News headlines in March 2021, page 14

NEW YORK, Mar 02 (IPS) - The demographic impact of the coronavirus one year after being declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020 has been enormous. The picture that emerges is one of significant consequences on the levels and trends of the key components of demographic change: mortality, fertility and migration.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Mar 02 (IPS) - As a member of the second wave of the feminist movement who were also the first generation of women to receive positions of leadership, I recall the prejudices and biases that framed our experience. Women rarely were put in charge of “hard” core issues, only what were termed “soft” ones in keeping with their role as nurturer and carer. When they were present in the Board room, they were often silent. When they spoke, they were inevitably spoken over. It was the exceptional woman who could navigate the corridors of corporate culture, male expectations, and a workplace that was unsympathetic to her dual burden.

NEW YORK, Mar 02 (IPS) - The following opinion piece is part of series to mark the upcoming International Women’s Day, March 8.

Antonia Kirkland is Global Lead on Legal Equality and Access to Justice at Equality Now*.When the United Nations was founded in 1945, the principle of equality for all – regardless of sex, race, language, or religion - was enshrined in the organization's Charter.

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 02 (IPS) - After being undermined by decades of financial liberalisation, developing countries now are not only victims of vaccine imperialism, but also cannot count on much financial support as their COVID-19 recessions drag on due to global vaccine apartheid.

NEW DELHI, India, Mar 01 (IPS) - Sanjay Kapoor is editor of Delhi's Hardnews magazine and General Secretary of the Editors Guild of India.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not really like attending parliament – except on special occasions. Budget session was one such occasion. Unsurprisingly, he tried to reach out to farmers still protesting at the border of the capital Delhi, against his government’s new farm laws.

BEIJING, Mar 01 (IPS) - Back in the 1990s, the discovery of antiretrovirals offered a ray of hope to save people’s lives from the HIV epidemic. Over this decade, people living with HIV benefited from the scientific advances and began to have longer, healthier and more productive lives. However, almost all the beneficiaries were from rich countries in the global north. As a result, about nine million people died by the year 2000 due to the inequality in accessing these life-saving medicines.

NEW YORK, Mar 01 (IPS) - During the COVID19 lockdown, there has been an approximate 25% increase in domestic abuse, dubbed by the United Nations as the ‘pandemic within a pandemic’. While the home is perceived as a secure place, for domestic abuse victims battling the pandemic is equally and increasingly unsafe. A parasol of protection is needed to rehabilitate victims of abuse starting from detection, reaching out, providing help and support.

NEW DELHI, India, Mar 01 (IPS) - Women living in rural India and those belonging to marginalised communities faced an enormous burden during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, including domestic violence, loss of financial assistance and income, says Rehana Adeeb, a grassroots Muslim woman leader and activist.

NEW YORK, Mar 01 (IPS) - The following opinion piece is part of series to mark the upcoming International Women’s Day March 8.

The climate crisis doesn’t stop for anyone or anything, not even the pandemic that has forced billions of us to radically overhaul our lives. And like the pandemic, climate change has no nationality, agenda or political affiliation.

SUVA, Fiji, Mar 01 (IPS) - An often quoted indigenous reference in the Samoan language is, O le ala i le pule o le tautua, literally translated, the pathway to leadership is through service because to be able to lead is to be willing to serve.