Tanzania is expected to finalize a new constitution by April next year and women–who carry out 60 percent of the country’s agricultural labor– will be anxiously watching to see if their land rights are strengthened.
(WOMENSENEWS)–CheersA study released by the Tanzania Ministry of Health reported that female genital mutilation is on the decline, according to the United Nations’ IRIN news agency Dec. 4. A health survey showed that the prevalence of female genital mutilation had declined from 18 percent in 1996 to 15 percent in 2005 in the East African nation. Local organizations attributed the decline to continued awareness campaigns against the practice.Last month, in a conference on female genital mutilation in Cairo, Muslim academics and scholars urged the Egyptian religious establishment to end the practice, Gulf News reported Nov. 23.
Of the 40 million people affected by blindness worldwide, two-thirds are women. If the gender-related causes of the disease aren’t better addressed, the number of blind around the world could double in 25 years.