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MEPs will mark International Women’s Day, vote on EU investment and health programmes, call for greater corporate responsibility and support LGBTIQ rights during the next plenary session.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

MEPs will mark International Women’s Day, vote on EU investment and health programmes, call for greater corporate responsibility and support LGBTIQ rights during the next plenary session.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Suicides, pauvreté, faillite : des agriculteurs ont manifesté jeudi (4 mars) à Paris pour dénoncer le « malaise agricole » alors que le ministre de l’Agriculture multiplie les messages pour « célébrer » celles et ceux qui nourrissent la France.

Protest for women's rights in Kathmandu, Nepal. Credit: Sanjog Manandhar

By Bibbi Abruzzini, Pénélope Hubert and Yohan Cambet
PARIS, Mar 5 2021 (IPS)

Today, despite centuries of activism and mobilisations, women and non-binary people continue to remain disadvantaged in almost every sphere – from “public life” to the “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence.

In light of COVID-19, some struggles have been considered in theory, but most continue to be ignored in practice. How can we dismantle the “gender lies” perpetuating in the 21st century? How do we start taking into account the diverse experiences of women, without excluding black and indigenous voices on the basis of power and privilege?

Afghanistan, Nepal, Bolivia, Mexico and Uganda: five activists tell us how they transform the ways their communities think and act around gender.

Afghanistan: rap music to save child brides

Sonita Alizadeh, is a survivor of two attempts at forced marriage, and now a rapper and activist fighting for the liberation of women against forced marriage. Born in Herat, Afghanistan, under the Taliban regime, she grew up in Iran, as a refugee with her family. At 10 years old, she narrowly escaped a forced marriage. Her family again tried to sell her when she was sixteen, she escaped. Afghanistan has the 20th highest number of women married before the age of 18 in the world, with 28% of Afghan girls married off as minors, according to Girls Not Brides.

“My mother was a child bride, and she did not meet her husband until their wedding day. By marrying me off at a young age, she was simply repeating the cycle. This tradition makes me want to raise awareness of this harmful issue with the help of millions of others around the world through my music,” says Sonita in an interview with Forus.

Witnessing her friends swiftly disappearing as they were forced to marry, Sonita wrote the song “Daughters for Sale”, which kick-started her work as a human rights activists and rapper.

“Music touches people in a way words cannot – it is deeper and more emotional. People listen to music and young people pay attention to the lyrics. Music can be a powerful way to hear important messages. That is why I always rap about things that need to change in the world, or ideas that young people need to hear, to dream big.”

Today, Sonita uses her tracks and success to give young girls self-confidence. She sings to tell: “Hold this hope in your heads and your hearts. Hold this hope for the future. Never give up.”

Nepal: Fighting “period poverty”.

As 2020 drew to a close, protesters across South Asia took to the streets and to social media, calling on their governments to end the perpetuating cycle of widespread sexual violence against women and children.

In Nepal, hundreds of activists returned to the streets after a 17-year-old girl was raped and strangled to death. Some protesters wore black over their eyes to symbolize public authorities closing their eyes to sexual violence. Activists say that although the country’s constitution guarantees equal rights to women, there is a clear disjunction between theory and practice.

“How do we make sure that there is no gap between law and social progress?” asks Jesselina Rana, a human rights lawyer, co-founder with engineer Shubhangi Rana of Pad2Go, a social enterprise focusing on menstrual health and the taboos surrounding it.

It is estimated that around 83 percent of menstruating individuals face some form of restriction or exclusion during their menstrual cycle in Nepal.

“From a very young age, menstruating individuals are made to believe that their menstrual cycle makes them impure, and it can only be talked about behind closed doors,” Jesselina explains.

With Pad2Go, Jesselina distributed over 80 sanitary napkin vending machines across Nepal. She collaborates with pad manufacturers, to provide pads at less than market rate in order to ensure affordability. She also organises discussions with both men and women to normalise conversations around menstruations.

