'Nigeria Records 814 Deaths from 100,000 Live Births'
Daily Trust - Lagos, Nigeria, 12/30/2017
Founding Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi disclosed that there are 814 deaths for every 100,000 live births, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) figure. According to her, the figure has hardly changed since 2008 when Nigeria recorded 829 deaths for 100,000 live births. She said access to maternal health facilities is still very poor. She called for reduction of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies among adolescents by addressing barriers to reproductive health services and ensuring that all adolescents in Nigeria receive comprehensive and scientifically accurate sexual and reproductive health education.
Ruling Party Leader Calls for New 'Comfort Women' Deal
The Korea Times, Korea, 12/29/2017
Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairwoman Rep. Choo Mi-ae on December 29, 2017 urged the Moon Jae-in administration to strike a new deal with Japan over ‘comfort women.’ This is virtually a call to discard the previous deal reached in December 2015 between the Governments of Moon's predecessor Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which was criticised for neglecting opinions from the victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery. Her remark came a day after President Moon Jae-in described the 2015 deal as ‘gravely flawed,’ prompting strong protests from Tokyo.
Commercial Sex Workers Protest Against Killings in Kisii
Daily Nation - Kisii, Kenya, 12/29/2017
Commercial sex workers in Kisii Town protested against the killing of their colleague on December 27, 2017. At least four other women have been killed in the recent past, said Ms Ogendi, the Commercial Sex Workers Union, Kisii County president. She said the more than 1,200 commercial sex workers in the town were worried about their security. She also accused security agents of dragging their feet in investigations. ‘Let this discrimination stop otherwise we will get killed as the government watches,’ she said. Her deputy, Ms Moraa, said they would hold more protests if no action is taken against the killers.
HIV Awareness Van to Apprise People of AIDS
The Tribune - Amritsar, India, 12/27/2017
An HIV and AIDS awareness van has been flagged off by Dr Lakhwinder Singh Athwal, Senior Medical Officer. The van will cover different villages of the block. It will create awareness about preventive measures against the HIV and AIDS in the area. The Health Department will also stage dramas based on the theme of disease and precautions. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Athwal said, objective of this van is to create awareness among general public about the HIV and AIDS along with precautions. He said it is an attempt to remove all misconceptions related to the people living with HIV and AIDS in the society.
Education Ministry Initiates Urgent Investigation Into Textbook Cartoon Which ‘Supports Homosexuality’
Egypt Independent, Egypt, 12/27/2017
The Education Ministry has assigned the General Education Sector’s committee to initiate an urgent investigation regarding the validity of pictures which ‘support homosexuality in the educational curricula’, after the claims were made on social media. Pictures emerged of an English-language textbook, allegedly from an international school in Egypt, with cartoons showing potential formations of a family. Two of the cartoons suggest the role of parenting could be performed by two mothers or two fathers. Critics claimed the cartoons were ‘promoting homosexuality and establishing a culture of gay marriage [among] a new generation of children.’
MPs Want Family Planning Services Beefed Up
The New Times, Rwanda, 12/26/2017
Legislators under the Parliamentarian’s Network for Population and Development (RPRPD) are seeking more access to reproductive health and family planning services after their tour of the country to assess the situation. They said during a consultative meeting in the Lower House of Parliament that lack of awareness about reproductive health among many Rwandans, especially the youth, and lack of access to contraceptive means such as condoms and pills has led to unwanted pregnancies. Among other gaps was lack of didactic materials on reproductive health in schools and lack of reproductive health programmes in many districts.
2 of 3 Mental Health Experts in Mumbai Lack Skills to Counsel Sexually Abused Children: Study
Hindustan Times - Mumbai, India, 12/25/2017
Two out of every three Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) in Mumbai - a city ranks second in number of crimes against children (3,400 cases) in India - feel they lack skills to tackle Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) cases. Experts said this owes to lack of training related to trauma-focused counselling. The finding was drawn from a study conducted by The Foundation, a non-government organisation, with support from UNICEF. The MHPs who responded to the online questionnaire reported seeing more than 7,000 cases of child sexual abuse in the past decade. More than 50% of them said they experienced burnout at some point in their practice.
ActionAid Study Reveals Huge Gender Disparity in Unpaid Care Work
Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh, 12/23/2017
Women in Bangladesh engage in 6.3 hours of ‘unpaid care work’ out of their total 15.3 hours of daily work, which is 41.4% of their total work time, says an ActionAid report titled ‘Incorporation of Women’s Economic Empowerment and Unpaid Care Work into Regional Policies: South Asia’. On the other hand, men spend 1.1 hours per day on ‘unpaid care work,’ a mere 7% of their total work time of 15.3 hours, the report says. Similarly, in India, women spend an average of 5.1 hours a day on household and other unpaid care work, while men only spend 24 minutes.
Empowering Young Girls to Fight for Their Rights
The New Times, Rwanda, 12/23/2017
Nearly 200 young girls from different parts of the country have committed to play a key role in protecting their basic rights and speaking out against violence against fellow children in the community. The girls made the commitment at the conclusion of a three-day long Girl Camp organised by Action Aid Rwanda at the Red Cross headquarters in Kacyiru. The camp intended to evoke the intuition of the girls and motivate them to be responsible, develop resilience, demonstrate their strengths and learn to treat each other with respect and dignity in order to solve the problems like GBV, school drop outs and the rate of teenage pregnancies.
India’s Digital Gender Gap Could Further Marginalise Women: UNICEF
The Hindu, India, 12/22/2017
With less than one-third of India’s internet users being females, the country’s girls and women risk becoming further marginalised in society and at home if they remain digitally illiterate in the backdrop of the country making a public push towards a more digital economy, a UNICEF report says. In India, where only 29% of all internet users are female, girls in rural areas often face restrictions on their use of ICTs solely because of their gender. Citing examples, the report quotes a village governing body in rural Rajasthan as stating that girls were not to use mobile phones or social media.
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