DISPLACEMENT CAMP, Nampula province, Mozambique—Fátima António, 18, the mother of a five-month-old boy, told UNFPA she was “apprehensive and hesitant” about using contraception. She is not alone. Nampula province has a worrying trend of nearly half of all girls aged 15 to 19 being teenage mothers (AIS 2015). Fátima had decided to start using family planning […]
Opinion NEW YORK, Jan 24 2023 (IPS) – “Is it a sin to be a girl? We don’t want to be at home and illiterate. We want to go to school, study and be intelligent.” In just a few words, this plea for education from a young Afghan girl has captured the world’s attention. Her […]
The head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Wednesday underlined the need to achieve gender equality globally and fight hate speech, particularly that which targets women and girls online. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay made the appeal in her message to mark the International Day of Women in Multilateralism, which highlights their […]
Kidnapping by militants in Western Africa is nothing new. However, security experts say many criminals are now abducting women and children to use them as bargaining chips for political attention and fundraising. At least fifty women in two localities, north and west of the town of Arbinda, in Burkina Faso’s northern region, were kidnapped by […]
Sierra Leone has passed a law requiring public and private entities to reserve 30 percent of their jobs for women in a bid to tackle gender imbalances in a male-dominated society. In addition to the 30 percent quota, the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act assures women at least 14 weeks of maternity leave, equal […]
The agency announced on Thursday that it was dedicating the International Day of Education on 24 January, to the country’s women and girls. “No country in the world should bar women and girls from receiving an education. Education is a universal human right that must be respected,” said Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “The international community […]
How can the news media represent women’s voices better? The answer might be in a recent report, “From outrage to opportunity: How to include the missing perspectives of women of all colors in news leadership and coverage”. The report was written by Luba Kassova, the award-winning evidence-based storyteller, and commissioned by the Bill & Melinda […]
For most people around the world, physical work takes up a great amount of time and energy every day. But what determines whether it is men or women who are working harder in households? In most hunter-gatherer societies, men are the hunters and women are the gatherers – with men seemingly walking the furthest. But […]
An expert has revealed that no fewer than 80 per cent of Nigerian girls and women are victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the country. A health educator at the Ekiti South-west Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Mr. Seidu Kayode, gave the revelation in Ilawe-Ekiti, yesterday during a Stop Cut Project and community sensitisation […]
Governments are not investing enough in those children who need education the most, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report published on Tuesday 17th January 2023, calling for equitable financing to combat “learning poverty”. Children from the poorest households benefit the least from national public education funding, according to the study, which examines […]
