Women

Photo: Mrs Baptista S. Gebu, Executive Director of ProHumane Afrique International.

Africa Needs to Do a Lot More to Combat Gender Discrimination and Violence

Interview with ProHumane Afrique International's Executive Director

MOSCOW (IDN) — Globally, violence against women and girls persists. Besides, there are all kinds of gender discrimination. Some governments are steadily making efforts to eradicate violence and discrimination using legislation, and supporting public platforms devoted to discussing these. In this interview with Kester Kenn Klomegah* of IDN-InDepthNews, Mrs. Baptista S. Gebu, Executive Director of ProHumane Afrique International, discusses the situation of women and girls in the Republic of Ghana in West Africa.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; OPINION; 30 September 2021

Photo: UN Women Executive Director Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka, and UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Ms Nakamitsu. Sources: UN Women and UNDOA

Put People Before Runaway Military Spending

Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Izumi Nakamitsu

Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka Executive Director of UN Women and Ms Nakamitsu is UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. This OpEd was first published on May 6.

NEW YORK (IDN) — For all of us, but especially women, the pandemic is a reminder that traditional notions of “security” that fuel the weapons industry cannot protect us from dangers and challenges we routinely face.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 15 May 2021

A Robust Blueprint Emerges from the UN's Largest Gathering on Women’s Rights

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) — The largest gathering on women’s rights has decided to contribute to accelerating the pace of progress to ensure women’s full participation and leadership at all levels of decision-making in executive, legislative and judicial branches of government and the public sector. It also appreciates that temporary special measures, such as quotas, and increased political will are needed as an enabling pathway to this goal.

: Caroline Mwanga; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 27 March 2021

Photo: The jobless in Malaysia. Source: Malay Mail.

COVID-19 Pushes Millions into Destitution

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) — A once-in-a-century crisis—a Great Disruption unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic—hit the world economy in 2020. The pandemic has reached every corner of the globe. Meanwhile, more than 120 million have been infected and close to 2.7 million people killed worldwide.

High unemployment and loss of income have pushed millions into destitution during the pandemic. The total number of people living in poverty is expected to have increased by 131 million in 2020 alone. As many as 797 million people will still be trapped in extreme poverty in 2030, representing a poverty headcount ratio of over 9 per cent.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 24 March 2021

Photo: Nawal el Saadawi, Tahrir, April 2012. CC BY 2.0

Egyptian Feminist Writer, Activist and Physician Dies

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Over the course of a lifetime spent fighting for women’s rights and equality, Nawal El Saadawi inspired generations of women even while she faced threats against her life and imprisonment.

Aged 89, she died on March 21 in a Cairo hospital after a long illness.

: THE WORLD; Middle East; 22 March 2021

Photo: Baxter with her kids before they fell victim to the brutality of her husband. Source: Internet.

Epidemic of Domestic Violence Shocks Australia

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) —The gruesome murder of a 31-year-old mother Hannah Clarke and her three small children aged 6, 4 and 3 years, by her estranged 42-year-old husband Rowan Baxter, a former footballer, has shocked the nation and brought into the spotlight an epidemic of domestic violence in Australia that has gone largely unchecked for years. It has also got Australians questioning the attitude of men towards women with their greater tendency towards violence against women.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 22 February 2020

Photo: Mairam Bibi, a victim of bride kidnapping, with her sons. Credit: Mairam Bibi

The Story of a Kyrgyz Mother Bride Kidnapped as A Teenager

By Aqila Hassanzada*

NARYN, Kyrgyzstan (IDN) – Mairam Bibi says her sons will not follow in their father’s footsteps – an abductor who kidnapped a teenage girl and forced her into a violent marriage.

At the age of 41, Mairam is sitting in her small straw house telling the story so many women in Kyrgyzstan could tell.

One morning when she was a teenager, Mairam was going to school when an old car stopped in front of her. Two men ran out of the car and headed towards her. She was terrified.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 11 December 2019

Photo: Women of Afghanistan stand outside the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Credit: Eric Draper | The White House.

The Afghans Have to Find Their Own Way

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – It’s the most repeated maxim in all the reportage on the war in Afghanistan: “The Americans have the watches, we, the Taliban, have the time.”

“Play it again, Sam” was said in “Casablanca”. It should be played, said and listened to in Kabul and Washington today. This is America’s longest war ever – 18 years and counting. It has cost over one trillion dollars and taken 2,500 American lives. President Barack Obama, blind-sided by the generals, he confided later, pumped up the numbers of troops to 100,000.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 29 October 2019

Photo: A woman humanitarian aid worker in Cameroon. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Women and Girls Severely Impacted by Crises

Many Work in Some of the Most Dangerous Corners of the Globe

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – An unprecedented number of people are living through humanitarian crises today. Armed conflict, natural disaster, disease and violent persecution have forced more than 70 million people from their homes, notes UN Women.

While women and girls are often severely impacted by crises, they are also leaders in recovery and resilience. This year, World Humanitarian Day (19 August) is honouring the women humanitarian workers who work on the front lines in their communities to help people in need.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 17 August 2019

Photo credit: Women Deliver 2019 Conference

Ghana’s President Stuns Women with Demeaning Remarks

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – In this day and age of “Me Too” shaking up outdated gender relationships around the world, it was somewhat unsettling to hear Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo demean his country’s working women as insufficiently activist and dynamic enough to obtain better leadership jobs.

Did he really say this at the Women Deliver 2019 Conference from June 3-6 at Vancouver attended by gender activists from around the world? Really?