There’s Life in the AIDS Ribbon

Thirty-year old Swapna Raj of Hyderabad is a woman in a hurry: in time for the International AIDS day Swapna, a HIV positive person on anti-retroviral therapy (ART), has received a contract from the state government to deliver 5,000 red ribbons.

Breast Cancer Screening Comes to Palestinians

Fatmeh Abu Hrar Tabeel has had her first ever breast cancer screening. “It feels good to know, of course. Thanks to god, I am well,” the 51-year-old mother of seven told IPS. “Now I can examine myself once a month from home; the doctor showed me how.”

Egypt’s Women Rebel Against Harassment

Egyptian bullies who sexually harass women in the streets, often taking advantage of mob situations and the anonymity these provide, are getting a taste of their own medicine - and they don’t like it.

Egypt Revolution Makes It Worse for Women

During the uprising that toppled Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak women stood shoulder to shoulder with men in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, pressing the revolution’s demands for freedom, justice and dignity. But those who hoped the revolution would make them equal partners in Egypt’s future claim they may be worse off now than under Mubarak’s authoritarian rule.

Penang’s Women Lead Local Democracy

A unique electoral exercise in Penang state, promoting  participatory and gender-responsive decision-making at the grassroots level, may serve as a cue for the revival of local elections in Malaysia.  

Côte d’Ivoire – New Cassava Varieties Bring Women Autonomy

Women farmers in Côte d'Ivoire are achieving greater autonomy and economic independence thanks to new varieties of cassava.

Murder Tops Crimes by Women in Afghanistan

The number of Afghan women being jailed for murder has been increasing every year, officials say. More than a quarter of the 700 women in prison are serving murder sentences.

Polygamy Throttles Women in Senegal

Fatou (40), Awa (32) and Aissatou Gaye (24) sit in a meditative mood on the tiled floor outside their matrimonial home in Keur Massar, a township in the Senegalese capital Dakar.

Israeli Women Fight Orthodox Curbs

After filing the first-ever class-action lawsuit on the issue of gender segregation in Israel, a local religious women’s rights group says it hopes to protect the rights of women in the public sphere of Israeli society.

Cuban Women Face Challenges of Self-Employment

Beatriz Lemes took her time deciding, and finally agreed “apprehensively” to take the job of heading a state-run company that is making the transition to financial autonomy, a system that is spreading throughout Cuba and is testing women’s capacities, among other things.

Pacific Nations Women Promised a Better Deal

Leaders of 15 Pacific Island nations have pledged to remove barriers to women’s economic empowerment, end violence against women and pave the way for their increased political representation, at the conclusion of the 43^rd Pacific Islands Forum in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, last week. The meeting was also attended by the Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet.

Women Take up Care of Tohoku Elders

Yumiko Yonekura, who survived last year’s massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Tohoku in northeast Japan, has just launched ‘Hot Care Kesenuma’, a welfare company that provides special care for feeble elders in the affected region.

“The Truth is That All Problems Have Solutions” – Even Climate Change in Ethiopia

Eight years ago Kenbesh Mengesha earned an uncertain income collecting firewood from local government forests and selling them to her fellow slum-dwellers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She would earn on average about 50 cents a day, if she was lucky.

Immigration Policies Wreak Unseen Havoc on U.S. Communities

Deportation is a devastating experience for a family, breaking it apart and leading to emotional and mental stress for its members. But a new report from the Centre for American Progress shows that such duress extends beyond families and into the larger community as a whole.

Cash Grants Replace Food Aid for Niger Families in Need

When her name is called, Rékia Djibo leaves the group of women gathered in front of the school in Toula, and takes a confident step towards the door. Djibo is one of the recipients of a cash transfer from the World Food Programme here on the outskirts of the southwestern Niger city of Tillabéri.