Fighting Abuse of Women in Western Cape Farmlands
In part one of a four-part series on gender-based violence and grassroots activism, we look at an anti-GBV community-response team in the small Western Cape town of Klapmuts. It is a tall order for an organisation with no funding to provide protection and safety for female victims of gender-based violence (GBV) 24 hours a day. […]
Wife Material
When I was young, every time I left the food on fire for too long, I was told that my husband would be angry if I did that in his house. At first, it seemed like a joke but as I grew up, I would hear even more of these statements. When I sat too […]
Indonesia’s Carbon-Rich Mangroves In fashion With Women Weavers
In a rural office on Bengkalis island, off the northeast coast of Sumatra, 30-year-old Mayasari runs a face mask dyed with tree sap through an antique sewing machine. The day before, Mayasari, who goes by one name, and a dozen other women in Pedekik village learned to make hand sanitiser with an extract from the […]
China Prepares New Sexual Harassment Safeguards For Women
China’s top lawmaking body on Monday debated legislation to give women more protection against gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, state media reported, outlining rules including a clearer definition of inappropriate behaviour. The standing committee of the country’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, deliberated a draft amendment to the “Women’s Rights and Interests […]
Cambodia Aims Hybrid Digital Currency On Blockchain At unbanked
When Cambodia’s central bank launched a pilot for a digital payment system in July 2019, its aim was to increase financial inclusion in the country and expand use of the local currency over the U.S. dollar. Then came the coronavirus pandemic. For the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), which had been researching a blockchain-based payment […]
In Egypt, Lending Apps Boost Cash-Strapped Women Business Owners
An age-old savings system in Egypt is going digital – helping to plug a gap in funding for women-led businesses * Egypt’s businesswomen face high microlending rates * To cope, many turn to online loan circles * New apps offer a lifeline in pandemic Nagat Mohamed was in dire straits. After-sales at her clothes shop […]
China To Give Women Right To Decide On Caesarean Birth
China will give pregnant women the right to choose a caesarean birth for babies even if husbands object, state media reported on Tuesday, one of the latest steps to safeguard women’s rights in a society in which traditions can play a powerful role. China’s top law-making body, the standing committee of parliament, is meeting this […]
Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok Resigns Amid Unrelenting Civil Unrest
Sudan’s Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, has announced his resignation in a televised address to the Sudanese people this evening. His resignation comes just hours after at least three civilians were killed as Sudanese security forces violently suppressed another wave of the Marches of the Millions, that saw hundreds of thousand take to the streets across […]
India Sex Workers Seek To Be Counted After Court Upholds Their Rights
A ruling by India’s top court that sex workers should be given identity documents will have far-reaching benefits, allowing them to vote and access state food aid, campaigners have said. Yet just how far-reaching remains unknown. Official estimates suggest there are about a million sex workers in India, many of whom currently cannot vote, open […]
Parliament On Fire Breakout At Precinct
Parliament’s Presiding Officers wish to confirm the breakout of a fire on the Parliamentary precinct this morning. The cause of the fire has not yet been established and investigations are underway by the relevant authorities. The fire has affected both the Old Assembly Wing and the National Assembly Wing of the buildings of Parliament, which […]
Understanding Emotional Boundaries
Ana and Jeff met for the first time at one of my workshops in New York. They described their spontaneous chemistry as love at first sight. It was as if they were destined to be together. As their connection strengthened, Ana came closer to having to face her past. Hidden inside her emotional closet was […]
Ethiopia Rejects UNHCR Resolution
The Ethiopian government said it will not acknowledge the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) resolution for the establishment of an independent investigation team for the alleged human rights violation in the northern conflict. In her press briefing yesterday, the Government Communication Service State Minister Selamawit Kassa stated that the resolution which was illegally adopted […]
U.S. Vaccine Mandates Offer Bargaining Chip For Worker Rights
U.S. vaccine mandates are giving workers greater negotiating power, experts say, as the threat of strikes and collective action wins concessions for workers pummeled by the pandemic. They say that labour unions, already enjoying a resurgence of interest under a broader push for workers’ rights, can use the mandates to negotiate better working conditions for […]
‘Manhood’ Initiation Ceremony Kills 23 South African Teenagers
A traditional initiation rite in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province has left 23 Xhosa teenagers dead. Provincial premier Oscar Mabuyane has called for those responsible to be charged with murder. The dead succumbed to dehydration or sepsis from circumcision at the start of the ceremony, which lasts between two and six months. Almost a thousand […]
NGOs Dismayed With Executive Silence On Attacks and Killings of Persons With Albinism
A consortium of human rights organizations have expressed dismay with the silence from the authorities in light of increasing cases of physical attacks, killings, abductions, mutilations and infanticide of persons with albinism (PWAs) in Malawi. The organizations, which included the Association for Persons with Albinism in Malawi (APAM), the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace […]