by Violet Gonda, WINGS, Canada - Violet Gonda, a Zimbabwean journalist in exile, interviews leading Zimbabweans for her program The Hot Seat. Guests include Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs Jessie Majome, media consultant Grace Mutandwa and gender activist Betty Makoni.
by Nina Porzucki, PRI’s The World, USA- Currently non-natives who commit domestic violence on native soil cannot be prosecuted in tribal courts.The re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act which is making its way through the US Congress would change this.
by Helen Lobato, WINGS, Canada - Helena Norberg Hodge is an analyst of the impact of the global economy on cultures and agriculture worldwide, a pioneer of the localisation movement, and the articulator of the core ideas of Counter-development.
by Deborah Amos, NPR, USA - The war in Syria is taking a huge toll on the children. An international team of researchers that interviewed Syrian kids in a refugee camp in Turkey found that 3 out of 4 have lost a loved one. Almost half have post-traumatic stress disorder and elevated levels of depression.
by Elizabeth Arrott, RFE, Czech Republic - Nearly two years after Egypt's revolution promised a more representative future, the rights of Egyptian women remain tentative. Rights groups say violence against women is on the rise, and they want the government to intervene.
by Jenny Gold, NPR, USA - Over the past decade, colleges and universities across the country have seen an influx of students like Dale with mental health needs. The stigma of mental illness has started to dissipate, and more students are comfortable seeking help.
by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, USA - "Are we going to give animals a better chance of surviving than we as human beings?"
by Farangis Najibullah, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - The Afghan Women's Affairs Ministry is waging war on the walwar, arguing that it is not only technically illegal but unnecessarily buries families under tremendous debt.
by Maria Hinojosa, Latino USA, USA - The UN calls the Central American nation of Honduras “the most violent country in the world.” The violence is fueled by poverty, drug trafficking, corruption, and increasingly, with the involvement of the military and police.
by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, USA - We have to take into account the injustice of the fact that it’s the fossil fuel growth in the United States, Europe and other developed parts of the world, which has contributed to undermining development of very poor people, undermining their livelihoods. I’ve seen it all over Africa and South Asia. To me, as a human rights person, it’s unconscionable that we will not take that seriously and talk about equity.
by Jannie Schipper, Radio Netherlands, The Netherlands - Internet is an open space where all are equal. Not so, say gender activists worldwide. The on-line world mirrors the roles and restrictions of offline society, and women are sometimes much more vulnerable than men when they are active online.
by Joanna Rohozinska, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - There is little evidence of any of Femen's protests having significant impact, either in terms of early local campaigns concerning, for example, protests against the tradition in Ukraine of turning off hot water in rotating districts of a city, let alone larger issues such as the international sex trade.
by Sylvia Poggioli, NPR, USA - "Murders of women take place mostly within the family, and mostly at the hands of former husbands or boyfriends. They also cross class lines and are committed just as often in rich families as in poorer ones."
by Roya Karimi and Daisy Sindelar, RFE, Czech Republic - "Feminist movements have become very large, very active in Iran. Women are fighting for equal rights. Equal rights are the first pillar of democracy," Ebadi says. "So the government is using different ways to create restrictions for women."
by Louise Dunne, Radio Netherlands, The Netherlands - A shocking death notice in a local Dutch newspaper has sparked a heated discussion in the Netherlands about bullying.
by Janie Rezner, WINGS, Canada - Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink and author of Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, tells Women's Voices host Janie Rezner about her recent trip to Pakistan to oppose drone strikes, what she learned on the ground there, and where Obama's unmanned drones are coming from (in more ways than one).
by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, USA - Millions of victims of Superstorm Sandy remain without power, but they are not powerless to do something about climate change. The media consistently fail to make the link between extreme weather and global warming. Through this catastrophe, people are increasingly realizing that our climate has changed, and the consequences are dire.
by Claire Bigg, RFE, Czech Republic - Russian authorities have been given the green light to shut down Internet websites carrying information deemed harmful to children.
by Irena Stelmakh, Claire Bigg, RFE, Czech Republic - As Ukrainians prepare for key parliamentary elections, some are openly offering to sell their votes online. The illegal practice is just one in a string of electoral violations observers are warning could take place.
