I attended the Annual Arab Media Academics Forum (AMAF) at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), organized by the Saudi Journalist Club in UK (SJCUK) on October 29. The fact that the event gathered together media professionals and researchers from different part of the Arab world raised some important questions.

Two weeks ago in Los Angeles the Skirball Cultural Center launched their "Women Hold Up Half the Sky" exhibit, inspired by the acclaimed book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. The book was co-written by Pulitzer Prize winning journalists and husband and wife team, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, and addresses the oppression of women and girls worldwide.

While there is no reason to panic, concern about the rise of Islamists in post-dictatorship Arab societies is warranted, especially as the rights of women are particularly and immediately open to attack.

Pakistan's parliament has passed a landmark law aimed at strengthening protection for women facing economic and social discrimination through practices such as forced marriage, the Express Tribune reported on Wednesday.

In a society like Sudan in which men occupy the vast majority of leadership positions, one might be surprised to know that it was women who made up the majority of voters in the South Kordofan state gubernatorial elections in May 2011.

Co-Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, Dr. Marsha Henry has recommended that more women should be allowed to participate in peacekeeping because of their multiple roles at a given time.

Such an arrangement would develop their expertise which could become a resource for other useful purposes.

Women in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya played a frontline role in bringing down entrenched dictatorships. And now they are eager to reap the rewards of full political participation in their respective countries. "However," said Melanne Verveer, U.S. Amassador-at-large for Global Women's Issues, "there are actors in these societies who clearly intend, and even often vocally express their desire, to push women back.

When the troops came into Tahrir Square in March, one young social worker was passing by on her way to pay back her student loans. When she saw people she recognised being attacked and arrested, she followed them to the museum where they were detained, and was arrested herself. That night, she was beaten and sexually assaulted – not by prison guards or thugs, but by a military doctor, in front of official witnesses.

The population of the world reached 7 billion on Oct. 31, 2011. According to UN projections there will be an additional 3 billion or more people by the end of the century.

Unfortunately, there are millions of women in developing countries who are unable to determine their family size because of a lack of access to contraceptives.

The 11 candidates contesting presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo all pledge to improve peace and security in the country - promises received with varying degrees of scepticism by Congolese voters.