Women’s rights seen taking a backseat under Japan’s new government
Thomson Reuters Foundation Women’s rights campaigners in Japan have expressed disappointment about the appointment of only two women in the new government’s 21-member cabinet, saying they expect little progress to tackle wide gender disparities. Yoshihide Suga, who took office as Prime Minister on Wednesday following the resignation of Shinzo Abe, has made no reference to […]
Bangladesh court orders government to tackle rise in rapes
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Bangladesh’s government will set up a commission to investigate a sharp rise in the number of rapes, the deputy attorney general said on Monday, after the country’s top court ordered it to act. Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud said it was clear that the number of rapes had risen as […]
WOMEN
Sadly, for much of history, women were considered the property of men. Their only value was keeping the home running and birthing children. PICTURE: Priscilla Du Preez/Unsplash It was very difficult to live as a woman without a man. Then things changed. The early church gave status to woman as equal in value to men; […]
New Indonesian parliament urged to tackle sexual violence “emergency”
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation Lawmakers sworn into Indonesia’s parliament this week are being urged to push through a sexual violence bill to protect women from abuse that rights groups say has reached “emergency” levels. Sexual violence is prevalent in the South-East Asian country of 260 million. Tens of thousands of people in recent weeks […]
Travel yes, marry no – What Saudi women still can’t do
Tbilisi, GeorgiaThomson Reuters Foundation From driving to travelling abroad, Saudi women have been granted new freedoms in recent years, as the Islamic kingdom eases restrictions seen by rights activists as repressive. On Friday, Saudi Arabia allowed women to travel without permission, further eroding a heavily criticised guardianship system under which all women are assigned a […]
African nations urged to enforce family laws to protect women
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Women and girls in Africa are still being pushed into forced or early marriages, while those in unhappy unions face discrimination when seeking divorce, campaigners said on Tuesday, urging governments to enforce fairer family laws. The Solidarity for African Women’s Rights – a coalition of 50 groups – said while most […]
Switzerland ranked as best country for women’s rights – OECD
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation Switzerland, which promotes equality at home and in the workplace, has been ranked the best country for women’s rights, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a report on Friday. Denmark, Sweden, France and Portugal were the next best-performing countries, according to an index that ranked 120 nations on how […]
Nun in South Sudan honoured for protecting education for girls
RNS There is a mission school in the heart of South Sudan where girls’ voices and giggles are replacing the frequent cracking of Kalashnikov rifles. Amid the long-running conflict in Africa’s newest nation, the Loreto Secondary School is thriving in Rumbek, the capital of Western Lake, a state in the centre of the country, under […]
POSTCARDS: ME AND MY (PORN) SHADOW – ‘SPYCAM’ EPIDEMIC SEIZES SOUTH KOREA
BEH LIH YI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Education is key to ending UK’s ‘silent epidemic’ of domestic abuse
Thomson Reuters Foundation Britain needs to provide children who witness domestic violence with more support to break the cycle of abuse, campaigners said on Wednesday, as the government plans to introduce a law boosting protection for victims. A proposed bill, announced in March, includes tough measures such as forcing abusers to wear electronic monitoring devices […]