Read all posts from ‘Global Issues’

What is a welfare state? Merriam-Webster defines it as “a social system based on the assumption by a political state of primary responsibility for the individual and social welfare of its citizens”. Put in a more straightforward way, a welfare state is like a parent and citizens are its children. […]

The transition from subsistence to a cash economy is pushing Melanesian women into the workforce. The issue is not just about what is gained and what is lost but about challenging the discriminatory practices that suppress women from exercising their human rights.  Violence Against Women (VAW) is a silent crime that is […]

A road expansion campaign in Kathmandu has been initiated by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. This campaign has been ongoing since September 2011.The project has received mixed feedback. Praised for adding significant width to main roads in need of widening, it has also been criticized for its lack of planning, including the way roads […]

Governance isn’t the only thing that is being taken into the hands of civil society. In Australia, the entire premise of the market system is also being reworked. If the state reneges on its promise to provide basic services, the opposite effect will happen – people will start taking things […]

There she was, sitting in a sweltering sitting room in Cairo, her scarred face haloed by her Islamic headscarf, her pregnant belly pushing out a bit, her 18-year-old hands resting lightly in her lap. Her name is Ghada, and she is one of the bravest women I have ever met.