“Nepal being a patriarchal society, men engagement is crucial to overcome social issues faced by women. Socially we need to get men into those spaces of conversation, at a young age, to make sure that everyone is part of the discussion to end the toxic cycle of gender discrimination.”

Protest in Mexico. Credit: Melanie Isahmar Torres Melo

Bolivia, Mexico: “Ni Una Menos”

Cradled in the “machismo culture”, Bolivia has one of the highest domestic violence rates against women in South America. The annual average of 110 femicides in the past 7 years persists, despite a 2013 law establishing measures to prevent and prosecute gender-based violence.

During the Covid-19 crisis, the economic consequences of the pandemic disproportionately affected Bolivian women. Government restrictions reduced access to food, aid programs did not adequately address the needs of communities, increasing their vulnerability and insecurity.

During the lockdown the slogan “Stay at Home” was widely promoted across Bolivia, yet for many women and girls victims of violence, that actually meant a very dangerous “Cállate en casa” (shut up at home), explains Iris Baptista from Red Unitas, a platform funded in 1976 that reunites 22 NGOs in Bolivia.

“Red Unitas created the campaign “SIN VIOLENCIA ES MEJOR” (Better Without Violence), to raise awareness of the fact that women are doing most of the work during the pandemic, to fulfil their role as mothers, wives and workers, yet they continue to face violence at home,” Iris explains.

But, violence against women and femicides are not just common in Bolivia—they are prevalent throughout the region. Global data is difficult to gather due to differences in reporting standards, however, the 2016 report, “A Gendered Analysis of Violent Deaths” founds that fourteen of the twenty-five countries with the highest femicide rates are Latin American.

Defined as “a pandemic within the pandemic”, gender-based violence has spiked since COVID-19 broke out. Writer Lynn Marie Stephen believes that laws and initiatives to protect women, “fail to indict the broader systems that perpetuate these problems, like social, racial, and economic inequalities, family relationships and social mores”.

“It’s not that there was less violence against women in the past, it’s just that it wasn’t made as visible as it is today,” says Melanie Isahmar Torres Melo, a photojournalist covering women issues in Puebla, Mexico.

Every day, 10 women are killed in Mexico. The number of femicides has increased by 137% in the past five years and reached its highest monthly rates in 2020. Despite this number, only 5% of all crimes committed in Mexico are punished. This dichotomy between numbers is often the result of a “single crime” vision, rather than a sociological phenomenon, linked to the idea of patriarchy and sexism.

“Most perpetuators are never caught; this has triggered ‘social anger’ around the issue of feminicides in Mexico. There is no respect for victims, they are blamed for being killed. New movements are rising led by different collectives and civil society organisations. People are taking to the streets and shouting “Ni Una Menos” no woman should be killed,” says Mela.

Uganda – creating an enabling environment for civil society

“I was arrested and shamed for leaked nudes”, model and activist Judith Heard explains. When nude pictures of her were published without her consent in 2018, she was widely criticized and was arrested under the Anti-Pornography Act. Her situation is far from unique, a survey conducted in 2016 found that 50% of Ugandan women aged between 15 and 49 has experienced violence by an intimate partner. As a result, in February 2019, Heard launched Day One Global, an advocacy organisation that seeks to curb sexual harassment and rape.

From Marion Kirabo who led a women’s protest against rising tuition fees, to Rosebell Kagumire, editor of the African Feminism digital platform opening “discussion and dialogue on feminist issues throughout the continent”, activists and “gender advocates” in Uganda, are creating innovative forms of “transnational feminism” both online and offline.

Yet, a recent report by Forus International, shows that only 1% of gender equality funding is going to women’s organizations worldwide, and that promoters of gender equality need increased protection. Even more worryingly, attacks on women organisations and civil society more generally, have been reinforced by the current COVID-19 crisis.

Overall, organizations that engage in monitoring the state’s conduct and advocate for human rights, anti-corruption, accountability, and democratic governance are experiencing growing obstacles. One of the most recent examples is the Uganda Communications Commission Guidelines for everyone posting content online, including bloggers and online news platforms, which aims to control people’s freedom of speech.

