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By Baboki Kayawe*
GABORONE (IDN-INPS) – Bogolo Kenewendo describes herself as having been “an ordinary Botswana child with an ordinary upbringing”. Kenewendo, poised and focused beyond her years, is being modest. At 32 she is Botswana’s youngest minister, in charge of investment, trade and industry.
She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics, specializing in macroeconomic policy, public debt management, export development and other trade-related fields.
Viewpoint by Dr. Patrick I. Gomes
The writer is the Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).
BRUSSELS (IDN) – In today’s global situation that bears the features of turbulence, fragility and an increasingly precarious balance between peace and possible nuclear annihilation, the role and relevance of the United Nations Organisation has assumed unparalleled importance.
It was a perceptive comment of the late Nelson Mwalimu Mandela, who in his landmark speech to the United Nations on October 3, 1994, posed the question and demanded a response to what he considered to be the enduring imperative confronting the United Nations today, more than ever.
Viewpoint by Makeda Saba
BRUSSELS (IDN) – The Dutch Foundation Human Rights for Eritreans, an organization of exiled Eritreans, is taking legal action against the European Union. It is demanding of the EU to immediately stop funding a project in Eritrea which involves use of forced labour and enslavement.
The European Union has allocated €20 million for the project aimed at “reconnecting Eritrea and Ethiopia through rehabilitation of the main arterial roads in Eritrea”. It will finance the reconstruction of the Nefasit-Dekemhare-Senafe-Zalembessa road, the main route that allows the easy transportation of goods between landlocked Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Viewpoint by M. Emilia Berazategui
The author is Director of Political Institutions and Government for Poder Ciudadano. Her article was carried by Transparency International.
LONDON (IDN) – In a world in which only six countries give women and men equal employment rights, where it will take 108 years to close the gender pay gap, and 202 years will be needed to bring about parity in the workplace, should we be surprised that corruption affects women disproportionately?
By Caroline Mwanga
New York (IDN) – UN Member States have agreed to safeguard and improve women's and girls' access to social protection systems, public services and sustainable infrastructure, ensuring that their design and delivery is transformed to prevent discrimination and create a "level playing field" for women and girls.
This is the upshot of the two weeks of intense dialogue, the 63rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63), concluded March 22 in New York.
By Caroline Mwanga
NEW YORK (IDN) – This year's International Women’s Day on March 8 has been celebrated on an unprecedented scale by the United Nations and other inter-governmental organizations around the world. And, a new analysis shows improvements in gender equality. But there is a rather long way to go until gender parity has become a reality.
According to the data presented in the 2019 edition of the biennial IPU-UN Women map of Women in Politics, women's participation in political decision-making continues to rise slowly, with slight improvements since 2017.
Viewpoint by Ibrahim Thiaw
The author is Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). This OpEd is issued in the context of the International Women's Day observed on 8 March 2019, and the UN's focus on Science and Technology that enhances gender equality, innovation for change, and is smart. – The Editor
BONN (IDN) – Science and technology offer exciting pathways for rural women to tackle the challenges they face daily. Innovative solutions for rural women can, for example, reduce their workload, raise food production and increase their participation in the paid labour market.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | OUAGADOUGOU (IDN) – Africa’s major film event 'FESPACO' – on the scale of the Oscars – celebrated its 50th year February 23 to March 2, 2019 with more films, more visitors and a disappointing showing of women selected to compete for any major prize.
And women are not having it. "Can it be that in 50 years, there hasn't been a single woman capable of telling a great story to win the Fespaco?" said South African filmmaker/actress Xolile Tshabalala, who features in “Miraculous Weapons”, directed by Jean-Pierre Bekolo, a Cameroonian.
By Caroline Mwanga
NEW YORK (IDN) – In the lead up to International Women’s Day on March 8, twenty-six high ranking female officials who have worked across the United Nations have penned an open letter to world leaders calling for greater investment in policies and legal and social frameworks to achieve gender equality and inclusion.
The group notes in the letter that despite progress there are concerns that in some places the basic rights of women are interpreted as direct and destabilizing challenges to existing power structures.
By Caroline Mwanga
NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has stressed the need for "transformative shifts, integrated approaches and new solutions" to achieve gender equality, as envisaged in Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the road map for a sustainable future by 2030.
"Current trajectories show existing interventions do not suffice," she said ahead of the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2019, at which UN Women is celebrating its 2019 theme of “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”, along with hosting hundreds of festivities around the world through the organization’s global network.
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