Women Inspiration Development Center (WIDC) is planning to establish “Vocational and Violence Free Girls” (VVIFREG) in Nigerian Secondary Schools to mark 2013 International Women Day. The rise in domestic and sexual violence cases in Nigeria has laid open the practice of discrimination against female gender as a tradition. Women and girls are vulnerable to violence, discrimination and silence as a result of strong patriarchal traditions, lack of confidence, poor knowledge and … [Read more...]
UNRWA, Syria midwife delivers baby in harsh conditions
Damascus The vibrant cry of a baby burst out from a small room in the Khan Eshieh refugee camp in southern Damascus. Forced to find refuge in a shelter housing another 15 people, Mayada Yahya gave birth in a small room with no privacy. The room has provided shelter to Mayada and her husband ever since they fled the fighting in Daraya, near Damascus, a few months ago. Little did she know that she would be delivering their child in this same room months later. Makeshift … [Read more...]
Pushing the frontiers on the elimination of violence against women
Pushing the frontiers on the elimination of violence against women: the upcoming Commission on the Status of Women and the importance of international cooperation Statement by Ms. Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women at Regional Conference on the Istanbul Convention. Istanbul to host UN center for women's rights - LIVE IMAGE "Excellencies, Honourable parliamentarians, Distinguished delegates, Ladies and gentlemen, Allow me to start by paying tribute to all those … [Read more...]
Tanzanian women take matters into their own hands, pooling resources
“You need to join forces if you want to stand strong,” explains Batuli Massawe, a 46-year-old mushroom farmer who has become a respected entrepreneur due largely to training and solidarity lending in the community of Morogoro, 190 km west of Tanzania’s capital. In a country where agriculture provides the main source of livelihood for a large majority of the population — accounting for more than two-thirds of employment and almost half of Tanzania’s GDP — the the agricultural sector is … [Read more...]
The Internet Gender Gap | Magdy Martinez Soliman
How can the use of mobile technologies best benefit Women? The role of ICTs as development enablers is more widely understood today as access to new technologies, particularly mobile phones, has grown exponentially. SPECIAL COMPUTER TRAINING COURSE DESIGNED FOR DEAF PEOPLE IN DAMASCUS, SYRIA. PHOTO: UNDP IN SYRIA Mobile phone subscriptions exceeded six billion by the end of 2012, three-quarters of which were in the developing world. However, Women are at a disadvantage: they are 21% less … [Read more...]
The Blue Heart Campaign, New Initiatives around the World
Vienna, January 2013 - The Blue Heart Campaign has gained additional support with new initiatives around the world. Switzerland became the latest country to join the Campaign, and in Colombia and the Republic of Serbia, cinema and theatre have been used to generate awareness and serve as a stark warning to potential victims about false promises of a better life. On the European Day against Trafficking in Human Beings, 18 October 2012, Switzerland became the latest country to join the Blue … [Read more...]
Russian volcano rumbles, Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula
Alexander Petrov / AP Plosky Tolbachnik volcano erupts in Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Jan. 6, 2013. The Kamchatka Peninsula (Russian: полуо́стров Камча́тка, poluostrov Kamchatka) is a 1,250-kilometre (780 mi) peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about 270,000 km2 (100,000 sq mi). It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west. Immediately offshore along the Pacific coast of the peninsula runs the 10,500-metre (34,400 ft) … [Read more...]
Morocco adapts UNESCO’s Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media
© UNESCO In order to integrate gender perspectives into policies and contents of Moroccan public service broadcasters, UNESCO’s Office in Rabat is organizing a workshop for the adaptation of Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media (GSIM) to Moroccan context. The workshop will be held in Rabat on 14 and 15 January 2013. Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⴰⵎⵕⵕⵓⴽ or ⵍⵎⴰⵖⵔⵉⴱ Ameṛṛuk or Lmaġrib; French: Maroc), officially the Kingdom of Morocco. Arabic name al-Mamlakat al-Maghribiyyah … [Read more...]