By: Janene Pieters Women in the Netherlands are more likely to give birth during the week than on the weekend, according to Statistics Netherlands’ analysis of the birth and mortality patterns in the country last year. The stats office partly attributes this to the fact that more women give birth in hospitals – less than a quarter of last year’s births happened at home. Remarkably, there are also fewer deaths in the Netherlands over the weekends than on weekdays. In 2016 only 7 percent of the deaths happened on a Sunday and there is a peak of deaths on Fridays. It is not clear why. According to Statistics Netherlands, Dutch demographics show week- and season patterns. Friday, July 8th, and Friday, September 16th were the days on which the most babies were born last year, 610 and 599 respectively. Over the weekends, significantly fewer babies were…

By Edmond Gyebi Ghana’s Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisah Djaba has pledged government’s commitment towards fighting any forces or socio-cultural practices that are inimical or disadvantageous to the development and welfare of young girls in Ghana, especially child marriage and child labour. The Minister vowed to use every legitimate means (full enforcement of the law) to deal decisively with any individual who would force any young girl into marriage at the expense of their formal education. Mrs. Otiko Afisah Djana said this in Tamale when she paid courtesy calls on the Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed, Chief of Tamale, Naa Dakpema Alhassan Dawuni and the Gulkpegu Naa Alhaji Alhassan Abdulai on her three-day working visit to the region. She passionately condemned the rate at which most parents in the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions were sacrificing their children’s education for marriages and other personal…

By: Molly Hennessy-Fiske As Saudi Arabia’s ambitious economic and social reform plan initiated by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman takes shape, some Saudi women are just now realizing that many social practices in the kingdom are not enshrined in law. Saudi lawyer Nasreen Issa, 30, recently created an app for iPhone and Android called “Know Your Rights” after more and more women approached her for clarification. The app is in both Arabic and English, designed for both Saudis and foreign women living in or visiting the kingdom. There’s an intro video explaining women’s basic rights, and icons to help navigate the legal system, which relies in part on Islamic religious law, or Sharia. According to the lawyer, this idea was born out of the desire to meet the needs of a lot of women who until this time do not know their writes. “I thought since everyone uses apps…

By: Sascha Wilson The judiciary worker who made a false report that a taxi driver raped her yesterday walked away with a slap on the wrist after the victim begged a Princes Town magistrate to give her chance. After Deonath Ramsubhag, 51, urged the court not to impose a fine, send the accused to jail or do anything which would result in her losing her job, Second Court Magistrate Nalini Singh ordered Wendy Isahark, 45, to serve 250 hours of community service. However, the magistrate felt an appropriate sentence for the crime would have been six months jail. She said, “What you have done is grave and malicious. I think to fabricate a rape case against a man is one of the most horrendous things you could do as a woman. All he has at the end of the day is his word.” …