Traditional female leaders in Ghana are beginning to open their communal gatherings to discussions of women's legal rights to abortion. The country has one of the most liberal abortion laws in the continent, but women are dying in ignorance of it.
Fighting female genital mutilation is tough in Sierra Leone, where 90 percent of women have been cut and the current election season has shown the political clout of practitioners. Second in a series on African women and the rule of law.
At Togo's University of Lome, female students and faculty are rare, particularly in the sciences. A student-faculty group is working to make the sciences more attractive to girls and women. Last in a series on women and higher education in Africa.
Female artisans in Burkina Faso have found a way to turn plastic litter into handcrafted dolls and woven goods. The women now sell their wares at markets and are beginning to export them to boutiques in the United States.
The University of Ghana is forging a gender advocacy trail in West Africa by setting up a sex-assault crisis center, forming a policy on harassment and improving the campus culture for women. Sixth in a series on higher education in Africa.
In a bustling Ghana marketplace female entrepreneurs borrow small sums from a micro-finance institution. The loans aren't cheap-annual interest rates are around 36 percent-but a few borrowers explain how the money still helps out.
Female undergrads are still a small minority at Ghana's University of Mines and Technology. An affirmative action program means their numbers are expanding. Third in a series on higher education in Africa.