ASIA / PACIFIC

Within Asia/Pacific, PeaceWomen is currently monitoring 24 countries. The section can be navigated by sub-region and country.

PeaceWomen focuses our updates on materials related to women, peace and security and therefore our resources should not be seen as a comprehensive source on the broader situation in these countries.

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February 8, 2012 (UNRWA)
OPT: UNRWA Gives Young Women on-the-Job Experience with Palestine Red Crescent Under-resourced, overcrowded, and stretched to its limits, the Gaza Strip has few opportunities for youth. Since the start of the Israeli blockade, unemployment has soared in the territory, and young people are trying to find work at a time when almost half the population is unemployed. In particular, young women face unique social barriers, and are more likely to be unemployed.
February 8, 2012 (CNN)
INTERNATIONAL: Can we End Rape as Tool of War? We first thought about starting this piece with the story of Saleha Begum, a survivor of Bangladesh's 1971 war in which, some reports say, as many as 400,000 women were raped. Begum had been tied to a banana tree and repeatedly gang raped and burned with cigarettes for months until she was shot and left for dead in a pile of women. She didn't die, though, and was able to return home, ravaged and five months pregnant. When she got home she was branded a "slut."
February 7, 2012 (APA)
WEST ASIA: Deputy-Chairperson of Georgian Parliament Offers Condolences to Azerbaijani People Over Khojaly Genocide “I have heard and read much about Khojaly tragedy. I offer my condolences to the Azerbaijani people over this tragedy. All the tragedies committed in the Caucasus are common tragedy of the region. Women suffered much in these tragedies,”
February 7, 2012 (Women's Views on News)
AFGHANISTAN: Horia Mosadiq: Afghan Peace Talks Should Have Women at Their Heart With politicians in the US and Afghanistan wrangling over who will take the lead in peace talks with the Taliban, women are increasingly concerned that they will be betrayed by the international community that once claimed to be acting in their interests, says Horia Mosadiq, Afghanistan Researcher for Amnesty International.
February 7, 2012 (In These Times)
IRAQ: Fighting for Gender Equality As President Obama hailed the “extraordinary achievement” of U.S. troops withdrawing from Iraq in December, continuing protests against government repression and abysmal basic services undermined the narrative of a successful democratic transition. Yanar Mohammed, president of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), has for months helped many Iraqis express their anger.