06 Nov 2018 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM & Women's Rights

Articles

Torment for Teenage Girls as FGM Season Kicks in
AllAfrica, 05 Nov 2018

Hundreds of girls have fled their homes in Tiaty Sub-County ahead of the December holidays for fear of being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM). Despite schools being closed for the December holidays, meaning rest and relaxation away from the rigours of a long school term for learners, many girls in the region have nothing to smile about with more than 300 of them said to be contemplating running away from home to avoid the cut.

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Education key to ending violence and advancing women’s rights say participants
ReliefWeb, 05 Nov 2018

Providing women with access to education, reducing poverty and promoting human rights are among the most sustainable ways of eliminating violence against women said participants at UN-backed events in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman and Kunar. In a series of public events, along with radio and television programmes aimed at promoting the rights of women, participants representing a broad spectrum of stakeholders and communities including civil society, women organisations, tribal elders and provincial authorities voiced their to commitment to improving the welfare of women and working to eliminate violence against women (EVAW) in the eastern region.

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Google's '#metoo' moment: Workers walk out over women's rights
Reuters, 01 Nov 2018

Thousands of Google employees around the world briefly walked off their jobs on Thursday to protest the company’s response to sexual harassment and demand that the world’s largest search engine address rising concerns about workplace inequality. The protests took place in waves, beginning in Asia and then streaming across Europe and North America, with the final wave occurring at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

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Ethiopia gets its first female supreme court president
Reuters, 01 Nov 2018

Ethiopia’s parliament on Thursday swore in the country’s first female supreme court president, building on efforts by reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to achieve gender parity in government. The appointment of Meaza Ashenafi comes two weeks after Abiy named 10 female ministers to make Ethiopia the third country in Africa - after Rwanda and Seychelles - to have its cabinet split equally between men and women.

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North Korea: Sexual Violence Against Women by Officials
Human Rights Watch, 31 Oct 2018

North Korean officials commit sexual violence with little concern for the consequences, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The government fails to investigate and prosecute complaints, or to provide protection and services to victims, and even asserts that the country is implausibly free of sexism or sexual violence. The 86-page report, “‘You Cry at Night, but Don’t Know Why’: Sexual Violence against Women in North Korea,” documents unwanted sexual contact and violence that is so common in North Korea it has come to be accepted as part of ordinary life.

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