“No means no” is a new battle cry for Brazilian women mobilizing against assault at carnival, a raucous party whose free-wheeling atmosphere leaves women particularly vulnerable to unwanted sexual contact. In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein episode that triggered the #MeToo campaign against harassment in the United States, Brazilian women are out in full force with some, even sporting temporary tattoos with the message emblazoned across their shoulders, arms and chests. Rio’s carnival, the world’s largest, falls during the city’s pre-Lenten blowout which draws millions of near-naked revelers dancing as the alcohol flows, and flows. The feast of excess is also often the backdrop for a slew of sexual assaults, particularly against women. Luka Borges therefore is tirelessly distributing the temporary “No Means No” tattoos as part of a street parade known as a “bloco”(A bloco is a street party. organized by a suburb or carnival association)set to samba tunes in…

Ensuring that women become financially empowered and independent has been described as one way of boosting their confidence and thus enabling them to compete with their male counterparts for leadership positions. The sentiments were shared by the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Botswana, Ms. Botlogile Tshireletso on February 9 at a roundtable on empowering women and local institutions to lead. The roundtable was hosted by the embassy of the United States of America. Ms. Tshireletso said the Department of Gender Affairs was one vehicle through which empowerment and financial independence of women could be achieved as the department had sanctioned programmes dedicated to uplifting the lives of women by encouraging women to take the lead in various sectors including business ownership and sustainability. The assistant minister, who is also MP for Mahalapye East – Botswana, said one other achievement aimed at empowering women was the development of…

That was made apparent to me on a recent visit to Tokyo, where gray-haired individuals far outnumbered children in the streets. But the hustle and bustle also revealed that Japan does not accept that its aging population means its economic prospects must diminish. On the contrary, Japan is harnessing two of its assets — one long underutilized and the other a long-standing source of strength — to support continued economic expansion. Japan certainly faces demographic challenges. It is already the oldest country in the world, as measured by both the median age of the population (46.3 years) and the share of the population aged 65 years or more (26 percent). That compares to just 40.4 years and 17 percent, respectively, among all high-income countries. And Japan’s birthrate and inward immigration rate are low—as a result, the population is not only aging but shrinking. Japan’s working-age population peaked more than 20…

Camp administrators are working to combat abuse, violence, and exploitation of women in Rohingya refugee camp. Dressed in a safari vest, cargo pants, and combat boots, Mr. ShamimulHuqPavel looks more the part of a military instructor than refugee camp administrator. He is fed up with seeing Rohingya refugee women single-handedly carrying their babies while hauling heavy food rations home. So he has issued a warning to the men among the 70,000 refugees he oversees: “If any woman is seen carrying a big sack and she has a competent male person at her home, that male person would have to answer to me.” It has been over five months since nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled an army crackdown in Myanmar to Bangladesh, bearing horrific memories of arson, murder, torture and abuse. The hills in southern Cox’s Bazar have been stripped of foliage and packed instead with thousands of bamboo-framed, tarpaulin-lined huts.…

On this International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, the United Nations is calling for the eradication of the traditional practice, which causes extreme physical and psychological harm to millions of women and girls worldwide. The United Nations says more than 200 million girls and women in 30 countries are currently living with the harmful and dangerous consequences of female genital mutilation. Young girls between infancy and 15 years of age are subjected to the practice, which mainly occurs in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The World Health Organization reports FGM confers no benefits, only serious problems, including severe bleeding, infections, complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths. Irrefutable evidence exists regarding the many serious life-long health consequences that arise from the procedure. Nevertheless, the WHO reports the practice persists because of myths and misconceptions. WHO spokeswoman FadelaChaib said one dangerous myth is that only…