female genital mutilation
Editorial: The burden of being female

Editorial: The burden of being female

This edition of Africa in Fact focuses on Africa’s girls, 308 million of them under the age of 18, far too many of whom find themselves at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to accessing health, education, and the...

African girls fight for their rights

African girls fight for their rights

The African Union (AU) acknowledges that gender equality is a fundamental human right and an important part of regional integration, social development and economic growth. It went as far as developing its Strategy for...

Ending FGM: The road to 2030

Ending FGM: The road to 2030

At 17, Ifrah Ahmed arrived in Dublin, Ireland in 2006, escaping war in Somalia. To support her asylum application, she had to undergo a medical check-up, which included a Pap smear. The medical personnel were shocked...

The gender economics of education

The gender economics of education

Even before Covid-19, sub-Saharan Africa was the region of the world with the most children not in education – with 37 million school-age children out of school before the pandemic. The lockdown measures across the...

Left to fend for themselves

Left to fend for themselves

Two teenagers, one from Uganda (16) and the other from Kenya (17), wander aimlessly at night on the side of a deserted road in freezing temperatures in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. They say they are waiting for their...

Challenges and gaps, but many gains

Challenges and gaps, but many gains

The African Union’ s Maputo Protocol provides member states with a comprehensive policy framework for ensuring women’ s rights across the continent In 2003, the African Union adopted the Protocol to the African Charter...