By Kate Raphael, WINGS, Canada - Two Syrian women living in North America keep close tabs on the revolution back home. They say women play a larger role in the Syrian revolution than in those of all the other MENA [Middle East North Africa] countries, and that creative nonviolent tactics are preparing Syrians for civil government.
by Daisy Sindelar, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Former prisoners and rights activists say that inmates are still subjected to unhealthy conditions, a complete absence of privacy, and a brutal social hierarchy in which younger or more vulnerable convicts are subject to harassment, abuse, and even rape by prison guards or other inmates.
by Kate Raphael, WINGS, Canada - Two Syrian women - journalist Afraa Jalabi in Canada and professor Mohja Kahf at U. of Arkansas - tell the history of Syria's regime, the extensive nonviolent democratization movement, the regime's brutal response, and hopes to maintain Syrian control of their own government after the regime finishes falling.
by Hélène Michaud, Radio Netherlands, The Netherlands - When oil is spilled and contaminates people’s lands and waters, who is to blame? This is the central question in a unique court case that took place this week in the Netherlands. It’s a case that could have major implications for multinationals the world over.
by Dina Esfandiary, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - There are two misconceptions about sanctions on Iran and the country’s currency crisis: one, that sanctions are the only cause for the rial’s free fall in value last week. And two, that sanctions are achieving their strategic objectives.
by Daisy Sindelar, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - It's a contest that will determine the political future of Georgia. But for many, it has come down to one painful issue -- anger over an unfolding prison abuse scandal and what role a still popular government had to play in it.
by Debbie Elliott, NPR, USA - Ole Miss is commemorating the 50th anniversary of integration on campus Monday with a tribute to Meredith and a series of panel discussions. But the man who made that history doesn't like the idea of marking the anniversary.
by Yekaterina Kudashkina, Voice of Russia, Russia - The eurozone took a great sigh of relief Wednesday as the German Constitutional Court ruled that the German President Joachim Gauck could sign the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and fiscal pact into law. How realistic are the hopes pinned to the ESM? How does the new mechanism correlate with the former approaches and – the possible ultimate solutions?
by Abir Sarras, Radio Netherlands, The Netherlands - Syrian women who have fled the violence in their country are in a vulnerable situation in more ways than one. RNW’s Arab desk has discovered that agencies in Libya are offering to arrange marriages with Syrian girls in refugee camps in the country.
by Iva Martinovic, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - The writers say they hope that by highlighting public figures in their satirical stories, they will prompt those people to think about their actions -- at least for a few seconds.
by Honna Veerkamp, WINGS, Canada - An Israeli court has thrown out the lawsuit by Rachel Corrie's parents, claiming wrongful death bu an Israeli bulldozer. But her influence on the solidarity movement continues - and now Egypt has effectively ended the Gaza blockade.
by Jannie Schipper, Radio Netherlands, The Netherlands - Singer ‘Gharib’ may have fled to the Netherlands long ago, but his heart is still in his homeland Syria. Soon after the revolution broke out last year he posted a protest song on YouTube which quickly became a hit. Now he’s recording a professional album with Dutch artists.
by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, USA - Mitt Romney’s embrace of the Republican Party’s call for a federal ban on abortion stands in stark contrast to his record as Massachusetts governor, one of his many shifting stances over the years in his bid for the party’s nomination.
by Anastasia Kirilenko & Daisy Sindelar, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - "During protests, it surprises me when I hear someone say, 'You can't beat women!' she added. "So it's OK if it's men who are getting beaten? Isn't that sexism? Let's talk about how it's not right to beat up anyone."
by Courtney Brooks, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Very few people have heard of Vanuatu. But despite its obscurity, the tiny Pacific island nation has found itself in the middle of a behind-the-scenes struggle between Russia and the West.
