Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia

Women’s Independence in South Sudan, Olympic Firsts & More


AU Selects First Female Leader
The African Union has chosen Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as its first-ever female leader. Dlamini-Zuma, who currently serves as South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister, won the spot over Jean Ping of Gabon. The close contest was won in the third round of voting when Dlamini-Zuma received votes from 37 of the 54 members. Read it all here.

Nigeria Swears in First Female Chief of Justice
Nigeria makes history this week as President Goodluck Jonathan swears in the country’s first female Chief of Justice, Aloma Mariam Mukhtar. Mukhtar has a long history of being the first. In fact, she was the first female from Northern Nigeria to become a lawyer and also the first woman to be appointed a justice in the Court of Appeals.  Even more, she was the first female justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Read more here.

Saudi Arabian Women First to Compete in Olympics
Last month Saudi authorities lifted a long time ban on women competing in the Olympic Games. Despite having a limited amount of time to qualify, there are now officially two female athletes heading to London later this month to represent Saudi Arabia for the first time in history. Sarah Attar will compete in the 800m and Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani in the judo competition. Read more here.

Women Await Independence from Poverty in South Sudan
This month marked one year since South Sudan celebrated its independence and became the world’s newest nation. Now the country’s women are saying they have not experienced the positive social, economic, and political changes they were hoping for. One particular area that desperately needs attention is maternal health. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the country recorded 2,054 out of every 100,000 women died during childbirth in 2011 and there has been little to no improvement since. Another area greatly in need of attention is education: Only one percent of girls complete primary school and 88 percent of women are illiterate. Read it all here.

Young Girl Becomes Village Head in India
At just 18 years old, Afsana Badi, a Muslim girl from Kankot village in Gujarat, a village in the Rajkot district, has become the youngest sarpanch (village head) in the country. Although new to politics, Afsana intends to focus on improving education for girls and has already pledged to build more schools and classrooms for girls in her village.  Read it here.

Growing Number of Bolivian Women Elected to Office
In a country where women have traditionally been held to domestic roles, a growing number of indigenous women in Bolivia are getting involved in politics and running for office. This movement is largely due to the country’s 2009 constitution that states women must occupy 50 percent of all elected government positions. At present, 43 percent of the mayors and councilpersons in Bolivia’s 327 local governments are women, and 96 percent of them are holding public office for the first time. Read more.

Women’s Development Key to Economic Growth in Nigeria
Speaking at the African Women Economic Summit, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala–Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy–delivered her keynote address ‘Sustaining the African Women Economy: A 20 Million-Dollar Opportunity’. In her speech she stressed the importance of empowering women through education and specialized banks that catered specifically to female entrepreneurs looking to establish small and medium sized ventures. She went on to say one of the key ingredients to economic growth is gender equality. Read it all here.

 

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Girls’ Education a Major Challenge in Pakistan & More

 

Girls’ Education a State of Emergency in Rural Pakistan
Girls’ education in rural Pakistan has seen very modest improvements over the past several years. Access to quality education varies significantly throughout the country. with rural areas being particularly bad due to the high demands and restrictions on girls. They’re expected to marry young and have many children. Most girls are raised to serve their families and then go on to serve their husbands. To make matters worse, cultural norms prevent girls from studying alongside boys. According to the World Bank, only 22 percent of girls in rural areas have completed primary school. Even more, just 34 percent of females in rural areas are literate. One woman, Geytee Ara, has made it her mission in life to help educate girls in Pakistan. She opened a school that serves over 60 students, with equal numbers of boys and girls. Read more details here.

Learning Circles in Rwanda Discuss Challenges for Girls
A two-day training was recently held in Rwanda to discuss the efforts needed to tackle the challenges girls are facing in the Nyamagabe and Huye Districts of the Southern Province of Rwanda. The training, referred to as learning circles, was an opportunity for 20 people from a variety of NGOs to come together to share their experiences and find solutions to existing problems. Read more here.

First Saudi Women Will Compete in Olympics
For the first time in history, Saudi women will be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. Before this landmark decision Saudi Arabia was the only major nation to ban female athletes from its national Olympic team. This marks a rare advancement for women in Saudi Arabia, who are not even allowed to hold a driver’s license. Fortunately one woman, show-jumper Dalma Rushdi Malhas, is trained and ready to compete. Read it here.

Female Entrepreneurs Propel Growth in Emerging Countries
Women entrepreneurs and small-business owners are being recognized as one of the main drivers of growth in emerging countries. In fact, by the end of 2010 there were 187 million women worldwide who launched and ran businesses. India in particular has seen an incredible amount of economic success over the past several years, much in part to its growing number of female entrepreneurs. To read the stories of three women who started their own business in India go here.

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First Female Pilot in Nigeria, Girls’ Sports in Saudi Arabia & More

Education Main Tool for a Poverty-Free Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently spoke about the results of the 2012 Secondary School Certificate examinations and said the main tool for building a poverty-free Bangladesh is education. She discussed a variety of government measures that will help build an illiteracy free country by 2014, including distribution of free textbooks among students up to the secondary level and providing scholarship to female students up to the higher secondary level. In addition, she encouraged students to pay close attention to their studies while working towards an enlightened and dignified Bangladesh. Read it here.

