Stories about Conversations for a Better World
Latin America: The Rapid Spread of Desertification
Desertification is silently but rapidly spreading around the world and Latin America is not escaping its devastating effects. While deserts are natural formations, desertification is a process of degradation of lands affected by climate change and human destruction.
Bolivia: Water Shortages Due to Melting Glaciers
The disappearance of glaciers in the Bolivian Andes Mountains is causing a concern because the future water shortages will affect the availability of suitable drinking water for a vulnerable migrant population.
Videos on how Maternal Mortality Affects Communities
When a woman dies during pregnancy, childbirth or due to complications after delivery, it affects not only the family, but also the whole community.
Peru: The Abortion Debate
The abortion debate in Peru has reemerged due to a bill that has been approved in the Special Committee of the Penal Code in the Peruvian Congress, which would decriminalize abortion in cases of rape or congenital disorders in the fetus.
Pregnancy and Prisons: Women's Health and Rights Behind Bars
It is still a struggle to ensure human rights for pregnant women worldwide, and it seems that in the process, pregnant women in prison are many times overlooked. What have been some of the steps made to ensure that they are also treated humanely, with respect to the life they carry?
Adoption: Securing the Rights of Mothers and Children
Women speak out from all sides of the issue: adoptees, natural mothers and adoptive mothers try to make sense of the legal, reproductive and human rights issues behind adoptions.
Activism and Motherhood in Asia
What does a woman sacrifice for the cause she fights for? How are her children affected by persecution taken against her? This post explores briefly the lives of women activists in Asia who are also mothers.
Tunisia: Watching Arab Media on HIV/AIDS
Zied Mhirsi is a Tunisian doctor and blogger, based in the USA, who is dedicated to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa. Last year, he started a blog to monitor Arab media coverage of HIV/AIDS.
How the recession has affected motherhood
When the economies of world plummeted late last year, that “motherhood” would be a victim of the spiraling trend might not have been foremost in the minds of most. However, mothers are as much a casualty of the recession as the stock markets.
Somalia: Is government recruiting young Kenyans for war?
This is the first wrap up of Somali blogs in 2009. Yes, it's been more than a year since I took leave a long leave from blogging but now I'm back, for good. This is the first post and expect more posts about Somali blogosphere.
Singapore: More Cash ≠ More Babies
Will a cash incentive make women want to have a child? Going by recent figures under Singapore’s recent Baby Bonus initiative, a government plan to raise declining birth rates in the country, the answer is “no”.
Philippines: Supporting Women through Pregnancy and Motherhood
If it goes against the religious mandates of a Catholic organization, can unwed pregnant females be fired from work or expelled from school? Bloggers discuss this situation currently faced in Philippines.
Dominican Republic: Constitution Bans Abortion in All Cases
After an intense debate, legislators from the Dominican Republic ratified an article within the Constitutional Reform that makes it illegal for a woman to terminate her pregnancy in all cases.
Lebanon: “We’re Here, We’re Queer, We’re Online”
Bekhsoos is a newly relaunched online magazine "covering topics related to (homo)sexuality in the Arab world". It was founded by the Lebanese group Meem, a support community for lesbians, bisexuals, queers, questioning women, and transgender persons.
Japan: Worries about spread of HIV and AIDS
There are some alarming statistics about the spread of HIV and AIDS in Japan. While the rest of the developed world UNAIDS reported that the cases of infection are decreasing, Japan seems to be the only such country [ja] where the number of HIV positives and AIDS infected people is...
Indian Bloggers Confront Street Harassment
“Eve-teasing” is a term that is used in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh for sexual harassment or molestation in the street. The Blank Noise Project, which was started by an art student six years ago, aims to confront street harassment and change public perceptions of it.
A Guide to Blogging about Life with HIV/AIDS
In recognition of the hundreds of HIV-positive bloggers chronicling their lives worldwide, a group of online activists affiliated with Rising Voices have created a new guide to blogging about HIV/AIDS.
Global Voices + Conversations for a Better World
A new blog sponsored by the UNFPA called Conversations for a Better World has commissioned Global Voices bloggers to help them highlight online conversations about population and development around the world.
Online Campaigns To Combat Spread Of HIV/AIDS
To combat the spread of AIDS, many organizations and activists worldwide are engaged with innovative and localized campaigns and initiatives. Today we will discuss some of them who use ICT and citizen media to augment their cause.
Blogging About Poverty And Development In The Arab World
In some Arab countries, more than half of the population lives in hunger and want. In this post we hear from bloggers writing about poverty and development around the Arab world.
India: A wave of suicides among farmers
Increasingly, Indian farmers are resorting to extreme measures, including suicide, to escape complex problems of poverty, crop failure and growing debt. Indian bloggers analyze the situation.
