International News

Columbia: Colombian Court Recognises Victims of Sexual Violence Within Ranks of the FARC

Jan 10, 2020 | Julia Zulver and Sanne Weber, Open Democracy

On the 11th December, the Colombian Constitutional Court ruled that a woman who was forcibly recruited by the FARC at 14 years old is to…

Malawi: Malawi Rights Activists Petition Police over Sexual Harassment

Jan 10, 2020 | Lameck Masina, Voice of America

Human rights activists have given the Malawi Police Service five days to arrest police officers implicated in the sexual assault of 17 women and girls…

India: One Woman Reports a Rape Every 15 Minutes in India

Jan 9, 2020 | Sudarshan Varadhan, Reuters

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - One woman reported a rape every 15 minutes on average in India in 2018, according to government data released on Thursday,…

Liberia: Liberia Putting 9 Oil Blocks up for Sale amid Concerns over Petroleum Law Breach

Jan 9, 2020 | Rodney Sieh, FrontPage Africa

On January 7th 2020, World Oil published that in April, Liberia will offer nine (9) blocks in a new bid round. The press release stated…

Myanmar: Jade and Gem Sales Fetch over Ks 59 Billion

Jan 8, 2020 | Eleven

Myanmar fetched over Ks 59 billion from the sale of 3,500 jade and gem lots at the gem emporium held from January 2 to 7…

Tanzania: Women Crave for More Say Over Land Ownership

Jan 8, 2020 | Tanzania Daily News

Struggling over land rights among women in Tanzania and Africa in general, has remained as one of the social challenges despite efforts by relevant authorities…

Vietnam: Strengthening Women’s Livelihoods and Resilience to Disasters and Climate Change in Viet Nam

Jan 8, 2020 | Thao Hoang, UN Women

When Tran Thi My Linh, a 51-year-old rural woman first said that she would replace her rice fields with lotus fields, she raised many eyebrows.…

Colombia: Plan to Protect Land around AngloGold Ashanti’s Copper Project in Colombia Fails

Dec 30, 2019 | Valentina Ruiz Leotaud, Mining.com

The mayor of the Jericó municipality in Colombia’s Antioquia department said on Monday that his office’s proposal to modify the Territorial Planning Structure to protect…

Spain: How Climate Finance and Technology Could Better Integrate Women

Dec 30, 2019 | Julie Mollins, Forest News

Amid frustrated negotiations around Article 6 guidance on emissions counting and carbon markets, U.N. COP25 climate talks delivered a decision on a five-year enhanced Lima Work Program on Gender. The…

South Sudan: South Sudan Oil Spill Causes Environmental Damage, Health Problems

Dec 27, 2019 | Dimo Silva Aurelio, Voice of America

Two months after a pipeline ruptured and spilled crude oil over a wide swath of South Sudan's former Unity State, residents and government officials are…

Liberia: Southeast Women’s Land Rights Group Formed

Dec 27, 2019 | Observer

A group whose goal is to protect and promote the rights of women in Southeastern Liberia was formed recently at a regional women’s conference held…

Iran/Iraq/Syria: Iran Militias Revive Islamic State Oil Trade into Syria from Iraq: Sources

Dec 24, 2019 | Herman Wang and Brian Scheid, S&P Global Platts

Iranian proxy militias are thought to be smuggling crude oil from western Iraq to Syria, picking up a lucrative business left behind by the Islamic…

Liberia: NaFAA Establishes Women in Maritime Liberia Chapter

Dec 24, 2019 | FrontPage Africa

Liberia has joined others countries in Africa in the establishment of a chapter of Women in Maritime in Africa (WIMAFRICA) in partnership with the International…

Afghanistan: For Women in Kabul, ‘It Is Just Me and the Water’

Dec 22, 2019 | Fatima Faizi and Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times

Though the city has become markedly more politically progressive in the nearly two decades it has been governed by a Western-backed democracy, Kabul is still…

Brazil: ‘The Forest is Shedding Tears’: The Women Defending Their Amazon Homeland

