Around The World In 5
Around the World in 5 is an ongoing series that highlights news related to women in five countries, updated every week. This week's post covers November 17 to November 27.
Global
A Call for Action released by United Nations (UN) agencies ahead of the global Conference of the Parties (COP28) emphasizes the urgent need to address extreme health risks faced by pregnant women, babies, and children in the wake of climate catastrophes.
The document, titled "Protecting maternal, newborn and child health from the impacts of climate change," underscores the neglect, underreporting, and underestimation of climate events' effects on maternal and child health.
It sheds light on the concerning absence of maternal and child health considerations in many countries' climate change response plans, highlighting this as a significant gap in addressing the needs of women, newborns, and children in the climate change discourse.
Nigeria
United Nations Women (UN Women) has unveiled a significant collaboration with the European Union (EU) to advance gender equality and combat gender-based violence (GBV) globally.
Ms. Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, shared this news during a Regional Consultation in Abuja with women's rights organizations preceding the annual UN 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
The initiative aims to amplify global and local advocacy, promote collaboration, and drive transformative feminist actions to eradicate violence against women.
Thailand
The Thai Cabinet has granted approval to an equality bill sanctioning same-sex marriage, slated for parliamentary debate next month. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin revealed this development on Tuesday, November 21, specifying that the proposal is scheduled for parliamentary consideration on December 12.
If the amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code receives the nod from parliament and King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Thailand will join Taiwan and Nepal as the third Asian country, and notably, the first in Southeast Asia, to legalize same-sex marriage.
Canada
The Fédération des maisons d'hébergement pour femmes (FMHF), a federation representing Quebec shelters for abused women and their children, has initiated a 12-day campaign urging men to actively participate in combating violence against women.
Launched with slogans like "Stop violence against women of colour, Indigenous women, trans women, and sex workers," "If you blame the victim, you support the abuser," and "Stop sexist jokes and violent comments," the campaign encourages men to speak up and play a role in finding solutions to address this critical issue.
South Africa
SWEAT, a sex worker advocacy organization in Cape Town, South Africa, organized its inaugural sex workers' decriminalization summit, uniting sex workers, allies, labor representatives, and government officials over two days. Sex worker activists intend to resubmit the sex work decriminalization bill by March 2024.
SWEAT aims to present a new bill to Parliament by March 2024, seeking the removal of criminal charges against sex workers, legalization of buying and selling of sex, and the repeal of laws criminalizing sex work.