WARDC WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AUGUST 11, 2017
WARDC WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
AUGUST 11, 2017
Tunisia passes historic law to end violence against women and girls
Tunisia made historic strides by passing its first national law to combat violence against women on 26 July, 2017. The long-awaited legislation, which passed with 146 votes out of 217 and zero abstentions, takes a comprehensive approach by combining measures for prevention of violence and support for survivors.
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Liberia elections: Making 2017 count for women
Until now, the law in the Kingdom of Jordan allowed a rapist to avoid prosecution by marrying his victim for a minimum period of five years. In a historic move, on 3 August, the Parliament of Jordan voted to abolish the infamous “rape law”—article 308 of the Penal Code.“The abolishing of article 308 is an important victory for the women’s movement in Jordan,” said Wafa Saed Bani Mustafa, a lawyer and Member of the Parliament (MP), currently serving as head of the Women’s Caucus and Chairperson of the Coalition of Women MPs to Combat Violence against Women. “My engagement began in 2013, when I started advocating for the abolishment of this article, along with a group of other parliamentarians while serving in Jordan’s 17th Parliament.
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Liberia elections: Making 2017 count for women
In October 2017, Liberians will head to the polls to vote, as President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female Head of State, completes her second and final term tenure this year. Women constitute half of the over two million people who have registered to vote, according to Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC). UN Women is working with Liberian civil society organizations, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the NEC and the media to boost women’s political participation.
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WARDC, GAT, and UNDEF paid advocacy to the Ministry of Education about the need to have safe and secure schools in Kaduna.