Women's Health

In Mauritania, Imams take to Radio Waves to say Child Marriage is Against Islam

"I refused to marry off my daughter for a simple, good reason: I want my daughter to be empowered,” said Lemeima mint El Hadrami, 49. "I don't want her to go through the same difficulties I did when I was young." El Hadrami was married when she was only 13.

Q&A: Initiative Starts Mental Health Sessions for Bangladeshi Garment Workers

By Samira Sadeque
Nearly seven years ago, garment workers in Bangladesh were victims of one of the gravest man-made disasters in history -- a factory collapse that left more than 1,100 workers dead, and rendered thousands with injuries -- in many cases lifelong ones.  For many of the workers from Rana Plaza, the trauma remains real even to this day.

Address Malnutrition, Not Just Food Security

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Wan Manan Muda and Tan Zhai Gen
Malnutrition remains a formidable challenge in most societies, with less than a tenth of countries in the world not experiencing at least one major malnutrition problem. In relatively more food secure countries, where almost everyone has enough to eat, and few live in fear of a sudden loss of access to food, micronutrient deficiencies and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) often still loom large.

Sasakawa Vows to Continue Support for Fighting Leprosy in Bangladesh

By Rafiqul Islam
Chairman of The Nippon Foundation, Yohei Sasakawa, has assured Bangladesh of continuing support for the Zero Leprosy Initiative announced by the country's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, aimed at eliminating leprosy by 2030.

Bangladesh Can Be Leprosy-Free Before 2030 Prime Minister Tells National Zero Leprosy Conference

By Rafiqul Islam and Crystal Orderson
Leprosy is not a curse but should be detected and treated early, Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, has told delegates at a gathering in her country's capital to discuss the elimination of the disease.

Children Risk Early Marriage: Climate Change One of the Factors

By Nayema Nusrat
Filomena (15), a fisherman’s daughter from a village in Nampula Province, Mozambique was married to a 21-year-old from the same village.

Building a Leprosy Free Bangladesh

By Rafiqul Islam
Despite having remarkable success in leprosy control in the last decades, the Bangladesh government is now moving forward with a vision to build a leprosy- free country.

Care for Economic Development, Then Care for Food Nutrition, Food Researcher Tells Africa’s Politicians

By Busani Bafana
More than 2 billion people in the world are suffering from malnutrition. This is the result of diets lacking essential micronutrients such as vitamins, iron and zinc, which are vital for the body to function, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Catalysing Change for Gender Equality

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Great strides have been taken to empower women and girls in the Asia-Pacific region since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing adopted an ambitious global agenda to achieve gender equality twenty-five years ago. Gender parity has been achieved in primary education. Maternal mortality has been halved. Today, the region’s governments are committed to overcoming the persistent challenges of discrimination, gender-based violence and women’s unequal access to resources and decision-making.

I am Generation Equality: Child Marriage Survivor & Activist

By Fatima Dajlani
-- I am Generation Equality because… I didn’t want other girls to go through the same struggles I experienced. I got married when I was 14 years old. I had no idea what marriage was.

Empower Young People to Sustain Our Planet, and Let Peace and Prosperity Thrive

By Crystal Orderson
Q: At ICPD25 we heard that women and girls are still waiting for the unmet promises to be met? DO you think this time around there is a commitment to ensure that these promises are met? The Nairobi Summit is about the Future of Humanity and Human Prosperity.

Art Helping Women to Highlight Gender-based Violence at ICPD25

By Mantoe Phakathi
While women find it hard to talk about their painful experiences, some have found a way of expressing themselves through art. Women, trained as artists, from Nairobi’s informal settlements Kibera and Kangemi, have produced a beautiful quilt that tells stories about their daily challenges.

This Time Around ICPD25 Commitments Will Be Met Says UNFPA …

By Crystal Orderson
The United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA Ethiopia country representative, Bettina Maas speaks to IPS at the ICPD25 Nairobi Summit and she says she is optimistic that this time around that the three critical commitments; bringing preventable maternal deaths, gender based violence and harmful practices, as well as unmet need for family planning to zero will be realized.

Young People at ICPD25: ‘ We Have the Right to Sexual and Reproductive Rights’

By Joyce Chimbi
Every day in developing countries it is estimated that 20,000 girls under the age of 18 give birth. This amounts to 7.3 million births a year.

ICPD25: Lessons From the East

By Joyce Chimbi
The Japan Parliamentary Federation for Population represented by Mr Teruhiko Mashiko and its secretariat, the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) has made a clear and concrete commitment to endorse the ICPD25 agenda. Mashiko tells IPS that Japan, as should every country driven by the well-being of its population, should create the best possible conditions to achieve the ICPD25 agenda.

Women with Disabilities Speak out Against Exclusion at ICPD25

By Joyce Chimbi
One in five women globally lives with a disability even as they have same needs and interests as women without disabilities, their access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights remains severely limited.

Forced Child Marriage Must Be Stopped Says South Sudanese Child Activist

By Crystal Orderson
Young women and girls are still subjected to a range of harmful practices and violence, including early marriage. Every year, an estimated 12 million girls get married before the age of 18.

Cairo Dream Requires $264 Billion to Deliver Women’s Call for Justice and Bold Leadership

By Joyce Chimbi
For each of the 830 women dying each day from pregnancy complications and childbirth, an estimated 20 others suffer serious injuries, infections or disabilities. This is the reality that millions of women face, and informs the Nairobi Summit’s three critical commitments which are to bring preventable maternal deaths, gender-based violence and harmful practices, as well as unmet need for family planning, to zero. To achieve this objective money is needed.

Nairobi Summit to Redouble Efforts to Urgently Deal with Reproductive Rights for Women and Girls

By Mantoe Phakathi
More than 6 000 delegates in the population development sector are gathering in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi this week to renew the promise made to girls and women 25 years ago in Cairo.

Call to Action as Thousands Breathe New Life to the Cairo Promise at ICPD 25 Summit in Nairobi This Week

By Joyce Chimbi
Every day 830 women die while giving life. At least 33,000 girls are forced into child marriage with 11,000 girls undergoing female genital mutilation. These are some of the cruel realities young women face every day. However, there is renewed hope that delegates expected to attend the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Nairobi this week will re-energise and breathe new life to the Cairo Promise.

The Nairobi Summit Is about the Future of Humanity and Human Prosperity

By Siddharth Chatterjee
As we count down the remaining days to the opening of the Nairobi Summit or the International Conference for Population and Development(ICPD), I am confounded by how much humanity has managed to simultaneously empower more women than at any other time in history, while at the same time failing to see that ‘women’s issues’ are actually ‘everyone’s issues’.
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