Irish Government “walloped” by referendum defeats
Dublin, Ireland Reuters Irish voters have rejected proposals to replace constitutional references to the makeup of a family and a mother’s “duties in the home” in a significant defeat for the government. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar had pitched the vote, held on Friday to coincide with International Women’s Day and counted on Saturday, as a […]
Ireland to vote on removing ‘sexist’ references to women from constitution
Dublin, Ireland Reuters Ireland is poised to vote on Friday – International Women’s Day – to replace constitutional references on the importance of a woman’s “life within the home”, the latest attempt to update its socially conservative 1937 founding document. While social change in the once deeply Catholic nation has spurred the removal of bans […]
Compassion Australia CEO’s mission to end child marriage
Sydney, Australia For Clare Steele, International Women’s Day is personal. A mother and advocate living in Newcastle, New South Wales, Steele believes International Women’s Day is “not about empowering ourselves; it’s about promoting others”. As a result, she’s working hard this March to speak up for women – and especially girls – whose voices are […]
Finding hope and a future
In an article marking International Women’s Day, SALLY BRUCE, of DFN (Dignity Freedom Network), looks at how the organisation is working to set women free…
Anglican Church of Uganda intensifies mentorship for boys to fight gender-based violence and disparity
Kampala, Uganda The Anglican Church of Uganda will intensify its mentorship program for boys in a bid to fight gender-based violence and gender disparity. The Archbishop of the Anglican Church, Dr Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, observed that while girls are mentored on how to treat men in Africa, boys are, on the other hand, left on […]
Afghan broadcaster airs rare all-female panel to discuss rights on Women’s Day
Kabul, AfghanistanReuters Afghan broadcaster Tolo News on Wednesday aired an all-female panel in its studio with an audience of women to mark International Women’s Day, a rare broadcast since the Taliban took over and many female journalists left the profession or started working off-air. A survey by Reporters Without Borders last year found that more […]
Pope says equal opportunities for women are key to a better world
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis on Wednesday decried violence and prejudice against women and said granting equal pay and opportunities could help create a more peaceful world, as a new survey of Catholic women showed that many felt the Church discriminated against them. In a book preface published by the Vatican News website on International […]
At Vatican women’s day event, a call for female voices in peace talks
Vatican CityRNS As European nations attempt to defend Ukraine without being pulled into a war, an ecumenical group of women representing charitable organisations around the world called for more female representation in peace talks and negotiations. The occasion was an event called “Church and Society: Women as Builders of Dialogue,” organised by Caritas Internationalis, a […]
‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’: Behind sandbags, Odessa waits to see if it’s next
Odessa, Ukraine Reuters From behind sandbags and anti-tank barriers in front of Odessa’s Opera and Ballet Theatre, a familiar if unexpected melody drifted across the near-deserted streets of Ukraine’s main Black Sea port on Tuesday: Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Odessa has so far escaped shelling but its one million people are nervously waiting to see […]
US urges Saudis to review cases of “prisoners of conscience”
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The United States urged ally Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to review cases of “prisoners of conscience” and lift travel bans and other restrictions imposed on women’s rights activists previously released from jail. The rare US intervention on the matter came with US-Saudi ties strained over a range of issues including the Yemen war, […]