https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/5.%20Gender.pdf: This PDF displays initiatives taken by the Kenyan government as well as other international bodies. It also identifies current issues and displays current solutions that are being put into place. You may use this to branch out into innovative solutions.
http://www.fsdinternational.org/country/kenya/weissues: The foundation for sustainable development is a program that begins community driven goals to tackle global issues in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This source outlines some of the major problems plaguing woman in Kenya. It also lists relevant facts as well as links to their own initiatives in Kenya.
Lebanon
http://www2.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2016/fge__fragile_states_research_brief_lebanon.pdf?v=1&d=20160321T152824: This research document by U.N Women initially discusses the framework of gender relations in Lebanon, including an overview of the country itself, and further outlines methods for female empowerment. Additionally, U.N Women's research findings on women's rights in Lebanon are presented and discussed alongside local NGO's and other issues. Lastly, methods to empower women and progress towards gender equality are recommended.
http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/lebanons-religious-laws-violate-womens-rights-hrw: This article by The National analyzes Lebanon's religious laws and institutional framework that discriminates against women, despite the country's generally progressive social outlook.
Mali
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2015/10/women-in-mali-demand-equal-role-in-peace-accords: This website is the UN Women website with an article that describes the puch in Mali for representation in the governing bodies. It provides a brief histoyr of the movement, specific reasons and demands, and quotes from important leaders. It also lists links of related stories at the bottom of the page, making further research into the feminist group and specific events in Mali easier.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/may/01/womens-rights-mali-50-years: This article, published in the Guardian, describes some details and consequences of Mali's "Family Law" that undercuts women’s rights in the region. It also describes the feminist movement in Mali in response to its patriarchal system and provides some statistics on Mali's educational system.
Mexico
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/2/lac-call-for-stand-alone-goal: The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women reports the progress made by Latin American and Caribbean countries regarding the Mexico Declaration. Led by Mexico, the declaration forms many goals that strive for the prevention of violence against women, gender equality, women’s rights and empowerment, sexual and reproductive health, and integrating gender mainstreaming. This source helps demonstrate Mexico and Latin America’s gender goals for the future.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/mexico-fails-to-tackle-increased-levels-of-violence-against-women: In this article by Amnesty International, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist organization, Mexico is called out for failing to protect the women in their country against violence and discrimination. There have been increases in killings of women and a lack of thorough and fair investigations following them. It also brings forth the issue of many laws being created to protect women, yet failing to be implemented effectively. Amnesty International reports that the “Mexican state is failing women on gender discrimination, threats and attacks against women activists, violence suffered by women migrants, [and] failure to fully comply with Inter American Court of Human Rights judgments” This source assists in the understanding of the current problems in Mexico regarding the treatment and equality of women.
New Zealand
http://women.govt.nz/about/new-zealand-women: This page from the New Zealand Ministry for Women provides a brief overview of the position of women in regards to education, employment, and health. The Ministry for Women website also includes extensive resources about the advancement of women in New Zealand.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10127960: This article from the New Zealand Herald details the progress that women made in the business and political fields between 1975 and 2005. Although New Zealand is one of the fairest countries in the world in terms of gender equality, there are still wide gaps in terms of pay and representation in higher-level business positions. This source is valuable for its overview of statistics found at the end of the article.
Norway
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender equality/files/epocampaign/131014_countryprofile_norway.pdf: This source is a comprehensive country profile of Norway on the topic of gender equality. It focuses on the differences in pay and employment rate between men and women. The source further analyzes the results from graphs to portray Norway's position on various aspects of business. The source also explains the timeline of legislative events causing the current situations in gender equality.
http://www.gender.no/Policies_tools: This source contains extensive information regarding Norway's positions on gender equality and describes methods the country used to achieve its place as one of the most gender-neutral countries in the world. The source also describes policy actions addressing women's equal access to higher education, equal opportunities in the labor force, and choice of occupation
Pakistan
http://www.ncsw.gov.pk/publications#ResReport: This webpage contains numerous publications/reports on the status of women in Pakistan. As many of the reports are specific to only one segment of the issues regarding women’s' rights in Pakistan, it may be more helpful to view the "Annual Report", which provides a holistic review of the scope of the problem.
http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/pakistan-women-equality-eduacation-economic-development-research-roundup: This article gives an objective overview of the issue of women’s rights in Pakistan. Statistics, which will aid you in your research, are dispersed throughout the article. The article also provides links to and summaries of 12 scholarly articles about the issue.
Peru
http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/women/activities/activities.asp: This source comes from the OAS Rapporteurship on Women's Rights and it details how the Rapporteurship got involved in a local court case (which involved public health officials threatening a woman with criminal sanctions if she did not undergo a sterilization surgery) and looked at it from a human's rights perspective.
https://www.womankind.org.uk/where-we-work/peru: This source comes from Womankind, a worldwide nonprofit that works to ensure self-sufficiency for women. It does a good job at identifying key women's rights issues in Peru such as traditional attitudes that bar women from self sufficiency and equality. It also provides possible solutions and statistics from UN Women, the World Bank, and the IFC.
