By: Rachel Lau Things are looking bleak for young women in Canada when it comes to sexual harassment and assault, a study by the Canadian Women’s Foundation has found. The survey revealed that despite an increasing awareness about harassment and domestic violence, 79 per cent of Canadians believe that Generation Z (those born from the late 1990s to the early 2000s) are “just as, or more likely” to experience sexual assault. Of the 1,004 randomly selected Canadians aged 18 and over, 89 per cent of women and 69 per cent of men believe most Generation Z women will experience some type of sexual assault. “They’re not feeling optimistic partially because of the way it’s still talked about,” said Anuradha Dugal, Director of violence prevention programs at the Canadian Women’s Foundation. “There’s still a lot of blame and stigmatization going on. People don’t think it’s…

By: Rebecca Rosman Male dominance in Kenyan politics is receiving a shake-up with several women set to win governor positions in the August elections. Female politicians are poised to make history in Kenya’s upcoming August elections. A handful of women have made it to the gubernatorial ballot — and a win will mark the first time women have held Kenya’s powerful governor positions. For years, women have struggled for equal political representation in Kenya, which has East Africa’s lowest rate of women in parliament at only 19 percent. They often lack the political clout and money to run a campaign, but they also struggle to mobilise support given how politicians campaign in Kenya. “They tend to push women out because they are not able to rely on the same structures…to mobilise violence to mobilise support,’ Nanjala Nyabola, a political analyst based in Nairobi told RFI. “That’s not to say that…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently invited King Salman to attend the G20 summit in Germany after holding wide-ranging consultations on the agenda of the summit in Jeddah. Chancellor Merkel also renewed invitation to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, Deputy Premier and minister of interior, to visit Germany. “King Salman was formally invited by the chancellor to attend the G20 summit,” said German Ambassador Dieter W. Haller. In a separate development, Merkel recently attended a meeting of Saudi businesswomen in Jeddah. Merkel acknowledged there have been “significant changes in the role of women” since her last visit in 2010. She cited the historic first-time participation of women in Saudi Arabia’s elections for local municipal council seats in 2015. “I have the impression that the country is in a phase of change and that a lot more is possible now than some years ago,” Merkel added. Ambassador Haller said the German chancellor…

Village elders in the India’s Uttar Pradesh have prohibited women and girls from using mobile phones outside their homes, imposing a hefty fine on violators. The ruling is meant to prevent women from eloping or even interacting with men. The elders’ council or khap pranchayat of a predominantly Muslim village, Madora, have set the fine as large as 21,000 rupees (around $330) on those who break the ruling. Local police Chief Arun Kumar Singh has described the order, declared on Tuesday, as being “against the constitution.” “We do support their measures against illegal activities, but won’t allow them to curb the freedom of women,” Singh told AFP. The former village headman, Mohammed Goffar, who came up with the order, claims the mobile phones encourage women to elope. “Every week, there is a story about young boys running away with girls. In some cases, the elopement leads to violence. So…