Category Gender

Women leaders must fight gender bias in the system, says Nazhat Shameem Khan

0 Comments read Climate Change, Gender

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 13.09.2018 (SciDev.Net): Women in high positions must change the system so that every girl and woman can experience equality of opportunity, says Nazhat Shameem Khan, Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN in Geneva and the country’s ambassador to Switzerland.

Born in Suva to migrant parents of Indian descent, she has had a stellar career as a lawyer, a judge and a diplomat. In every position she worked to remove the barriers girls and women face, be it making the office of Fiji’s director of public prosecutions more inclusive or getting the Gender Action Plan passed as chief negotiator for Fiji’s presidency of the 23rd annual Conference of Parties (COP23) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

She spoke to SciDev.Net about her sheltered childhood, her struggle to get a job despite having a law degree from Cambridge University, her experience with gender and racial bias as an Indo-Fijian woman and harassment and bullying at the workplace.

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Robyn Norton: Closing the data gap is essential for reaching gender equity in health

0 Comments read Gender, Health & Science
Professor Robyn Norton and Australian High Commissioner in India, Harinder Sidhu, at the launch of the 10th anniversary of The George Institute for Global Health in India book written by Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Professor Robyn Norton grew up observing her parents’ commitment to equity and social justice in improving people’s lives in Christchurch, gateway to New Zealand’s South Island. It left an enduring impression on her young mind. The women’s movement was reaching its peak during her high school years. She got drawn into thinking about addressing women’s health issues and moved to Sydney, Australia, and enrolled in a Master’s degree in Public Health.

Fast forward to late 1990s. She says, “The global burden of disease was changing, particularly in lower and middle-income countries where Non-Communicable Diseases [NCDs] and injuries were emerging as a leading cause of death and disability. The expertise to manage the emerging epidemic of NCDs and injuries was not available in these countries. Most of the global collaborations between the high income and low-income countries were still focused on maternal and child health and under nutrition”.

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Women Bear the Brunt of Violence in Papua New Guinea

0 Comments read Environment & Development, Features, Gender, Health & Science
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) chief official in PNG, Mark Kessler speaking to Foreign Correspondents in Sydney. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 29.07.2017 (IDN): Violence is one of the most pressing issues, especially in the highlands, of Papua New Guinea (PNG) – one of the world’s most ethnically and linguistically diverse nations.

“Increased access to high-powered guns such as military style M16s and home-made shotguns, and the breakdown of traditional rules of warfare, has amplified the effects of violence, resulting in dozens – if not hundreds – of violent deaths and thousands of displacements each year, especially in the Highlands,” says International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) chief official in PNG, Mark Kessler. ”We are seeing wounds that one would see in war zones.”

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