Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has yet again taken to the international scene the fight for equal representation of women in leadership. Kadaga told legislators and key leaders in Ghana that states can increase participation of women in leadership and power through legislation and …
Read More »Hundreds march in Sierra Leone against sexual violence
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Hundreds of people demonstrated in Freetown on Saturday against sexual violence against women, days after the Sierra Leone government promised a crackdown on rape and sexual abuse. Among the estimated 300 to 400 demonstrators was the country’s first lady, Fatima Bio, who on Friday …
Read More »Women entrepreneurship program plunges into funding crisis
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Gender, Labour and Social Development Ministry is stuck with thousands of women groups seeking funding under the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Program- UWEP. The program, in its third year of implementation continues to suffer consistent decline in budgetary allocations from Ministry of Finance, Planning and …
Read More »Women NGO wants minimum wage to protect employees
Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | There is an urgent need to prioritise the revisions on the proposed minimum wage bill to protect the interests of employees and boost their morale at work according to Eunice Musiime, the executive director for Akina Mama wa Afrika, a feminist-Pan-African leadership development organization. Musiime …
Read More »Afghan football chiefs suspended over sex abuse on women’s team
Kabul, Afghanistan | AFP | Afghanistan has suspended five officials including the president of the country’s football federation over allegations of sexual and physical abuse against the national women’s team, officials said Sunday. The decision comes days after President Ashraf Ghani ordered the attorney general to conduct a “thorough investigation” …
Read More »Norway’s Ada Hegerberg wins inaugural women’s Ballon d’Or
Paris, France | AFP | Norway striker Ada Hegerberg was rewarded for her prolific form with Champions League winners Lyon as she took the first ever women’s Ballon d’Or prize at a ceremony in Paris on Monday. The 23-year-old saw off competition from the likes of Danish star …
Read More »In the #MeToo era, theologians publish ‘Women’s Bible’
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Tired of seeing their holy texts used to justify the subjugation of women, a group of feminist theologians from across the Protestant-Catholic divide have joined forces to draft “A Women’s Bible”. As the #MeToo movement continues to expose sexual abuse across cultures and industries, some …
Read More »Mulago’s referral system failure
New specialised women’s hospital sinks back to the old ways Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | On Oct.16, a week after President Yoweri Museveni officially opened the new Mulago Specialised Maternal and Neonatal Hospital in Kampala on Oct.09, The Independent visited the facility. The expectation was to see an efficiently run …
Read More »US fails at UN to weaken measure on sexual harassment
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States failed on Monday to water down a UN resolution on combatting sexual harassment and violence against women despite backing from Russia, China, India, several Muslim countries and the Vatican. President Donald Trump’s administration sought to scrap language in the non-binding …
Read More »FOWODE trains new crop of ‘Matembes’, ‘Byanyimas’
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | “This camp has taught me how to be more positive in life….Winnie Byanyima inspires me and I would like to be an MP one day,” said Judith Ninsima from Mbarara, when she was called in to share her experience at the end of a leadership …
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