Page 34 - Equality Now News Today

How Covid could be the long overdue shake-up needed by the aid sector Karen McVeigh © Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty This year one in every 33 people across the world will need humanitarian assistance. That is a rise of 40% from last year, according to the UN. More than half of the countries requiring aid to help deal with the coronavirus pandemic are already in protracted crises, coping with conflict or natural disasters. Even before Covid-19 thr...

6 Min Read (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Ivana Gaziova had an abortion as a teenager, she didn’t want to talk about it to anyone apart from her closest cousin. Six years on, a push to tighten Slovakia’s abortion law impelled her to speak out. Gaziova, a waitress from Bratislava, has gone public with her own story to campaign against the government-led proposal, which critics see as part of a trend towards more socially conservative policies in central Europe. “We should all talk abo...

news It’s time for a woman to lead the UN Daily News (via HT Media Ltd.) The United Nations has been one of the most vociferous advocates of gender empowerment and a persistent critic of gender discrimination worldwide. But still, it has continued to fall far short of its own lofty ideals. The UN has never had a female Secretary-General (SG) in its 75-year history while only four women have been elected– amid 71 men– as Presidents of the General Assembly, the organisation�...

Nov 18, 2020 Manhattan Mini Storage (MMS), which operates 17 self-storage facilities throughout New York City, recently held a “Flashbacks Give Back” contest to support local nonprofits. MMS is known for its eccentric, often funny, occasionally controversial ad campaigns. As the basis for its contest, it partnered five of its most popular ads from the past decade with five charities and asked the public to vote on their favorite pairing, according to a press release. The featured organizati...

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he is “available” for a second five-year term as UN chief. Credit: John Penney/PassBlue UNITED NATIONS, Jan 12 2021 (IPS) - The United Nations has been one of the most vociferous advocates of gender empowerment and a persistent critic of gender discrimination worldwide. But still, it has continued to fall far short of its own lofty ideals. The UN has never had a female secretary-general (SG) in its 75-year history while only four women have been elec...

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than three million cases have been logged on the continent since the start of the pandemic, with South Africa accounting for more than 30 percent.

US Toughens Bans on Abhorrent Female Genital Mutilation President Donald Trump signed a law saying the United States should lead the way in banning FGM. By Emma Batha Jan 7 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The United States has toughened its ban on the "abhorrent practice" of female genital mutilation (FGM) in a move campaigners hope will bolster efforts to end an ancient rite forced on millions of girls worldwide. The US had already outlawed the widely condemned ritual, which dates back more tha...

U.S. toughens ban on abhorrent female genital mutilation Reuters 1/7/2021 By Emma Batha Jan 7 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The United States has toughened its ban on the "abhorrent practice" of female genital mutilation in a move campaigners hope will bolster efforts to end an ancient rite forced on millions of girls worldwide. The United States had already outlawed the widely condemned ritual, which dates back more than 2,000 years, but its first ban hit an unexpected legal roadblock so it...

BBC News By Penny Spiller image copyrightWaves image captionFatu admits it is not easy being at school while pregnant, but she is determined to complete her education The Tanzanian government was taken to court last month over its ban on pregnant schoolgirls and young mothers attending school. It is one of the few countries in the world that actively enforces such a ban. A year ago this month, another court ordered Sierra Leone to drop its ban. So how have things changed in the West African co...

Marvelous Miracles Occurred for Many in the Middle East This Year, Including Camels (with VIDEO) Tara Kavaler 12/14/2020 In the shadow of a global pandemic, we recount eight unusual events as Israel celebrates the Jewish festival of lights The Hanukkah holiday, which Jews around the world are observing this week, celebrates two different miracles: the overthrow of Greco-Syrian control over Judea and the discovery in the Temple in Jerusalem of a sealed vial of oil that is said to have burned ...