Women fleeing conflict and famine in Somalia are facing another threat to their lives, sexual assault. As they make the long journey from what was once their home to the world's largest refugee complex at Dadaab, Kenya, women have to contend with being attacked and raped by armed militants and bandits, often times repeatedly.

DADAAB, Kenya (AP) — Refugee Barwago Mohamud huddles silently beneath a few blankets stretched over sticks at night, fearing for her life after a neighbor was raped, and a naked woman who had been kidnapped and gang-raped for three days in front of her terrified children was delivered to the medical tent next door.

DAKAR, 8 August 2011 (IRIN) - When Marie Jalloh first ran for office in 2007, resistance to women in politics in Sierra Leone was so strong she faced harassment and intimidation from local authorities. Now, not only is she a member of parliament; she and other women, along with local NGOs, have brought the country closer to a legal quota for women in decision-making posts.

Men must play their part in breaking the cycle of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a Bristol detective has said.

Det Ch Insp Dave McCallum, who leads the public protection unit of Avon and Somerset Police, said men from communities that practise it "have tended to stay silent on this subject".

More than 120 million women around the world are thought to have undergone FGM, also known as female circumcision.

Women working at the main casualty hospital in Libyan city are seeing attitudes shift, though men still drive them to work.

The female nurses have a simple rule: no crying. No matter what comes through the doors of Misrata's main casualty hospital, there can be no tears.

In Leon, a department in northwest Nicaragua, we visited the Centro Mary Barreda. Here they do amazing work supporting and protecting girls and women survivors of sexual violence and that have contracted HIV, as well as running educational prevention programmes in schools for children and teachers.

Allegations of sexual abuse by soldiers serving in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have declined by 75 per cent since 2008, the commander of the force said today, noting that strict measures have been instituted to prevent such misconduct.

Skittish at first, then wide-eyed with delight, the women and girls entered the sea, smiling, splashing and then joining hands, getting knocked over by the waves, throwing back their heads and ultimately laughing with joy.

Most had never seen the sea before.

Iran has released two prominent cultural figures from jail following intense criticism of its crackdown against artists and rights activists.

Pegah Ahangarani, 27, a popular actor and outspoken supporter of the country's opposition green movement, was arrested two weeks ago en route to the women's World Cup. Mahnaz Mohammadi, 37, a documentary filmmaker, was detained by unidentified officials in June.

Rwanda is the first country in the world where women outnumber men in parliament, with women occupying 45 out of 80 seats. However, despite this, experts say that the country still needs a gender equality perspective on how national resources and programmes are implemented.