UN envoy’s farewell: My heart breaks for Afghan girls, women
Islamabad, PakistanAP The UN representative in Afghanistan lamented in her farewell statement Thursday the harsh edicts that the Taliban have imposed on girls and women since they seized power in the country, denying them the right to education and work and forcing millions to stay at home. Deborah Lyons, who is leaving her post as […]
Bono and the Pope harmonise on climate change, girls’ education
Rome, ItalyReuters They didn’t sing together but U2 frontman Bono and Pope Francis were in harmony about their concern for the planet and the power of women to change the world when they met in Rome on Thursday. Bono, 62, and the 85-year-Pope shared star billing at an event organised by Scholas Occurrentes, a worldwide […]
Melissa Lipsett answering “God’s plan for humanity” to end poverty as the first female CEO of Baptist World Aid Australia
Sydney, Australia Melissa Lipsett may have made her small mark in history by becoming the first female CEO of Baptist World Aid Australia in its 63-year history, but she’s making big plans to answer God’s call to create a world without poverty. In a unanimous board decision, and after only nine months with the organisation, […]
Ukraine rights group tells top UN body that rape used as weapon of war
United NationsReuters The United Nations is increasingly hearing accounts of rape and sexual violence in Ukraine, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Monday, as a Ukrainian human rights group accused Russian troops of using rape as a weapon of war. Kateryna Cherepakha, president of La Strada-Ukraine, said her organisation’s emergency hotlines had received calls […]
UN raises $US2.44 billion for Afghan aid amid concerns on girls’ education
Reuters A total of 41 donor countries pledged more than $US2.44 billion towards the United Nations $US4.4 billion appeal for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, the world body said on Thursday, as international concerns grew over the Taliban denying girls a secondary education. Belgium’s minister of development cooperation Meryame Kitir said: “Education empowers women and girls […]
Taliban hard-liners turn back the clock in Afghanistan
Islamabad, PakistanAP Taliban hard-liners are turning back the clock in Afghanistan with a flurry of repressive edicts over the past days that hark back to their harsh rule from the late 1990s. Girls have been banned from going to school beyond the sixth grade, women are barred from boarding planes if they travel unaccompanied by […]
Explainer – What will happen to girls’ education in Afghanistan under Taliban rule?
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation The Taliban have backtracked on a promise to allow tens of thousands of schoolgirls in Afghanistan to return to class for the new term. Most older girls have been out of school since August when the hardline Islamist movement seized the country. Girls attend a class in Kabul, Afghanistan, on […]
US cancels talks with Taliban over U-turn on girls’ education
Kabul, Afghanistan/Washington DC, US Reuters The United States abruptly cancelled meetings with the Taliban in Doha that were set to address key economic issues, officials said on Friday, after Afghanistan’s Islamist rulers reversed a decision to allow all girls to return to high school classes. The cancellation of talks was the first concrete sign that […]
Taliban orders girls’ high schools to remain closed, leaving students in tears
Kabul, AfghamistanReuters The Taliban on Wednesday backtracked on their announcement that high schools would open for girls, saying they would remain closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law for them to reopen. The u-turn took many by surprise, leaving students in tears and drawing condemnation from humanitarian agencies, rights groups […]
Marking International Women’s Day, teenagers make a stand against child marriage
Teenagers from across the world have joined in making a stand against child marriage with a photo shoot that aims to draw attention to the plight of the millions of underage girls who are married each year. The campaign, which is supported by Compassion Australia, marks the one year anniversary of a release of a […]