I can never accept that girls grow up with extinguished dreams

- When families fall deeper into poverty, it is the girls who have to pay the price, writes Jennifer Vidmo, Secretary General of ActionAid Sweden, on International Girls' Day. Pictured: Naima, 7 years old (left), and Mushtak, 8 years old (right), in Burao, Somaliland. Photo: ActionAid, Karin Schermbrucker.

Of: Jennifer Vidmo

Today is International Girls' Day. A day to celebrate all the girls? No, a day to stand up for girls' rights - which is violated and diminished every day and exposes young girls to a life that we can all agree on is completely unreasonable. In poverty and not least in the wake of pandemics where families are destitute and without hope, girls are most at risk of being hit the hardest, writes ActionAid's Secretary General Jennifer Vidmo in a guest column.

October 11, 2021, Guest chronicle

More than 250 people have been killed since the military coup, and now activists are leaving Yangon

Of: Christina Jelmin

- Why do I feel like a criminal on the run? We have not done anything wrong and yet we are forced to flee. These monsters, they should be ashamed. My friend writes to me at the same time as she gets in the car that will take her away from the violence in Yangon to the relative security in the countryside. Next to her she has her mother, it is to her home village they are on their way. If they are stopped in a roadblock, the official explanation is that she will escort her mother home. But the truth is that she herself must get out of Yangon in order not to risk being caught.

March 22, 2021, Guest chronicle

Maquilapolis, the right path to development in a globalized world?

Photo: canva.com.

Of: Edme Dominguez 

There is a documentary called Maqulapolis that tells the story of some Mexican women's daily lives. They work as maquiladora workers in Tijuana, Mexico's northwestern border with the United States. Maquiladoras means assembly plants, ie factories that assemble different products from industrial parts that come from different parts of the world. They are part of the so-called “global value […]

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December 8, 2020, Guest chronicle

Sweden needs a law on business and human rights

ForumCiv.

Photo: ForumCiv.

Of: Karin Gregow

Many Swedish companies today exist in markets where human rights violations are common and labor law protection is weak. The Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the situation of vulnerable people. It is high time that the Swedish government adopts legislation that requires companies to respect human rights in their own operations and in all their business relationships. This is what ForumCiv calls for in a new report.

November 25, 2020, Guest chronicle

"It would be irresponsible of young people to turn a blind eye to the problem"

Photo: Eleni Terzitane, Young Media Sweden.

Of: Henrik Dävermo

I have been politically active for some time and belong to a party that does not shy away from putting the interests of entrepreneurs first. There is an idea in some circles I move in, that companies and industries are what move society forward and that it should be used as an argument to […]

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November 18, 2020, Guest chronicle

Women's participation in peace negotiations needs to increase

Caption: Women to Women's partner organization Iraqi Women's League demonstrates for women's rights in (city) Najaf (southern Iraq). Photo: Kvinna till Kvinna

Of: Petra Tötterman Andorff

20 years ago, the pioneering resolution 1325 on women, peace and security was adopted by the UN Security Council. The resolution has led to some progress for the women of the world, but more work is needed to increase women's opportunities to participate and gain real influence in more ways in society.

November 11, 2020, Guest chronicle

Women's rights must not be overshadowed

While all focus is on the coronavirus, women's vulnerability is greater than in a long time in large parts of the world. Photo: Jeyaratnam Caniceus / Pixabay

Of: Charlotte isaksson

For women's rights, the covid-19 pandemic could not have come at a worse time. 2020 would be the year when two important anniversaries were celebrated. The 25 years that have passed since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Gender Equality in 1995, and the fact that it is 20 years since UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security was adopted unanimously […]

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July 14, 2020, Guest chronicle

"It's not the virus that will kill my children, it's hunger"

Many families are already starving in Africa. Several parallel crises make the situation even more difficult. Photo: Jules Bosco / USAID

Of: Johan Eldebo

In many ways, covid-19 has changed everything in a couple of months in Africa. From another perspective, the virus is rather another of many threats. Because there are several threats to the progress made in many parts of the continent in recent years. So far in 2020, the first news in many newspapers has been the latest […]

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July 9, 2020, Guest chronicle

Aid bureaucracy - so much more than "administration"

Administration and Daniel Tarschys

Administration and administration are often devalued in Swedish development assistance, writes political scientist Daniel Tarschys. Photo: Piqsels and http://politik.in2pic.com (CC BY-SA)

Of: Daniel Tarschy's

Cutting back on aid administration has long been seen as a virtue. On the contrary, more expertise and analysis can be crucial for effective aid. It shows a new study by political scientist Daniel Tarschys for the Expert Group for Development Aid Analysis.

June 9, 2020, Guest chronicle

Covid-19 creates an acute crisis for democracy

Hand with the text "Stop covid-19"

Authoritarian leaders use the corona crisis as an excuse to, among other things, restrict freedom of expression, writes Anders L Pettersson.

Of: Anders L Pettersson

Repressive regimes around the world see covid-19 as a free card for persecuting and imprisoning human rights defenders. At the same time, the outside world is distracted by the pandemic. Now we must defend democracy by supporting civil society and human rights defenders - not least in authoritarian states, writes Anders L Pettersson on Civil Rights Defenders.

June 8, 2020, Guest chronicle