Through this blog MEWC hopes to provide a platform for African women and other individuals interested in women’s rights issues in Africa to share their views and opinions on the human rights status of women in Africa.
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Disclaimer: Opinions and ideas expressed in the blog do not necessarily reflect the position of MEWC.
By Natalie Czarnota
“The Year of the Refugees”
By Becky Zelikson
"You can't leave politics out of it. Being a lesbian, being a woman, is politics"
By: Valentina Demarzo
Period. It’s not the end of a sentence but it should be the start of a conversation about human rights (because yes, women’s rights are human rights).
By: Windsidnoma Djiguimde (Ida)
Menstruation is a normal female bodily function but for many women and young girls in developing countries, the experience can be a nightmare. This is sometimes due to the limited, or lack of access to water and sanitation and hygiene products to manage period flow. The World Bank estimates that at least 500 million women and girls worldwide lack access to adequate facilities for managing their menstruation. Menstrual cycle disrupts daily normal activities for many women who do not have enough resources to handle their cycle in a healthy way. For young girls, it means missing days from school, therefore hindering their learning outcomes; and for women, it implies not being able to go to work and losing wages. Period poverty, the lack of access to hygienic products due to economic limitations, touches millions of women and girls in developing countries and constitutes a barrier to gender equality.
Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights. Period!
In the context of understanding human rights, access to affordable sexual and reproductive services and health education, are fundamental human rights. The implications of denying this have been severe: an increase in sexually transmitted infections and diseases, unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and an increase in maternal mortality. Adolescent girls and young women are restrained from much needed access to information, which would enable them to have greater control over their bodies and decision-making, ultimately also challenging systemic oppression that seeks to control women’s bodies and sexual freedoms.