insert_link World Femicide: many countries around the world are making the killing of women a specific crime – here’s why it’s needed By Madhumita Pandey, Sheffield Hallam University An average of five women or girls are killed every hour by someone in their own family, according to UN data. And often their murders are intrinsically linked to them being women. Some countries are now passing laws to specifically criminalise femicide – an extreme manifestation of gender-based violence. The first documented use of the term “femicide” was in […] todayMay 15, 2024 23
insert_link Africa Female genital mutilation is on the rise in Africa: disturbing new trends are driving up the numbers By Tamsin Bradley, University of Portsmouth Thirteen-year-old Salamatu Jalloh had her whole future to look forward to. But in January 2023, her lifeless body was found wrapped in a pink and blue shroud on an earthen floor in a village in north-west Sierra Leone. Salamatu and two other girls bled to death after participating in a secret Bondo society initiation into womanhood. The ceremony, which […] todayMay 13, 2024 26
insert_link Africa The Gambia may allow female genital mutilation again – another sign of a global trend eroding women’s rights By Satang Nabaneh, University of Dayton The Gambia’s ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) since 2015 is under threat. Proposed changes before parliament could permit medicalised female genital cutting and allow it for consenting adults. This potential reversal has thrust the country into the global spotlight as the latest example of the backlash against gender equality. The Gambia’s criminalisation of FGM was not the first in west […] todayApril 2, 2024 12