Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/author/danielle-shapiro/)
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Congo’s president is pressing the U.N. to withdraw its historic peacekeeping mission. Margot Wallstrom, the special envoy on sexual violence, advises otherwise. Other advocates agree, offering details on how peacekeepers assist women’s safety.
On International Women’s Day there’s no better place to be than Bukavu, in the troubled eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The outfits are spectacular, the dancing is spirited and the horn orchestra keeps playing through the rain.
Margot Wallström starts March 1 her two-year stint as special U.N. representative on ending conflict-zone sexual violence. She says she’ll be going right away to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a global epicenter of mass rape.
Nepali widows and their advocates are pushing back at a government proposal to pay engaged couples for a widow’s remarriage. Not only is the law like a new form of dowry, they say, many widows feel better off staying single and earning their own incomes.
Many homeless children in the Democratic Republic of Congo are living on the streets after being accused of witchcraft. Some say that more girls than boys are targeted in Bukavu. A shelter in the city provides a home for children labeled as witches.
After a murderous nine months for local reporters, three female journalists in the Democratic Republic of Congo received death threats in September. Many weeks and one national protest later, official investigators offer little hope of bringing justice.