December 18, 2023
Africa: How Technology Can Help Victims of Intimate Partner Violence
Intimate partner violence is a major public health concern. According to Statistics Canada, in 2018, 44 per cent of women experienced some form of intimate partner violence in… Read more »
December 10, 2023
Africa: Improved Employment Policies Can Encourage Fathers to Be More Involved At Home
While the COVID-19 pandemic had many detrimental socio-economic and health impacts, one silver lining has been the influence of remote work on men's involvement in unpaid work at… Read more »
December 07, 2023
Namibia: Apartheid in Namibia - Why Human Rights and Women Are Celebrated On the Same Day
10 December is worldwide commemorated as Human Rights Day. It marks the anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted on that day in 1948. Many countries and… Read more »
November 30, 2023
Ghana: Ghana's Shea Industry Is Not Taking Care of the Women Behind Its Growth
Ghana's shea industry has a rich history. Shea - nkuto, karite, galam in some west African languages - is deeply embedded in the culture and tradition of the country's northern… Read more »
November 17, 2023
Africa: Physiological and Archaeological Evidence Rewrites Assumptions About Gendered Division of Labour in Prehistoric Times
Prehistoric men hunted; prehistoric women gathered. At least this is the standard narrative written by and about men to the exclusion of women. Read more »
November 08, 2023
Africa: We Blurred the Gender of Soccer Players and Had People Rate Their Performances - With Surprising Results
During the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, the telecommunications company Orange ran a powerful TV ad. It depicts the graceful agility and dramatic goal-scoring shots from French… Read more »
November 06, 2023
Nigeria: Nigeria's Women Vice-Chancellors - I Know What It's Like to Be One, and Why There Are So Few
The secretary-general of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors in Nigeria recently disclosed that only 38 women have been vice-chancellors of universities in Nigeria since 1960, out of… Read more »
October 06, 2023
Ghana: Theresa Kufuor - Ghana's Former First Lady Was a Quiet and Unobtrusive Champion of Change
Flags have been flying at half mast in Ghana in tribute to Theresa Kufuor, the wife of John Agyekum Kufuor, president of Ghana from 2000 to 2008. Born Theresa Mensah, the former… Read more »
September 28, 2023
South Africa: South African Men Are Much More Likely to Die From TB Than Women - Here's Why
Around the world, men are more likely to get TB and to die from it than women. Read more »
September 24, 2023
Southern Africa: Young People With Sexual, Gender Diversity At Higher Risk of Stopping HIV Treatment Because of Stigma, Harsh Laws
Ending the AIDS pandemic - particularly in eastern and southern Africa - cannot be achieved unless more resources are channelled to meet the needs of key vulnerable populations. Read more »
September 19, 2023
Africa: Chronic Pelvic Pain Affects Up to 26 Percent of Women - Our Latest Research Brings Us Closer to Better Treating It
Chronic pelvic pain affects between 5% and 26% of women worldwide. It can be associated with conditions such as endometriosis (where tissue resembling the lining of the womb is… Read more »
September 13, 2023
South Africa: Rehab for South Africa's Female Inmates Focuses On Domestic Chores - Instead of Finding Good Work
Corrections facilities are supposed to help rehabilitate offenders. However, during apartheid, South Africa's correctional system was a pillar of the repressive, discriminatory… Read more »
September 07, 2023
Ghana: Death and Mourning in Ghana - How Gender Shapes the Rituals of the Akan People
Gender has a significant impact on the socio-economic, political and religious experiences of Ghanaians. For Akans, the country's largest ethnic group, descent is traced through… Read more »
Africa: Why Mothers and Babies Will Suffer More As Africa Grows Hotter
As Africa gets hotter, mothers and babies are most at risk. Why is this and what can be done about it? Matthew Chersich, a specialist in climate change and maternal health,… Read more »
August 30, 2023
Zimbabwe: Election Was a Fight Between Men - Women Are Sidelined in Politics Despite Quotas
Zimbabwe's 2023 harmonised elections have largely been depicted as a battle between the two "Big Men" - President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zanu-PF and Nelson Chamisa of the… Read more »
August 29, 2023
Africa: How Our Female Athletes Feel Forced to Choose Between a 'Strong' or 'Feminine' Look
As I watched the Fifa Women's World Cup, I was probably one of many who couldn't help but feel inspired by the women on the pitch, showing their elite fitness and ability. However,… Read more »
August 23, 2023
South Africa: The Power of Needlework - How Embroidery Is Helping South African Women Tell Unspeakable Stories
In June 2020, three months after South Africa entered the first of a series of hard lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID, the country's president Cyril Ramaphosa described men's… Read more »
August 22, 2023
Africa: 'Dirty Red' - How Periods Have Been Stigmatised Through History to the Modern Day
About a year ago, at a friend's wedding, a fellow guest asked whether I knew that modern sanitary towels owe their origins to resourceful World War I field nurses who discovered… Read more »
August 15, 2023
Africa: The Orgasm Gap and Why Women Climax Less Than Men
Imagine a steamy sex scene involving a woman and a man from your favourite television show or movie. It's likely that both parties orgasm. But this doesn't reflect reality. Read more »
August 16, 2023
Nigeria: Nigerian Women Ensure They Get the Best Possible Healthcare By Managing Unequal Power Relations With Men
Nigeria is a patriarchal society. Authority is vested in men, who tend to exert power and control over women in various spheres of life. This has an impact on women's health and… Read more »
August 14, 2023
South Africa: Telemedicine Can Help Women Get Early Abortions Safely - South African Study
In South Africa, it is legal to have an abortion upon request until the 13th week of pregnancy. The procedure is performed by trained certified midwives or registered nurses at… Read more »
August 08, 2023
South Africa: Violence, Health and Money Issues Among 5 Biggest Obstacles That Stand in Women's Way
Every year on 9 August South Africa celebrates Women's Day, marking an important moment in the country's history. This was the day in 1956 when women marched to the seat of… Read more »
August 04, 2023
Africa: Women's World Cup - What Still Needs to Be Done to Improve the Lot of Elite Female Footballers
The Fifa Women's World Cup is just 32 years old and on its eighth official edition, while the men's competition began 93 years ago and has enjoyed 22 tournaments. Read more »
July 19, 2023
Africa: Greta Gerwig's Barbie Movie Is a 'Feminist Bimbo' Classic - and No, That's Not an Oxymoron
The following article contains spoilers for Barbie. Read more »
July 16, 2023
Africa: Africa's Groundbreaking Women's Rights Treaty Turns 20 - the Hits and Misses of the Maputo Protocol
2023 marks two decades since the adoption of the Maputo Protocol. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo… Read more »