News stories by Susan Anyangu-Amu

Regina Namukasa has been twice dispossessed — first when her husband died and his clan left her out when dividing up his estate, and again when she was denied a share in her father's land. But this time she's fighting back.

The number of pregnant women being tested for HIV and accessing treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa has shown significant progress — indicating that virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of the virus by 2015 is possible.

The number of women dying from pregnancy related causes around the world is falling. Sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the most dangerous place for pregnant women, despite recording a 26 percent reduction in maternal mortality rates.

When a doctor instructs a patient to take one tablet three times a day, she often has no way to ensure the instructions are followed. Many stop taking their medication once they feel they have regained their strength — especially when the course of treatment lasts for months. When the medicine is for a highly infectious disease like tuberculosis, defaulting on treatment can have serious consequences...

'Herding goats is tough with the thirst, sun, loneliness and hunger each day. And it can last forever. You herd as a girl, then as a wife, as a pregnant woman, as a mother and even as a grandmother,' says Rukia Ibrahim whose 13-year-old younger sister was married off to a herdsman.

During every year that ends in an even number, the month of August is a special occasion for young men in Kenya’s Western Province. During this month thousands of boys aged between 10 and 18 undergo male circumcision — something that is seen as an important rite of passage into manhood among their communities. But it is also a time were nearly half the young men circumcised will have to fight for their lives.

'My daughter had repeatedly tried to describe to me what her step-father would do to her when I was not home,' says Wanza*, a 28-year-old mother resident of Nairobi's Mathare slum. 'On this particular night I pretended to be asleep and watched as he left our bed and went for my eight-year-old daughter.'

Kenyans can now save towards the cost of childbirth at the country's largest maternal hospital thanks to a medical smart card system.

A day after Kenyans voted to accept a new constitution, women across the country speak about their hopes and expectations.

The case of Elizabeth Chazima could stand for the story of millions of women in Kenya who have been robbed of their financial contributions to matrimonial assets.

Jubilant supporters say it is a new dawn for Kenya after voters endorsed a new constitution. Sixty-seven percent of votes cast endorsed a new constitution more than two decades after reform was first raised.