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Wednesday, November 11, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Gender
No Rest for Cyber Activists
One and a half years since the beginning of the Arab Spring, activists who guided their fellow citizens through the relatively unchartered terrain of social media activism feel their fight for human rights, democracy and transparency is only just beginning.
Rio+20: Creating a Future Girls Want
On a wall in the Rio conference centre is an unusual, brightly coloured tree. It is made of sticky notes, arranged so that the tree's branches extend down and out. On these notes, delegates passing by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girls Scouts (WAGGGS) have been asked to write down the futures they envision.
Newborn Deaths Expose India’s Low Health Budget
A year after the Indian government began paying pregnant women to deliver their babies in state-run facilities, the pressure is showing on the country’s understaffed and poorly equipped hospitals.Women Targeted in Tahrir Square
It is becoming increasingly uncomfortable to be female or foreign in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, birthplace of the January 2011 Egyptian revolution.
Saving the Mangroves Front
On a humid islet covered with mangroves, Lucena Duman and her neighbours have found a route out of poverty. They work as conservationists and tour guides in this isolated corner of the Philippines.
Nepal’s Female Farmers Fear Climate Change
When Arati Chaudhary’s husband left for India to find work as a migrant labourer, the job of managing farm and family fell on her slender shoulders.
Former Girl Soldiers Trade One Nightmare for Another
"When I was still at school I was abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, along with 139 other girls," says Grace Akallo. "I spent seven months in captivity, but I survived, I escaped and I went back home."
Q&A: Battle for Human Rights in Rio Is “Far From Over”
Human rights should be explicitly recognised as an indispensable ingredient of sustainable development at the Rio+20 summit in Brazil, says Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Malawi Businesses Lose Out after AU Summit Cancelled
Small and large businesses in Malawi are counting their losses following the cabinet’s decision not to host the African Union summit in July.
Q&A: Women Must Be at the Forefront of Rio+20, and Beyond
Unlocking women's energies and allowing them to become drivers of change could fuel the motor of sustainable development.Communal Violence Threatens Democratic Change in Myanmar
The outbreak over the past week of communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine State seriously threatens the ongoing reform process in Myanmar, according to experts here.
Rio+20: Transforming Political Platitudes into Economic Realities
When world leaders endorse the final plan of action, titled "The Future We Want, at the Rio+20 summit in Brazil next week, a lingering question may remain unanswered: how best can the United Nations transform political platitudes into economic realities?Challenges for Non-Sexist Communication in Cuba
The influence of journalists and film directors who are sensitive to the issue of gender equality is becoming visible in the Cuban media, where intellectuals and activists are demanding more action to break with sexism.
Q&A: “Today’s Food System Is Failing Small Farmers”
With heads of state from more than 120 nations and tens of thousands of civil society and international development experts gathering for the U.N. Summit on Sustainable Development next week, it is accepted wisdom that rethinking agriculture is one of most critical issues facing this and future generations.
MEXICO: Yearly Floods the New Reality for Rural Women
Year after year, women in rural areas of the southeastern Mexican state of Tabasco have to get ready for floods that threaten their homes, crops and livestock.
How Would You Measure Success at the Rio Summit?
When the heavily hyped three-day U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) comes to a close in Rio de Janeiro Jun. 22, what would be the yardstick to measure its successes and failures?
Trans Community Makes Slow Progress in Vietnam
The restaurant Thuy Linh sits by one of Saigon’s black, soupy canals at the edge of District Three. Though operating in an area already full of restaurants and cafes it doesn’t struggle for business.
CENTRAL AMERICA Still a Long Way to Go in Fight Against Sexual Violence
Access to justice for women who suffer sexual violence in Central America and southern Mexico remains limited despite the high incidence of rape and other crimes, of which underage girls are the main victims, experts say.CARIBBEAN: Gay Rights Slowly Coming Out of the Closet
Over the past six months, governments in two influential Caribbean trade bloc member states – Jamaica and Guyana - have floated political test balloons on the question of whether colonial-era laws criminalising homosexuality should be amended in keeping with trends in most Western states.
EL SALVADOR Women Fight Blows from Climate Change with Sewing Machines and Eggs
Amanda Menjívar is moved by the sight of the 16 sewing machines donated to help a group of local women set up a sewing centre to get over the devastating effects of the disaster caused by Hurricane Ida in the Salvadoran town of Verapaz.Nepal Misses Pro-Women Constitution
Nepal’s squabbling political parties have squandered an opportunity to pass into law one of the most gender-friendly constitutions ever devised.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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.
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NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
