Ruth Kennedy-Walker I recently returned to work after six months of maternity leave with my second child. Transitioning back to my ‘original’ role as a Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist at the World Bank, alongside my new role as a…
Category: Femina
Nushrat murder: OC Moazzem Hossain seeks bail from HC
Dhaka, May 29 – Former Sonagazi officer-in-charge (OC) Moazzem Hossain on Wednesday filed a petition with the High Court seeking anticipatory bail after a tribunal ordered his arrest in a case over recording and circulating a video statement of slain…
Educating girls about menstruation and menstrual hygiene
By Ida Horner Surrey, England, May 28 2019 (IPS) – The organisers of Menstrual Hygiene Day say that although there has been a lot of good work on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) either currently underway or already completed, we are…
Charge sheet in Madrasah student Nushrat murder case Wednesday
Dhaka, May 28 – In a major development, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) is going to submit the much-awaited charge sheet of Feni madrasah student Nusrat Jahan Rafi’s murder case before a Feni court Wednesday seeking death penalty of 16…
Maternal mortality rate to fall with child marriage decline
Dhaka, May 28 (UNB) – The maternal mortality rate will come down in the country with the decline in child marriage, said Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday. The minister came up with the information while speaking…
IS owns Sunday’s bomb attack injuring 2 including woman cop
Dhaka, May 27 – Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack on police members that injured two people, according to a twitter post by global terrorism monitoring network SITE Intelligence. In a Twitter message of the ‘Site Intel…
Arrest warrant against ex-Sonagazi OC in Nushrat murder case
Dhaka, May 27 – A Dhaka court yesterday issued an arrest warrant against Moazzem Hossain, the former Sonagazi officer-in-charge (OC), for spreading a video of murdered Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi on social media. Dhaka Cyber Tribunal Judge Ash-Shams…
BD Schoolgirl beaten with hammer for refusing love proposal
Narail, May 25 (UNB) – A Class-VIII girl was beaten with a hammer by two youths at Jhamarghop village in Lohagara upazila on Saturday reportedly for refusing a love proposal. The victim is Suborna, daughter of Liakat Mollah of the…
The world made promise to women, Girls; we must fulfill them
By Monica Juma NAIROBI, Kenya, May 24 2019 (IPS) – In 1994 the International Conference and Population and Development (ICPD) was hosted in Cairo by the Government of Egypt. Twenty-five years later, Kenya is ready to convene the ICPD “Nairobi…
It’s time for feminism at the European elections
by Carmen Calvo, Helena Dalli and Franziska Giffey As the polls open for the European Parliament elections, three gender-equality ministers and state secretaries put feminism at the top of the electoral agenda. The European election campaign has been in full…
‘Gendering’ the EU budget
by Firat Cengiz There is a clear case for making gender equality a more visible part of the EU budgetary process. Budgets are not gender-neutral. Women and men have different needs and expectations from public services. These needs and expectations…
Bangladesh School teacher arrested for impregnating student
Gazipur, May 21 (UNB)– A school teacher has been arrested for impregnating a seventh grader in Salna area of the city corporation. The victim’s family filed a case at Sadar Police Station on May 20 against the teacher, Sohel Rana…
Police constable rapes girl, 16 hurls her through ventilator
Madaripur, May 20 (UNB)- A 54-year-old police constable in Sadar upazila was withdrawn on Monday for throwing a teenage girl out of his house through the ventilator after raping her. Muktar Hossain, 54, was working as a constable at Madaripur.…
Mymensingh medical students protest sexual harassment
Mymensingh, May 18 (UNB) – Mymensingh Medical College (MMC) students protested for a third consecutive day on Saturday against the alleged sexual harassment of a female student by a rickshaw puller on the campus. They gathered in front of the…
Ex Belgian king faces $5,000 fine daily over paternity test
