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Development Channel

Issues and innovations in global economic development

Hillary Clinton: Glass Ceilings, Sticky Floors, and Broken Ladders to Equal Opportunity

by Catherine Powell Thursday, March 12, 2015
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) speaks on-stage with her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, and Melinda Gates (L) at the launch of the Clinton Foundation’s "No Ceilings: The Full Participation Report" in New York, March 9, 2015 (Courtesy Reuters/Lucas Jackson). Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) speaks on-stage with her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, and Melinda Gates (L) at the launch of the Clinton Foundation’s "No Ceilings: The Full Participation Report" in New York, March 9, 2015 (Courtesy Reuters/Lucas Jackson).

On International Women’s Day this past Monday, I attended the release of the Clinton Foundation’s No Ceilings: The Full Participation Report, which Hillary Clinton launched alongside Melinda Gates and Chelsea Clinton. Building off the momentum generated at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, the No Ceilings report uses data collected over the last twenty years to note both the gains and gaps in women and girls’ participation globally.

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White House Launches New Girls’ Education Initiative

by Catherine Powell Friday, March 6, 2015
The Obamas will take their enthusiasm for education—illustrated here at the Capital City Public Charter School (Lower School), Washington, in February 2009—to reach adolescent girls abroad (Courtesy Larry Downing/Reuters). The Obamas will take their enthusiasm for education—illustrated here at the Capital City Public Charter School (Lower School), Washington, in February 2009—to reach adolescent girls abroad (Courtesy Larry Downing/Reuters).

Two weeks ago, I posted a United Nations report on the increasing frequency of attacks on girls’ education around the world and called on the U.S. government to increase investment in education abroad. The White House, it seems, was thinking along the same lines, and on Tuesday they announced a new initiative titled Let Girls Learn.

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Female Police Face Danger in Afghanistan

by Catherine Powell Wednesday, March 4, 2015
A female Afghan National Police (ANP) officer gives instructions during a patrol training session, at a training center near the German Bundeswehr army camp in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, December 2012 (Courtesy Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters). A female Afghan National Police (ANP) officer gives instructions during a patrol training session, at a training center near the German Bundeswehr army camp in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, December 2012 (Courtesy Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters).

As Afghanistan works to maintain stability in the wake of the U.S. drawdown, I have consistently written about the unique challenges faced by women and girls in the changing security landscape. One strategy that I—and other commentators on Afghanistan—have called for to ensure the safety of women and girls and the continued expansion of women’s rights is the greater inclusion of women in the Afghan police force.

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Raising the Age of Marriage in Malawi

by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon Monday, March 2, 2015
Children play at a school roughly 50 km south of Malawi's capital Lilongwe, March 2009 (Courtesy Antony Njuguna/Reuters). Children play at a school roughly 50 km south of Malawi's capital Lilongwe, March 2009 (Courtesy Antony Njuguna/Reuters).

Last week, the government of Malawi took a big step toward protecting its girls and strengthening its families: it increased the legal age of marriage to eighteen. Previously, girls in Malawi were allowed to marry at sixteen or, with parental consent, at fifteen.

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White House Summit Embraces Women’s Rights to Counter Violent Extremism

by Catherine Powell Wednesday, February 25, 2015
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in Washington, DC, February 2015 (Courtesy Joshua Roberts/Reuters). U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in Washington, DC, February 2015 (Courtesy Joshua Roberts/Reuters).

Last week, the White House sponsored an international summit on strategies to counter violent extremism (CVE), focusing on groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. Among the strategies suggested to mitigate radicalization, President Obama listed an increased emphasis on human rights and democracy: “That means free elections where people can choose their own future, and independent judiciaries that uphold the rule of law, and police and security forces that respect human rights, and free speech and freedom for civil society groups.”

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Five Ways to Engage the Private Sector in Countering Violent Extremism

by Guest Blogger for Gayle Tzemach Lemmon Monday, February 23, 2015
A masked man speaking in what is believed to be a North American accent in a video released by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in September 2014 is pictured in this still frame from video obtained by Reuters (Courtesy Reuters/FBI/Handout via Reuters). A masked man speaking in what is believed to be a North American accent in a video released by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in September 2014 is pictured in this still frame from video obtained by Reuters (Courtesy Reuters/FBI/Handout via Reuters).

Emerging Voices features contributions from scholars and practitioners highlighting new research, thinking, and approaches to development challenges. This article is by Dr. Khalid Koser, executive director of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) and a nonresident senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution.

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UN Reports Rising Attacks on Girls’ Education

by Catherine Powell Friday, February 20, 2015
A girl reads from the board in a home-based school in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 2001 (Courtsey Damir Sagolj/Reuters). A girl reads from the board in a home-based school in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 2001 (Courtsey Damir Sagolj/Reuters).

Attacks on girls’ schools and female students have appeared in the headlines regularly in recent years, from the abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria, by Boko Haram to the assassination attempt on student and girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai.

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Podcast: What the Ebola Outbreak Says About Global Health Governance

by Guest Blogger for Gayle Tzemach Lemmon Tuesday, February 17, 2015
A health worker demonstrates putting on protective gear in a Red Cross facility in the town of Koidu, Kono district in Eastern Sierra Leone, December 2014 (Courtesy Baz Ratner/Reuters). A health worker demonstrates putting on protective gear in a Red Cross facility in the town of Koidu, Kono district in Eastern Sierra Leone, December 2014 (Courtesy Baz Ratner/Reuters).

This guest post is from my colleague, Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Police Corruption: A Threat to Afghan Stability, a Threat to Afghan Women

by Catherine Powell Thursday, February 12, 2015
A policeman stands in front of a car window, which has been hit by a bullet, after clashes with protesters in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 31, 2015 (Courtesy Mohammad Ismail/Reuters). A policeman stands in front of a car window, which has been hit by a bullet, after clashes with protesters in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 31, 2015 (Courtesy Mohammad Ismail/Reuters).

This week, the New York Times reported that 32 officers of the Afghan National Police (ANP) in the Kunduz province are under suspicion in an ongoing investigation for corruption and ties to the Taliban. The report details harrowing crimes committed by police in Kunduz, including the kidnapping of children and rape of the citizens they are meant to protect.

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The Root of India’s Domestic Violence and Son Preference

by Hannah Chartoff Monday, February 2, 2015
A schoolgirl reads from a textbook at an open-air school in New Delhi, India, November 2014 (Courtesy Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee). A schoolgirl reads from a textbook at an open-air school in New Delhi, India, November 2014 (Courtesy Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee).

Emerging Voices features contributions from scholars and practitioners highlighting new research, thinking, and approaches to development challenges. This article is by Hannah Chartoff, a research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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