by Frieda Werden, WINGS, Canada - Interview with Lydia Ajono, whose personal history in community radio is thoroughly embedded in the story of her community in northeastern Ghana and the major issues of her country.
by Claire Bigg, Alsu Kurmasheva, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - A crackdown on religious groups, deadly attacks on Muslim leaders, and a raid on a "catacomb" Islamic sect have turned the spotlight on what authorities say is the alarming rise of radical Islam in Tatarstan.
by Anne Mireille Nzouankeu, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Netherlands - Gaston Abe, also known by his artist name, General Valsero, is the provocative voice of Cameroonian youth. His music's denunciations of government corruption have earned him a public media ban and could land him in prison.
by Amina Umarova, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - "The problem with the European Court of Human Rights is that all cases of this type take a very long time to be processed... For example, Imran's complaint was filed in 2007 and it has not yet been communicated. That means the court has not yet begun considering it and hasn't issued an inquiry to the [Russian] government that we could discuss."
by Jannie Schipper, Radio Netherlands, The Netherlands - While Libya is looking forward to its first democratic elections on July 7th, many people still live with painful memories of the violent events that led to the removal of Muammar Gaddafi.
by Golnaz Esfandiari, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - More than 60 percent of the respondents in an opinion poll posted on the irinn.ir website of Iran's state television news channel on July 3 said they were in favor of Iran stopping its uranium-enrichment program in return for the gradual removal of international sanctions.
by Nermeen Shaikh, Democracy Now!, USA - The past two weeks have witnessed the worst forest fires in Colorado history, a deadly Mid-Atlantic storm that left 23 dead and four million without power, and a record shattering heatwave across the East Coast and Midwest that has not seen since the Dust Bowl. More than 2,000 heat records have been broken in the past week. As the words "extreme weather" flash across TV screens, where are the other two words: "global warming"?
by Claire Bigg, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Many fear a new law in St. Petersburg banning the propaganda of homosexuality among minors heralds a return to repressive Soviet-era measures against Russia's already marginalized homosexual community.
by Julie Rovner, NPR, USA - Lots of those young adults are no longer dependents of their parents for tax purposes. So if the employer continues to provide coverage to that adult child, the value of that insurance could be considered taxable income to the parent. Under the health law, such coverage is not treated as taxable income.
by Willemien Groot, Radio Netherlands, The Netherlands - Twenty years after the UN summit on Sustainable Development, delegates from United Nations countries are back in Rio de Janeiro to talk about protecting the environment. The likelihood of Rio+20 succeeding is poor.
by Claire Bigg, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - The "White Album," which brings together more than 230 songs critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime, is available online free of charge.
by Arife Kazimova, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - When the popular Eurovision song contest was held in the Azerbaijani capital last month, opposition activists viewed it as a golden opportunity to focus international attention on the country's sullied human rights record. Now that Eurovision is over and the world's attention has turned elsewhere, the same activists fear the government of President Ilham Aliyev is looking for revenge.
by Claire Bigg & Mariyat Shapsug, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Environmentalists are now talking about the biggest dolphin die-off to date in the region, with an estimated 300 animals dead so far.
by Patricka Dallas & Frieda Werden, WINGS, Canada - After the genocide in Rwanda, women were 70% of the country's population. They had to step out of traditional gender roles and network with each other to re-create the country.
by Marija Arnautovic and Tina Jelin Dizdar, RFE, Czech Republic - Bosnia this month marked the 20th anniversary of one of the milestones of the country's 1992-95 war: the fighting on Sarajevo's Dobrovoljacka Street, in which an unknown number of Serb soldiers died. As officials and civilians commemorated the event, some Bosnians came to protest against honoring the forces that besieged the city.
by Claire Bigg, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Proponents of economic austerity policies to contain Europe's debt crisis suffered a major setback on May 6 when French and Greek voters cast their ballots for staunch antiausterity advocates.