By Emily Dixon and Samuel Quashie-Idun, CNN . (CNN)A Belgian court has ruled that Albert II, the former king of Belgium, will be fined €5,000 ($5,600) every day until he takes a DNA test to determine whether he fathered a…
Women HR defenders face greater risks for their gender
JOHANNESBURG, May 16 2019 (IPS) – Does the name Ihsan Al Fagiri ring a bell? How about Heba Omer or Adeela Al Zaebaq? It’s likely that these names, among countless others, are not known to the average news consumer. But their…
A step forward in UN’s efforts against rape as weapon of war
By Rene Wadlow On Tuesday, 23 April 2019, the United Nations Security Council voted resolution N° 2467 concerning the use of rape as a weapon in times of armed conflict. This resolution builds on an earlier resolution of 24 June…
Unlocking the power of women
NEW YORK, May 15 2019 (IPS) – This June, thousands will flock to Vancouver for a global dialogue on how to accelerate progress for girls and women under the banner of power, progress and change. At the Women Deliver 2019 Conference, the…
Double life sentence for rape, burning victim to death
Cumilla, May 13 (UNB)— A man was sentenced to two life terms in prison on Monday for raping a girl on false promise of marriage and burning her to death when she was pregnant. Cumilla Women and Children Repression Prevention…
Cricket: Sheikh Rasel, BKSP win
Dhaka, May 12 (UNB) – Sheikh Rasel Sports Development Academy and Bangladesh Krira Shikka Protishtan (BKSP) won their respective matches in the Dhaka Premier Division Women’s Cricket League at two separate venues of BKSP on Sunday. Venue: BKSP-3 Team: Gulshan…
Rape threat: Sylhet intern docs for punishing student leader
Sylhet, May 12 – The intern doctors at Sylhet Women’s Medical College Hospital (SWMC) staged a demonstration demanding the immediate arrest of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader over his rape threat to one of their fellows. They brought out…
Senior cop withdrawn for neglect of duty in Nusrat murder case
Dhaka, May 12 – Superintendent of Police (SP) of Feni SM Jahangir Alam Sarker has been withdrawn for negligence of duty over the murder of Feni madrasa girl Nusrat Jahan Rafi. The SP was attached to the Police Headquarters (PHQ)…
G7 must support feminist aid agenda to tackle inequality
Dhaka, May 12 (UNB) – G7 development aid must prioritise the needs of women and girls if they are to tackle poverty and economic inequality, said Oxfam on Sunday. The Group of Seven (G7) is a group consisting of Canada,…
900 child soldiers taken away from Nigeria vigilante group
Maiduguri, May 10 (AP/UNB) — Authorities say nearly 900 children who were enlisted in a civilian defense militia in northeastern Nigeria have been officially separated from the group in accordance with a U.N. accord. The children had been part of…
Five put on remand over nurse killing after rape
Kishoreganj, May 8 (UNB) – A court here on Wednesday placed five people on an eight-day remand each in a case filed over killing a nurse after rape in a moving bus at Gazaria nearby Bajitpur upazila. Those remanded are…
Rewriting the rules on #MeToo globally
By Nisha Varia New Yprk, Apr 30, 2019 (IPS) – I have been working to protect the rights of women workers for 25 years, and whether I speak to domestic workers, election workers, farmers, or activists, their experience of sexual…
Bangladesh Madrasa girl ‘raped’ in Sherpur
Sherpur, May 2 – Police are looking for a 40-year-old man who is suspected of raping an eighth-grader in Sreebardi Upazila on Wednesday. The victim was alone at her house in Shankar Ghosh village around noon when Ujjal Mia, the…
Austerity is hurting women’s health
by Fran Darlington-Pollock A close look at how the austerity practiced in the UK since 2010 has affected women’s health shows a gender lens must always be applied to see the full picture. Where you live can kill you—and, in…
Rewriting the Rules on #MeToo Globally
I have been working to protect the rights of women workers for 25 years, and whether I speak to domestic workers, election workers, farmers, or activists, their experience of sexual harassment and violence has been a common thread. The other…
A historic journey in a wheelchair from Syria to the UN
Shantha Rau Barriga, Director, Disability Rights Division ShanthaHRW Nujeen Mustafa: First Woman with a Disability to Brief the UN Security Council Nujeen Mustafa is the first woman with a disability to brief the UN Security Council. “It was surreal.” That’s…