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Thursday, November 12, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Gender
SOUTH AFRICA: Rising Leader With Her Feet on the Ground
Zanele Magwaza-Msibi is a woman with a mission: to serve the people of South Africa. She is poised to become leader of South Africa's newest political party, the National Freedom Party (NFP), after breaking away from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), where she served as national chairperson.
SRI LANKA: Garment Industry Woos Women Workers
Sri Lanka’s garment industry has launched a multi-million rupee campaign to bring in female workers shunning the country’s most profitable sector for better paying jobs.
PAKISTAN: Divided Between the Mullah and the Model
A spat between a Pakistani actress and an Islamic leader has emerged as a vivid revelation of a deep split across the nation between different sets of values.
Surviving the Sexist Genocide in Guatemala
"He would punch my head all the time, pull my hair, smack and kick me. And he would make me wear long sleeves to hide the bruises; even on my wedding day I had a black and blue mark on my arm," Heidi Velásquez told IPS in Guatemala.
ZIMBABWE: Activists Seek WSF Solidarity Against Privatisation
Zimbabwean activists will raise the issue of privatisation at the World Social Forum, taking place Feb 6-11 in Dakar, Senegal, and seek solidarity from other activists to resist a renewed government attempt at selling Zimbabwe’s state- owned enterprises.
PERU: Popular Women Vote-Catchers Stand in for Real Participation
Women candidates nominated for the presidential and legislative elections in Peru in April tend to be big names in the worlds of sports, television or show business, or are following family tradition. But political parties are failing to promote meaningful participation by women in politics.Rape, As Sweden Redefines It
The number of reported rapes in this Nordic country has increased dramatically in recent years, especially after the Swedish Sexual Crimes Act was reformed in 2005. This does not, however, necessarily mean that the actual number of rapes has increased, according to analysts.
WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: ‘Signs of Change’ Says Bolivia’s Morales as World Social Forum Opens
Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Dakar on Sunday to mark the start of the annual World Social Forum. Activists carried colorful banners denouncing land grabs, restrictive immigration laws, agricultural subsidies in Europe and the U.S. and many other issues.Assange in Decisive Fight Over Swedish Rape Law
The attempt to extradite the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for questioning over allegations of sexual crimes has caused a big debate about the Swedish justice system abroad. The case has also brought the comparatively broad definitions of what constitutes rape in this country into the limelight.
MEXICO: Agave Sweetens Economic Prospects of Indigenous Women
With a wooden spoon in hand, Hortencia Rómulo briskly stirs the amber-coloured liquid cooking in an enormous steel pot.SRI LANKA: Domestics Court Risks, Defying Age Bar
Sri Lanka has raised the age requirement for women wanting to leave the country to work as domestics abroad, but recruitment agents say this won’t prevent younger women from joining the exodus.
Q&A: Meeting a World of Seven Billion with Optimism
Before the end of 2011 there will be more humans on earth than in all of the planet's 4.5-billion-year history. As the world steels itself to support its seven billion-strong population, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the new executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), greets the impending challenges with gusto.
NICARAGUA: Gender Revolution in Schools Not Reflected at Work
Karla Mendoza, a 26-year-old Nicaraguan, has worked hard to have a professional career. But despite two technical degrees, courses in computer science and public relations, a nearly complete university degree, and eight years of work experience, she is not there yet.
Q&A: ‘Responding As We Would To A Friend In Crisis’
Working with grassroots organisations is the only viable way to genuinely help people, according Yifat Susskind, the newly appointed Executive Director of the New York-based women's organisation MADRE.MALAWI: Women’s Voices to the Fore in New Development Policy
As Malawi works on its second development blueprint, the Malawi Development and Growth Strategy (MDGS II), the country’s women are hoping health and education will be prioritised and given proper attention in implementation.Headscarf Returns to Trouble Turkey
A ruling by an administrative court banning female candidates for academic posts from being veiled during an admission examination has brought the headscarf back to the front of Turkish politics, and reignited tensions between secularist and religious forces.
SOUTH AFRICA: New, Assertive Women’s Voices in Local Elections
Noncedo Pulana lacks many things, but she is certainly not short of confidence as she prepares to stand for election as Khayelitsha ward councillor. She feels her long years as an activist in the sprawling township have prepared her to do a better job.ARGENTINA-BRAZIL: Powerful Women Leaders Face Similar Challenges
The high popularity levels of their predecessors smoothed the way for Cristina Fernández and Dilma Rousseff to become presidents of Argentina and Brazil. But they also share the challenge of governing the two biggest countries in South America's Mercosur trade bloc, in the shadow of the leaders who went before them.
UN Women Head Unveils Empowerment Agenda
Despite birthing 100 percent of the world's children, growing 70 percent of the world's food and performing 60 percent of the world's labour, women only receive a fraction - a mere 10 percent - of the world's income.EGYPT: Mubarak Faces Historic Challenge
Egyptians have demonstrated in protests rare in size and ferocity against the three-decade rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
PHILIPPINES: ‘Wanted, Full-Time Mothers’
It’s definitely not your typical job advertisement. "Wanted: Mothers; must be mature, strong and stable, self-confident, humorous and know how to cook; must have a positive and cheerful attitude towards life; must be willing to work as a full-time mother for the long term."« 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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