Gender

Child Rape on the Rise in Sri Lanka

By Feizal Samath
A spate of child rape cases in Sri Lanka has angered child rights activists and moved the government to consider tightening the relevant laws and making the offence punishable with the death sentence.

KYRGYZSTAN: Rape Trial Spotlights Women’s Plight

By David Trilling
Allegations that a member of Kyrgyzstan's KGB-successor agency organised the brutal rape of his wife have outraged women’s rights activists in Bishkek. But what rights defenders call an ordinary crime is having an extraordinary effect because of the victim’s response: she pressed charges.

Officials Decry “Appalling Gaps” in Global Data on Women

By Carey L. Biron
The World Bank and U.S. government on Thursday each announced major new initiatives aimed at expanding knowledge on the experience of women around the world, while acknowledging that much remains to be done on filling the global “data gap” on women.

U.S.: Police Treat Condoms as Contraband, Rights Group Says

By Zoha Arshad
How many condoms is it legal to carry around in your pocket? That’s the question sex workers in the United States are asking after being routinely targeted by police for having prophylactics – not in itself a crime.

Women Rights Defenders Targeted in Mexico

By Lawrence Del Gigante
There has been an alarming increase over the past two years in violence against women human rights defenders and journalists in Mexico, according to women’s human rights organisations.

67 Minutes of Shame on African Icon Nelson Mandela’s Birthday

By Jedi Ramapala
Wendy Hlophe* is still visibly grieving for her long-term friend, 28-year-old Sanna Supa, who was shot and killed outside her home in Braamficherville, a South African township, two weeks ago.

Côte d’Ivoire Law Offers Battered Women Little Protection

By Fulgence Zamblé
A shiver ran down Habiba Kanaté's* spine when she read about a policeman shooting and killing his wife in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire. "That could have been me," she said.

To Reduce Teen Pregnancies, Start with Educating Girls

By Carlota Cortes
Each year, 16 million girls aged 15-19 give birth. 50,000 of them die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. And 95 percent of those births occur in developing countries.

Family Planning Essential for Development

By Julio Godoy
Improving family planning to avoid unwanted pregnancies in developing countries, as well as assuring girls’ access to education, and women’s participation in the economy, are essential components of a sound development policy, according to Western experts and African activists.

Death Stalks Pregnant Women in East Myanmar

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
From a wooden, weather-beaten building on the edge of this border town, Mahn Mahn charts dangerous missions deep Myanmar (also Burma) for the 2,000-odd health workers under his wing.

Archaic Laws Stymie HIV/AIDS Work in Sri Lanka

By Feizal Samath
Sri Lanka has long enjoyed a low 0.1 percent HIV prevalence but, as the number of fresh infections rises steadily, experts are calling for a change in the country's archaic laws that make sex work illegal and criminalises homosexual activity. 

Canada Targets Traffickers, With a Close Eye on Sex Work

By Fawzia Sheikh
The arrests last week of the three remaining perpetrators of the alleged Opapa human trafficking ring, which forced 19 people recruited from Hungary to endure long work days, poor living conditions and no pay in the Canadian construction industry, has cast a light on Ottawa’s new measures to combat the crime.

Vietnamese Girls Grapple With Changing Sexual Climate

By Helen Clark
Conservative attitudes toward women die hard in Vietnam, as seen in the country’s worsening sex ratio at birth (SRB). Yet, social mores have relaxed sufficiently for women to tune in to late night TV talk shows to learn about the acceptability of one-night stands.

Women Secure a Third of Mexican Parliament

By Anayeli Garcia Martinez
Female candidates are poised to occupy an unprecedented third of the seats in Mexico's bicameral parliament when preliminary results for the Jul.1 election are confirmed.
Like these newly born twins, more children are born daily into families who can barely afford to raise a child. Credit: Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS

Women’s Inequality Linked to Soaring Population

By Zoha Arshad
The world’s population now stands at about seven billion, and by 2050, this figure will hit a whopping nine billion.

Making it Compulsory to Have Women in Ghana’s Parliament

By Jonathan Migneault and Jamila Akweley Okertchiri
Beatrice Boateng, a member of parliament with the New Patriotic Party, Ghana’s official opposition to the ruling New Democratic Congress, has earned her place among the country’s lawmakers.

U.S. Commits 10 Million for Mali Refugees as Intervention Talk Builds

By Carey L. Biron
President Barack Obama on Thursday authorised the release of 10 million dollars in emergency funding to help with the refugee crisis stemming from continued violence in northern Mali, in response to warnings that international aid efforts were in danger of drying up in coming months.
Legislator Gloria Stella Díaz. Credit: Helda Martinez/IPS

Colombia Tightening Laws Against Acid Attacks

By Helda Martínez
Nobody will ever know if Jhon Jairo Echenique decided to take his own life out of remorse, fear or mental illness. But the suicide followed his arrest for the stabbing and burning with acid of his 19-year-old former girlfriend Angélica Gutiérrez.

Report Details Steady Erosion of Iranian Justice System

By Jasmin Ramsey
While Iran’s human rights record has “never been satisfactory”, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution the situation has deteriorated daily, according to Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi.

IOC in Talks with Saudi Arabia over Male-Only Team

By AJ Correspondents
The International Olympic Committee has said it is in talks with Saudi Arabia, after Human Rights Watch called for Riyadh to be barred from participating in the London Olympic Games.

Birth Control – Roping in Pakistan’s Men

By Zofeen Ebrahim
“No scalpel, no stitch and no rest needed,” guarantees Dr. Ghulam Shabbir Sudhayao, referring to the surgical procedure called vasectomy - the least popular method of birth control around the world, including Pakistan.
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