Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 17 2008 (IPS) – Brazilians, especially women, are among the global leaders in taking meticulous care of their bodies and exhibiting them to advantage. This is a significant factor in climbing social and economic ladders, establishing identities and competing successfully in markets, from employment to romance.
The result is explosive growth in the beauty industry, frenzied consumption of cosmetics and slimming products, enthusiasm for exercise programmes and widespread use of plastic surgery, even among teenagers.
This cult of physical perfection is a central research theme for anthropologist Mirian Goldenberg, a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, who has just launched a book, O corpo como capital (The Body as a Capi…
LUSAKA, Sep 22 2009 (IPS) – The economy s down, the price of fertiliser s up. And Zambian farmers are stealing sewage for their vegetable gardens.
Farmers dig canals like this one to lead waste water directly to their gardens. Credit: Lewis Mwanangombe/IPS
Yes, raw sewage is a cocktail of germs that can cause life-threatening illnesses. Sanitation officials in both Lusaka and the Copperbelt province are accusing peri-urban farmers of …
LUSAKA, Oct 4 2009 (IPS) – For 70 minutes, the girls in the distinctive gold-and-green jersey of Brazil shut out the attacks by the visiting team. The bare feet of chubby-faced left back Njavwa Silungwe are lively in defence.
Jennifer Tembo is one of scores of vulnerable girls finding support in local football. Credit: Lewis Mwanangombe/IPS
The yellow-clad Chibolya Queens eventually lose the match. But their team s mer…
José Adán Silva
MANAGUA, Feb 15 2010 (IPS) – Nicaragua slammed the door on any possible debate on the restitution of therapeutic abortion performed to save the life of the pregnant woman despite demands that it do so voiced during a United Nations review of human rights in the country.
Under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) system, the U.N. Human Rights Council examines the human rights record of each member state every four years. The seventh session of the Council s UPR is taking place Feb. 8-19 in Geneva, Switzerland, and includes Nicaragua.
At last week s review on this Central American country, the Human Rights Council issued a report urging Nicaragua to strengthen protection for girls and women against domestic and sexual violence, by providing shelters for…
Mehru Jaffer interviews FABRIZIA FALCIONE, UN WOMEN
VIENNA, Mar 10 2011 (IPS) – Female Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel are often denied legal representation and medical care while being housed in squalid conditions that can include sharing cells with rodents.
According to Fabrizia Falcione,project manager for the Women Human Rights Unit at UN WOMEN, the United Nations entity for gender equality and empowerment of women, told IPS that it is crucial to reveal the human face behind this breach of international law and international humanitarian law in order to address the plight of Palestinian political prisoners, including women and children.
Since 1967, more than 700,000 Palestinians have been arrested or detained in Israeli prisons and detention centres. Appr…
UNITED NATIONS, May 16 2012 (IPS) – The statistics have remained staggering: every two minutes, a woman dies of pregnancy and child birth-related complications caused primarily by severe bleeding, infections, high blood pressure and unsafe abortions.
A pregnant woman in Kenya s North Eastern Province with one of her children. Overpopulation in the area contributes to poor maternal health. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS
And 90 percent of maternal deaths occur in the world s 132 developing na…