In the last decade, we have witnessed worldwide policy and law changes regarding sexual and reproductive rights. In some countries, such as the United States, federal and state-level legal decisions evidence a withdrawal of gender equality policies[i] regarding sexual and reproductive autonomy. At the same time, contentious politics and legal efforts have led to their […]

Abstract In a patriarchal country like Russia with “traditional” values endorsed by the official Kremlin propaganda, the first organized group[i] to confront the government after Putin’s declaration of the invasion of Ukraine was paradoxically comprised of feminists. Within 24 hours, they mobilized to form the Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAR). For an embarrassingly long time, they […]

  Dedicated to honor the memory of our dear friend and co-author, Rodrigo Ventocilla. He will always be remembered for his intellectual motivation, passion for activism, kind friendship and invaluable contributions to the class of 2023.   The world has taken great strides toward gender equality in recent years, and this is apparent in many […]

Introduction Despite economic progress in South Asia, female undernutrition continues to be a significant challenge in the region. This paper focusses on nutrition-focussed social movements initiated by development programming and explores whether such social movements can help improve female nutrition across Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) in this region. The first section provides a brief background to […]

Argentina has a long tradition of women mobilizing for their own rights, human rights, and justice in their country. The 30-year-old struggle for abortion rights in Argentina was paved by local women’s organizations and by a constant persistence in guaranteeing women’s right to choose. Getting there was not a coincidence nor just luck. It took […]

Introduction  To what extent are state-led social interventions for women authoritarian? Western literature on the Middle East, and in particular on Saudi Arabia, suggests decision-making is centralized and a result of enlightened despots such Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS). But this approach misses upward dialogue initiated by citizenry to communicate desired rights for women to leaderships. […]

Zoox CEO Aicha Evans has highlighted the potential benefits of introducing self-driving “robotaxi” services, including reduced fares for passengers.  Speaking at the Harvard Kennedy School as part of the CEO Talks series, Evans explained that passengers spend huge amount on current ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, adding that  80 cents of every dollar goes to the driver.  […]

For African countries to address their political, economic and development challenges, the new generation of leaders from the continent must speak truth to power. This was the opinion of Sir Sam Jonah, the CEO of Jonah Capital during an interview with Africa Policy Journal’s Enitan Okedji, Lead Interview Editor (Policy Engagement).  Sam Jonah was in […]

Despite the scintillating promises it holds, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is only a necessary, not a sufficient condition for a structural transformation and global convergence of Africa. The substantial efforts to pass the sufficient test rest upon transcending the colonial model of resource extraction economy.  In a blow to the gravity trade […]

One of the debates among economic development experts is whether the African continent can skip manufacturing and move into the service industry to achieve economic development. Africa is blessed with abundant land and other natural resources, yet the continent is still grappling with myriad of challenges such as of food security and lack of sufficient […]

South Africa needs massive social investment in education and basic infrastructure if the country is to address its current development challenges. The Executive Director, Center for Development and Enterprise, South Africa, Ann Bernstein, stated this during the Growth Lab Development Talks at the Harvard Kennedy School. The theme of her talk was “The Role of […]

The implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to increase Africa’s exports by more than US$ 560 billion. This was disclosed by Dr. Hippolyte Fofack, Chief Economist of Afreximbank, while referring to a World Bank data during a lecture at the Harvard Kennedy School. Dr. Fofack stated this during the Africa […]