The Egyptian elections delivered a parliament that has one of the lowest rates of female representation in the world. Yet this is the parliament that expresses the political will of the people of Egypt. It may also be one that ignores the social realities of gender and of women’s political participation, says Hania Sholkamy
Dorcas Mbvuto, 32, was raped by a spiritual leader in her church in April 2010 on the outskirts of Queens Park West, a Bulawayo suburb. Three months later, the quiet woman was shocked when she discovered that she was pregnant with his baby, says one of her sisters, who declined to be named.
The woman who made history when she became Africa’s first female head of state has been sworn in for a second term. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who also recently jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize will serve another six year term as President of Liberia
Just two years ago, Elizabeth Sakala-Banda, a mother of seven in Zambia’s eastern Petauke district, was unemployed and had no way of knowing that an Asian micro-credit scheme could turn her life around, and help put her children through school.
Libya’s interim government and its international supporters should make it an urgent priority to build a functioning justice system and begin legal reform that protects human rights after Muammar Gaddafi, Human Rights Watch said today, in releasing its World Report 2012.
A small Kenyan study has found that more women than men feel HIV is a less serious threat after their male partners are circumcised; the study also made local news for finding that female partners of recently circumcised men found sex more enjoyable.
Feminist campaigners and activists have raised the question of the possible conflicts between the "I don't forward violence" action and the push to map gender-based violence. Does it contradict each other? How can we report on violence without spreading it, and forcing victims to relive their experience?
Women who are at the heart of a new and emerging Egypt are absent from formal politicsThe remarkable revelation of the Egyptian revolution concerns women. It turns out that the women of Egypt are at the heart of our politics.
Source: The Daily Beast
When the Egyptian army performed a “virginity test” on Samira Ibrahim, she sued, sparking both support and threats of death. How she and others are changing life for women.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female president whose steely nerves have been tested at the helm of a deeply divided post-war Liberia, has again have been tested at the helm of a deeply divided post-war Liberia, has again been sworn-in for a second term in office, after wining Liberia’s last election with high votes .
Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi has called on Kenyanwomen to unite and form a strong political party. Speaking during a one-day voter education workshop at Nyeri CDF hall, Murugi said most people in the country are women who could form a political party to clinch many seats in the next general election.
Source: Vancuver Sun
Many Egyptian political parties, especially dominant Islamist groups, have refused to commit to protecting women's rights and to abolishing the death penalty, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.
Source: Afrique en ligne
African women want to bring real added value to the development of intra-African trade by implementing their sense of innovation and their dynamism, a spokesman of African women, Algerian Fatima Karadja, declared on Tuesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Source: FOROYAA
On Friday, 6th January CNN International's Inside Africa show aired an exclusive interview with successful African women entrepreneurs who recently participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) African Women's Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) program hosted by U.S. State Department.
Source: FOROYYA
Women working at the Banjulinding horticultural garden have expressed their concerns regarding the high cost of electricity, lack of water and markets for their produce. The women gardeners made these complaints when this reporter visited the garden over the weekend.
Source: Vanguard
In line with the call by the United Nations for countries to ensure long-term food security, Federal government has been urged to enact policies that would ensure women's ownership of land in the country.
Source: The Moment
HUNDREDS of women on Monday morning blocked a major highway along Zaria/Kaduna road, to protest against their forced eviction by the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) from their ancestral home at a village behind Barakallahu, near Rigachikun, a satellite town in Kaduna.
Source: Sudan Tribune
The Islamic Fiqh Council in Sudan issued a fatwa (religious order) saying that it is forbidden for the country to create a womens soccer team, deeming it an immoral act.
Source: Public Agenda
Even though government has put measures in place to ensure gender equality and women empowerment, their status has not changed when it comes to representation in political offices hence, likelihood for further reduction of women in Parliament come 2013 making Ghana part of countries in Africa with bad records on women's representation.
Source: Rwanda Focus
When entering one of the cosmetic shops in town, the sight that greets you is of rows of products that are supposed to give smoother, lighter skin to the almost exclusive female clientele. "I want my skin to be brighter and smoother," one lady in the shop explains, confirming the persistent perception among some women that lighter-skinned people are more beautiful or have a better social and economic status.