Around the World in 5 is an ongoing series that highlights news related to women. This week’s post covers August 5 to August 12.

FIFA Women’s World Cup

Australia’s Matildas, currently serving as co-hosts of the tournament with New Zealand, has become the first home team since the United States in 1999 to win a quarterfinal in nine Women’s World Cups. This week, Australia reached its first semifinal in team history and faced England on Wednesday for a chance to play for the title.

Read more here.

India

This week, the Karnataka government decided to install panic buttons in all state-run public vehicles to ensure women’s safety following a recent cabinet meeting.

India Today reports that the allocation of Rs 30.74 crore was approved and will be used to implement a vehicle tracking system along with a panic button. This is not only to minimize waiting times for passengers but also to ensure the security of women travelers.

Read more here.

Nigeria

PUNCH newspaper reported this week that 10 people, including four children, were abducted in Isua, JK2 community in Engenni, Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The victims, six women and four children, were taken when the former had gone to their farms to harvest crops to avoid destruction from the impending floods.

A source simply identified as Ezuwa told newsmen that the hoodlums came from a neighbouring community called Oshobele.

Read more here.

United States of America

About 1 in 7 women in the United States grapple with Postpartum Depression (PPD). An oral treatment for PPD has gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with commercial availability expected as early as October 2023.

This treatment, called Zurzuvae, is designed to be taken over the course of fourteen days. The only other approved PPD treatment, which is administered intravenously over a sixty-hour period, can cause mild side-effects and has proved difficult for some women to access.

Read more here.

Mali

The United Nations has reported that Malian troops and their foreign security partners, believed to be part of the Russian Wagner mercenary group, are using violence against women amid ongoing violence.

Read more here.