[Ed. Note: We're making up for missing these last week by giving you an extra-long version today. Enjoy!]

Malawi’s President Fights for Rights of Girls and Women
The first female president in southern Africa, Joyce Banda, is using her role as president to fight for the rights of girls and women in Malawi. As a long time advocate for female empowerment, she recently spoke out in an interview about the increasing number of women in politics . “Africa is changing in that regard and I hope you know that we are doing better than most countries. America is still struggling to put a woman in the White House but we have two, so we’re doing fine. This is what people did not expect us to achieve but we have.” Read the rest here.

South Sudan Receives Loan for Development
China has agreed to fund major development projects in South Sudan through an $8 billion dollar loan.  The funds will be used to build roads, bridges, telecom networks, and develop agricultural and hydro-electric power.  All projects will be conducted by Chinese firms. Read it here.

Women See Worrisome Shift in Turkey
Domestic violence has seen a big increase in Turkey over the past year.  In 2010, there were about 190,000 cases of deliberate injuries against women across the country. Last year, that number was up to 207,000 cases. A recent United Nations report showed that 39 percent of women in Turkey suffer from physical violence at some point in their lives, compared to 22 percent in the United States. Despite legislation that seeks to protect women, implementation has proved difficult as the mentality of men does not change.  Read more here.

Cultural Obstacles Keep Girls Out of School in Kenya Refugee Camp
At the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, only 1 in 20 girls aged 14 to 17 are in school. For those younger, aged 5 to 13, just one third are attending school. For the most part, the barriers to girls’ education start at home. One woman living in the camp, Hawa Ahmed,  says she keeps her two daughters home to learn the lessons of the house, while her sons go off to school. The girls continue learning how to cook and clean until they’re married off, which normally happens at a young age. Once a girl is married, her chances of attending school are driven even lower. In an effort to get more girls in school, the UN World Food Program provides tokens for half a kilogram of sugar for girls attending 80% of classes a month. Other organizations are also providing sanitary pads to adolescent girls in order minimize drop-out rates during menstruation. To read more go here.

Future of Nigeria Depends on Empowerment of Women
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, recently spoke at an event where he said that poverty can only be eradicated when women are empowered. He urged the Kano State government, located in northwest Nigeria, to support women to be more productive and send their children to school. Read it here.

Report Shows Impact of Illiteracy
A recent report released at the World Literacy Summit in Oxford shows that globally over one in five people can’t read or write and more than 100 million children don’t go to school everyday. The report discusses the costs of illiteracy, which include poverty, unemployment, social exclusion, crime and longterm illness. Even more, illiteracy increased the likelihood of high-risk sexual behavior and inadequate use of contraception. Education is the best means of overcoming poverty caused by illiteracy. According to the report, families need to be encouraged to place a higher value on education and illiterate adults should be involved in literacy programs. Read it all here.

Afghan Woman Campaigns to be Country’s First Female President
Afghanistan will be electing a new president in 2014 when Hamid Karzai’s term is up and Fawzia Koofi is hoping to take the over the role. Although her campaign is just beginning, she is already facing criticism from those believe women don’t belong in politics. Koofi, who is just 36-years-old, was the country’s first female deputy speaker. As a member of parliament, she has been a strong advocate for girls’ education and women’s rights.  In fact, she was the first female in her family to get an education. Since then she has been blazing her own path and passionately fighting for the rights of the oppressed. Read more about her here.

Youth Advocates Help Out-of-School Children in Pakistan
A recent program in Pakistan is using the power of youth to encourage families in the community to send their children to school. The effort, known as Young Champions, is a program of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI). It trains adolescents to become change-makers in their community, rising as advocates for education who insist that all children should be in school. Not only are they increasing school enrollment rates, but also helping to make sure that the children they enroll do not drop out. Read more here.

Afghan School Girls Poisoned
More than 100 girls were poisoned by opponents of education for girls in Afghanistan. The girls reportedly got sick after drinking water from their high school in the northeastern province of Takhar. The investigation into the incident is still underway. Read more here.

School Attendance Down as Violence Increased in Nigeria
Borno State, located in northern Nigeria, has seen a massive decrease in school attendance since the beginning of the year.  In total, 14 schools have been burnt down in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, which has forced 7,000 children out of an education.  Unfortunately, Borno already has the lowest school attendance rates in Nigeria, so the recent violence is only making a bad situation worse. Most of the schools destroyed taught both Western and Islamic education, making them the target of the Islamic jihadist group Boko Haram. The group recently released a video calling their followers to destroy schools providing Western education. Read it here.

Young Indian Women Twice as Likely to be Illiterate
A recent report says that an estimated 270 million people aged 15 and older are illiterate in India. The Opportunity for Action Report says that women aged 15 to 24 are twice as likely to remain illiterate than men, with factors like caste and class differences impacting education opportunities. Even more, the report says that girls in rural India average three fewer years of education and those from tribes report social exclusion which prevents them from attending school. Read it all here.