Full Coverage: Sexuality

02.05.2008 In a major victory to get their profession legally recognised, sex workers in eastern India have been granted a life cover by the country’s largest insurance company. The move is being hailed as a significant breakthrough in efforts to help them fight poverty and discrimination.

13.04.2008

07.04.2008 An Indian NGO has tied up with educational institutes for a postgraduate diploma in gender, sexuality and human rights with a view to enhance understanding on these vital subjects. The idea for a separate course came after a survey revealed poor awareness among college youth.

28.03.2008 A handbook released by SANHITA, a women’s group in eastern India, tries to address the dynamics of sexual harassment at work, an issue that is often hidden and yet present in all kinds of organisations. The book, through its testimonies of women’s experiences, is a somber attempt to integrate a human rights perspective within the workplace.

19.03.2008 Women's rights advocates shed light on sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- in some villages as many as 90 percent of women have been raped -- and explain how local women leaders are fighting back.

11.03.2008 It was not easy to convince a Muslim dominant district in underdeveloped Bihar to allow teenage girls to attend classes on reproductive and sexual healthcare at the local madarsa. Azad India Foundation (AIF)’s efforts have however earned support even from the local clerics.

27.02.2008 At least five Nepali gays will contest elections for the Constituent Assembly, scheduled to be held this April, to take up the issue of discrimination against their community. In a nation that treats homosexuality as illegal and immoral, this is an attempt to fight exclusion.

21.02.2008

21.02.2008 Insufficient statistics and lack of a sound HIV/AIDS prevention policy are undermining Bangladesh’s efforts to protect people against its risks. It is necessary to break the barriers of social stigmas attached to the disease and promote condom use beyond family planning purposes, say health experts.

19.02.2008 In a step taken to protect rights of sexual minorities, the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India has announced the establishment of a welfare board for transgenders. The move followed a public hearing by NGOs on the plight of the community and recommendations by a citizens’ jury.

11.02.2008 Young women need to be part of an organisation to understand the 'collective consciousness', says Ruth Manorama, whose efforts have helped make a space for Dalit women in the mainstream feminist movement in India. In a close conversation, she looks back at her three decades of struggles and many victories.

05.02.2008 A documentary filled with the message of hope and courage, follows a young South African HIV/AIDS activist as she crosses linguistic and cultural barriers to reach HIV positive women living in the city of Mumbai in India. The documentary is due to be shown on Indian television this year.

28.01.2008 The latest issue of the Oxfam journal Gender & Development calls for vibrant and alternative media spaces to prevent stereotyping of women, while providing insight into development initiatives throughout the world. Recommended read for development practitioners, policymakers and academics.

25.01.2008 While the men folk of north India’s nomadic Bedia tribe live a parasitic life, women of their community remain unmarried and are pushed into sex trade in the name of tradition. The men have refused to mend their ways for the simple reason that it frees them of the burden of earning.

22.01.2008 The movement to end female genital cutting continues to spread across many parts of Africa. Molly Melching and the women of Senegal are leading the way with innovative, culturally sensitive programs to educate and relieve suffering.

In a telling OneWorld dialogue, Molly Melching discusses Tostan's uniquely successful approach to development and how it relates to traditions, values, human rights, and human nature.

22.01.2008 As women suffer the horrific consequences of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one Congolese and one American women are helping to stem the violence and support its victims.

02.01.2008 UNICEF Germany’s ‘Photo of the Year’ of a 40 year old groom with a child bride in Afghanistan raises global concerns about child marriages, widely condemned for their sexual abuse and violation of human rights. The bride in the photograph has just turned 11.

27.12.2007 The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking invites UN agencies, international organisations and other stakeholders to create an active online community to exchange and share knowledge on ways to combat this global crime. UN.GIFT encourages participants to engage in e-discussions, showcase positive projects, practices, and stories of courage, and draw on its various resources.

06.12.2007 The effort has to be made by men to understand not only the trap they set for themselves by defending power structures but also their own vulnerabilities and emotional inadequacies, which they hide under the armour of manhood, says Rahul Roy, filmmaker and author of a book on masculinities titled: A Little Book on Men.

05.12.2007 A recently held workshop in Jaipur, capital of north Indian state of Rajasthan, on HIV/AIDS, expressed concern over the evidence that male-to-male sexual transmission of HIV makes significant contribution to the epidemic in India. The situation is grimmer in northern India including highly vulnerable state like Rajasthan.