June 2016

In 1945 the UN Charter became the first international document to inscribe the rights of men and women as part of fundamental human rights. This is the reason why the UN today has a clear legal mandate to actively promote the rights of women, a mandate that UN Women was established to realize and protect. Who are we to honor for the specific references to women’s rights in the Charter? Ask even specialists how gender equality came about, and the […]

At just 37 years old, lawyer Virginia Raggi has taken up the helm of one of the world’s oldest cities and pledged to fix its most enduring issues. Raggi – who turns 38 next month – will also become the youngest mayor in Rome’s history. Raggi grew up in the central quarter of Rome’s San Giovanni and studied law at the Roma Tre University before joining local neighbourhood boards. Raggi is married to radio director Andrea Severini (who reportedly introduced […]

Marriage can wait: Syrian teen in Jordan sets sights on starry career Hind Bakri, a teenage Syrian refugee, dreams of becoming an astrophysicist despite economic and social pressures on her to marry. ZARQA, Jordan – As a teenager obsessed with science, Hind Bakri grew up scouring NASA’swebsite, reading about everything from exoplanets to black holes. It was there Bakri found an online questionnaire for astrophysicists interested in NASA scholarships. Seeing nothing to deter her, Bakri filled it out and clicked […]

An 18-year-old Pakistani schoolteacher died Wednesday from injuries after her body was set on fire for refusing a marriage proposal, police said. The perpetrators beat Maria Abbasi, then drenched her in petrol and set her body ablaze before leaving her for dead. Maria was at home baby-sitting her 5-year-old sister while her family went to a funeral in a nearby town. The horror of what had happened set in Monday night when her family returned home to the village of […]