Three initial cases against the government of Namibia have begun in the capital, Windhoek. The cases have been brought by HIV positive women who claim that they were sterilized in government hospitals without their consent. The women are suing the Ministry of Health and social services for what they term as a violation of their human rights and discrimination based on their health status.
By Alice Mutuma
FRIDAY FILE: Abortion rights currently dominate the constitutional reform debate in Kenya. What is the reality of abortion in the country?
By Kathambi Kinoti
Ever since the pro-democracy movement in Kenya gained momentum in the 1980s, the constitution has been an explosive issue in the country’s politics. Successive presidential and parliamentary candidates have made it a campaign issue, but due to a mix of ethnic, political and ideological factors, the constitution has never been overhauled. The last draft constitution was defeated in a referendum in 2005.
Togo will hold its Presidential elections on 4 March 2010. Seven candidates are running, including one woman, Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson, the first in the history of the country. In her campaign message, she commits herself to "create the favourable conditions for young men and women of [her] country to learn how to live together again, as one and the same people, driven by national pride.”
Little known stories from North Africa are told in this volume published by the Feminist Press.
For millennia, women in North Africa have expressed themselves through writing first in hieroglyphics and then in Latin, Greek, Arabic, French and English alphabets. This is a distinct advantage that North Africans as a whole have as compared to the rest of Africa in which a writing tradition is not as old.
FRIDAY FILE: As we commemorate the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence (25 November to 10 December), AWID speaks to Helena Maleno Garzón, researcher on migration and human trafficking, and member of the Caminando Fronteras network, to learn more about the intersections of racism, sexism and violence against Sub-Saharan African migrant women in Morocco and beyond.
By Mégane Ghorbani
FRIDAY FILE: Approximately 17.2 million children around the world perform paid or unpaid domestic work for third parties or for an employer. Among them, 67.1% are girls between the ages of 5 and 17.
FRIDAY FILE – While discussions on the new development agenda to replace the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) when they expire in just over a year took centre stage at the United Nations 69th session of the General Assembly (UNGA69) last week, AWID takes a look at the reality of women in the Ivory Coast, demonstrating why it is crucial that the new development agenda be based on principles of human rights, equality and sustainability.
By Mégane Ghorbani
FRIDAY FILE - On August 1, 2014, the constitutional court of Uganda overturned the discriminatory anti-gay law passed through parliament on December 20, 2013. However, the decision was based on procedural technicalities rather than on the substance of the law, which goes against freedom of sexual orientation and gender identity.
By Mégane Ghorbani
FRIDAY FILES – September 1
By Mégane Ghorbani
FRIDAY FILE: At a recent international conference in Tunis[1] on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Arab Countries, AWID met Jocelyn DeJong, professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at American University in Beirut and coordinator of the Reproductive Health Working Group[2], to learn more about their research on the role of associations in fighting HIV stigmatization.
By Mégane Ghorbani