“While the Ugandan government welcomes the social services many civil society organizations provide, at the same time it feels threatened by the possibility of political mobilization and empowerment of the population that come with self-organized practices; needless to say, such threats to the government’s grip on power yield conflicts between the state and civil society actors,” according to the Uganda National NGO Forum, an umbrella organization with more than 650 member NGOs across the country.

#MarchWithUs

Despite the considerable progress, more than half of the world’s girls and women—as many as 2.1 billion people—live in countries that are not on track to reach key gender equality-related targets by 2030.

However, a new survey from Focus 2030 and Women Deliver, covering 17 countries on six continents—reveals that citizens are eager for sustained and strengthened political and financial investments to accelerate progress towards gender equality. In particular, the global public supports the need for women to play a role in all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic response, with 82% of survey respondents on average saying they believe women should be involved in the response at all levels.

To build a recovery plan and a roadmap for the future, a gender lens must be applied. With the digital campaign #MarchWithUs, Forus is taking a full month to reflect on the voices of women and non-binary activists who are on the frontline of social change. It is time to act to turn “gender lies” into gender promises.

The authors are members of Forus Communication team.

 

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The post International Women’s Day, 2021
#MarchWithUs: 5 Activists on Dismantling “Gender Lies” appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The following opinion piece is part of series to mark the upcoming International Women’s Day, March 8.

The post International Women’s Day, 2021
#MarchWithUs: 5 Activists on Dismantling “Gender Lies” appeared first on Inter Press Service.

La question de la récupération des fonds et des biens issus de la corruption des hommes d’affaires, des politiciens et des parties influentes incarcérés pour corruption s’est imposée au Chef de l’Etat Abdelmadjid Tebboune qui s’est engagé lors de sa campagne électorale à ne ménager aucun effort pour leur récupération. La question de la récupération […]

L’article Biens confisqués : Ces sommes colossales à récupérer est apparu en premier sur .

Fruit d'un partenariat entre le gouvernement béninois et Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP), développeur panafricain de zones économiques spéciales, le projet de la future zone industrielle de Glo-Djigbé (GDIZ) ouvre des perspectives prometteuses pour le pays. Objectif affiché : devenir un hub industriel de la sous-région.

Avec la remise officielle du site de la ZES à ARISE IIP le 5 février dernier, c'est un chantier d'envergure qui s'annonce au Bénin, à Abomey-Calavi, à 45km de la capitale Cotonou. Alors que la crise sanitaire a retardé son démarrage d'un an, les attentes suscitées par cette future zone industrielle dédiée à la transformation et à la valorisation de matières premières agricoles sont immenses. Et pour cause : sur 1640 hectares, elle ambitionne de devenir une plaque tournante pour le traitement des produits agricoles du Bénin, qu'ils soient destinés à l'export ou au marché local.

Située à proximité de l'aéroport international en construction, cette première dans le pays est le fruit d'un partenariat public-privé entre le gouvernement du Bénin et ARISE IIP, son partenaire technique. Signé le 8 novembre 2019, approuvé en conseil des ministres début 2020, ce projet va enfin pouvoir démarrer suite à la remise officielle du site de la ZES à ARISE IIP, le 5 février dernier.

Développer le potentiel économique du pays
Développé en deux temps, il comprendra notamment une zone commerciale, un espace comprenant plus d'une centaine de lots industriels à l'achat ou à la location pour les opérateurs locaux et étrangers, un entrepôt de stockage, 148ha de zone résidentielle, un centre d'affaires et un guichet unique pour les services gouvernementaux. De quoi créer un cadre propice à l'implantation d'entreprises locales et drainer des IDE pour le Bénin. Les investisseurs se verront ainsi proposer un accès privilégié aux pays enclavés frontaliers du Bénin : le Burkina Faso, le Niger et le Bénin, soit un marché de 50 millions de personnes.