Philippines
http://www.cfo.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1759:the-status-of-women-in-the-philippines-a-50-year-retrospective&catid=109:overseas-filipino-new&Itemid=840z: This article from the Office of the President of the Philippines describes the actions the Philippine government has taken to promote the status of women over the last 50 years, including the creation of the Philippine Commission on Women. It also analyzes the different indicators of gender equality that have been used by the different presidential administrations.
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/a-different-reality-lurks-beneath-philippines-gender-fair-image: This article from The Straits Times, a Singaporean newspaper, exposes the truth behind many of the Philippines' gender equality laws. Although the country is typically ranked highly in gender-fairness, many women are still excluded from economic activities and poverty "discriminates against women."
Qatar
http://www.unicef.org/gender/files/Qatar-Gender-Equality-Profile-2011.pdf: This document published by UNICEF is a great way to find information about the issue of Women’s Rights in Qatar. This source talks about the power that women have in Qatar, and is great because it has a lot of statistics to back their claims.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=79539&page=1: This is a great website that talks about what Qatar thinks about Women’s rights, and what it has done to improve things for women in Qatar.
Russia
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N15/387/33/PDF/N1538733.pdf: i. This is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women from 2015 published by the United Nations. The document contains the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s (CEDAW) response to the Russian Federation’s report on its discrimination against women. CEDAW notes how the Russian Federation has improved, outlines its concerns, and provides recommendations. In addition, this source provides links to the Russian Federation’s report, the committee’s list of questions and issues, and the Russian Federation’s responses.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jun/10/moscow-domestic-violence-problem-russia: This source is an article from The Guardian, which describes a Russian woman’s struggle with domestic abuse, and how the authorities handled her case. The article also details how Russian culture normalizes domestic abuse and how individuals are fighting for legislation that would criminalize domestic violence. Statistics in regards to domestic abuse can be found within the article, as well as links to sources such as the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR) report on Violence against Women in the Russian Federation.
Saudi Arabia
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/saudi-arabia: This link provides great detail on the issues women in Saudi Arabia are facing in the community. It offers specific information on the effect of the Islamic law on women, and will help you research the new laws and statements the SA government has proposed and issued.
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21694406-progress-women-has-gone-reverse-under-new-king-one-step-forward-one-step: This article underlines the new role Saudi women play under the new King. It provides a great detail of the status of women in the work place previously and in the present. Along with the positives, this link also includes the negative situation of women in the community, and addresses the religious aspect as well. Use this source to research what discrimination Saudi women have to face, and the achievements that have been reached.
Somalia
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/rbas/doc/Women's%20Empowerment/Gender_Somalia.pdf: The following source is from the UN development Program, focusing on Somalia's current gender inequality situation. The country is ranked number four in terms of gender inequality, with its women being primarily excluded from the workforce. the few women who are offered a job work as "sacrifice" and earn only enough to barely sustain themselves. The source offers a comprehensive background of the situation as well as possible solutions.
http://gulfnews.com/culture/people/somalia-s-battle-to-criminalise-sexual-violence-1.1873815: This news article describes Somalia's effort in working to criminalize violence against women. Up until now, violence against women has been at often times ignored, and women have suffered many forms of sexual violence without any means of security. The following article also explains the Somali law against sexual violence and a comprehensive background of the country.
South Africa
http://www.za.undp.org/content/south_africa/en/home/ourwork/womenempowerment/overview.html: This source from the UNDP gives insight into what the UN and the international community are doing to empower women in South Africa in the economic and social spheres
http://www.economist.com/node/17204625: This source from The Economist provides an analytical look into how traditional values are hindering progress for women in the South African workforce.
South Korea
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/220416.pdf: This link provides multiple aspects of women’s rights in South Korea, specifically discrimination. It gives great information on the laws South Korea has issued, as well as problems women are facing in the society.
http://asiasociety.org/education/womens-role-contemporary-korea: This link gives information on the changing roles of women in South Korea. It will help you research specifically the female labor force, and the discrimination they face in the workplace. The positives of the increasing number of women in the workforce are outlined in this article.
Sweden
https://sweden.se/society/gender-equality-in-sweden/: This article originates from a page under the domain of the Swedish government on gender equality. The Swedish government advocates the rights for everyone, regardless of gender, to equal opportunity to work, education, balance of family and work, and no fear of abuse. The site also outlines legislature addressing gender equality and summarizes the status of Swedish gender equality in detail.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11525804: This BBC article, written by a Swedish journalist, both outlines and reviews Sweden's policies on women's rights in recent years. Sweden has strong programs for allowing gender equality; however, many of these programs do not meet their full potential. This article gives a balanced review of the successes and shortcomings of legislature in place to allow gender equality. For example, although women's employment is a central political issue and Sweden has one of the highest employment rates for women, most women occupy only part-time jobs and women hold only eight out of almost 300 executive positions. The article ends by highlighting Sweden-centric issues that still need to be addressed.
