Human Rights

It’s getting hot in Mali. Every day this week Timbuktu temperatures will top 100 degrees (F). This is typical for the season in the land-locked Saharan country, but a drought that has been building for months means Malians will feel the heat more than ever.   Even before the coup, the rebellion, the sanctions, Malians […]

The month of March is one of ups and downs – we should beware the Ides but then cut loose on St Patrick’s Day; remember victims of slavery and detained/missing UN staff members – and also celebrate women, women’s achievements and progress. Women Deliver, an NGO working globally to generate political commitment and financial investment […]

It’s been quite a week in West Africa. As mentioned earlier this month, Mali is facing its share of troubles since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in neighboring Libya. Observers knew that the return of Tuareg fighters from Libya would likely increase tensions in northern Mali and perhaps lead to a new Tuareg rebellion. However […]

  Last year, a girl named Amina El-Filali was raped in her town of Larache, Morocco, where her parents filed a criminal complaint. The case was taken to court where, in accordance with Article 475 of the Penal Code the judge ordered the rapist to marry his victim, thereby absolving him of his crime. Since Amina […]

In developing nations we tend to take each sip of water for granted, as much of it comes in fancy packaged bottles and comes clean from our taps.  However each sip is life saving and for many children in the developing world, it is that drop of water that could be the drop that kills […]

Last week was International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate women and girls and increase awareness about their marginalization across the globe. Much work remains to be done, but there are hundreds of organizations and efforts working to address the issue of female rights across the world. Women Deliver, a global advocacy organization, recently announced […]

According to UNICEF’s report, Literacy the Global Challenge, a profile of youth and adult literacy at the mid-point of the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003 – 2012), found that more than 774 million (almost one in five adults) do not have the basic literacy and numeracy skills necessary to fully participate fully in society.  In many regions, especially where […]

Today, March 8th is International Women’s Day (IWD), which was established to commemorate the struggle women and girls across the globe continue to endure in obtaining their basic human rights.  In 2011, the United States made the presidential proclamation that the entire month of March will be Women’s History Month.  2012’s theme is Connecting Girls, Inspiring […]

Last Spring, while living in Port-au-Prince, I pitched a story about mounting food insecurity to an editor. “Interesting,” the veteran Caribbean reporter said, “maybe go down to that spot in Cité Soleil where they sell mud cakes? Get some color?” The image of poor Haitians eating dirt in the country’s most notorious slum has intermittently […]

Last year, I traveled to Swaziland, a country roughly the size of New Jersey surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique. Swaziland has about 1 million people, and has the unfortunate distinction of having the world’s highest rate of HIV/AIDS, 25.9%, and therefore a life expectancy of 48 years of age. I met an amazing cross […]

Across parts of Africa the following scene is played out on a daily basis. A young girl of only 4 to 12 years old is held down by while she struggles to break free and screams from the excruciating pain that is being inflicted upon her.  The image of a young girl being held down screaming in […]

For millions of little girls across the world, childhood is brief.  It is estimated that 10 million girls a year worldwide, the majority in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, are married under the age of 18, some as young as seven or eight.  According to UNICEF, more than 40% of the world’s child marriages occur in India. […]