Read the December 2020 issue.

Sip Every Drop: Inaccessible and Jeopardized Water Resources in Nigeria and Ukraine

By John Burzawa

This article examines some key facts related to water scarcity in Nigeria and Ukraine. While both countries have considerable water resources, due to economic, political, and environmental factors, access to safe water and sanitation remains a problem. In addition to examining some key facts, the article reviews the issue of water scarcity from an ethical perspective, applying several lenses, including differences in the access to water and sanitation by gender and localities. It also discusses some ethical origins, current ethical structures, and ethical frameworks of water scarcity in Nigeria and Ukraine.

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Sip Every Drop: Inaccessible and Jeopardized Water Resources in Nigeria and Ukraine

Child Poverty Crisis: A Childhood Living Below the Line in Nigeria and Uganda

By Cameron Fisher

This article looks at the crisis of excluded and invisible children in Nigeria and Uganda. It examines the evolution of some key indicators, including infant mortality, under-five mortality, birth registration rates, children out of school, and the percentage of employed children at primary school age. These indicators show that both countries have made some progress in reducing multidimensional child poverty, but much more remains to be done. The article also reviews government plans and programs in Nigeria and Uganda, and then discusses some recommendations and ethical concerns.

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Child Poverty Crisis:
A Childhood Living Below the Line in Nigeria and Uganda

Distant Neighbors: Why Neighboring Countries Mozambique and South Africa Differ So Greatly in Gender Inequality

By Patrick Ryan

This article examines gender inequality in Mozambique and South Africa. These two countries share a common border, yet they are very different in terms of economic development and gender inequality. After examining the different degrees of gender inequality with regards to literacy, tertiary school enrollment and salaried employment, the article examines some of the ethical origins and existing ethical structures, including these two countries’ level of child marriages, views on domestic violence, and access to modern contraceptives. All these examinations tend to support the hypothesis that gender equality improves not only the lives of women, but the lives of all people.

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Distant Neighbors: Why Neighboring Countries Mozambique and South Africa Differ So Greatly in Gender Inequality

Bruised but Never Broken: The Fight for Gender Equality in Egypt and Bangladesh

By Lily Sweeting

This article examines issues of gender inequality and women’s rights in Bangladesh and Egypt. Both countries have high levels of gender inequality that have resulted in widespread discrimination and violence towards women. Additionally, religious and cultural norms and a profound patriarchal view of women as being inferior to men have led to the extensive exclusion of women from the workforce and political participation. Failure to adequately enforce legal practices and protections has further encouraged discrimination and violence against women and will continue to do so without governmental action. Social, political, and economic empowerment is needed for the women of Bangladesh and Egypt, but such empowerment is not happening due to the current societal norms in these two countries.

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Bruised but Never Broken:
The Fight for Gender Equality in Egypt and Bangladesh

Democracy: An Ultimate Remedy towards the Flawed Urbanization in Bangladesh and China

By Ka Long Tung

This article examines recent decades of urbanization in Bangladesh and China. It comes to the conclusion that some of the basic needs of these countries’ urban people have been ignored. By applying ethical reasoning, it proposes the idea that strengthening democratic processes would remedy the flawed urbanization process Bangladesh and China have gone through. However, the authorities in both countries constitute the biggest barrier toward strengthening democratic processes.

Read the full article: Democracy: An Ultimate Remedy towards the Flawed Urbanization in Bangladesh and China