The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – shortened to CEDAW – celebrates its 31st birthday in September 2012 (counting from when it entered into force). If you happen to be in New York City before March 2012, you have the opportunity to experience ‘international law as art’ at Croatian […]
Things have gone from bad to worse for Egyptian civil society since I last blogged about the bleak short term outlook for the sector back in October. This week, the government shut down the Cairo offices of seventeen international human rights and pro-democracy NGOs, which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has accused of […]
The field of foreign policy has been described as a ‘city of men’- but as can be imagined, it is not the only discipline where a gender imbalance has been noticed. I asked Patricia Moser, President and one of the founders of WIIS Switzerland, about the situation with respect to international security and security studies. […]
Efforts to combat trafficking are diverse and growing. Businesses, NGOs, academics, politicians, governments and individuals all have a role to play. So, instead of spending Thanksgiving weekend watching the Macy’s Parade, eating turkey and shopping (my usual Thanksgiving activities), I was in Amsterdam and London for meetings on fighting human trafficking. Human trafficking, or modern […]
In 1995, then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton riveted the world at that year’s Beijing World Conference on Women. She made a compelling case for all of us – particularly governments – to address the issues important to women and girls, and made the tag line “women’s rights are human rights and human rights are […]
This past fortnight seems to have been full of surprises – Australia, for example, introduced a third gender category for passports, beyond the tradition male/female dichotomy. And fittingly, there have also been two stories in the media that demonstrate that subversion of this “either/or” set-up isn’t limited to the West: women in Afghanistan and Libya […]
Just in time for the weekend, here’s a round-up of some articles and podcasts to keep you informed. Do you have any suggestions? Please post them in the comments!
Last week I was one of around 300 people who attended the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation’s event on “Violence against women – an obstacle to development”. The audience was a mix of parliamentarians, interested members of the public, and activists and members of civil society organizations from the African Great Lakes region – […]
Well, some think so. The question has generated quite a bit of controversy; here’s my blog post on the topic: http://stepheniefoster.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=319&Itemid=54
Farishta, Patricia McArdle’s first novel, is a compelling and readable book about the challenges faced by soldiers and civilians stationed in Afghanistan — the constant fear of attack; the unforgiving landscape; the hostile and often corrupt warlords; the uncertain loyalties of Afghan colleagues; the efficacy of their mission; and the constant isolation. See the rest of the review at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephenie-foster/farishta-a-compelling-nov_b_870080.html?ref=tw
Last week I was in Armenia with the National Democratic Institute, helping women there build a policy platform they can use in both advocacy and election campaigns. Here is a link to a piece I wrote on this great conference: http://stepheniefoster.com/administrator/index.php?option=com_content§ionid=-1&task=edit&cid[]=261
Paul Biya has been the President of Cameroon since 1982. He is being challenged this fall by Kah Walla, a dynamic woman who previously served as a city council member in Douala, Cameroon. Ms. Walla has been recognized by the World Bank as one of seven women entrepreneurs in Africa working on business environment reform and […]
Raufa Hassan was a fearless, focused and inspirational Yemeni political activist, journalist and thinker. She died last week at 53. These tributes below capture her well. I first met Raufa in Sanaa, Yemen, in 1997 when I travelled to Yemen on my first ever trip to work with non-American women running for office (in this […]
How can we best ensure that development assistance reaches those who need it most? Here are six building blocks.
By Christina Lamb AMONG the many dictators who must be watching the uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa with dismay is Robert Mugabe. The Zimbabwean President has been in power 31 years and despite recently turning 87 is pushing for another five year term. While other despots have responded to the revolutionary mood […]