Nigerian Wins The First UN Military Gender Advocate Of The Year Award
Nigerien army officer, Major Aichatou Ousmane Issaka, has won the first UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for her service with the United Nations Mission in Mali between 2014 and 2015. The award recognises her dedication and effort of an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles within the United Nations Security Council Resolution […]
A Breakthrough In Africa’s Rice Production
The first hybrid rice varieties developed in sub-Saharan Africa are yielding up to four times more than other improved varieties, say scientists, who are using web-based tools to identify the right climate conditions to maximise harvests. The 15 hybrids, bred in Kenya and Tanzania, are also resistant to diseases and the high temperatures found in […]
Egypt’s Statue Honouring Soldiers Gets Tongues Wagging As Depicting Unwanted Advance On Women
The sculpture, titled “Mother of the Martyr,” depicts a slender peasant woman, a traditional artistic representation of Egypt, with her arms outstretched. A helmeted soldier is standing behind her, looking over her shoulder with his arms wrapped around her. According to Africa News Agency, A provincial governor in Egypt has ordered changes to a sculpture […]
Here Is The Most Translated African Fable
A fable on how humans learnt to walk upright is the most translated short story in African history, according to the group that published it. The piece was written by award-winning veteran Kenyan author, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, and published by the Pan-African collective Jalada Africa. Titled “The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright,” it […]
Women Matter Africa Report: Representation Of African Women In The Private And Public Sectors
Drawing on research undertaken at over 200 African companies and interviews with more than 30 women leaders across the continent, McKinsey & Company’s latest report on Africa, Women Matter Africa, highlights that the continent has taken big strides regarding women’s representation in the private and public sectors. SOME KEY FINDINGS IN WOMEN MATTER AFRICA REPORT: In the […]
A Walk Is Good For Your Blood Sugar, Too
For obese people who sit for most of the day, replacing some sitting time with standing, slow walking or slow cycling reduces average blood sugar across the day and into the night, a small study finds. “Anything you can do to bring down glucose readings throughout the day is a good thing,” said senior author […]
Does Reading Make You A Better Person? Study Suggests It Depends On What You Read
In 2012, when bookstores and book clubs were alight with talk of Gone Girl, a vital modifier was attached to descriptions of Flynn’s fast-paced story: it’s not just a thriller, it’s a literary thriller. “Literary,” in the case of a book about a marriage gone violently rancid, suggests that Flynn wasn’t only concerned with what […]
Mali: Djeba – My Child Marriage Nightmare
In her family’s house in a rural village in the municipality of Baroueli, located in the Segou region of Mali, 20-year-old Djeba gives a broad smile as she sits her son on her lap. But behind the smile are memories of pain and trauma. Djeba was a brilliant student who had big ambitions for her […]
Fresh Two Thirds Gender Rule Bid Goes Before Kenya’s Senate
Nairobi — A fresh attempt to achieve gender parity in elective positions will be made on Thursday when a Motion to table a Bill on the two thirds gender rule, sponsored by nominated Senator Judith Sijeny is presented before the Senate. Speaking during a media briefing Wednesday morning, Gender Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki emphasised the […]
State to Challenge Pistorius’s 6-Year Jail Term
The State will on Friday again challenge a ruling by Judge Thokozile Masipa against convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius. It would ask for leave to appeal against the six-year jail term she sentenced him to on July 6. The hearing would take place in the High Court in Johannesburg, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said. […]
Nigeria Gets U.S.$125 Million World Bank Funds to Tackle Polio
Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said Federal Government had obtained a 125-million-dollar loan from the World Bank to tackle fresh cases of polio and other health challenges in the country. The minister made this known while briefing the Senate Committee on Primary Health and Communicable Diseases on Thursday in Abuja. Adowole said that with […]
Over 250 Marginalised Women in Africa to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
More than 250 marginalised women in Africa will later this year climb Mount Kilimanjaro to advocate women’s rights towards accessing natural resources, an official said on Sunday. Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. The summit on Mount Kilimanjaro is called Uhuru Peak, and stands at […]
Zimbabwean Women Smuggled And Sold As Wives In South Africa
It is believed more and more people are fleeing Robert Mugabe’s increasingly repressive regime. One South African former border control official told us crossings into the country had gone up 35% recently, while several of the illegal entrants spoke of “hundreds” crossing every day. Many are entering South Africa along the Limpopo River, which is mostly a […]
A ‘Sex and the City’ for African Viewers
Let’s get this out of the way up front: “An African City,” the steamy Ghanaian web series about five young women looking for love in Accra, is an unabashed rip-off of “Sex and the City.” There are the ubiquitous five-inch strappy sandals, the scene-stealing dresses made of Fanti fabric and the bevy of men who […]
Is Church Finally Warming Up to Women Leadership?
A few weeks back, Pope Francis formed a Commission to look into whether women should become deacons in the Catholic Church. If the commission gives a green light, women will have the chance to become priests, a historic move towards the end of the regular all-male clergy practice, mostly in the Catholic Church. Women have […]