One Step at a Time: UN Women’s Health Agency Helping Shift Dangerous Social Norms
Source: UN News
“As a female traditional leader, my aim is to be a role model within my chiefdom. I want to ensure that we collectively challenge social and traditional norms and practices that negatively affect our women and girls”, said Kawaza, chieftainess of the Chewa people. Leading more than 650 villages with some 100,000 inhabitants, she is one of many traditional and community leaders throughout Eastern Province who are contesting these dangerous practices. “Many girls are forced to drop out of school in order to undergo initiation rites”, which often include inaccurate information about sexual and reproductive health, the chieftainess noted.
Read more here.
Conference Celebrating Women’s Achievements to Launch Tomorrow
Source: Emirates News Agency
A conference under the theme “The Role of Women in Fostering Values of Coexistence” that will highlight past and future contributions of women will be launched virtually on Wednesday. Organised by the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence, the conference will be held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, GWU, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, FDF, and also known as the Mother of the Nation, to mark the Emirati Women’s Day, which is observed annually on 28th August. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, will launch the event under the slogan, “An Outlook of Women’s Contributions into the Next Fifty Years.”
Read more here.
Ask a Policewoman: What Can Police do to Better Protect Women Exposed to Violence in an Emergency Context?
Source: UN Women
Xhemile Behluli has been a sergeant within the Kosovo Police since 2004 and has been domestic violence section supervisor since 2011. Besides her dedication to a life free from violence for women across Kosovo, she is also committed to achieving gender equality within the Kosovo Police, as part of UN Women’s regional programme “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds,” funded by the European Union, to ensure all of her colleagues are treated equally.
Read her story here.
Sexual Abuse of Kenya Girls Spikes During Pandemic
Source: VOA News
Kenyan authorities and aid agencies say rape and sexual abuse cases against girls have increased since the start of coronavirus restrictions, and they say in most cases relatives are the offenders. As Mohammed Yusuf reports, some shelters in Nairobi are overwhelmed by girls who need a safe place from people meant to care of them.
See the news report here.
