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Sunday, November 15, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Gender
DR-CONGO: U.N.-Backed Troops Abusing Civilians, HRW Says
United Nations-backed Congolese armed forces conducting intensified military operations in eastern and northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have failed to protect civilians from brutal rebel retaliatory attacks and instead are themselves attacking and raping Congolese civilians, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday.ECONOMY: Migrant Miseries Will Trickle Down Worldwide, U.N. Warns
At least 150 million migrant workers - out of an estimated total of 200 million in the world today - fit the "demographic characteristics of workers who are the most vulnerable" during the current global financial crisis, the U.N. says.
AFRICA: Maternal Mortality, A Human Rights Catastrophe
The right to the highest attainable standard of health: not the most fashionable of human rights, but the limits on people's enjoyment of their right to health often coincide with continuing inequalities behind claims of economic growth or political reform.
HEALTH-SENEGAL: Fistula Sufferers Left To Their Fate
In Senegal's southern region, 58 percent of deliveries take place at home without any medical assistance, according to state reproductive health officials in Kolda, a town 425 km from the capital, Dakar. Women in the region suffer from exceptionally high rates of fistula.
RIGHTS: Queer Parade Defies Anachronistic Indian Law
"Not all females are women," reads a poster emblazoned in red. "I am the pink sheep of my family!" is the message on another, while a third, very cheekily proclaims, "I don’t give a f***, I am a greedy bisexual"!
INDONESIA: Presidential Poll Race Disappoints Women’s Activists
As the country prepares to elect its new president next week, Indonesian activists are trying to push gender issues onto the political agenda.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Remittance Crunch, But Women Migrants Keep Sending
Among the colourful houses in the neighbourhood called Vietnam in East Santo Domingo, many families have at least one family member among the 1.5 million Dominicans living abroad.
RIGHTS: Arab TV Soaps Reinforce Gender Bias
Arabic TV channels wait for Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, to launch new soaps that generally portray women negatively. Ramadan starts this year at the end of August.POLITICS: U.N. Plan for Financial Crisis Derided as Weak
When the General Assembly adopted a proposed plan of action aimed at overcoming the global financial crisis, one of the political surprises was that all 192 member states gave their blessings to the wide range of proposals spelled out in an "outcome document".
NEPAL: Third Gender Assert Rights
Two years ago, 23-year-old Bhakti Shah, a cadet in the Nepal Army, was dismissed because she was seen to spend most of her free time with a fellow female cadet.
CHILE: When Being a Woman is a “Health Risk”
As a woman of childbearing age, "I pay more than double what a man my age pays for the same health plan," 27-year-old Carolina Leyton told IPS.
WOMEN: Dubai, New Destination on Trafficking Map
On May 26, the U.S.-based Center for Investigative Reporting published ‘The Price of Sex’, a vast multi-media project by photojournalist Mimi Chakarova who spent nearly seven years doggedly unraveling the web of sex trafficking.
RIGHTS-PARAGUAY: Justice System Tackles Gender Violence
Paraguay’s justice system is seeking to address a major pending issue: eliminating the hurdles and inequalities in cases of violence against women. When victims turn to the police and the courts, instead of finding a solution, they are often only revictimised.POLITICS-EGYPT: Women Get Help on Road to Parliament
Egypt elected the first Arab woman to parliament in 1957, but in the half century since, the most populous country in the Arab world has gone from being a leader in women's political participation to a lagger.HUMAN RIGHTS-SLOVAKIA: Barriers Go Up For Abortion
Rights groups in Slovakia have attacked new abortion legislation they say not only breaches women's rights to privacy and regulations on medical confidentiality but could force some women into undergoing risky, illegal abortions.
IRAN: Women at Forefront of Popular Defiance
When tens of thousands of protesters braved the ongoing government crackdown to gather in Tehran's Baharestan Square in front of the Parliament building Wednesday in response to a call by supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, they were met with some of the harshest violence seen since Iran's post-election turmoil erupted nearly two weeks ago.
POLITICS-SOUTH SUDAN: Women Ready To Take Their Place
When the women of South Sudan welcomed the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, they were cognizant of the fact that true democracy will be realised only when their human rights are realised.
WOMEN-MEDIA: Who Is the Editor?
For the first time in 15 years, an organisation, the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), is attempting to measure the progress, or lack of progress, of women in media organisations globally.
POLITICS: Will Women Be an Afterthought at U.N. Crisis Meet?
A groundbreaking U.N. General Assembly conference on the global economic crisis and its impact on development, set to begin Wednesday, may sideline women's numerous concerns, civil society groups say.RIGHTS-NAMIBIA: 'Cut, Cut Again and Now Tie Tightly'
Anna Shikongo* wanted many more children, but five-month old Johannes, perched on her lap, will forever be her lastborn. She was sterilised by doctors at a government hospital. Now she is ready to take the government to court.
RELIGION-CUBA: Women in the Pulpit
Izet Samá has no regrets about her decision to devote every waking hour to her mission as pastor of the Presbyterian-Reformed Church, guiding a small congregation in the Cuban province of Havana.« 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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