Only 1 per cent of the Afghan National Police is female. Although female police are vital for Afghan women to be able to report crimes and access desperately-needed justice, few women in Afghanistan will ever encounter one. Further action is urgently needed to recruit, train, retain and protect Afghan female police officers. This is critical for upholding the rights of Afghan women and girls and can contribute to sustainable peace and development efforts in Afghanistan
This study, published by Oxfam and the Beirut-based ABAAD-Resource Centre for Gender Equality, finds that women are bearing the brunt of the refugee crisis with the majority of the women interviewed saying they had resorted to desperate measures to survive. Many women are regularly going hungry so their children and husbands can eat. Around 90 per cent of women interviewed said they regularly skip meals because there is simply not enough food to go round. This report, Shifting Sands, studies the different pressures facing men and women refugees from Syria living in Lebanon and finds that the roles of both women and men refugees have changed.
By supporting small-scale agricultural producers, policy makers in governments and donor agencies can help some of the poorest people in the world to improve their livelihoods. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that most donor and government policies are currently biased towards large-scale agriculture at the expense of small-scale producers, women, and rural communities.
This briefing note draws on recent Oxfam research to describe specific examples of how policy makers can govern markets and incentivise commercial investment in agriculture that includes small-scale producers. Policy recommendations focus on three key principles: giving small-scale producers, particularly women, power in markets and in politics; protecting basic rights; and supporting inclusive markets.
Bananas sold by Dole in New Zealand carry a sticker that says “Ethical Choice”. This research report undertaken by Philippines research organisations and released by Oxfam New Zealand, suggests that the treatment of workers on Dole’s Philippine banana plantations is anything but ethical. These are the plantations that supply bananas for the New Zealand market.
We need a new approach to risk and poverty reduction.
Major external risks, such as climate change and food price volatility, are increasing faster than attempts to reduce them. Many risks are dumped on poor people, and women face an overwhelming burden.
In many places of recurrent crises, the response of governments and the international aid sector is not good enough. A new focus on building resilience offers real promise to allow the poorest women and men to thrive despite shocks, stresses, and uncertainty – but only if risk is more equally shared globally and across societies. This will require a major shift in development work, which for too long has avoided dealing with risk. More fundamentally, it will require challenging the inequality that exposes poor people to far more risk than the rich.
The human cost of Syria’s conflict has risen beyond all expectations. In January, the UN predicted 1.1 million refugees by June. This April, there are already 1.3 million. Inside Syria itself, 6.8 million people struggle in urgent need of assistance.
As the numbers grow, however, the money to help some of those refugees and displaced people is running out. UN appeals have received only half of what they sought – to help far fewer people than they now need to assist.
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