À lire aussi : Économie sportive : L'Afrique au défi de l'émergence d'un marché du sport

L'ambition d'IIP est de maximiser localement la transformation des richesses béninoises afin de combler le manque à gagner national dû à l'exportation de matières premières brutes. En permettant la mise en place d'un écosystème vertueux et l'industrialisation de la production de la noix de cajou (dont le pays est le deuxième producteur mondial), du coton (dont il est le premier producteur africain), de l'ananas, du karité et du soja, notamment ; en favorisant l'implantation d'usines, la mise en place de rouages performants pour l'export de produits transformés, cet écosystème d'infrastructures et de services facilitera l'export et la distribution locale de produits à valeur ajoutée, offrant au Bénin un avantage concurrentiel.
« Cette Zone économique spéciale est conçue pour être un parc industriel moderne, respectueuse des normes environnementales et sociales les plus élevées, et destinée à fournir des services aux différentes industries », a souligné Laurent Gangbes, directeur général de l'APIEx, lors de la cérémonie.

Plus de 300 000 emplois prévus
Sur fond de multiplication des ZES en Afrique, ce projet s'inscrit dans le cadre du plan de relance économique béninois pour le quinquennat 2016-2021, « Bénin révélé », qui accorde au secteur agricole une place centrale – il contribue à hauteur de 28% au PIB et génère 75 % des recettes d'exportation, selon les chiffres de l'Institut national de la statistique et de l'analyse économique (Insae). Des centaines d'entreprises issues de divers secteurs d'activité y sont attendues, attirées par les avantages fiscaux proposés, à commencer par l'allègement d'impôt sur le revenu et de taxes douanières pour l'import, l'exemption de TVA et de taxe sur les gains en capitaux et le rapatriement des bénéfices. Six unités industrielles de transformation de fibre de coton, 29 unités industrielles de confection de vêtement, 14 unités industrielles de transformation de noix de cajou et 10 unités industrielles de tout type ont déjà manifesté leur intérêt et sont attendues sur site d'ici 2026.
Plus de 300 000 emplois seront créés dans cette zone d'ici 2030 (200 000 dans la filière coton-fabrication de vêtements et 100 000 pour la transformation de noix de cajou). Sa contribution aux exportations et au PIB du Bénin sera significative : ce projet permettra au Bénin d'augmenter ses exportations de 5 à 10 Mds USD et son PIB de 4 à 7 Mds USD d'ici dix ans.

La Rédaction

SKOPJE, 5 March 2021- With an aim to enhance professional standards of online media, the OSCE Mission to Skopje supported the Council of Media Ethics (CMEM) in developing ethical guidelines for online media outlets, publicized in Skopje today.

The Guidelines, drafted after a broad consultation with the media community in North Macedonia, will help in developing a solid and credible online media self-regulation system, and strengthen independent, professional and accountable reporting online.

“Ethical standards need to be applied across all media platforms as ethical challenges of journalism are valid both offline and online," said Clemens Koja, Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

The Executive Director of the Council of Media Ethics, Marina Tuneva, said that in all democratic societies, self-regulation is the best way to increase accountability of online media and prevent unnecessary media legislation. The fast-changing circumstances in which both traditional and online media work requires continuous upgrade of an ethical framework.

"We hope that this self-regulatory instrument will motivate online media to embrace the value of professional and accountable journalism in their work,” said Tuneva. “The Guidelines are intended to serve as a tool helping to resolve dilemmas on how to deal with aspects related to journalistic content published online. These aspects are not included or explained in detail in the current ethical framework.” 

“A crucial task of our Council is to foster and restore public trust in journalism. In this regard, we will continue advocating for the application of ethical standards across all media platforms," concluded Tuneva.

The Guidelines, available at https://semm.mk/en/pravna-ramka-3/2015-11-01-07-10-08/kodeks/851-guidelines-for-ethical-reporting-for-online-media, apply to all information and content that online media publish on social networks or other online platforms. 

