Law student and human rights activist Mary C. Namagambe is the founder of She for She. This hybrid company is working to tackle the lack of access to appropriate health care information and products, as well as the rate at which young girls in Africa are dropping out of schooling due to period poverty.
About 20 000 children born to Belgian settlers and African women in the 1940s and 1950s were forcibly taken to Belgium until the independence of each of its three colonies. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has apologised for these kidnappings and the subsequent treatment of these children
By now it is common knowledge that products marketed to women cost more. In some cases they cost multiple times more than the exact same products for men. This “pink tax” is imposed despite the fact that women are paid less than men. And in Africa, a lower level of quality seems to apply – as in the case of Proctor and Gamble’s Always sanitary products.
Niger’s top court has outlawed ‘”Wahaya”, a unique form of slavery currently practiced in that country. It involves the sale of young girls from Tuareg communities to wealthy and prominent Hausa individuals as an unofficial “fifth wife”.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has raised the country’s minimum wage for all Egyptian workers to 2 000 Egyptian Pound (US$116) a month, up from 1,200 Egyptian Pound. Pensions are also set to rise by 15 percent. We analyse why other countries should follow suit.
Not for the first time, Kenya is discussing the possibility of amending the Sexual Offences Act to lower the age of consent from 18 to 16 years. The discussion is highlighting the issue of predatory exposure and the responsibility of society in safeguarding the rights of children.
The annual Freedom in the World report, which ranks nations according to civil liberties and political rights, shows which countries are “free”, “partly free” and “not free”. We take a look at some of the African countries that have been classified as “partly free” and “not free”.
The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies has declared that human trafficking has become a multibillion-dollar business in Africa, one that African governments have been slow to address. A 2018 report by the US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons tracked compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in Africa.
This is Africa spoke to Ekene Odigwe, one of the makers of a film aimed at raising awareness of the fight against Female genital mutilation (FGM).
“Period. End of Sentence.” won Best Documentary in Short Subject at the 2019 Academy Awards. The documentary examines cultural omission and the basic obstacles that millions of women still face in accessing disposable sanitary products.
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