Youth

Malala Yousafzai was named after “Malala of Maiwand,” a fabled Pashtun poet and warrior woman: fitting for a child who began writing of her life under the Taliban for the BBC at the age of 11.

On October 24 2015, Senegalese NGO CONAF – the National Committee for Literacy and Training – convened civil society representatives, public health practitioners, village chiefs, civil registry officials, and religious leaders at the launch ceremony for its program to improve women and children’s access to civil registry in the region of Diourbel.

Four new pilot programs to address key rule of law issues in Senegal—including corruption, access to information, and women and children’s rights—have been awarded seed grants through the World Justice Challenge.

I have been hearing and reading with great concern on the prevailing problem of drug trafficking and drug abuse in Punjab. As per ground reports it certainly has assumed very serious proportions to the extent that it has/is destroying a generation of youth of Punjab known for physical prowess and stamina. India today needs all of its youth to contribute to nation building and its reconstruction as the case seems to be.

Each year, thousands of children living on the streets of Bogotá, Colombia, are arrested and end up in juvenile detention centers. In 2013, with a seed grant from the World Justice Project, the Dutch-based Young in Prison partnered with Colombian-based Familia Araya to help incarcerated youth change their relationship with the rule of law.

Phase 2 of Street Law Zambia’s pilot project sent veteran human rights attorney and educator, Pamela Mumbi, to Seattle, Washington, USA. Mrs. Mumbi received pedagogical training and visited classrooms currently implementing Street Law curriculum adapted to high school students in the United States.

As the most populous city in Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya has many of the problems of any large city (crime, substandard housing, poverty, etc.), and is also at the center of a nation divided by ethnic strife and a vast disparity between those that have much and those that have very little.  These issues came to a head with the Presidential elections in December 2007, which led to large-scale conflict, including between protesters and police.  The violence was most acute in the poorest neighborhoods of Nairobi, including the slums of Kibera, Mathare and Babandogo.

One of the intended uses of the WJP Rule of Law Index is as an action planning tool for global civil society. The Rule of Law Index truly comes alive when citizens are given the opportunity to analyze information and shape implementation with their own aspirations and situational context.

As we continue to celebrate the social, political, and economic progress made by women all around the world, as well as acknowledge the remaining challenges, take a look at an organization working to level the playing field for women - both literally and metaphorically.

Countries that have ratified or acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) are legally bound to put its provisions into practice.  But how far has gender equality advanced since 1979, when the UN General Assembly adopted this prominent treaty on women’s rights?