Esther Tola
COTONOU, Mar 28 2009 (IPS) – Judges and gynaecologists in Benin have undergone training on the interpretation of forensic evidence in cases of violence against women, as well as in investigative procedures when dealing with rape cases.
The training took place in Cotonou, the country s economic capital, at an international conference held Mar. 16 to 19 as part of the Women s Justice and Empowerment Initiative, a U.S. government-funded programme to strengthen awareness of gender-based violence and prosecution of perpetrators in four African countries.
In Benin, this initiative is being carried out by Care International and its Empower project, working to enhance the ability of local and national bodies to address the needs of women affected by violence.
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Zofeen Ebrahim* – IPS/TerraViva
KARACHI, Pakistan, Sep 21 2010 (IPS) – For five years, Sana Yasir toiled through medical school and then was awarded at the end with a diploma and a bright future. After completing the required year-long clinical practice, however, Yasir got married and quit the workplace.
The fact that many women doctors opt not to practise medicine raises…
Farmers with the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) protest the concentration of land ownership in Brazil, during a Feb. 21 demonstration in support of the occupation of part of the Agropecuaria Santa Mônica estate, 150 km from Brasilia. Credit: Courtesy of the MST
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 19 2015 (IPS) – The growing economic inequalities between rich and poor – and the lopsided concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the world’s one percent are undermining international efforts to fight global poverty, environmental degradation and social injustice, according to a civil society alliance.
Comprising ActionAid, Greenpeace, Oxfam and Civicus, the group of widel…
Member of Parliament Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn. Credit: Kate Chappell
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Feb 12 2021 (IPS) – It was a joyful, tearful celebration in the early morning hours of Dec. 30, 2020 for countless Argentinians when they heard the news: the senate had legalized terminations up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. Prior to this, activists have said that more than 3,000 women died of botched, illegal abortions since 1983. And across the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region, this renewed sense of optimism was compounded after President Joe Biden what is known as the “global gag rule,” which essentially denied funding to international non-profit organizations that …