News

Like almost all epidemics, Malaria is especially deadly to marginalised communities such as minorities and indigenous peoples as they face difficulties in accessing quality healthcare. Learn more about health equity for minorities and indigenous peoples in our 2021 report.

Overstone Kondowe was elected in the Nkhotakota district in central Malawi with 61.6 per cent of the vote. His election marks a huge achievement in a region where people with albinism are historically confronted with discrimination and violence. Learn more about the challenges people with albinism face here.

As of 17 December 2021, over 19,000 people had made the move to the new camp, hoping for better living conditions. Due to the military coup which occurred in February 2021 in Myanmar, Rohingya refugees are now even more afraid to return, as violence against ethnic and religious minorities increases in the country. Read more about the situation of Myanmar’s minorities in our 2021 report.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated illegal deforestation and land-grabbing globally, including in Peru, as government attention is diverted and government representatives withdraw from affected areas. This especially affects indigenous communities, who are losing land they have fought hard to protect. Read more about MRG’s work with communities to protect their right to land here.

No exact numbers are available, but the best estimate of international observers is that 10,000-20,000 people are currently stuck in the border forests in freezing temperatures with nowhere to go. Read more about the humanitarian crisis in MRG’s Anna Alboth’s Guardian article.

Legislation to achieve marriage equality was passed in Chile and Switzerland, and will come into effect in 2022 in both countries. There are also plans to legalise it in Tokyo by mid-2022. At the same time, however, countries all over the world continue to restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ persons, such as Thailand, where a court recently denied legal recognition to transgender people, or Ghana, where a new bill would punish LGBTQ+ rights activism or education with up to ten years in prison.

Female judges in Afghanistan were responsible for adjudicating cases of gender-based violence, especially domestic violence. Following the fall of the previous Afghan government in August, Afghanistan’s legal system has collapsed, and prisons have been opened by the Taliban. Lawyers and judges, both male and female, have gone into hiding. Female lawyers and judges are especially at risk. Read more perspectives of social justice activists in Afghanistan on MRG’s website.

Tunisia is the country where the Amazigh community faces the highest rates of forced Arabization, resulting in many young individuals living in urban areas no longer speaking their language. However, older individuals and rural communities often do not speak Arabic and have been abandoned by the central government. Learn more in our documentary.