Dec 21, 2019 | Jonathan Watts, The Guardian

It is midnight at an almost deserted bus station and one of the Amazon’s most courageous warriors is sitting on a plastic chair and breastfeeding…

Liberia: Ethnic Tension Thwarts Court’s Ruling in Ganta Land Case

Dec 18, 2019 | Joaquin M. Sendolo, Observer

The Eighth Judicial Circuit in Sanniquellie, Nimba County passed its ruling in a land case in 2018, giving right of possession to Fred Suah of…

Colombia: 2018 Delegation of Parliamentarians in Conversation with Rural Women in Villavicenco

Dec 18, 2019

Members of the British Parliament participating in the August 2018 Delegation were: Chris Bryant MP and Patrick Grady MP. MP’s Conversation in Villavicencio with rural women: Diana,…

China/Vietnam: Vietnam Fights China's 'Nine-Dash Line' amid Old Enmities

Dec 17, 2019 | Sen Nguyen, Al Jazeera

It came as no surprise to Vietnamese student Doan Thanh Hai that China's infamous nine-dash line has been causing trouble in his country. China has…

Afghanistan: Over 600,000 Afghan Women to Attain Self-Sufficiency in Next Four Years through Agriculture

Dec 17, 2019

Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Nasir Ahmad Durrani announced Tuesday that over 600,000 women would become self-reliant through an economic empowerment program in…

Colombia: Death Threats for Defending Land and Water from a Coal Mine: Force of Wayúu Women in Colombia

Dec 16, 2019 | Land Rights Now

Members of the organization Fuerza de Mujeres Wayúu (Force of Wayúu Women) have received death threats and been subject to defamation and stigmatization for opposing…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Hopes for Chinese Restraint in South China Sea in 2020

Dec 16, 2019 | Reuters

Vietnam said it hoped China would show restraint in the South China Sea next year after a Chinese oil survey vessel and its escorts spent…

Afghanistan: Saffron Processing Center Built in Afghanistan's Badghis Province

Dec 15, 2019 | Xinhua

A saffron processing center was recently built in the western Baghis province, as the precious plant cultivation is gradually expanding across the mostly poppy growing…

Ghana: National Peace Council Trains Members on Gender Roles in Peacebuilding

Dec 15, 2019 | Modern Ghana

As part of the mandate of the National Peace Council to facilitate measures to prevent, manage and resolve issues that threaten the development and peace…

Liberia: A Forest of Obstacles for Liberia’s Palm Oil Industry

Dec 12, 2019 | Lucinda Rouse, Business Day

Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world, contained in products that range from bread to shampoo and biofuels, and demand…

Nepal: Rickshaw Drivers Break Stereotypes in Nepal

Dec 12, 2019 | UN Women

Hira Kumari Sewa is among the few female rickshaw drivers in Nepal. Service is literally in her name.

Afghanistan: 'Combatting Hidden Enemies': Meet the Women on the Front Line of De-mining Afghanistan

Dec 8, 2019 | Roshan De Stone and David L. Suber, Independent

Nearly 100 Afghans are killed every month by unexploded mines, and yet when Gulandam first signed up to help with de-mining efforts, men would hurl insults…

Colombia: Implementing Peace: Gender Issues Lag Behind

Dec 7, 2019 | Tasha Sandoval, The Bogota Post

New analysis released today highlights a clear gap in the implementation of gender specific aspects of the Colombian peace agreement and stresses that the active…

Afghanistan: Afghans Mourn Japanese Doctor Nakamura, Who Came to Treat Leprosy but Cured Drought

Dec 7, 2019 | Kritika Sharma, The Print

The death of a Japanese doctor who helped lakhs of Afghans gain access to clean water drew pained reactions and tributes from across the country…

Liberia: Land Dispute in Bong

Dec 6, 2019 | New Dawn

The issue of land dispute continues to hinder the development of Bong County as the current one centers a boundary harmonization between the residents of…

Jordan: Civil Society and Youth from the Arab States Review the Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

Dec 6, 2019 | UN Women Arab States

Over 70 representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) and youth advocates from across the Arab States region met in Amman, Jordan on 26 and 27…