ignore women’s rights or even reverse gains that were won in the past.
Côte d’Ivoire: Punish those carrying out FGM, say campaigners
2012-07-30, Issue 595
Nine women in the northern Côte d’Ivoire town of Katiola have been convicted for carrying out female genital mutilation – the first time that a 1998 law banning FGM has been applied. The women were found guilty of excising thirty girls aged between 10 and 15 in February. They were each sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay a fine equivalent to roughly 100 dollars. 'We have been waiting a long time for a boost in the fight against this scourge,' said Rachel Gogoua in the Ivorian economic capital, Abidjan, where she heads the National Organisation for Children, Women and the Family (ONEF), a non-governmental organisation that campaigns against FGM.
Global: Securing women’s rights and gender equality through an arms trade treaty
2012-07-30, Issue 595
Irresponsible transfers of weaponry, munitions, armaments and related equipment across borders have resulted in the loss of millions of lives and livelihoods and the violation of fundamental human rights. In particular, the widespread availability of small arms and light weapons increases the risk to both men and women’s security, and impedes their enjoyment of their civil, political, social and economic rights in different ways. There is a gender dimension to the trade whereby women are disproportionately affected by armed gender-based violence.
Liberia: President says country not ready to abolish FGM
2012-07-18, Issue 594
Liberia has no plans to abolish Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) despite mounting demands by local and international organisations, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has said. President Sirleaf said, 'to hastily abolish the practice could spark off a serious societal crisis'. FGM is widely practised in Liberia with thousands of young girls annually initiated in traditional 'schools' known as the Sande Society in preparation for mutilation.
Sudan: Court sentences woman to death by stoning for adultery
2012-07-18, Issue 594
A Sudanese court in Khartoum state sentenced a 23-year-old woman to death by stoning for adultery, a human rights group, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, has reported (ACJPS). Sudan is one of few countries that implements death by stoning as a punishment. Rights groups condemn this cruel method of execution because it is designed to torture the victim and increase their suffering.
Zimbabwe: Women say enough is enough
2012-07-23, Issue 594
Over the years, the ambiguous nature of the Zimbabwe prostitution law has subjected women to arbitrary arrests and detention if found walking at night in the streets of Harare. Those accused of loitering have to pay a maximum fine of 16.50 euros. Led by prominent activists – including renowned writer and politician Tsitsi Dangarembga, herself a victim of the arrests – over one hundred women rallied at the Africa Unity Square in Harare to express their anger at the ongoing injustice.
Africa: African women set to drive continent's resurgence
2012-07-23, Issue 594
It's a dream come true for African women, says Litha Musyimi-Ogana, the African Union's chief pointsperson on gender issues as she hails the election of the first female head of the AU Commission, saying more women in positions of power will spur the continent's resurgence. 'We are extremely elated about the election of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who has broken the glass ceiling by becoming the first elected woman head of the AU Commission. It's good news for Africa and for the African women,' Musyimi-Ogana, director, women, gender and development directorate, in the AU Commission, said.
Côte d’Ivoire: Law offers battered women little protection
2012-07-23, Issue 594
In June, the International Rescue Committee, a US based non-governmental organisation, published a report on domestic violence in Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone, finding that abuse - including burning, battery, rape and psychological violence - is common in all three West African countries. The report stated that more than 60 per cent of women in the countries examined are survivors of violence, primarily by their intimate partners.
South Sudan: Women review the gains of independence
2012-07-11, Issue 593
One year after the formation of South Sudan, the country’s women say that independence has not resulted in the positive political, economic and social changes that they had hoped for. Women activists worry that even after separation from Sudan, when South Sudan became the world’s newest country and Africa’s 54th nation, the government has not done enough to improve the lives of its women. But as people across the country celebrate the first anniversary of independence from Sudan, after a 21-year civil war, the year has been fraught with crises.
Global: Women's rights and safety online
2012-07-12, Issue 593
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has started a new project 'End violence: women’s rights and safety online' based on the experience and knowledge gathered in the past years. 'What this experience has shown, and what organisations providing support services to victims of violence have indicated, is that for evidence-building to be effective, a more systematic system for documenting technology-related violations is needed. While trends show that women around the world experience similar kinds of online violence, the lack of systematised data collection and analysis weakens responses to it.'
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