Gender

Pressure Mounting on U.S. over Congo Violence

With casualties in the long-running conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) now surpassing every conflict since World War II, U.S. policymakers and advocates are stepping up campaigns to raise awareness and push legislation aimed at encouraging new negotiations, assisting in government reforms, and pressuring the neighbouring countries that have propped up the DRC’s government.

Afghan Women Harassed into Unemployment

By Shelly Kittleson

While global attention is fixed on the scheduled pullout of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan in 2014, women here have a much more immediate concern: how will they survive another day at work?

Arab Magazine Challenges Attitudes About Arab Women

By Pierre Klochendler

With a subtle blend of colour and shadow, 20-year-old Sumoud Farraj prepares for a photo shoot. Next month, along with three other young Arab women, she'll appear in a designer miniskirt on the cover of Lilac, an Arabic-language women's magazine.

Young Men Break with Machista Stereotypes in Ecuador

By Leisa Sánchez

At the age of 20, Damián Valencia speaks knowledgeably about every aspect of gender equality. He is a member of Cascos Rosa, a young people's initiative working for cultural change against machismo and violence against women in Ecuador.

Giving Paraplegic Women a New Lease on Life

By Ashfaq Yusufzai

Gul Shada thought it was the end of the road for her when she and her husband met with a road accident last year in the Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Not only did the mishap leave Shada widowed at the relatively young age of 37, she also sustained an injury to her back that immobilised her.

Women’s Rights Still Denied in Latin America

By Emilio Godoy

Latin American states are still failing to provide guarantees for women's educational, sexual and reproductive rights, according to activists from different regions of the world meeting in the Mexican capital.

After Half a Century, Women Head to the Polls

By Irfan Ahmed

For 70-year-old Ghulam Fatima, the upcoming general elections on May 11 promise to be unlike any she has witnessed before in Pakistan.

Female Garment Workers Bear Brunt of Tragedy

By Suvendrini Kakuchi

Last month, 18-year-old Shapla was just another one of thousands of garment workers employed in a factory in Savar, a suburb of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.

New Rule for State-Paid Childbirth Stirs Discontent in Armenia

By Gayane Abrahamyan

A government decree in Armenia that bars pregnant women who are not residents of Yerevan from receiving free childbirth services in the capital is causing discontent in outlying regions.

The Challenge of Being a Maasai Woman

By Joan Erakit

The Maasai tribe of Kenya and Tanzania has long been a beacon of traditional culture to many Africans - and for Westerners on safari through Maasai Mara, Samburu or Amboseli, a familiar face.

What Pakistani Women Want

By Zofeen Ebrahim

As Pakistan inches closer to the May 11 elections, and the accompanying heat and dust get even thicker, it is pertinent to stop for a moment and ask: what do women voters in Pakistan want?

Kenyan Women to Break Glass Ceiling in Cabinet

By Brian Ngugi

Kenya’s nominees for cabinet secretary positions, who include an unprecedented number of women - six out of 18 - will undergo a gruelling public vetting process by the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments Thursday.

Rape Cases Highlight “Colonial” Police Practices

By Ranjit Devraj

Harsh police handling of public protests erupting across India over a spate of sensational rapes since December has resulted in renewed demands to reform a force that retains the repressive features of its colonial origins.

Women Taking the Lead in Northern Pakistan Province

By Ashfaq Yusufzai

“Women in Pakhtun society have traditionally helped their men in hard times,” declares former Pakistani lawmaker Shagufta Malik. They are doing so again, and how, going by their hectic campaigning activity in northern Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Skilled Midwives May be the Key to Healthy Babies

By Joan Erakit

The story goes like this: a young mother lies quietly in a dimly lit room having just given birth to her baby. For the next seven days she watches over the child with caution, nursing and swaddling it patiently. Fearful that the infant will not survive past a few days, she refuses to give it a name.

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Women make up half the world's population, but don't nearly share half of the world's wealth, well-being and opportunity. Two-thirds of the world poor are women, disproportionally exposing women to precarious living conditions, disease and unmitigated natural disasters. The media, meanwhile, remains a male-dominated sector in much of the world, contributing to women's voices lacking a crucial amplifier to put their concerns on political agendas and unleash the development potential of their ingenuity. Rather than then stereotypical victims of local and global forces, women are also organizer, innovators, conservators and community builders. These are some of their stories.