Around the World In 5 is a recurring weekly series spotlighting news concerning women across five different countries. This week’s edition spans July 15 to July 19.
Haiti
According to a report from UN Women released on Wednesday, Haitian women and girls in makeshift displacement camps are experiencing a distressing level of violence, including rape threats, due to increased gang violence in the Caribbean nation.
The camps are severely lacking in essential amenities like lighting, bedroom locks, and secure toilets, exposing women and girls to heightened risks of sexual and gender-based violence. More than 578,000 Haitians have been internally displaced as a result of the violence, according to the UN, and just over half of that figure are women and girls.
Kenya
Police in Nairobi discovered six decomposing female bodies in a quarry on Friday, prompting a protest at a nearby police station, according to reports.
The bodies, found in various stages of decomposition and severely mutilated, were discovered at the quarry, which was being used as a dumpsite. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations released a statement indicating that the area has been secured as a crime scene. Preliminary investigations suggest a similar method of killing for all the victims, whose bodies were wrapped in nylon papers and secured with nylon ropes.
The bodies have been moved to a mortuary for postmortem examinations, although the identities of the deceased and the duration they had been at the quarry remain unclear.
France
Amnesty International’s latest report criticizes the ban on French women athletes wearing headscarves at the Olympic Games, arguing it violates international human rights laws. The report highlights the discriminatory stance of French authorities and criticizes the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its perceived acquiescence.
Titled “‘We can’t breathe anymore. Even sports, we can’t do them anymore’: Violations of Muslim women’s and girls’ human rights through hijab bans in sports in France,” the report underscores the severe impact of hijab bans on Muslim women and girls across all levels of French sports.
According to Anna Błuś, Amnesty International’s Women’s Rights Researcher in Europe, “Banning French athletes from competing with sports hijabs at the Olympic and Paralympic Games makes a mockery of claims that Paris 2024 is the first Gender Equal Olympics and lays bare the racist gender discrimination that underpins access to sport in France.”
Somalia
On Sunday night in Somalia, as many people crowded into cafes and homes to watch the Euro football final, another event unfolded at the beachside Elite Hotel in Mogadishu: the Miss Somalia competition. Amid this glamorous gathering, just a kilometer away, a car bomb exploded outside the Top Coffee restaurant where football fans had gathered, starkly highlighting the contrasting realities of life in Somalia.
While beauty show contestants paraded at the hotel, the nearby blast tragically claimed the lives of at least five people and left around 20 others injured. The militant Islamist group al-Shabab, which has exerted control over much of Somalia for over 15 years, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The establishment of the Miss Somalia competition in 2021 by Hani Abdi Gas is notable in a culturally conservative country challenged by Islamist militants. Somalia has consistently ranked among the world’s most challenging places for women.
India
A team of 10 researchers from the UK, the US, and Europe conducted a study on the mortality effects of the pandemic in India, examining differences by sex, social group, and age. Their findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, reveal significant impacts.
According to their research, life expectancy at birth in India decreased by 2.6 years in 2020 compared to 2019, and mortality increased by 17% during the same period.
In addition to their main findings, the researchers discovered a particularly concerning trend: females in India experienced a decline in life expectancy that was one year greater than that observed in males. This anomaly diverges from patterns observed in most other countries and raises significant concerns about gender inequality within India.
