Topic: Gender

Combating FGM in Villages in Senegal: A Photo Slideshow
In November 2011, 12 PRB Women's Edition journalists from 11 developing countries traveled to two villages in Senegal, Keur Simbara and Saam Njaay, during the 2011 International Conference on Family Planning to witness the lessons and successes of the Tostan Community Empowerment Program in encouraging the abandonment of female genital cutting and fostering human rights and democracy. (February 2012)

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Marks Ninth Year
Feb. 6, 2012, marks the ninth commemoration of the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. An estimated 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), and more than 3 million girls are at risk for cutting each year on the African continent alone. (February 2012)

Working Mothers With College Degrees See Gains in Paid Maternity Leave
Working mothers with a bachelor's degree have gained increasing access to paid leave in recent decades, while women without high school degrees have seen no change, reported Nancy Folbre, a University of Massachusetts economist. About two-thirds of first-time mothers had access to paid leave (maternity leave, sick leave, or vacation leave) between 2006 and 2008, an 11 percent increase since 1985, according to census data. These women have more than doubled their access to paid leave since 1975. (February 2012)

China Has Too Many Bachelors
Dudley Poston is fascinated by China's "demographic exceptionalism." The country has the world's largest population, and in the 1970s managed to achieve one of the fastest fertility declines in human history. China's one-child population policy has resulted in a number of unique demographic events and transitions, including an imbalance of the sex ratio at birth. Millions of extra boys have been born: Already, 41 million bachelors will not have women to marry. If nothing is done to change this trend, Poston noted, by 2020 there will be 55 million extra boys in China. As part of PRB's 2011-2012 Policy Seminar series, Poston discussed China's fertility control policies. He is a professor of sociology and director of the Asian Studies Program at Texas A&M University. (January 2012)

Gender-Based Violence Against the Transgender Community Is Underreported
The Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20, 2011, and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10, 2011, are important opportunities to address the serious but often-ignored issue of gender-based violence (GBV) against transgender persons. The status of the transgender population has important implications for the progress toward gender equality and other human rights. (December 2011)

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute, sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership at Rutgers University in 1991. Participants chose the dates, Nov. 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women, and Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a human rights violation. (November 2011)

In Rural Mali, Small Businesses Are Key to Women's Empowerment and Economic Development
In early 2011, Pietronella van den Oever, PRB visiting scholar, visited the Malian staff and villagers she worked with as part of a UN Food and Agriculture Organization rural training project in the mid-1970s. (October 2011)

The Effects of Violence on Women's Reproductive Health: Fact Sheet
Violence against women is a pervasive public health problem worldwide. According to the UN, at least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime. Pregnant women have been found to be at an especially high risk of physical abuse. Though the frequency and severity of violence against women and girls vary across countries and continents, its harm to the victims and their families is universal. This fact sheet outlines the harmful effects of gender-based violence on reproductive health. (August 2011)

The Effect of Girls' Education on Health Outcomes: Fact Sheet
This fact sheet outlines the links between education and improved health for girls and women. The studies link education with reduced child and maternal deaths, improved child health, and lower fertility. Women with at least some formal education are more likely than uneducated women to use contraception, marry later, have fewer children, and be better informed on the nutritional and other needs of children. (August 2011)

Uganda: At the Beginning of the Demographic Transition
This Population Bulletin looks at the four phases of the demographic transition as descriptive of past and future population growth. We highlight four countries to illustrate each phase and its implications for human well-being: Uganda (high birth rate, fluctuating death rate); Guatemala (declining birth and death rates); India (approaching replacement-level fertility); and Germany (low or very low birth and death rates). Uganda has entered into its demographic transition by reducing its once-high death rate. As a result of lower mortality but still high fertility, Uganda has developed a very youthful age structure. (July 2011)