On Oscar night this year, Octavia Spencer won the statuette for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal in The Help of Minny, an outspoken maid in 1960’s Mississippi. She had earlier won the Golden Globe and in her acceptance speech, Spencer, whose mother reportedly worked as a maid, said the film highlighted the situation of domestic workers then and now, and quoted Martin Luther King to say that: “All work that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance.” 

Yet, the work and life experiences of Minny and Aibileen and the other women featured in The Help could have been plucked from anywhere in the world today.

At the very least, millions of domestic workers get paid below the minimum wage, and rarely benefit from health insurance, paid leave, or even time off. Take one sick day, and you’re likely to be fired, with no unemployment benefits to speak of. In some parts of the world, domestic workers face physical and sexual abuse, seclusion,…

Police in Zimbabwe, charged three women found in possession of 33 condoms containing semen with 17 counts of aggravated indecent assault in a case that may be a break in a string of sex attacks over the past two years by women targeting male hitchhikers.Prosecutor Michael Reza told a court in Harare that the counts were for each of the 17 men who had positively identified the women as having sexually assaulted them in 2010 or 2011.

The women, all of them in their mid-20s, were arrested Sunday in Gweru, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Harare, when their car was involved in an accident. Police found the condoms in the women's car. Police appealed to any other victims to inform police.

The three were taken Wednesday by police to Harare.…

The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is administered to school candidates in the third year of their West African Senior School courses and to Private Candidates.

The examination is for both selection to tertiary institutions and for certification.

Dates of the Examination

The examination is conducted in May / June for School candidates only and in October/November for Private Candidates.

 Entry Procedure

School Candidates

The entry period is September to November and it lasts for about six to eight weeks. School authorities are expected to register their candidates and upload their entry data on-line. Continuous Assessment Scores are however received from the schools on CDs. 

Private Candidates

The entry period is from February to May. Registration is strictly…

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (“AGOA”) offers qualifying countries of sub-Saharan Africa enhanced trade preferences that seek to encourage higher levels of trade and direct investment in the region. AGOA adds over 1,800 products to the more than 4,600 products that sub-Saharan African countries can export to the United States duty-free under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The initial AGOA legislation (“AGOA I”) was enacted by Congress on May 17, 2000 under the Trade and Development Act of 2000. In 2008, more than $66.3 billion of goods were imported under AGOA.

AGOA I was amended on August 6, 2002 as part of the Trade Act of 2002 (“AGOA II”). AGOA II modified textile- and apparel-specific language, including: (1) the designation of knit-to-shape…