Women

Women with ADHD three times more likely to experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder – new research

Women with ADHD three times more likely to experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder – new research: PMDD causes symptoms such as mood swings, irritability, depressed mood and anxiety. LightField Studios/ Shutterstock Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has historically been under-studied in women. This means we still have a limited understanding of how the condition may uniquely affect …

African women are key to fighting climate change – these are the green skills they will need

African women are key to fighting climate change – these are the green skills they will need: Women are an important and often underutilised human resource in Africa. They’ve faced many problems historically. Limited access to land, finance, education and decision-making platforms have meant that women across Africa haven’t been able to take part fully …

Horrific, bizarre, lonely: how women going through the menopause describe their experiences

Horrific, bizarre, lonely: how women going through the menopause describe their experiences: New Africa/Shutterstock Oestrogen and progesterone are the primary sex hormones in females, playing powerful roles throughout life – from puberty and periods to pregnancy and eventually menopause. During adolescence, these hormones surge, kick-starting the menstrual cycle. In adulthood, they fluctuate month to month, …

African women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia – a dangerous pregnancy complication

African women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia – a dangerous pregnancy complication: Pre-eclampsia is a danger to pregnant women. It’s a complication characterised by high blood pressure and organ damage, arising during the second half of pregnancy, in labour or in the first week after delivery. It plays a major role in about 16% of …

Why are women paid less than men? New research in South Africa shows the company you work for makes the biggest difference

Why are women paid less than men? New research in South Africa shows the company you work for makes the biggest difference: Why do women earn less than men? The usual suspects – occupation, hours, experience – explain some of it. But a powerful, often overlooked reason is simply this: where women work. The companies …

Nigerians having babies abroad: women explain their reasons

Nigerians having babies abroad: women explain their reasons: Nigerian women make up a significant proportion of foreign women giving birth in several countries. A study done in Calgary in Canada found 24.5% of foreign women identified as having travelled abroad to give birth were from Nigeria. Research in Chicago in the US found the majority …

Women always suffer in times of conflict. Yet the arms industry is accused of gender washing war

Women always suffer in times of conflict. Yet the arms industry is accused of gender washing war: A displaced Yemeni woman makes food for her children in the camp where they live in the city of Taiz. akramalrasny/Shutterstock International Women’s Day, marked each year on March 8, is all about celebrating women and furthering efforts …

Rituals, rites and rumours: how women claim power in Zimbabwe’s informal gold mines

Rituals, rites and rumours: how women claim power in Zimbabwe’s informal gold mines: In Zimbabwe they say, Hanzi bhande rinonzvenga vakadzi vakapinda mumigoghi (The gold belt will disappear if women go into the underground mine). Many men on artisanal or small-scale gold mining sites are uncomfortable working with women in their syndicates because of this …

Social media ‘soft girls’ depend on men for money – but Sweden once used state ‘influencers’ to urge women to get jobs

Social media ‘soft girls’ depend on men for money – but Sweden once used state ‘influencers’ to urge women to get jobs: stokkete/Shutterstock The idea of becoming a “soft girl” – a woman who embrace values that are seen as soft, such as beauty and family life, at the expense of a career – is …

Drought and farming: how women in South Africa are using Indigenous knowledge to cope

Drought and farming: how women in South Africa are using Indigenous knowledge to cope: Africa’s small-scale farmers make up nearly 80% of all farms in the agriculture sector. In South Africa, there are about 2 million small-scale farmers, predominantly Black and based in the eastern summer rainfall region of the country. A small-scale farmer produces …

Six ways to make the internet safer for women

Six ways to make the internet safer for women: Antonio Guillem / Shutterstock Women are less likely to protect themselves online because current safety advice does not take full account of their needs – despite women being more at risk from cyber abuse and threats than men. This abuse of women is a growing problem, …

Child support in South Africa: mothers speak about the struggle to get fathers to pay in a system rigged against women

Child support in South Africa: mothers speak about the struggle to get fathers to pay in a system rigged against women: Child maintenance – the duty to support a child – is more than a right. It ensures children have their basic needs met. It also means single mothers don’t have to shoulder the responsibility …

Moles, birthmarks and red hair: the anatomical features used to accuse women of witchcraft in the 17th century

Moles, birthmarks and red hair: the anatomical features used to accuse women of witchcraft in the 17th century: Women's bodies were inspected by witch-finders to uncover unusual growths of blemishes. T. H. Matteson/ Wikimedia Commons Throughout accounts of 17th-century witch trials in Europe and North America, physical features alone were considered undeniable proof of witchcraft. …

Food scarcity in Liberia: how women who run households cope

Food scarcity in Liberia: how women who run households cope: Liberia, with a population of just over 5.6 million people, is one of the world’s ten poorest countries, with a GDP per capita of US$ 662.50. The lingering effects of two civil wars (1989-2003), Ebola outbreaks (2014-2015) and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) have left Liberia …

Women in translation month: a moving Algerian novel tracks the economic struggles of writers and publishers

Women in translation month: a moving Algerian novel tracks the economic struggles of writers and publishers: French-Algerian publisher Edmond Charlot is the subject of the Algerian writer Kaouther Adimi’s third novel, and her first to be translated into English. It was published in 2020 under the US title Our Riches and retitled A Bookshop in …

Generations of young women have been bombarded with weight loss medications – ‘skinny jabs’ are just the latest

Generations of young women have been bombarded with weight loss medications – ‘skinny jabs’ are just the latest: Medics report young girls are ending up in A&E after using weight loss jabs off-label. MillaF/ Shutterstock “I couldn’t stop being sick. My side and my back were hurting and I just felt like my body was …

Some women have become pregnant through anal sex – and other extremely rare methods of conception

Some women have become pregnant through anal sex – and other extremely rare methods of conception: Sometimes, pregnancies occur under extremely rare circumstances. fizkes/ Shutterstock Unless you skipped sex ed class, you probably have at least a basic understanding of how babies are made. An egg (ovum) needs to be fertilised by sperm during a …

Keir Starmer appoints historic cabinet with record number of women – now comes the hard part: governing

Keir Starmer appoints historic cabinet with record number of women – now comes the hard part: governing: Keir Starmer has appointed Angela Rayner as his deputy. Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, CC BY-NC-ND As the dust settles on Labour’s historic election win, Keir Starmer, the UK’s new prime minister, has appointed his team …