25 July 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM & women's rights

Articles

The force is female: India's women cops take a stand
The National, 25 Jul 2017

All-female police units are shaking up the male-dominated force in conservative northwest India, hitting the streets to combat sex crimes and a pervasive culture of silence around rape. One such squad in Jaipur has been patrolling bus stops, colleges and parks where women are vulnerable to sexual harassment. Women can face a barrage on India's streets, enduring everything from lewd jokes and strangers following them - often dismissed as innocent "Eve teasing" - to physical attacks and rape.

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Kenyan girls invent FGM app, head to Google HQ for Technovation contest
By Africa News, 25 Jul 2017

Five Kenyan girls are in line to win a $15,000 prize for developing an application helping fight Female Genital Mutilation – which is prevalent in parts of the country despite being illegal. The five girls – aged between 15 – 17, are the sole African representatives at the Technovation event to be held at the headquarters of Google in California, the United States.

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How the 'business case' for gender equality sidelines human rights
By Open Democracy, 24 Jul 2017

The case for gender equality at work is increasingly being made with economic arguments. The corporate consultancy giant McKinsey says that increasing women’s participation in the labour force could add $12 trillion to global GDP by 2025. Such claims are being used to engage the private sector and present gender equality as more than a moral concern. But pushing this 'business case' is problematic for the women’s human rights agenda.

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Strengthening Women’s Rights in Afghanistan
By International Policy Digest, 23 Jul 2017

Gender inequality has remained a long-standing issue in many Middle Eastern cultures that has been exacerbated by terrorism. Although the Middle East is diverse with varying cultures, the region shares common challenges in securing gender equality, reproductive health rights, and women’s sexual autonomy. The root cause of Middle Eastern instability can be clearly drawn from the absence of women in societal roles and governments throughout much of the Middle Eastern region.

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13,000 girls in Germany at risk of genital mutilation following refugee influx, report warns
By The Washington Post, 19 Jul 2017

Germany has taken in more refugees than any other European nation over the last three years, and doctors and activists are warning that certain inhumane traditions have arrived with them. A German nongovernmental organization, Terre des Femmes, said Tuesday that 13,000 underage girls living in Germany are at risk of being forced to undergo genital mutilation.

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