Around The World In 5
The year is coming to a close and families are spending more time together, but across the globe women continue to demand for rights to their bodies, safety and livelihoods.
Document Women has gathered stories from across the globe for you.
- China
In China, a hospital can currently only let pregnant women deliver by caesarean section if her husband approves. This week, the Chinese government met to discuss bills, including a draft amendment to the Women’s Rights and Interests Protection Law, which was first passed in 1992.
The rule requiring a husband’s permission led to a case in 2017 where a pregnant woman jumped to her death at a hospital because she was in pain and her husband objected to a caesarean.
Under the proposed new rules, if a pregnant woman and her family have different opinions about a delivery, the hospital should respect the woman’s wish
Read more here; http://news.trust.org/item/20211221101412-xco9r/
- Honduras
Honduras is one of six countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that bans abortion under all circumstances, and it is the only country in the region to ban emergency contraception, also known as the morning-after pill.
Xiomara Castro made history when she emerged the first woman to be elected president of Honduras – now she faces battles to ease the country’s strict ban on abortion.
Her government plan commits to legalize abortion in the case of rape, risk to the mother’s life, and deformities of the fetus. She has also pledged to allow the use and distribution of the morning-after pill.
Read more here; http://news.trust.org/item/20211208115153-1dnbk
- Global
There has been a global rise in online harassment of women and girls in the past year, usually by partners or ex-partners who have been stuck at home with more screen time due to coronavirus lockdowns.
UN Women notes in its report the online and technology aided violence against women and girls during COVID-19.
- Sudan
Hundreds of women took to the streets in and around Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, to protest against sexual violence and harassment, including alleged rape by security forces during a pro-democracy protest.
The United Nations said this week security forces were alleged to have raped or gang-raped at least 13 women and girls in Sunday’s mass demonstration outside the presidential palace in Khartoum.
Read more here; https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/23/they-wont-break-us-sudanese-protesters-decry-sexual-attacks
- Nigeria
The Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP) is a flagship project of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs. The Project has an objective of supporting improved livelihoods for women in targeted communities of Nigeria.
The World Bank supports the programme with a 100 million dollar grant with the hope that the money would improve the livelihood of exactly 324,000 women in targeted communities, quash those negative social norms that tend to hold women back, limit their growth, and kill their dreams.