Women presenters on Afghanistan’s leading TV channels went on air Saturday (May 21) without covering their faces, defying a Taliban order that they conceal their appearance to comply with the group’s austere brand of Islam.
Singapore’s bowlers completed a golden sweep of the women’s events at the 31st SEA Games on Thursday (May 19) after winning the team event.
The IT industry’s top priority is to make India the digital hub of the world, said Krishnan Ramanujam, the newly appointed chairman of IT industry body Nasscom.
Global beverage major PepsiCo and US Agency for International Development (USAID) have awarded six women farmers of West Bengal for breaking gender stereotypes and implementing best practices in farming. The awards, a part of a program for women farmers’ economic empowerment, were presented by Melinda Pavek, Consul General, US Consulate General, Kolkata, and Ronald Verdonk, Counselor for Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, officials said.
UN Women estimates that there are more than 250 million widows globally, with one in ten facing discrimination and extreme poverty.
The British Council has launched a postgraduate scholarship programme in partnership with three leading UK universities — University of Glasgow, Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Stirling, aimed at benefiting Southeast Asian women with a background in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). According to UNESCO, fewer than 30 percent of researchers worldwide are women and only 30 percent of female students select STEM-related fields in higher education. The British Council seeks to increase this number by establishing programmes to support women in STEM around the world, from inspiring young girls to stay in the field to supporting working women in STEM to reach positions of leadership. Its latest programme provides fifteen full scholarships to women from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam who can demonstrate their need for financial support and who wish to inspire future generations of women to pursue careers in STEM. The scholarships will cover full tuition…
South Korea’s top trade official is dropping her bid to become the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation, making it likely the job will go to former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She would become the first woman to lead the organization. South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement Friday that its minister for trade, Yoo Myung-hee, will soon tell the WTO she is withdrawing her candidacy. The WTO, which makes world trade rules, announced in October that Yoo and Okonjo-Iweala were the two finalists to become its next director-general, ensuring a woman will fill the top job for the first time. The WTO had ben expected to announce a winner before the end of 2020, but the process dragged on because of disagreements between member states over the candidates, the South Korean ministry said. While it appeared Okonjo-Iweala had broader support, the WTO…
