Gender

Susana Trimarco holding a missing persons poster for her daughter, Marita Verón. Credit: Courtesy of Metrodelito.

Outrage Over Acquittal in Argentine Sex Trafficking Case

By Marcela Valente
The courtroom broke out in angry shouts and cries when judges in Argentina unexpectedly acquitted 13 defendants accused of kidnapping a young woman and forcing her into prostitution in 2002.

U.S. Defends Low-Key Stance on Rwanda, Congo

By Carey L. Biron
President Barack Obama’s top diplomat on African affairs on Tuesday defended the U.S. administration’s response to the continued crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the face of stepped up criticism from both civil society and U.S. lawmakers.
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Q&A: The Challenges of Women’s Empowerment and Equality

By Julia Kallas
Today, approximately 125 countries have laws that penalise domestic violence - a great advance from a decade ago. Yet 603 million women around the world still live in countries where domestic violence is not a crime, and up to seven in ten women are targeted for physical or sexual violence, or both.

Tunisia Gears Up to Host World Social Forum

By Justin Hyatt
Following in the wake of the wave of revolutions dubbed the ‘Arab Spring’, which originated here nearly two years ago, North Africa is gearing up to host the World Social Forum (WSF) for the first time.

OP-ED: Women Out Loud

By Michelle Bachelet, Michel Sidibe, and Jennifer Gatsi Mallet
Global efforts to reach the “three zeros” for women and girls - zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths - are gaining momentum. Much of the progress we have seen is underpinned by the work of women living with HIV.

Longer Lives, Lower Incomes for Japanese Women

By Suvendrini Kakuchi
When Hiroko Taguchi retired this past April, at the age of 64, from her job as an insurance sales agent, she joined the rapidly growing ranks of Japan’s aging women who now outnumber their male counterparts.

Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Bill Spreads Fear

By Henry Wasswa
Gay activist Gerald Ssentongo of Uganda is afraid to talk openly about his cause. Not only that, but he is terrified of being “caught” socialising with gay people and only meets his friends at night in out-of-reach places.

Islamist Vigilantes Begin to Police Egypt

By Cam McGrath
As Egyptians debate how deeply Sharia should influence the new constitution, and in the face of clashes that left five dead on Wednesday, some extremists have taken to the streets to enforce their own interpretation of "God’s law". In recent months, these self-appointed guardians of public probity have accosted Muslims and minority Christians they accuse of violating the provisions of Islamic law.

Violence Against Afghan Women on the Rise

By Kreshma Fakhri
Afghan women are no strangers to gender-based violence. For decades now, violent crimes against women have been heading for epic proportions, as young girls are forced into marriage, wives and daughters are abused, and women are dealt harsh punishments for ‘moral crimes’.

Immigrant Caregivers in Spain Hit Hard by Crisis

By Inés Benítez
“It’s really painful to work and not get paid. And I can’t report them, because I don’t have documents, or a contract,” Rossana, one of the many immigrant women working as domestic employees and caregivers in Spain, told IPS.

Q&A: A Missionary Who Preaches Gender Equality

By Ivet González
Midiam Lobaina describes herself as a “Christian militant” who takes a feminist reading of the Bible to workshops and religious services around Cuba, to discuss gender equality and a culture of peace.
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Q&A: Education Is Where HIV Care Begins

By Julia Kallas
When Shorai Chitongo founded Ray of Hope, a support group for female survivors of domestic violence in 2005, she discovered that three-quarters of the survivors in the group were HIV-positive. [caption id="attachment_114724" align="alignright" width="250"]

There’s Life in the AIDS Ribbon

By Stella Paul
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.

Major New U.S. AIDS Plan Disallows Funding for Family Planning

By Carey L. Biron
At perhaps a critical turning point in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, the U.S. government, the single largest funder in that fight, on Thursday unveiled a major new strategy for pushing towards achieving an “AIDS-free generation”, the stated U.S. goal.

Rebels Begin Withdrawal in Eastern DR Congo

By AJ Correspondents
Rebels in eastern DR Congo say they have started withdrawing from territory they have captured from government troops, days after a pullout deal was reached in neighbouring Uganda.

Feminists Want to Paint Cuba Purple

By Ivet González
There are no purple billboards on city streets, and no public service announcements on television to mark the date. But many different voices in Cuba remember that this year marks the centennial of the birth of the local feminist movement, a platform for fighting for equality and against gender-based violence.

Taking the Knowledge of Doha Back to Kenya’s Rural Communities

By Mantoe Phakathi
The skyscraper Qatari capital city of Doha is a far cry from Cecilia Kibe’s home in Turkana district, a remote area in Kenya inhabited by mostly nomadic communities and pastoralists hit hard by the effects of climate change.

Why Are Women Shut Out of Peace Talks?

By Thalif Deen
Against the backdrop of an upcoming U.N. Security Council (UNSC) meeting on women, peace and security, a coalition of some 63 international women's groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has decried the absence of women during peace negotiations in post-conflict situations.

Using the Airwaves to Empower Quechua Women in Bolivia

By Jenny Cartagena Torrico
"Atispa mana atispa ñawpajman rinanchis tiyan" ("Power without power, we have to keep moving forward”) in the Quechua language, Ruth Rojas told her listeners at the end of a series of radio programmes on political culture, broadcast to indigenous women in Bolivia.

Young Women Face Double Whammy in Pacific Islands

By Catherine Wilson
With youth populations growing faster than jobs in the Pacific Islands, young women, who are also confronting social pressures to conform to traditional gender roles, account for the highest rates of unemployment in most countries.

Opposition to U.S. Bases Reaches Turning Point

By Suvendrini Kakuchi
Okinawa, the largest of a group of 60 sub-tropical islands forming Japan’s southernmost prefecture, has an equable climate and preferential treatment for United States servicemen under the Mutual Cooperation Security Treaty between the U.S. and Japan.
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