Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/author/meghan-sapp/)
On a recent trip to Khartoum, Meghan Sapp found herself in the middle of a frank discussion about female genital mutilation with a group of male bachelors. A couple of them knew little about the practice and were often afraid to ask.
Nadra Mahdi is part of a surge of young Sudanese female journalists covering the country’s struggles. Assignments take her from Darfur in the west to desertification in the east to city streets where female tea-sellers fight to subsist.
Portugal, one of four European nations where most abortions are illegal, will vote next month in a referendum to liberalize its laws. The election occurs amid efforts to challenge Portuguese and Irish anti-choice laws in European court.
A Polish woman applied for an abortion a few years ago, but her medical grounds were refused. She wound up carrying the pregnancy to term and losing her sight. Now her case awaits judgment by the European Court of Human Rights.
A $106 million microfinance bond launched in March gives low-income and mostly female entrepreneurs access to international capital markets. Some hope it will pave the way to lower interest rates for the world’s poorest borrowers.
The international fight against female genital mutilation pushes African activists to a new juncture. After the ratification of an important African Union protocol, gritty local politics lie ahead.
Pamela Izevbekhai fled her native Nigeria for Ireland, hoping to save her two daughters from sexual mutilation, which killed a third daughter. Now she is struggling for asylum.
In post-war Sudan, reproductive health care is becoming an everyday topic and reality in the capital, which hosts Africa’s only university for women. Women in rural areas and the war-torn south are largely cut off from such advantages.
The European Parliament’s call for Turkey to improve the status of women highlights the problem of domestic violence. The resolution, part of early negotiations for E.U. membership, also requires research into women’s living conditions.