US President Joseph Biden has rescinded the “Global Gag Rule” – an anti-abortion policy first introduced by the US in 1984 that undermined the health and rights of women around the world. Also known as the Mexico City Policy, the rule denied US funding for organisations that provided abortion information or services. Over the past three decades the policy has been instated by each Republican president and rescinded by each Democrat president. Under President Trump it was expanded twice, affecting a wide range of health services, including treatment for HIV. Sara E Casey, Emily A Maistrellis and Terry McGovern reveal the devastating effect the Gag Rule has had on projects in Kenya and Madagascar.

Around 5,000 years ago, what we know today as Ancient Egypt came into existence. At around the same time, other civilisations were rising across the world. Why did human social dynamics change so dramatically in such a relatively short space of time? Why did we stop living in smaller communities and come together into cities and “civilisations”? Benjamin T. Pennington unpacks the findings of a groundbreaking study into how the natural landscape changes in the Nile Delta may have stimulated the local take-up of farming technologies and played a role in the emergence of the first “nation state”. Broadly similar parallels can be tantalisingly drawn up for Mesopotamia and North China.

Jabulani Sikhakhane has been appointed the new editor of The Conversation Africa. He has taken over the reins from Caroline Southey, who will assume the role of Founding Editor, shifting her focus to the site’s future sustainability. Jabulani brings deeply seasoned experience, as well as an extensive track-record with The Conversation Africa. Rob Moore, chairman of The Conversation Africa board, made the announcement this week.

Tomorrow is the United Nations sponsored International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. Although a worldwide problem, FGM is concentrated in 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Tamsin Bradley looks at why it’s so hard to end the practice and why there’s hope for women and girls in the Sudan.

The Conversation has a new weekly podcast to showcase expert analysis and cutting-edge research from across our global network. Hosted by Gemma Ware in London and Dan Merino in San Francisco, The Conversation Weekly will feature interviews with academics from universities around the world. The first episode explores the three missions on their way to Mars and puts the spotlight back on Belarus. You can subscribe to The Conversation Weekly via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you usually get your podcasts.

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Moina Spooner

Commissioning Editor: East and Francophone Africa
A coalition of physicians, AIDS activists and medical students protest Trump’s global gag rule, which expands the policy restriction to all US health funding. Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

US anti-abortion “gag rule” hits women hard: what we found in Kenya and Madagascar

Sara E Casey, Columbia University; Emily A Maistrellis, Columbia University Medical Center; Terry McGovern, Columbia University Medical Center

Trump's expanded global gag rule weakened national health systems and created barriers to women’s sexual and reproductive healthcare access.

A depiction of a man milking a cow found on one of the walls of ancient burial tombs south of present-day Cairo dating from 2340 BC. Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images

Environmental change may have played a role at the dawn of Egyptian history – here’s how

Benjamin T Pennington, University of Southampton

Natural landscape changes in the Nile Delta may have not only stimulated local take up of farming technologies, but might also have played a role in the emergence of the first “nation state”.

Business + Economy

‘Building back better’ may seem like a noble idea. But caution is needed

Ralph Hamann, University of Cape Town

There is a need to be alive to tensions between short- and long-term objectives, as well as the assumptions we hold around what we consider to be “better” and how to achieve it.

Ghanaians are eating more fast food: the who and the why

James Boafo, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

Ghanaian consumption patterns towards fast food are evolving.

Politics

Conflating morality and the law does South Africa’s governing party no good

Mashupye Herbert Maserumule, Tshwane University of Technology

Morals and laws are not binaries. They complement each other to enable harmonious coexistence.

Does bottom-up monitoring improve public services? What we found in Uganda

Bjorn Van Campenhout, CGIAR System Organization; Caroline Miehe, KU Leuven

Public participation increased the quality and quantity of some public services, though not in all sectors, and some services were affected more than others.

In the news

Why it’s so difficult to end female genital mutilation

Tamsin Bradley, University of Portsmouth

An estimated 2000 million women have undergone female genital mutilation and millions more are at risk. The practice is carried out mainly for cultural and economic reasons.

Sudan’s political change gives hope for young women and girls. Here’s why

Tamsin Bradley, University of Portsmouth

Political change could open up civil spaces and support the voices of young women and girls who do not want to be cut.

From our international editions

5 ways the Biden administration may help stem the loss of international students

David L. Di Maria, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Students from other countries found the US less attractive during the Trump administration. Will things be any different under President Biden?

Myanmar coup: how the military has held onto power for 60 years

Michael W. Charney, SOAS, University of London

After arresting Aung San Suu Kyi once again, the army is clearly not ready to relinquish control.
 
 

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