gender equality - The African Mirror

Nov

2023

Africa is steadily marching toward gender parity

NAMIBIA is among a select group of nine nations globally that have successfully closed over 80% of their gender gap, marking a significant stride towards equality. According to a 2023 report from the World Economic Forum, Namibia has achieved an impressive 80.2% closure, securing the rank of 8th worldwide in bridging this gap. Leaders include Iceland (91.2%), Norway (87.9%), Finland (86.3%), New Zealand (85.2%), Sweden (81.5%), Germany (81.5%), and Nicaragua (81.1%), with Namibia next, at 80.2%. “Sub-Saharan Africa’s parity score is the sixth highest among the eight regions at 68.2%, ranking above Southern Asia, the Middle East and North Africa,”…

Oct

2023

By SIHLE MACKENZIE-GCILITSHANA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Black women in rugby are tackling gender equality in sport one try at a time

SPORT, MULTIMEDIA

IN April 2023, an all-Black women’s rugby team, led by Head Coach Bongi Nhleko from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), progressed to the first-ever First National Bank (FNB) Varsity Women’s Rugby Finals. It was a seminal moment for Black women's rugby in South Africa. "We were really honoured to be part of the first-ever Varsity Cup's Fifteens and we were grateful for it. It gave us exposure because going through to the finals we knew there was going to be pressure and we were looking to perform… It was a great experience… It wasn't the result we were looking for…

Dec

2021

By The African Mirror

Gender equality takes one step forward, three back during COVID

WORLD

GOVERNMENTS, companies and investors must do more to reverse the blow dealt to gender equality by the COVID-19 pandemic and try to cement some silver linings of the crisis for women, experts told a panel at the Reuters Next conference on Thursday. "It is one step forward and three steps back," said Carlien Scheele, director of the European Institute for Gender Equality, noting that women had taken on the bulk of the extra caregiving responsibilities during lockdowns. Women have been hit harder than men by job losses around the world due to the pandemic and their employment levels are likely…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Gabon’s progressive pro-women laws

NEWS

GABON’S government has proposed new laws to promote gender equality and loosen restrictions on abortion, Prime Minister Rose Christiane Raponda has announced. Parliament is expected to vote during its current session to allow divorce by mutual consent and to eliminate requirements that women obey their husbands and notify them when they open a bank account, Raponda told Reuters in an interview. "The legal changes aim to tackle the issues of violence and discrimination that women face in out society," said Raponda, who became the Central African nation's first female prime minister last year. The U.S. State Department said in 2019…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Algerian women push for more rights at Berber soccer tournament

HUMAN RIGHTS

ALGERIAN women in bright Berber dress ululating, singing and beating drums at a soccer tournament last week were pushing their fight for gender equality - a cause that has come under greater scrutiny in Algeria after a brutal attack this month. The quiet cobbled village of Sahel was hosting the third annual competition between female teams in the mountainous Kabylie region to push for a bigger role for women in Algerian society. "Women before weren't free, weren't allowed to work outside of the house ... now we have rights, we can be lawyers, pilots, or do any other jobs, and…