Apple could face an EU antitrust charge sheet in the coming weeks after a complaint by rival Spotify that it unfairly pushed its own music streaming service, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday (4 March).

The aim of this chapter (in Portuguese) is to present an overview about the challenge of the rise of populist radical right parties in Europe. Based on the literature, it is argued that their electoral rise has allowed these parties to exert influence on the political agenda, beyond the dimension of electoral competition itself. Populist radical right positions have resonated in other spheres, such as public opinion, traditional parties, democratic institutions and public policies. The chapter starts with a definition of populist radical right parties, then discusses what they represent and what are the explanations found in the literature for their emergence and electoral persistence, with a focus on supply-side factors. In the end, the chapter reflects on some of the implications of the rise of the populist radical right in the the European continent.

The aim of this chapter (in Portuguese) is to present an overview about the challenge of the rise of populist radical right parties in Europe. Based on the literature, it is argued that their electoral rise has allowed these parties to exert influence on the political agenda, beyond the dimension of electoral competition itself. Populist radical right positions have resonated in other spheres, such as public opinion, traditional parties, democratic institutions and public policies. The chapter starts with a definition of populist radical right parties, then discusses what they represent and what are the explanations found in the literature for their emergence and electoral persistence, with a focus on supply-side factors. In the end, the chapter reflects on some of the implications of the rise of the populist radical right in the the European continent.

The aim of this chapter (in Portuguese) is to present an overview about the challenge of the rise of populist radical right parties in Europe. Based on the literature, it is argued that their electoral rise has allowed these parties to exert influence on the political agenda, beyond the dimension of electoral competition itself. Populist radical right positions have resonated in other spheres, such as public opinion, traditional parties, democratic institutions and public policies. The chapter starts with a definition of populist radical right parties, then discusses what they represent and what are the explanations found in the literature for their emergence and electoral persistence, with a focus on supply-side factors. In the end, the chapter reflects on some of the implications of the rise of the populist radical right in the the European continent.

Ce dimanche 7 mars, l’ensemble des équipes de «24 heures» seront sur le pont pour vous faire vivre, au plus près, le premier tour des élections communales vaudoises ainsi que les résultats des trois votations fédérales.

Nalleli Cobo a commencé à souffrir d'asthme, de saignements du nez et de maux de tête.

Krokodil nyelt le egy nyolcéves kisfiút Indonéziában, Borneó szigetén - adta hírül pénteken a The Sydney News Today online kiadása.

Meghalt 143, többségében idős, krónikus beteg, és újabb 6369 magyar állampolgárnál mutatták ki a koronavírus-fertőzést - közölte a koronavirus.gov.hu.

Csütörtökön 11 749 laboratóriumi PCR tesztet végeztek el, amelyből 2423 zárult pozitív eredménnyel. Emellett 2027 antigén teszt lett pozitív. 105-tel emelkedett a koronavírus áldozatainak száma Szlovákiában.

La campagne électorale en vue des Législatives en Côte d’Ivoire a pris fin ce jeudi 4 mars 2021. Et c’est à Yopougon, vivier de quelque 420 000 électeurs, très discuté entre le parti présidentiel et l’opposition, que cette dernière a tenu son dernier meeting. Ce jeudi, pour clôturer la campagne électorale en vue des Législatives […]

L’article Législatives en Côte d’Ivoire : la coalition de l’opposition PDCI-EDS clôture sa campagne à Yopougon est apparu en premier sur Afrik.com.

La Cour constitutionnelle a tenu ce jeudi 04 mars 2021, la première audience dans les nouveaux locaux.

L'audience inaugurale tenue au siège rénové de la Cour constitutionnelle a été marquée par la présence de plusieurs personnalités dont le ministre de la justice et de la législation, Me Séverin Quenum. Le president du conseil constitutionnel du Burkina Faso était également présent à cette audience présidée par le professeur Joseph Djogbénou.
Le nouveau siège de la haute juridiction a été réceptionné cette semaine au cours d'une cérémonie officielle.

F. A. A.