It is disturbingly common to see young girls hawking in the streets in Northern Nigeria, writes Folmi Yohanna, 27, a Correspondent from Kano in Nigeria. who notes that girls from a poor background must be determined, ambitious and hardworking to achieve their educational goals. In recent years the Boko Haram menace has made it even harder …

“New structure needed for education of girls” Read More »

Efforts to eradicate poverty are traditionally aimed at men, writes Abdur Rafay Usmani, 22, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Karachi in Pakistan, who argues in support of research that shows better results come from directing aid and assistance to rural women. One of the biggest factors impeding sustained economic growth in the third world has been …

“Key to development: empower rural women” Read More »

The campaign against FGM is reaching out to a wider audience, writes Oluwasegun Olakoyenikan, 23, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Benin City, Nigeria, who describes advocacy training for a network of social media users in southern Nigeria. Due to the increasing number of social media users in Nigeria and the need to reach out to them, …

“Workshop engages social media users” Read More »

Zambia set a benchmark with its legislation against gender based violence, but McPherlain Chungu, 22, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Zambia, writes that societal change is needed in order for the laws to be effective. In 2011, the Zambian Legislative body became one of the first in the Sub Saharan region to pass a sophisticated and …

“Zambia’s dilemma: gender based violence” Read More »

Public transportation in the crowded city of Dhaka puts women at a disadvantage and in potential risk. Abdullah Al Hasan, 26, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Dhaka in Bangladesh, has suggestions for remedies. It’s nothing new that Bangladesh is a densely populated country. Being its capital, Dhaka has to house almost the whole educated community. Predictably, …

“Dhaka’s women need better transportation” Read More »

Among the talk about girls and women, gender equality and reduced inequality, Amit Jain, 26, a Correspondent from Pune, India argues there is one area where women are most harmed, yet few people are working toward innovative solutions. What I’m talking about here is the grave issue of the life of widows. Absent in statistics, unnoticed by …

“Invisible women, invisible problems: widows” Read More »

In many places around the world, ‘feminist’ can be perceived as an insult, writes Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, 21, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Ghana. The majority belief that discrimination based on gender is wrong has failed to significantly affect social discourse in the real world, as many women continue to be constricted by societal conceptions of where their places lie. …

“Ghana feminists flipping the gender script” Read More »

Shannay Williams, 20, a Commonwealth Correspondent from St. Thomas in Jamaica, has questions about how we navigate challenging times as she considers very personal decisions around rights and responsibilities. Every year we debate rights. The right to life, liberty, love, the pursuit of happiness, freedom of speech, peaceful protest; we debate democracy. We understand that rights …

“Taking responsibility in a complex society” Read More »

Empowerment of women has a strong association with strengthening males, writes Asim Nawaz Abbassi, 30, a Commonwealth alumni from Islamabad, Pakistan, because it encourages women to live better and brings benefits to all. Strengthening women lets men have the courage to speak up. That strengthening is shown by allowing all people to be selfless, hardworking, multitasking, …

“Women empowerment means all benefit” Read More »

Everyone’s an advocate until it requires them to actually practice what they preach. writes Ashlee Burnett, 20, a Correspondent from Couva in Trinidad, as she examines consent in the context of Carnival. Everyone’s an activist until it requires them to act on everything they preach against. In 2017, women’s rights were celebrated; her right to say …

“#ConsentIsIn, including at Carnival” Read More »