This ongoing series highlights women’s news and information about foreign policy. This week’s post covers April 23 to April 28.

South East Asia

A report recently released by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that South Asia has the world’s highest number of child brides, making up 45 percent of the global total.

There are believed to be more than 290 million child brides in the region, with an additional 10 million girls facing early marriage by 2030.

Read more here.

Vatican City

This week, Pope Francis announced that women will be allowed to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops. Last year, Pope Francis added women to the advisory committee picking the world’s bishops, and in 2021, he altered the church’s legal framework so that women could be Bible readers at Mass, serve at the altar, and distribute communion. The upcoming meeting, scheduled for October, will focus on the church’s perspective on major social issues such as women’s rights and LGBTQ+ relationships.

Read more here.

Nigeria

This week, global non-profit finance industry organization, 100 Women in Finance (100WF), launched its formal operations in Nigeria with plans to connect Nigerian women into the global financial space.

Read more here.

Afghanistan

On Saturday, a group of Afghan women protested in Kabul, urging the global community not to formally recognize the Taliban government ahead of a United Nations summit next week.

No nation has yet acknowledged the government as legitimate since the Taliban returned to power after the United States withdrew its forces from Afghanistan in 2021.

Read more here.

England

Women are increasingly being forced to engage in “survival sex” due to the cost of living crisis.

Charities have warned that rising costs paired with years of underfunding mean women are having to turn to sex in exchange for housing or to meet other basic needs.

Sex for rent – when landlords demand sex in return for discounted or free accommodation – is a growing problem.

Read more here.