Around the World In 5 is an ongoing weekly series that highlights news related to women in five countries. This week’s post covers April 16 – April 21.
Rwanda
On April 17th, Norrsken East Africa, in partnership with collaborators, announced the launch of the second cohort of the Women in Business Initiative, designed to empower and accelerate the growth of women-led tech-enabled ventures.
Implemented by the Norrsken Foundation in conjunction with the Embassy of Sweden in Rwanda, this initiative involves 15 female entrepreneurs participating in a six-month comprehensive training program.
Phionah Ingabire, the Women in Business Initiative Manager, emphasized the program’s focus on addressing the unique challenges encountered by women founders in the tech industry, with the goal of jumpstarting and expanding their ventures.
Building on insights from the previous pilot cohort, the organizing team has integrated various strategies to enhance the training and achieve improved outcomes for participants.
Italy
Italy’s parliament, under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government, approved a measure allowing anti-abortion activists to enter abortion consultation clinics. This measure is part of a series of initiatives endorsed by Meloni’s cabinet and financed by the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund, with Italy being its largest recipient.
The lower house voted on this measure with confidence on Tuesday, and it is expected to pass comfortably in the senate as well. This action mirrors steps taken by several rightwing-led regions, which have already funded pressure groups to infiltrate consultation clinics where women obtain certificates confirming their decision to terminate pregnancies.
Additionally, regions like Marche, governed by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, have imposed restrictions on access to the abortion pill.
Germany
The German women’s rights organization Terre des Femmes recently initiated a striking campaign titled “unsilence the violence” across three cities in Germany.
The campaign aimed to highlight the enduring effects of sexual harassment on survivors. Large, white placards bearing the slogan “Sexual harassment leaves a mark” were prominently displayed behind three bronze statues of nude women.
These statues notably showed breasts that had become visibly lighter due to frequent touching, serving as a poignant visual representation of the impact of sexual harassment. The campaign sought to raise awareness about the often-hidden consequences of such behavior and to encourage dialogue and action against sexual violence.
Switzerland
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), based in Strasbourg, France, issued a landmark ruling on Tuesday, finding that Switzerland’s inadequate response to the climate crisis violated human rights. This decision, the first of its kind in climate litigation, could set a significant precedent with global implications.
The case was led by more than 2,000 Swiss women, predominantly in their 70s, who argued that climate change-induced heat waves were adversely affecting their health, quality of life, and even posed a risk to their lives. The court determined that the Swiss government had violated these women’s human rights by failing to meet previous climate targets and identified “critical gaps” in the national strategy to reduce emissions contributing to global warming.
This ruling underscores the growing recognition of climate change as a human rights issue and underscores the urgency for governments to take meaningful action to address climate-related risks and protect vulnerable populations.
Nigeria
Nigerian soldiers have rescued a pregnant woman and her three children a decade after she was abducted by Boko Haram militants in Chibok. Lydia Simon was found in Ngoshe, Borno state, five months pregnant. She has yet to be reunited with her family.
Announcing the news on Thursday, the Nigerian army did not give details of the rescue other than to say Simon was found in the community of Ngoshe.
Chibok and Ngoshe are in Borno state, birthplace of the 15-year old insurgency that has since spread to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger, uprooting about 2 million people across the region.
