This week, Document Women has gathered stories from around the globe in honour of womens’ efforts at the frontlines of disease, social welfare and war.
- Global
This week was the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a day to celebrate women and girls’ innovation and accomplishments, as well as call for their full and equal access to and participation in science.
Globally, only 33% of researchers are women, who receive less research funding than men, and are less likely to be promoted. In the private sector too, women are less present in company leadership and in technical roles in tech industries.
UNICEF celebrated this day by highlighting the contributions of women across the world who have contributed to the COVID-19 response.
Read more here;
https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/the-female-frontline
- Kuwait
Women in Kuwait protested outside parliament against the government’s ban on a female yoga retreat that was labelled as “indecent” and “immoral” by conservatives.
Kuwait’s ministry of interior banned the planned women-only yoga retreat in the desert saying the organizers had failed to obtain the necessary permits. Conservative lawmaker Hamdan Al-Azmi last week branded the event as “dangerous” and urged the interior ministry to stop it.
Read more here;
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/kuwait-women-yoga-retreat-protest-b2010099.html
- United States of America
Tina Kotek wants to be elected as the U.S.’s first openly lesbian governor, after becoming the first out lesbian to lead a U.S. state’s House of Representatives.
Kotek is one of nine candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to compete in Oregon’s gubernatorial contest. For Kotek, it isn’t just about winning but breaking down barriers for all LGBTQ+ Americans.
“Becoming the first openly lesbian governor in the country means that I am showing young queer kids around the country that they can do it, too”. -Tina Kotek.
Kotek stepped down as Speaker of the House in January after nine years to focus all her energy on her gubernatorial campaign. As a speaker, she helped bring in a state-wide ban on conversion therapy, practices that aim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Read more here;
https://news.trust.org/item/20220203165806-ahlik/
- Egypt
In Egypt, Statistics from the National Council for Women show that about 8 million Egyptian women were subjected to violence and a further 86 percent of wives were subjected to beatings.
Lawmaker Amal Salama has asked the Egyptian Parliament to toughen penalties for men who beat their wives with imprisonment for up to five years. Salama said she has introduced the draft law because the penal code did not include appropriate penalties for domestic violence.
If approved by the House of Representatives, an abusive husband may face a jail sentence of up to five years and a minimum of three years instead of the current maximum one-year sentence.
Read more here;
- Ukraine
Since 2014, many single mothers and elderly women have been surviving alone in eastern Ukraine, near the frontline of a war between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed eastern separatists that has killed an estimated 14,000 people since 2014. The United Nations says that 1.6 million of the 2.9 million people in need in the region are women.
The women on the front lines have lost their husbands to fighting or health problems. In this area of Ukraine, the only work men are able to find is in mining, which can lead to potentially detrimental health consequences, and possibly early death.
Read more here;