PHILIPPINES: Women Mark Anniversary of Right to Vote

Today, April 30, should be a red-letter day for Filipino women because it is the 74th anniversary of the plebiscite that gave them the right to vote, according to election lawyer Romulo Macalintal.

“It is one of the most memorable and historic events for women, for 74 years ago marked the very first time that Filipino women exercised their right of suffrage,” Macalintal said in a statement.

HAITI: Displaced Women Demand Justice in Port au Prince

"We women demand!…" sang out a hundred plus voices "…Justice for Marie!" Marie, a 25 year old pregnant mother, was injured by government agents when they slammed a wooden door into her stomach during an early morning invasion of an earthquake displacement camp in Port au Prince. The government is using force to try to force thousands to leave camps without providing any place for people to go.

CYPRUS: US Places Cyprus On Sex-Trafficking 'Watch List'

CYPRUS has been placed on the US' sex trafficking watch list after failing to meet minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, failing to show evidence of increased efforts to do so and ‘woefully inadequate' punishments.

AFRICA: Women Urged to Break Male-Dominated Barriers

A regional workshop has been opened in Accra with a call on women to take up leadership challenges to break barriers for young women in Africa.

The acting Director of Baobab-Women's Learning Partnership (WLP), a non-governmental organisation, Ms. Chibogu Obinwa, made the call at the opening ceremony of the workshop for 25 participants from Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe on Tuesday.

RWANDA: Police to Conduct Special Female Officers' Courses

Rwanda National Police (RNP) will begin conducting special training for female police officers to promote women participation in security and peace-building, both at the national and international levels.

The Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel Gasana, announced this yesterday during the first ever RNP Female Officers' Convention held at Petit Stade in Kigali.

AFRICA: Clinton Says African Economies Would Fail Without Women's Toil

Hillary Clinton's speech was met with silence from the male-dominated envoys at the African Union as she criticized the continents aging autocrats. The mood changed when the U.S. Secretary of State turned her attention to women.

LEBANON: Traffic Stops as Activists Protest Against Absence of Women in Cabinet

Traffic stalled and offices stood still for five minutes Tuesday as women's rights activists protested against the exclusion of female ministers in the new Cabinet.

Positioning themselves as roadblocks in Downtown, Hamra and Sassine Square, the groups of several dozen demonstrators, part of the Lebanese Women's Movement, held banners saying “A Cabinet without women is going backward.”

DRC: UN Renews Congo Peacekeepers in Light of Rape Epidemic

The United Nations Refugee Agency reported this month that 170 women were raped during a raid on a village by an armed group in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Women between the ages of 17 and 90 were sexually assaulted. The paramilitary group also stole medicine, goats, motorcycles and cell phones.

UGANDA: Uganda Government News: Women MP Decry Gender Insensitivity in Parliament

The Women Members of Parliament are accusing Parliamentary leadership of ignoring international protocols in ensuring gender balance.

The women say they should be given at least 30% of all leadership positions, which is not the current case.

The matter was raised by MP Cecilia Ogwal, supported by Beti Amongi and the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, after the NRM had assigned its members to the various committees.

COLOMBIA: 'We Didn't Have Our Sons or Daughters For War

North Cauca, Colombia, June 24, 2011: The first meeting of indigenous women in resistance for the survival and autonomy of their peoples concluded on Friday, after taking place at a shelter in Huellas Caloto in the Bodega Alta district in the Cauca department of Colombia.

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