by Lizan Nijkrake | 3 Jun 2020 | Health and Wellness, Human Rights, University of Toronto Journalism Fellows, Women
The world was making progress in curbing female genital mutilation, a rite of passage to womanhood in many countries. COVID-19 is setting back those efforts. A six-year-old girl screams in pain while being cut in Somalia, 17 June 1996 (AP Photo/Jean-Marc Bouju) Rhobi...
by Jonathan Sharp | 1 Jun 2020 | China, Human Rights
Hong Kong youth are protesting again against the city’s rulers in China. The stakes are sky-high for the world’s economy and, potentially, security. A protester in Hong Kong, China, 24 May 2020 (EPA-EFE/JEROME FAVRE) Is capitalist, free-wheeling Hong Kong...
by Bernd Debusmann Jr | 1 Apr 2020 | Health and Wellness, Human Rights, Middle East
Protesters across the Middle East had been hoping for a second Arab Spring. COVID-19 has driven them off the streets. But for how long? Workers disinfect around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 7 March 2020. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Imagine yourself...
by Maya Agarwal | 4 Mar 2020 | Europe, Health and Wellness, Human Rights, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Youth Voices
I was conceived through in vitro fertilization. My year in Spain has given me a chance to see both sides of this controversial procedure. An Argentinian couple with twins born after the implant of ovarian tissue and in vitro fertilization in Valencia, Spain, 8...
by Rashad Mammadov | 27 Feb 2020 | Asia, Decoders, Human Rights
Azerbaijan blames Armenia for a massacre of civilians in the South Caucasus. Armenia denies the charge. Meanwhile, lasting peace proves elusive. Victims of the Khojaly massacre, 1992 (Ilgar Jafarov/Wikimedia Commons) Azeris around the world this week mourn the 28th...
by Charles Gorrivan | 20 Feb 2020 | Americas, Contest winners, Friends Seminary, Human Rights, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Protesters upset over economic inequalities have thrown free-market darling Chile into disarray, prompting a crackdown decried by rights advocates. Demonstrators protest against the Chilean government, Santiago, Chile, 10 January 2020. (EPA-EFE/ELVIS GONZALEZ) This...
by Jonathan Sharp | 13 Feb 2020 | Africa, History, Human Rights, Media Literacy
Thirty years ago, South Africa released famed political prisoner Nelson Mandela from prison. I covered the momentous story. Nelson Mandela with his wife Winnie Manela, two days after he was released from prison, in Soweto, South Africa, 13 February 1990 (EPA/STR)...
by Sarah Mende | 16 Jan 2020 | China, Human Rights, Podcasts, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Censorship in China allows the government to control the media narratives. How can democracies protect free speech and sort fact from fiction online? A protester demonstrates against censorship, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1 July 2016 (AP Photo/Denis Farrell) Welcome...
by Tara Heidger | 27 Dec 2019 | Africa, Human Rights, Terrorism, University of Toronto Journalism Fellows
A governor in Nigeria is recruiting 10,000 hunters to try to accomplish what the army has been unable to do: defeat Boko Haram militants. A Nigerian hunter (Photo by Mohammed Chiroma) MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA — The new governor of Nigeria’s Borno State is turning to a...
by Sarah Mende | 6 Dec 2019 | Americas, Greens Farms Academy, Human Rights, Podcasts, Student Posts, Youth Voices
The crisis in Venezuela has exploded into a global, humanitarian emergency. Giavanna Bravo reports in this episode of “The Kids Are Alright.” Years of political and social instability have forced millions of Venezuelans to flee their country. But where are...