June 21, 2023
Ghana: Ama Ata Aidoo - The Pioneering Writer Left Behind a String of Feminist Classics
Prolific author and former Ghanaian education minister Ama Ata Aidoo passed away on 31 May 2023 at the age of 81. News of her death reverberated around… Read more »
July 04, 2023
South Africa: South African Universities Must Do More to Tackle Staffs' Race and Gender Imbalances
At the advent of South Africa's democracy in 1994, an overwhelming majority of academics in the country's public higher education institutions were white men. Black South Africans… Read more »
June 28, 2023
Africa: Every 2 Seconds in the World a Baby Is Born Prematurely - Report Identifies Biggest Challenges for Their Survival
Globally, about one baby in 10 is born too soon - that's around one baby every two seconds. A full term pregnancy is around nine months or 37 weeks. Babies born before this mark… Read more »
June 27, 2023
Africa: Women Lawyers - Numbers Are Up but Report Sheds Light On Obstacles to Leadership in the Profession
The African continent currently leads the world in the number of women chief justices and presidents of constitutional courts. Several countries across the continent have almost… Read more »
June 21, 2023
South Africa: Bathrooms Are Political - How Gender-Inclusive Toilets Can Combat Indignity and Violence
A new hate crimes bill is inching closer to the possibility of becoming law in South Africa. The bill entrenches human dignity as a foundational value of the country by providing… Read more »
June 12, 2023
South Africa: HIV Care for Migrant Women in South Africa - the Gaps and 5 Steps Towards Offering Better Services
Around 8.45 million people in South Africa live with HIV - an estimated 13.9% of the population. Of South African women aged 15-49, approximately 24% are HIV positive. Read more »
May 30, 2023
Africa: Some Refugee Girls Are Forced Into Early Marriage for Safety - Here's Why
Rates of child marriage increase in communities displaced by conflict as well as communities affected by natural and environmental disasters. Read more »
May 24, 2023
Africa: Male Video Game Characters Speak Twice As Much As Females, Largest Study of Its Kind Reveals
Video games are played by nearly three billion people worldwide and make more money annually than the film industry. Around 50% of gamers are female but gaming has chronic problems… Read more »
May 28, 2023
Africa: Being Queer in Africa - the State of LGBTIQ+ Rights Across the Continent
In recent years several African countries have decriminalised same-sex relationships. But they're not representative of the continent. In fact, queer rights at times appear to be… Read more »
May 15, 2023
Ghana: Black and Bold Queens Is a New Children's Book Celebrating Women in Ghana's History
A new children's book, Black and Bold Queens: Women in Ghana's History explores the lives of 16 notable female pioneers and leaders in the West African country, with a strong focus… Read more »
May 07, 2023
East Africa: Children's Book Revolution - How East African Women Took On Colonialism After Independence
As independence from British colonial rule swept across East Africa in the early 1960s and freedom was won in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, parents and teachers worried about what… Read more »
May 02, 2023
Africa: Four Things You Need to Know About Having a Caesarean Section
If you're pregnant or planning to have a baby soon, you've probably been given lots of advice and information about what you might experience during and after the birth. But less… Read more »
April 27, 2023
Africa: Why Menstrual Leave Could Be Bad for Women
Spain recently adopted a menstrual leave policy, which makes additional (paid or unpaid) days off work available to "only and all cisgender women". Read more »
May 01, 2023
Ghana: Amma Darko Uses Fiction to Portray the Real Plight of Women and Street Children in Ghana
Amma Darko is one of Ghana's leading novelists, known for exploring gritty social issues and the lives of women. There is much to be unearthed in the childhood narrative of… Read more »
April 24, 2023
Libya: Social Media Now Trumps Traditional Family Networks in Libya - My Facebook Survey Reached 446,000 Women
When I told my family and friends I intended to pursue a PhD researching HIV awareness among married women in Libya, my home country, the reaction was not encouraging: "You'd be… Read more »
April 12, 2023
Senegal: Only 1 in 3 Girls Makes It to Secondary School in Senegal - Here's Why and How to Fix It
Senegal has a young population, with about half of its 18 million people aged below 19. This indicates a potentially high demand for education. Of those aged six to 11, however,… Read more »
March 24, 2023
Nigeria: Water Scarcity On Nigeria's Coast Is Hardest On Women - Six Steps to Ease the Burden
Imagine waking up before dawn every day to fetch water for your family. You trek to the nearest water source, miles away, with only a jerrycan to carry the precious liquid. You… Read more »
March 23, 2023
Ghana: Women Occupy Very Few Academic Jobs in Ghana. Culture and Society's Expectations Are to Blame
In many parts of the world, men dominate the higher education sector. A 2022 UNESCO report found that, globally, fewer than two out of five senior academics are women. In an… Read more »
March 08, 2023
Africa: Why Are There So Few Women in Top Development Posts?
A global reckoning is emerging in the international development sector. Donors and the wider public are recognising the need for aid organisations to practise what they preach on… Read more »
March 07, 2023
Africa: The Pandemic Exposed Gender Inequality - Let's Seize the Opportunity to Remedy It
This year, we are commemorating International Women's Day alongside the three-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more »
Africa: Africa's Shift to Low-Cost Manufacturing Puts Women At Risk
Economists have urged African countries to shift to low-cost manufacturing - the path that led countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan - to industrial… Read more »
March 01, 2023
South Africa: Sex Work in South Africa - Why Both Buying and Selling Should Be Legal
It is illegal to buy or sell sex in South Africa. But this may soon be a thing of the past if a recently published draft bill to decriminalise sex work is passed. Researchers and… Read more »
February 28, 2023
South Africa: Working Women Proved Their Resilience During Covid - As a Result They've Enhanced Their Well-Being
One of the outcomes of the COVID pandemic is that people's working lives have changed. Working at home and hybrid work have become prevalent, after constantly changing government… Read more »
February 27, 2023
Nigeria: Women's Rights Exist Only On Paper in Nigeria - New President Needs to Address Urgently
Violence against African women and the widespread violation of their basic human rights is shaped by societal and cultural barriers. In Nigeria, women's rights appear to be… Read more »
February 19, 2023
Nigeria: Gender Equality in Nigeria - Three Reasons Why Women Aren't Represented in Politics
In March 2022, Nigerian women suffered backlash in their pursuit of gender equity. Five gender bills presented to the National Assembly were thrown out. Read more »