Saudi Arabian Girls’ School Defies Religious Ban
A state-run girls’ school in Saudi Arabia has become the first in the country to openly allow students to play sports. While Islamic law prevents women from playing sports, the school has defied the religious ban and put up basketball hoops for female students to use during activity classes. Saudi Arabia recently set up a ministerial committee to consider allowing women’s sports clubs. Read the rest here.

Qatar’s First Female Olympians Head to London
Qatar is one of only three countries that has never sent women to the Olympic Games. However, that is all changing in just a few short months as the country will send its first female athletes to London for the summer games. Bahiya Al-Hamad, who was awarded a wild card to compete in the 10-meter rifle shooting competition, says this historical event is an accomplishment for every Qatari woman. Read it here.

Corruption Threatens Education System in Mozambique
An in-depth study in Mozambique found that widespread corruption and impunity in the education sector is putting the country’s future at risk. Despite accomplishments such as raising the literacy rate by 50 percent and pushing the net school enrollment up by a third, the public perception of the education sector remains negative. The study calls on the Mozambique government to put anti-corruption laws in place to strengthen oversight and ensure resources are properly managed. Read more here.

First Female Military Pilot in Nigeria
Blessing Liman made history in Nigeria as she was made the country’s first female military pilot. At just 28-years-old, the young officer earned her wings after joining the Nigerian Air Force in July 2011 and excelling in her training. Read it here.

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First Female President in Southern Africa & More

First Female Head of State in Southern Africa
Joyce Banda has been a strong advocate for women and girls, particularly those in rural communities, throughout her political career. She was even recognized by Forbes Magazine last year when she was named Africa’s third most powerful female politician. Now, as she takes over as Malawi’s president, she is the first female head of state in southern Africa. One of her top priorities has been to get more girls in Malawi in school, a pledge she made years ago after using the proceeds from her garment manufacturing business and bakery to send underprivileged girls to school. Banda takes over the role following the death of the country’s former president Bingu wa Mutharika. Read it here.

Genocide Survivor Has Faith and Hope for Rwanda
This week marks the 18th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. Now, years later, the country’s people want to show the world how they’re moving on and thriving thanks to “the girl effect,” the idea that investing in young women early in their lives will pay off later in curbing poverty, disease, and despair. One success story is 23-year-old Didacienne “Dida” Nibagwire, a young actress who has been in a variety of films and television shows in Rwanda. Dida is a survivor of the genocide and although most of her family was killed in the conflict, she attributes her resilience to an obligation she feels to do something good for her country. Read the rest of Dida’s inspiring story here.

Violence Against Women in Mexico Grows
The war on drugs in Mexico has had serious consequences for women. Not only has violence against women greatly increased since the escalation of the drug cartels, but homicides in Juarez have dramatically gone up in recent years with 306 women killed in 2009, compared to just 23 in 2006. Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1997, says that, “The government’s efforts to improve ‘security’ in the region have directly resulted in insecurity for civilian populations, and most especially, for women.” Read more here.

Saudi Princess Wishes to Overhaul the Country’s Education System
Women’s rights have traditionally been very limited in Saudi Arabia, but Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz recently spoke out about what she’d like to see change for women in the country. One change she mentions is the country’s constitution, which she says needs to put men and women on equal footing by protecting every citizen’s human rights regardless of sex or status. In regard to the country’s education system, Princess Basma believes the way in which children are taught about women should change, specifically the way women are regarded as inferior beings, whose role is limited to raising her family. To read more about her views on social services, divorce, and women’s requirement to have a Mahrem, or male chaperone when they travel, go here.


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Karzai Calls for Girls’ Ed, Saudi Arabia’s Students Protest & More

Saudi Arabia’s Female Students Protest
In a rare display of protest for women in the Islamic kingdom, students at an all-female university in Saudi Arabia boycotted classes when the school canceled campus cleaning services. According to the report, one student said the protests were triggered by “the accumulation of rubbish and the mistreatment of the students.” Read more here.

Women in Angola Hold Leadership Posts by Merit
At a recent discussion held in Angola, “Women in society and their participation in political life,” officials said that women in leadership positions have achieved their role based on their merit and not exclusively because of the state policy on gender. Officials say that while women were looked upon as inferior beings in the past, they are now seen for their intelligence and capabilities. Read it here.

Current Law Highlights Women’s Rights in Lebanon
Current laws in Lebanon prevent women from passing their nationality on to their children. Interior Minister Marwan Charbel has proposed an amendment to the law which will give women that right and the Cabinet is expected to discuss the issue in the near future. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is also showing his support for the amendment and continues to pledge his commitment to promoting women’s rights. Read more here.

Afghan President Says Education of Girls is Crucial
As the school year begins in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai recently called on tribal and religious leaders to encourage the education of girls, a right which was denied under Taliban rule. Even more, Karzai urged insurgent groups to not attack teachers or school children because education is key if the country is to continue developing. President Karzai said, “To encourage children towards education, particularly the education of girls, is vital and important.” Read it all here.

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