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Aisha Mukhtar Dodo

No Country for Mothers Women's Health in Northern Nigeria

Aisha Mukhtar DodoFebruary 23, 2017

Nigeria alone accounts for 14 per cent of global maternal mortality.

February/March 2017

Aisha Mukhtar Dodo

is a PhD candidate at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on bridging the social and cultural gaps in cancer management in Northern Nigeria.

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Today in 1996, 47 African countries signed the Afr

Today in 1996, 47 African countries signed the African Nuclear-Weapons-Free-Zone Treaty.⠀
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On 11 April 1996, 47 African countries signed the African Nuclear-Weapons-Free-Zone Treaty which prohibits states from conducting research on, developing, manufacturing, stockpiling, acquiring, possessing, or having control over any nuclear explosive device by any means anywhere.⠀
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On 13 February 1960, France detonated the first nuclear device on African soil at Reggane in the Sahara desert in Algeria. From 1961 to 1966, France conducted a series of 13 underground nuclear explosions at its test site at the Hoggar Mountains in the Algerian Sahara. These tests triggered the need for a denuclearized Africa.⠀
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Although the African Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone Treaty was signed in 1996, it only came into effect with the 28th ratification on 15 July 2009. The treaty makes Africa the world’s most recent nuclear-weapon-free zone and the largest in terms of countries and size.⠀
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Did you know that South Africa is the only country in Africa with nuclear power reactors? South Africa has two nuclear power reactors intended for civil nuclear energy purposes.⠀
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📝: Ibukun Olokode and Ugonna Eronini⠀
📷: Malian students protest against the first French nuclear test in Leipzig, East Germany. 13 February 1960. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.

‘Women who choose to have abortions should not b

‘Women who choose to have abortions should not be subject to harmful procedures.’ #OnSite⚡⁠
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In this online essay, legal practitioner and writer, Timinepre Cole argues that effective legislation can counter the effects of unsafe abortions, but only if Nigeria’s current laws are amended. ⁠
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According to Cole, Nigeria’s stringent abortion laws were inherited from the British Colonial government. Since the 1980s, there have been a few notable, yet unsuccessful attempts to reform the restrictive laws. ⁠
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Cole notes that past attempts to amend Nigeria’s abortion laws have been met with fierce opposition from religious and women’s groups, who claim that relaxing the laws would encourage promiscuity. In 1982, the Termination of Pregnancy bill was rejected after various groups lobbied against it. The bill proposed abortion in cases where pregnancy posed a threat to the health of the baby or the wellbeing of the mother’s other dependent children.⁠
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Why do you think many Nigerians disagree with decriminalizing abortions? Let us know in our comments. For more on this topic, click the link in our bio. ⁠
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📝: Timinepre Cole⁠
📷: Birthing Center at the King Fahed IBN Abdul-Azeez Women and Children Hospital in Gusau, Nigeria, 2014. Karen Kasmauski / MCSP

Today in 1912, the Titanic set sail. Did you know

Today in 1912, the Titanic set sail. Did you know there were Black passengers on the ship?⠀
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On 10 April 1912, the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic set sail across the Atlantic on its first voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. At 52,310 tons, the Titanic was the largest passenger ship the world had ever seen. There were several prominent and wealthy people on board the ship including, John Jacob Astor IV, who was widely believed to have been the richest man in the world at the time of his death.⠀
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The Titanic made two stops in France and Ireland before sinking on 15 April 1912. The day before, the ship’s starboard side had scraped along an iceberg which tore into 6 of the ship's compartments in the brief 10 seconds of impact, allowing water to pour into the ship at a much faster rate than the ship’s pumps could handle. 1500 people died out of the 2200 people on the ship, 1300 of whom were passengers.⠀
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The Titanic was one of the most famous tragedies in modern history, but did you know that there was at least one black family on the Titanic? ⠀
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Joseph Laroche was born in Haiti to a prominent Haitian family. In 1908, he got married to Juliette Lafargue, a French woman. Laroche, his wife Juliette—who was pregnant with their third child at the time—and their two daughters, Simonne and Louise, were second-class passengers on the Titanic. Although Laroche did not survive, his family did, after he had ensured they were placed in lifeboats. ⠀
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Little has been written about Laroche’s family in survivor accounts of the sinking. Even the 1912 press failed to mention the presence of black passengers. However, French researcher, Oliver Mendez, discovered Laroche’s family when he met with Louise Laroche in the 1990s. Louise had been part of the Titanic Historical Society for years but because she could only speak French, details about her family was unknown until Mendez—who was fluent in French—met with her.⠀
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📝:Tomisin, Editorial Assistant⠀
📷:Joseph Laroche, his wife, Juliette and their two daughters in Paris, 1911. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.⠀
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Scene painted by German artist Willy Stoewer, which depicts the sinking of the Titanic. Bettman / Get

