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Features & Opinions

Escaping forced marriage, Burkina Faso girls find refuge in education

The thought of spending her life with a man she had never met was too much for Marie. She was not even present when her family arranged for her to marry a stranger from a nearby village in northern Burkina Faso, and was never consulted about the union. Desperate, the 20-year-old slipped out of her family home one-night last month ...

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Ghana’s Affirmative Action Bill needs to be passed before the year 2023

Government Elections to elect members to serve in the District Assemblies, next year, 2023. Without an Affirmative Action Law in place, this Election will yet again, reinforce the existing low representation of women in Ghana’s Local Governance system. Women’s representation in all policy-making spaces in Ghana stands below the United Nations (UN) threshold of 30%. Currently, women’s representation in the ...

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Arrest of journalists: Is Criminal Libel Law alive? – Law experts share their thoughts

In the past few weeks, there have been some arrests of persons including journalists for the publication of false news. Within a period of two months, the Ghana Police Service has arrested and charged four Ghanaians for publication of false news and offensive conduct conducive to breaches of the peace under Sections 207 and 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, ...

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Why formal employment is not a guaranteed path to social equality

The theme of this year’s World Day of Social Justice is “ Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment ”. Gaining access to formal employment can greatly reduce poverty. As it is, more than 60% of the working population in the world – 2 billion people globally – eke out a living in the informal economy. In theory, formal employment provides ...

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Violence against women must stop; five stories of strength and survival

Conflicts, humanitarian crises and increasing climate-related disasters have led to higher levels of violence against women and girls (VAWG), which has only intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing into sharp focus the urgent need to stem the scourge. Globally, nearly one-in-three women have experienced violence, with crises driving the numbers even higher. Gender-based violence (GBV), the most pervasive violation of ...

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5 takeaways from Mahama’s ‘Thank Ghana Address’

Former President John Mahama on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, climaxed his ‘Thank-you’ tour of the country with an address to Ghanaians dubbed: #ThankGhanaAddress. It was held at the Kempinski Hotel, Gold Coast City, Accra. The former President touched on a number of issues on the economy, job creation, security, digitalization among others. Lessons from 2020 polls  The former president started ...

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Africa: Covid-19 Aid Falling Short

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for African governments to strengthen social protection systems and fulfill people’s rights to social security and an adequate standard of living, Human Rights Watch said. Many African governments introduced measures like cash transfers and food assistance in response to the rising poverty and hunger occasioned by the pandemic, but most households received no support. The ...

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Tackling Ghana’s Mental Health Challenges in an Unequal World

The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a devastating blow on people living with psychosocial disorders. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) some groups, including health and other frontline workers, students, people living alone, and those with pre-existing mental health conditions, have been particularly affected. Services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders have also been significantly disrupted in many countries. ...

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Rules, Rights and Rastafarians

Over the last week or so, many opinions have been expressed about Achimota School’s decision to prevent two Rastafarian high school students from attending classes due to their dreadlocks. Though this is not the first time in Ghana that children with dreadlocks have been told to cut them off to be permitted to attend school, it is the first such ...

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Ten years on, Libyan revolutionaries live with wounds and unfulfilled dreams

As revolution swept their region in 2011, three young Libyans joined mass protests against Muammar Gaddafi’s four-decade rule. They now live divided by Libya’s frontlines, their futures irrevocably shaped by the uprising. The first demonstrations against Gaddafi’s rule began in the eastern city of Benghazi on Feb. 17, 2011. A decade on, Libya is still split between rival factions, and ...

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