The Catholic Church has long been fighting sorcery in Papua New Guinea. An Auckland academic says the real issue with violence against women in Papua New Guinea is not sorcery, but gender inequality. Evangelina Papoutsaki says unequal gender relations which are the result of the post-colonial times and Christianity, are being used to justify violence against Read more
The day Prime Minister Helen Clark was berated and humiliated at Waitangi for daring to speak on the marae should have been the day all iwi resolved to reassess the rules subordinating women on marae and in wharenui. It should have been considered urgent. Perhaps the indignity of that day was generally dismissed as mere Read more
The Human Rights Tribunal has dismissed a complaint against the Anglican Church over its decision to deny a gay man entry to the priesthood. The tribunal had been considering whether Geno Sisneros, of Auckland, was discriminated against when his application to train as a priest was turned down. Continue reading
A national survey in Fiji on the prevalence of violence against women in relationships shows that women in rural areas are more at risk of being abused than others. The survey was carried out by the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre, which interviewed more than 3,000 women over two years, from rural and urban areas in Read more
Thousands of people who want to access Family First’s website are instead inadvertently being directed to the marriage equality campaign’s website. Wellington man Hamish Spencer purchased the domain www.familyfirst.co.nz last week. While one would expect the site to provide an insight into the charity, it instead redirects you to the marriage equality campaign’s website. Family First is staunchly Read more
The New Zealand Human Rights Commission has formally endorsed same gender marriage and a non-discriminatory approach to adoption that gives primacy to the best interests of the child. The conclusion to The HRC’s short paper states: “In order to ensure formal legal equality, including the right to found and form a family regardless of sexual orientation or Read more
Tonga’s director of women’s affairs, Polotu Paunga says the island kingdom has made a lot of commitment towards women empowerment and gender equality.
Speaking from the 9th Meeting of the Commonwealth Gender Plan of Action Monitoring Group (CGPMG) in New York, she told Radio Tonga News a major outcome of the annual consultation this year was the confirmation of the Framework of Monitoring and Evaluation of the implementation of the revised1995 – 2015 Commonwealth Plan of Action on Gender and Development.
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Mass had just begun at Corpus Christi Catholic Church when Jennifer Zickel, a Sunday school teacher, glanced at the church bulletin and saw something that made her sick to her stomach. Tucked in with announcements about a new electronic donation system and a church dinner at Margarita’s Mexican restaurant was news that Zickel, the mother of two Read more
10 new volunteers have been brought together in Suva, in conjunction with the Catholic Women’s League, to learn about community radio, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security) and other gender equality and women’s human rights commitments as they prepare to take to the airwaves alongside Generation Next members.
“As a young woman you can make a difference. My message for the 16 days of activism is for my community to be free from violence especially violence against women and girls,” says young mum Ana Rakacikaci. As a mother of 9 and 5 year olds, her priorities are food prices, preventing teenage pregnancies and drug and substance abuse.
“I know through this women’s mobile radio, awareness can be raised to help women, especially young women, to be informed. I am passionate about equality amongst women and girls. I would like them to be empowered through the medium where their voices can be heard.”
She is part of a group of ten young women claiming their role as Peacebuilders, communicators, radio producers and broadcasters as they undergo training at FemLINKPACIFIC’s community media centre in Suva in the lead up to the 16 days’ campaign to Eliminate Violence Against Women.
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Aborting female foetuses in India means there are 7.1 million fewer girls than boys aged up to six. The gender-gap has widened by a million in the last 10 years. Selective sex selection Indian families where the first child has been a girl, more and more parents with access to prenatal ultrasound testing are sex-selecting Read more