YEMEN: Tawakkol Karman: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Tawakkol Karman is an amazing woman. She is a revolutionary, a protest leader, a human rights activist, a journalist, a politician, a mother and now a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

INTERNATIONAL: Finnish Secretary of State Encouraged to Appoint a 1325 Ambassador

Maj Britt Theorin, the president of Operation 1325 met with Finnish Secretary of State and saw a chance to put UNSCR 1325 on the Finnish agenda, and encourage an appointment of a Finnish Ambassador on 1325.

The meeting took place on September 29 in connection to the *conference “North to North – Women as Agents of Change.

KAZAKHSTAN: Kazakhstan Strongly Committed to Further Advancement of Women and Gender Equality

Second Secretary at the Kazakh Mission to UN Askar Zhumabayev emphasized that Kazakhstan, at the national level, was strongly committed to the further advancement of women and gender equality, particularly through implementing its National Law on State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities and its Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence.

YEMEN: Thousands of Women Demonstrate, Dozens Injured

Days after a prominent Yemeni human rights activist became the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, dozens of women were injured after gangs attacked during a march in her honor, witnesses in the city of Taiz said Monday. Thousands of women gathered in the southern Yemeni city to celebrate Tawakkol Karman's honor Sunday. Demonstrators also called on the international community to support a revolution in Yemen, witnesses said.

INTERNATIONAL: UN Expert Urges States to Prevent Violence Against Women

A U.N. human rights expert told the General Assembly Monday that violence against women across the world continues to be pervasive and widespread and reminded States of their obligation under international law to protect women.

YEMEN: 40 Yemen Women Wounded Celebrating Nobel Win

Forty women were wounded in Yemen's second largest city when regime supporters attacked an all-female street celebration of the Nobel Peace prize win of Tawakkul Karman, medical officials said Monday. The women were attacked on Sunday evening in the city of Taez as they marched in support of Karman, the first Arab woman to win the prestigious award.

BURMA: Burma Army Must Stop Using Rape As Terror Weapon

Three Chinese women were gang-raped Friday by Burmese soldiers under Burma Army's Military Operation Command-3 (MOC-3). The commander of MOC-3 is Brig-Gen Myat Kyaw and the troops are under the direct control of Northern Regional Command (NRC), based in Myitkyina, in Kachin State, referring officials from Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Kachin News Group said.

AFGHANISTAN: Looming Threat to Afghan Women's Rights

Following the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, Afghan women emerged as a high-profile focus of U.S. policy. Women's progress was promoted as a powerful, positive product of the international presence in the war-scarred country. But ten years later, with negotiation and reconciliation widely viewed as the only options for ending the war, Afghan women's rights seems largely forgotten.

INTERNATIONAL: Failing Fight Against Human Trafficking Requires Overhauled Strategies

It was a difficult summer in the battle against human trafficking, according to the State Department's 2011 Trafficking in Persons report. Citing few countries' success in adopting anti-trafficking laws, the report draws attention to 11 countries that dropped into Tier 3, the category for those which have made the least progress or even regressed in the adoption and enforcement of human trafficking prevention laws.

SYRIA: Syrian Woman Activist Wins Human Rights Award

Amnesty International has hailed the award of a prestigious human rights prize to a Syrian activist who was forced into hiding after defying the authorities' crackdown on dissent.

Razan Zaitouneh, 34, won the 2011 Anna Politkovskaya Award, which is given to a woman human rights defender standing up for victims in a conflict zone.

Pages