Kenya: Families Face Starvation As Famine Hits Counties
More than 50,000 Tana River County residents are staring at death because of the ongoing drought, Governor Hussein Dado has warned. Mr Dado said the figure could rise to 90,000 if the dry spell continues. The county boss appealed to the government, donors and well-wishers to help residents of Tana Delta, Tana North and Tana […]
Gender Is Open for Business
Nokia has lost an asset to shoe racks and wardrobes across Nigeria. In 2014, after working the customary hours of 9am – 5pm at the multinational communications and IT company, Idongesit Harrison would resume at another duty post – this one, hers – a footwear production space where she created by hand and machine: shoes, […]
Kenya: Women Urge Government to Reduce Fertility Treatment Cost
Women in Taita Taveta County have urged the government put measures to reduce cost of infertility treatment in the country. Speaking at Voi Wildlife Lodge, the more than 150 women experiencing childlessness in the county said most of them cannot afford fertility treatment. The women will undergo a programme to help them overcome discrimination and […]
Oulanyah Blames Rising Teen Pregnancies On Older Men
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Jacob Oulanyah, has attributed the current high rate of teenage pregnancies in Acholi sub-region to older men preying on teens. Mr Oulanyah, who is also Member of Parliament for Omoro County in Omoro District, said older men are taking advantage of underage girls and abusing them sexually and in […]
Uganda: Police Blame Killing of Elderly Women On Alcoholism
Police in Mpigi District have blamed the increasing cases of murder targeting elderly women on youth who abuse drugs and alcohol. According to Mr John Baptist Kasango, the officer in charge of Buwama Police Station, their preliminary investigations reveal that there is a gang of youth operating in the district, targeting elderly women. The gang […]
Unemployment Rate Among Women Exceeds 25 Percent – Labour Minister
Minister of Labour Mohamed Saafan said in press statements on Thursday that the unemployment percentage among women exceeds 25%, “which is unprecedented.” He also stressed on the importance of increasing efforts to overcome this plight. Moreover, Saafan said that as Egypt embarks on the “year of women,” there should be significant change in increasing women’s […]
Liberia: Women Aspirants Push for Elected Posts
Women aspirants in the upcoming October Presidential and Representative Elections, pushed strongly for elected posts at a one day strategic dialogue on women’s political leadership held on Wednesday, January 18. The forum, which was held at the Monrovia City Hall, brought together women from various political backgrounds, including independent candidates, to ensure that they participate […]
‘Death Toll Rise Above 170 In Borno Accidental Bombing’
The death toll continues to rise following the horrific military attack on civilians in Rann, Nigeria, according to latest estimates by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Around 90 people were killed when a Nigerian airforce plane circled twice and dropped two bombs in the middle of the town of Rann, which hosts thousands of internally displaced […]
Ousted Gambia President Jammeh To Stand Down, Adama Barrow Takes Power
Gambia’s ousted President Yahya Jammeh ceded power to democratically-elected Adama Barrow after days of negotiations and threats of military action, an advisor to Barrow confirmed on Friday. The newly inaugurated leader told supporters “the rule of fear has been vanished from the Gambia for good.” Jammeh had refused to step aside despite losing his mandate […]
Far From Davos, Women Fight Inequality
Men in sharp, dark suits are sashaying through the restaurants and meeting rooms of a five-star Swiss ski resort this week as the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos gets under way. The zip in the step of the business and political elite there is enabled by the world’s current inequality crisis, […]
4-yr-Old Girl Sold For N350,000 In Enugu, Recovered In Abia
A four-year-old girl (names withheld), pupil of Unity Nursery/Primary School, Inyi, Enugu State, allegedly stolen by her mother’s younger sister and the boyfriend, and sold to one Florence Nwokocha for N350,000, has been recovered by police operatives in Abia State. This was disclosed by Enugu State Police Command in a statement in Enugu yesterday. The […]
Journalists Arrest Tests Powerful Army
The January 19 raid on the offices of an online investigative news organization in Nigeria’s capital Abuja is part of a continuing government attempt to quash bad publicity. Dapo Olorunyomi, the widely respected publisher of Premium Times, was arrested, along with judicial reporter Evelyn Okakwu, after the site published three articles to which Chief of […]
Popular British TV Drama to Feature Female Genital Mutilation Plotline
Popular British period drama “Call the Midwife” is to feature female genital mutilation (FGM) in a storyline about a pregnant Somali woman living in east London in the 1960s. Campaigners against FGM welcomed the news, saying the mainstream show would help boost awareness of the widely condemned practice which has long been shrouded in secrecy. […]
Liberia: ‘Increase Women’s Participation By 35 Percent’
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has called on political parties in the country to increase women’s participation and go beyond what was agreed to with the international community and ensure that at least 35 percent of all opportunities are given to women to enter elections race. She made the remarks yesterday at the program marking the […]
At Cape Town Forum, UN Women And Partners Seek Ways To Close Gender Data Gaps
With only 41 per cent of countries regularly producing data on violence against women and only 13 per cent of countries having a dedicated gender statistics budget, the first-ever United Nations World Data Forum today explored ways to close these data gaps. “Gender statistics are critical for setting priorities, planning interventions and assessing their impacts,” […]