By Fairuz Ahmed NEW YORK, Jun 4 2020 (IPS) – Maliha Masud (25), was promised an affluent life and opportunities for higher education. A bright student studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, she wanted to complete her studies and become someone…
Category: Femina
Reproductive rights of women and girls under lockdown
BEIRUT / GENEVA, May 28 2020 (IPS) – Health systems around the world are prioritising health care services and equipment to treat people diagnosed with Covid-19, which means that many procedures deemed to be elective and non-essential are being suspended…
No woman should ever die giving life
By Sheikha Hend Al Qassimi and Siddharth Chatterjee NAIROBI, Kenya, May 26 2020 (IPS) – Consider this. 24 women, children and babies were murdered at a hospital in Kabul, the Afghan capital. Even by standards of a country as accustomed…
European Parliament & gender equality—a continuing struggle
by Petra Ahrens and Lise Rolandsen Agustín on 22nd May 2020 @petrahrens There has been progress in the numerical representation of women in the European Parliament. But that’s not enough to achieve gender equality.
Lockdown in Bangladesh sees violence against women rise
Lina Dilruba Sharmin, Sarah-Jane Saltmarsh and Shahariar Sadat Amena Khatun and her husband Ismail Hossain (not real names) experienced an extreme food crisis during the lockdown in Barguna district, in southern Bangladesh. They had no work and no savings. Almost…
WIMN calls for new social compact in Covid-19 crisis
‘An inclusive, intersectional feminist approach is the only way out of the COVID crisis’ As the world roils with the human and economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, one thing is clear: this is no time for business as…
How COVID-19 is affecting women’s sexual, reproductive health
By Samira Sadeque UNITED NATIONS, Apr 7 2020 (IPS) – A little over half of women across the globe are able to freely make choices about their sexual and reproductive health, according to a latest report based on data from…
Never Give up on Women’s Rights – Edna Ismail
By IPS International Desk NEW YORK, Mar 20 2020 (IPS) – For Dr Edna Adan Ismail maternal health and midwifery is deeply personal. In an interview with Women Deliver Young Leader Musu Bakoto Sawo, Ismail recalls her mother’s devasting experiences…
India hangs 4 men convicted for fatal New Delhi gang rape
New Delhi, AP/UNB, March 20 – Four men sentenced to death for the gruesome gang rape and murder of a woman on a New Delhi bus in 2012 were hanged Friday, concluding a case that exposed the scope of sexual…
Two RU students held over alleged rape
Rajshahi, March 12 – Police arrested two Rajshahi University students from Shah Makhdum (SM) hall of the university on Wednesday night over alleged rape a girl. The arrestees were sent to jail through court, according to the Motihar police station…
Build yourselves up to be empowered: PM asks women
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday urged the women of the country to buildup themselves in order to be capable of being empowered.
International Women’s Day Sunday
Dhaka, March 08 – The International Women’s Day is being celebrated in the country, as elsewhere across the globe, on Sunday highlighting women’s rights and equality.
On 8th March – and all the other days: Each for equal
By Prof. Margaret Kobia, Amb. Aline Kuster-Ménager, Amb. Erasmo Martinez Martine and Siddharth Chatterjee Gender equality is a basic human right and a prerequisite for sustainable development, so why does inequality persist in so many countries, and what can we…
Video: I am generation equality: Realizing women’s rights
Mar 6 2020 (IPS) – The narrative surrounding women’s rights in 2020 carries much hope and possibility. This year’s International Women’s Day, bearing the theme “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights,” falls on the celebration’s 110th anniversary.
How have women’s legal rights evolved over the last 50 years?
Tea Trumbic Today, women have just three-quarters of the legal rights of men. In 1970, it was less than half. The Women, Business and the Law 2020 report presented results from our recent effort to document how laws have changed…
There can be no green peace without gender equality
By Jennifer Morgan AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, Mar 5 2020 (IPS) – Gender inequality – like the climate emergency – is not inevitable, but is kept in place by the poor choices too many cis men make on a daily basis.…
To attack a female journalist’s credibility, go after her body
By Natalie Southwick and Renata Neder NEW YORK, Mar 4 2020 (IPS) – Brazilian journalist Patrícia Campos Mello made her career reporting from conflict zones around the world — but lately, the greatest threats to her security are coming from…
World remains violent, highly discriminatory place for girls
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 4 2020 (IPS) – Twenty-five years after the historic Beijing women’s conference in China – a milestone in advancing equal rights – violence against women and girls is not only common, but widely accepted, a new UN…
59 children raped, 10 gang raped in February in Bangladesh
Dhaka, March 03 – At least 74 children were victims of torture and sexual violence in February, said Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP), a women’s human rights organization on Wednesday.
World’s 22 richest men’s wealth more than all African women
By Anna Tonelli NEW YORK, Mar 3 2020 (IPS) – This International Women’s Day, 25 years after we first heard it declared that “women’s rights are human rights” at the historic Beijing 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, we need…
Weinstein accusers welcome rape, sexual assault conviction
Accusers of Harvey Weinstein have welcomed the guilty verdicts in the rape and sexual assault case against the former Hollywood mogul.
Zero tolerance against rape, says PM Hasina
Dhaka, Feb 18 – Describing rapists as ‘beasts in the name of human beings’, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday declared zero-tolerance against rape alongside terrorism, militancy and drugs.
Justice for sexual assault must be swift, loud, consistent
By Siddharth Chatterjee NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 14 2020 (IPS) – Every year Valentines Day is celebrated with great relish & celebration. People show their affection for another person or people by sending cards, flowers or chocolates with messages of love.…
Female genital mutilation: Not just an emotional, health issue
By Samira Sadeque UN, Feb 13 2020 (IPS) – When society doesn’t act to prevent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) it has a massive economic cost — over $1 billion — on communities globally. And while the practice is starting to…
Ending bullying and humiliation over Menstruation
By Mantoe Phakathi MBABANE , Jan 21 2020 (IPS) – When 14-year-old Nomcebo Mkhaliphi first noticed the blood discharged from her vagina, she was shocked. Confused, she turned to her older sisters for advice. “My sisters told me that they…
BD High Court wants commission to fight rape, violence
Dhaka, Jan 19- The High Court on Sunday asked the government to form a commission within 30 days under the Law Ministry to stop rape and violence against women.
Thousands gather for Women’s March rallies across the US
Washington, AP/UNB, Jan 19 – Thousands gathered in cities across the US Saturday as part of the nationwide Women’s March rallies focused on issues such as climate change, pay equity, reproductive rights and immigration.
Feminists press for ‘bodily Autonomy’ as 19 nations dissent
By Thalif Deen UN, Jan 17 2020 (IPS) – The United States and 18 other UN member states have come under fire for denying a woman’s legitimate right to “bodily autonomy”—the right to self-governance over one’s own body without coercion…
HC rule against Bangladesh Bank circular for gender bias
Dhaka, Dec 31 – The High Court on Tuesday asked the government to explain why its circular issued on December 1 that imposed restriction for married women candidates to give their husband’s address as their permanent address should not be…
Thakurgaon students angry for rape-murder of fellow Sumona
Thakurgaon, Dec 21 – Students of different schools and colleges on Saturday staged demonstrations and blocked Chaurasta intersection area for two hours in the town demanding justice for their one of their fellows Sumona Haque who was murdered allegedly after…