Nigeria needs to increase access to safe abortion

Nigeria needs to increase access to safe abortion procedures. #OnSite⚡️
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In this online essay, legal practitioner and writer, Timinepre Cole, presents a case for expanding access to safe abortions in Nigeria. ⁠
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According to Cole, in Nigeria, abortion is illegal. In southern states, executing the procedure itself carries a prison term of 14 years, while supplying the materials needed for an abortion carries a prison term of three years. Women who undergo abortions face seven years in prison. ⁠
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The above laws easily make Nigeria one of the most restrictive countries on abortion-related issues. However, despite the stringent legal restrictions, both skilled and unskilled personnel still carry out abortion procedures on thousands of women daily.
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According to a study by the Guttmacher Institute, unsafe abortions remain ‘an important contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria.’ Up to 61,000 women die each year in Nigeria from abortions or complications during childbirth.⁠
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Why do you think restricting abortions leads to a rise in unsafe abortions? Let us know in our comments. For more on this topic, click the link in our bio. ⁠
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📝: Timinepre Cole⁠
📷: Nigeria: Lokoja, Kogi State, Sarkin Noma Primary Health Center. Karen Kasmauski / MCSP

'I always begin writing in my mind.' — Abdulrash

'I always begin writing in my mind.' — Abdulrasheed Isah in our latest First Draft.⠀
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First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.⠀
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Author, Abdulrasheed Isah, always starts a writing endeavour by thinking deeply about the piece he is writing and developing the components of the piece in his mind's eye. Isah explained, 'I think deeply about the nuts and bolts of the piece I want to write—the arguments, logical style, subsections, and conclusions. Once I do that, the actual writing becomes a process of organizing my jumbled thoughts. I cherish how the essay evolves from disjointed sentences on a screen into a well-structured piece'.⠀
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How do you start your writing process? Let us know in the comments! To read Isah's interview, click the link in our bio.⠀
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📝: Abdulrasheed Isah.⠀
📷: Ojima Abalaka.

Today in 1968, Dr Martin Luther King Jr was buried

Today in 1968, Dr Martin Luther King Jr was buried.
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On 9 April 1968, funeral services were held for Dr Martin Luther King (MLK), Jr at the Ebenezer Baptist Church and Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, five days after he was assassinated while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
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In the aftermath of King’s assassination, riots broke out in 110 cities across America. 150,000 mourners took part in a daylong series of rituals honouring King—the largest funeral staged for a private US citizen. King’s funeral took place against a backdrop of unrest in the segregationist South, where Georgia’s governor surrounded the state capitol with troops and refused to lower the flag in acknowledgement of King’s death.
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Dr King was a social activist and Baptist minister who played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination on 4 April 1968. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in a united America and that discrimination based on race and colour, could be eradicated, as he said in his Washington Monument address: 'I have a dream.'
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One of the places dedicated to learning about Dr King is the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, which is located in Atlanta. The park consists of places where Rev. King was born, where he lived and where he worshipped throughout his life. More than half a million people visit the park every year.
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Did you know that this photo was taken by a man named Moneta Sleet Jr. for which he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize? At that moment, Sleet became the first black man to win a Pulitzer and the first African-American journalist to win one as an individual rather than as part of a journalism team.
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📝: Ibukun Olokode and Tomisin Awosika
📷: Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr. comforts her youngest daughter Bernice, 5, during services in the Ebenezer Baptist Church. MONETA SLEET JR.

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