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Friday, November 13, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Gender Violence
Egypt’s Women Rebel Against Harassment
Egyptian bullies who sexually harass women in the streets, often taking advantage of mob situations and the anonymity these provide, are getting a taste of their own medicine - and they don’t like it.
Adultery Laws Unfairly Target Women, U.N. Says
When one of the Asian countries embraced Islamic Sharia law back in the 1990s, the rigidly conservative government threatened to enforce a provision that called for convicted adulterers to be stoned to death.
‘Malala’s Cause Is Our Cause’
Less than two weeks after being left for dead by the Taliban, Malala Yousafzai is standing up on her own two feet.
Violence Against Women Surging in India
As gender-based violence across India becomes more frequent, and more savage, increasing numbers of women are speaking out against the cruelty.
Violence Against Women Persists in Bangladesh
Bangladesh, often cited as a model of progress in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), appears to be sliding backwards when it comes to dealing with violence against women (VAW).
Girls Determined to Fight Guns With Books
Shazia Begum, one of three girls injured in the attack on the Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai says the Taliban had sought to silence a very influential schoolgirl.
U.N. Launches Global Campaign to Abolish Child Marriages
The United Nations has launched a global campaign to abolish an anachronistic social practice still prevalent in some communities around the world: child marriages.
Child Marriage Defies Laws in Nepal
Social activists in Nepal agree that the one reason why this impoverished country will miss the gender-linked Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations is the persistence of child marriage.
Bounty Offered in Pakistan Activist Shooting
The Pakistani government has offered a Rs10 million (105,000-dollar) bounty for the capture of the Pakistani Taliban assailants who shot Malala Yousafzai, a teenage rights and education activist in the northwestern Swat Valley, officials say.
Q&A: UN Urges Men to Join Call to Action to End Violence against Women
“We have to expand the sense of urgency and indignation towards gender violence,” Dr. Ana Güezmes, UN-Women regional director for Mexico, Central America, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, told IPS on a recent visit to the Cuban capital.
Task Force to Kick Start Cairo Population Goals
Gathered at the Ford Foundation in New York Monday, international luminaries, family planning experts and women's rights activists repeatedly expressed a common sentiment: “I cannot believe that we are still having this discussion today."
Army’s Former Sex Slaves Testify in Guatemala
"In the garrison they had rooms where they would rape us; sometimes there were three, four or five soldiers,” Rosa Pérez*, one of the women used by the Guatemalan army as a sex slave during this country’s civil war, testified in court.
U.N. Women Demands End to Impunity for Wartime Rape and Violence
At a high-level event at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, U.N. Women, the United Nations body for female empowerment and gender equality, called for stronger action from world leaders to prevent and punish sexual violence in conflict.
Q&A: “Women’s Participation in Peace Processes Is Still Very Small”
Friday is not just any day – it's the International Day of Peace. Concerts, debates and moments of silence will be held all over the planet to commemorate the ideal of global truce and tolerance.
Human Rights Education Shows Its Potential
The impact of human rights education, a rising star, is highlighted in a short documentary sponsored by United Nations experts and civil society.
Murder Tops Crimes by Women in Afghanistan
The number of Afghan women being jailed for murder has been increasing every year, officials say. More than a quarter of the 700 women in prison are serving murder sentences.
World Needs to Build a Culture of Peace, Says Ex-Envoy
Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed, says the preamble to the constitution of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Polygamy Throttles Women in Senegal
Fatou (40), Awa (32) and Aissatou Gaye (24) sit in a meditative mood on the tiled floor outside their matrimonial home in Keur Massar, a township in the Senegalese capital Dakar.Rapes of Young Girls in DRC Still Unpunished
A rash of recent rape cases has sparked local criticism of the weakness of the justice system in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where inadequate resources and simple incompetence mean survivors of sexual violence hold little hope of obtaining justice.
In Peace, Palestinian Women Under Attack
After the brutal murder of a Palestinian woman in late July in a busy Bethlehem marketplace, local human rights groups are pushing for stronger reforms to stem violence against women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Where Are Canada’s Missing Native Women?
First Nations’ leaders are calling on the Canadian government to establish an independent commission of inquiry to investigate at least 582 missing and murdered indigenous women and girls - a wish which was not immediately granted by provincial premiers meeting last week.« Previous Page — Next Page »
One in three women around the world have been subject to violence. Women face physical, sexual, and psychological violence in both public and private. Taking forms such as violence in the intimacy of a relationship, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation, gender violence is an issue that affects women in all countries. Only two-thirds of countries have outlawed domestic violence, leaving millions of women unprotected from abuse including from marital and de facto partners in many cases. Additionally, through human trafficking countless women are subjected to sexual exploitation and sexual violence, including horrific acts such as genital mutilation. Today many actors from individuals, to multinational organizations work to address these issues. These articles help to shed light on the violence that women experience every day and how its is being addressed.
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