The Gambia’s ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) since 2015 is under threat. Proposed changes before parliament could permit medicalised female genital cutting and allow it for consenting adults. This potential reversal has thrust the country into the global spotlight as the latest example of the backlash against gender equality. The Gambia’s criminalisation of FGM […]
Access to formal finance remains a challenge in Nigeria Only six per cent of women in Nigeria have access to credit despite access to finance in Nigeria progressing from 56 per cent in 2023 to 64 per cent in 2024, a global non-profit group, Women’s World Banking, has said. The information was contained in the […]
The call for increased women’s participation and leadership across all spheres of public and political life in Ghana has reached a critical juncture, with the proposed Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Bill being hailed as the last viable solution to address long-standing gender disparities. At the Women in Governance National Dialogue held in Accra, the Minister […]
Femicide is regarded as “the most brutal and extreme manifestation of violence against women and girls”. A civil society organisation, DOHS Cares Foundation, on Thursday april 4, 2024, led scores of women of different ages and from different fields in a walk against femicide on the streets of Lagos. The walk also raised awareness about […]
Majority of citizens see domestic violence as a private rather than criminal matter. Key findings Gender-based violence ranks as the most important women’s-rights problem that Ugandans say their government and society must address. Half (49%) of citizens say violence against women and girls is a common occurrence in their community. More than seven in 10 […]
Older women and women with disabilities face particular risk of abuse, yet their situation is largely hidden in most global and national violence-related data, according to two new publications released today by the World Health Organization (WHO). The health agency is calling for better research across countries that will help ensure these women are counted, […]
In March 2024, trade ministers from around the world formally recognized the contribution of women’s participation in trade to advance economic growth and sustainable development in the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration at the World Trade Organization’s 13th Ministerial Conference. Yet women still face various barriers preventing them from fully participating in trade. The recently […]
The 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) delivered on March 22, 2024 robust commitments by UN Member States to strengthen financing and institutions to eradicate women’s and girls’ poverty. Globally, 10.3 per cent of women live in extreme poverty today, according to the report presented by the UN Secretary-General to […]
Women’s rights are under attack, and governments must act to reverse that dangerous trend, the UN chief told a his annual town hall event with civil society activists on Wednesday, as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) session continued its first week, with a host of side events highlighting deteriorating conditions around the […]
The annual UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meets in March each year to address the widespread inequalities, violence and discrimination women continue to face all around the world. Here is a brief five-point guide to this high-profile UN event. 1. Pushing for action for eight decades The work of the Commission began […]