Turkey
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/9/30/turkish-women-strugglewitherdoganlegacy.html: Women’s Rights activists in Turkey are protesting their current President, Tayyip Erdogan. President Erdogan has taken direct action against women's rights in his career, and has directly stated that women are not equal to men. This article also provides examples of the increasing violence against women in Turkey, and the reactions of human rights groups. Women in Turkey
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236798.pdf: This 2014 Human Rights Report provides statistics and examples of practices that continue to harm women in Turkey. The categories include maternity, and under representation in the government and labor market. The women's rights passage begins on page 44. Another key area is the executive summary, which holds background information for the paper.
https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/UAE_summaryreport_for_CEDAW.pdf: This report by the International Federation on Human Rights details the principal concerns regarding discrimination towards women in the UAE. These discriminatory practices are found in inheritance laws, nationality, marriage, and violence against women.
http://www.businessinsider.com/uae-terrible-for-women-despite-the-pilot-2014-10: This article from Business Insider falsifies the UAE's manufactured progressive image on women's rights that has been proliferated through the media. In reality, the UAE violates women's rights both in its culture and laws.
United Kingdom
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/the-rights-of-woman-how-far-have-they-advanced-1917579.html: This source outlines issues with women’s rights in the UK as well as describing a public demonstration in England that advocated for betterment of women’s rights. The article concludes with some thoughts from scholars in regards to the situation with women’s rights. This article provided a good perspective on how even in very developed countries, women’s rights remains a big deal.
https://www.mmu.ac.uk/equality-and-diversity/doc/gender-equality-timeline.pdf: Excellent pdf outlining the history of action towards women's rights in the UK. Provides very good context of the progress made and provides a more positive perspective than the article, which outlines issues with women's rights in the UK.
United States of America
https://www.whitehouse.gov/women: This link provides a great overview of what the US government has specifically done to empower women and girls in the American society. The source outlines major discussion points regarding women’s' roles in the economy, leadership positions, the current education system, and the health system. The topic of gender equality is specifically addressed in detail as well. Use this source to research what the United States has done to address and solve the gender issues discussed in the background guide.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ariel-smilowitz/for-us-women-inequality-takes-many-forms_b_7064348.html\: This article gives a short synopsis on what actions have been taken on a global level to combat gender equality through 2015. The article also provides statistics on gender equality in the US to give readers a general idea of the scope of the problem within the United States. Links to reports on gender equality within specific sectors in the US are also provided.
Yemen
http://womenwatch.unwomen.org/country/yemen: This is a link to an archive of articles about women in Yemen from UN Women Watch. Many of them include stories from women who have experienced hardships that are common in Yemen, such as domestic abuse, which is not a crime in the nation, and other violence against women. The articles provide the UN perspective about change that must happen in Yemen to promote women's rights.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/05/09/yemens-women-out-shadows: This article from the Human Rights Watch tells of the women who participated in the protests against President Saleh, the country's long-term dictator, in 2011. Despite being considered some of the least empowered people in the world, Yemeni women began speaking out about the sexist society that they lived in. The source includes statistics about the limited female participation in politics, the justice system, and society in general.
Resources:
Jayachandran, Seema. "The Roots of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries." Annual Review of Economics Annu. Rev. Econ. 7.1 (2015): 63-88. Web.
Koenig, Shulamith. "PDHRE: Women and Education." PDHRE: Women and Education. People's Movement for Human Rights Education, n.d. Web. 12 July 2016.
"Girls & Women." Right to Education Project. Right to Education Project, n.d. Web. 12 July 2016.
"Girls' Education and Gender Equality." UNICEF. United Nations Children's Emergency Fund, 23 July 2015. Web. 13 July 2016.
Maigua, Patrick. "Right to Education Still Not a Reality for Many Women and Girls." Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Coverage. News and Media: United Nations Radio. Geneva, 7 July 2014. United Nations Multimedia, Radio, Photo and Television. Web. 13 July 2016. Transcript.
"European Year for Development." Every Girl and Woman Has a Right to Education. No Matter Where She Lives. European Parliament, 6 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 July 2016.
UNESCO. "Malala: Symbolizing the Right of Girls to Education." UNESCO: Building Peace in the Minds of Men and Women. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, n.d. Web. 20 July 2016.
Benavot, Aaron, and Catherine Jere. "Gender Bias Is Rife in Textbooks." World Education Blog. Global Education Monitoring Report, 08 Mar. 2016. Web. 20 July 2016.
Amini, Mohadeseh. "Gender Bias in Iranian High School EFL Textbooks." English Language Teaching 5.2 (2012): 1-14. 1 Feb. 2012. Web. 20 July 2016.
Lee, Jackie F.k., and Peter Collins. "Construction of Gender: A Comparison of Australian and Hong Kong English Language Textbooks." Journal of Gender Studies 19.2 (2010): 121-37. University of Arizona. Routledge, 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 July 2016.
Blumberg, Rae Lesser. "Eliminating Gender Bias in Textbooks: Pushing for Policy Reforms That Promote Gender Equity in Education." Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2015 (2015): 1-35. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2015. Web. 20 July 2016.
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