Amazons Watch Magazine
Category

Happenings

Category
Asia News

WAO Urges Government to Enact Gender Equality Law

Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) wants the government to show firm commitment in enacting the Gender Equality Act in a bid to curb discrimination. Its executive director, Sumitra Visvanathan, said such law was needed to ensure that women would be protected in every aspect of life. “We actually have been advocating the act for quite a while with JAG (Joint Action Group for Gender Equality) to draft the act, but we now want to know what are the next steps and when will it happen as we want things to move forward as planned to see the legislation done. “There are some indications saying that it will be done in 2020, yet there is nothing from the government for this until today,“ she told reporters after the launch of a report on the status of women’s human rights after 24 years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of…

Keep Reading
By
Happenings

CDC, TheBoardroom to double women on boards in Africa

The U.K. development finance institution CDC is committing £1.6 million to TheBoardroom Africa to assist in doubling the number of women occupying company board seats in Africa by 2028. The representation of women on company boards on Africa is disproportionately low. In Africa, 14% of company board seats are occupied by women, compared to 15% globally, according to the non-profit Catalyst. Ghanaian entrepreneur Marcia Ashong founded TheBoardroom, or TBR, in 2016 to foster greater representation of women in African businesses through a network of peer-endorsed female candidates. It then helps connect companies and organizations with its candidates. Some of its recent placements include CDC portfolio organizations like MedAccess and the Africa Food Security Fund. CDC’s Jen Braswell said TBR’s help to the CDC in finding “outstanding candidates for our portfolio that we would not have otherwise found” was a key reason for the investment. The funding was committed from a technical assistance program…

Keep Reading
By
Happenings

Zambia Launches Vision Zero Campaign to Prevent Occupational Accidents

By John Chola ZAMBIA has finally launched the global Vision Zero campaign, a process aimed at building a culture of prevention of occupational accidents that integrates safety, health and wellness. Minister of Labour and Social Security Joyce Simukoko told hundreds of delegates from around the globe and within Zambia gathered in Livingstone for the official launch that the global Vision Zero campaign was premised on the belief that all occupational accidents and diseases are preventable. Simukoko said the campaign resonates well with the policies of the Government of Zambia that seek to address occupational safety and health at work places across the country. In a speech read for her by Ministry of Labour and Social Security Permanent Secretary Barnaby Mulenga on Friday December 14, 2018, Simukoko noted that occupational accidents and diseases, present colossal social and economic burdens to enterprises in the local and global economy. She added that the…

Keep Reading
By
Happenings

Argentine Women break Brazil’s winning streak – emerge champions at South American FIBA 2018

Argentina made history and took home the Gold Medal of the South American Women’s Championship 2018 for the first time in 70 years. Argentina broke Brazil’s streak of regional titles that began at the 1986 edition of the South American Women’s Championship. Melisa Gretter was named the MVP of the tournament. Argentina won the 2018 edition of the South American Women’s Championship after defeating Brazil, 65-64 in an emotional and intense Final. It all came down to the final minutes of the game and with 16 seconds to play, Brazil had a 64-62 lead. Debora Gonzalez tied the score at 64 with 13 seconds left and Brazil could not score, Gretter came away with the ball and was sent to the free-throw line after a foul. The Argentine point guard scored one of the two. Brazil couldn’t score from half-court and the Argentines celebrated the historic win. Colombia stayed with…

Keep Reading
By
Happenings

First Coptic Christian Female Governor appointed in Egypt

President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi of Egypt on Thursday 30 August, 2018 swore in twenty-one (21) New Provincial Governors, including the First Female Governor from the country’s minority Christian Community; Manal Awad Mikhael. Manal Mikhael has been appointed governor of the coastal city of Damietta, becoming the first-ever Christian woman to hold such a position, private newspaper al-Masry al-Youm reported. The 51-year-old woman’s previous post was deputy governor of Giza, home to the world-famous pyramids. Egypt has the largest Christian community in the Middle East, accounting for around 10 per cent of the country’s mostly Muslim population of 95 million. Egypt’s Christians have long complained of persecution and Islamist attacks. President Al-Sissi, a Muslim, is popular among the country’s Christians, who backed his ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi following Mass Street protests against his divisive rule. President Al-Sissi has courted the Christian community to an extent unseen for decades, visiting the…

Keep Reading
By
Happenings

Women’s Football in South America Triumphs Against Adversity

The first ever South American Women’s Football Players Forum took place last week in Santiago, Chile. Ex-players and academics were among those who spoke passionately about the past, present, and future of the women’s game in Latin America. The forum was a significant milestone in what has been an incredible fightback from the female footballers of the continent against federations that have repressed them. Just two years earlier, starved of resources and recourses, the women’s game in South America was on its knees. In June 2016 while Conmebol (Copa Libertadores de América) officials unashamedly headed back to South America from the USA with their heads held high after a record-breaking Copa America for the men, the female sides of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay were all listed as inactive by FIFA. This inactivity was not down to a lack of desire to play from the women of course.…

Keep Reading
By
Happenings

Singapore’s Minister for Culture Advocates For More Women in STEM

As Singapore moves towards becoming a smart nation, there is a need to encourage more women to enter science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields to help develop solutions for a digital age. Yet, the under-representation of women in STEM careers has not changed much in the last few decades. Globally, women account for only 20-25 percent of the STEM workforce, especially in engineering and computer science. Singapore’s Minister for Culture, Community, and Youth, Grace Fu stated that as demand for graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is expected to grow, more women should thus be encouraged to pursue careers in these areas to reap the benefits, reports the Straits Times. “STEM industries will feature strongly in our future as we automate our production and digitalize our processes,” Fu said at the annual conference for the People’s Action Party Women’s Wing, which Fu chairs. According to Fu, women…

Keep Reading
By