The commander of the regime's suppressive police force spoke about intensifying actions against what he called “mal-dressing” by women, state-run ISNA news agency reported on Thursday. Ahmadi Moghaddam said the plan to intensify dealing with “anomalies” will “start on June 15 throughout the country.”

When asking for Afghan women's opinion on whether there should be negotiations with the Taliban and foreign troop withdrawal, Wazhma Frogh, a leading women's activist and an executive board member of the Afghan Women's Network, told me that among Afghan women there is no clear consensus. But there is a common call for ending all forms of violence.

On 9 June 2011 three Sri Lankan women came together to show their work at the Saskia Fernando Gallery on Dharmapala Mawatha in Colombo. Anoma Wijewardene, Sujeewa Kumari and Nadia Haji Omar are three women whose series of work on paper present the strength of women artists in the Sri Lankan contemporary art scene today.

Sudan's invasion of the town Abeyi; sexual harassment in Egypt; the impact of Egypt's uprising on migrants; the detention of Syrian blogger Amina Arraf; Western Sahara; and the opening of the a centre for women in Eastern Congo, the City of Joy, are among the topics featured in this week's review of African blogs, by Sokari Ekine.

Afghanistan is making progress weeding out children from its police forces but is only starting to tackle persistent allegations of sexual abuse and may still have minors serving informally, U.N. officials said on Tuesday.

CUZCO, Peru, Jun 8, 2011 (IPS) - Where is the justice? In Peru, a nation still struggling to recover from a sordid 20-year cycle of terror and political uncertainty, this simple yet poignant question has become an almost daily litany.

Afghan Women's Network once again raises serious concerns on the increased instances of violence against children and women in Afghanistan and seriously condemns this act.

Hundreds of Nepalese women who emigrate to Arab countries in search of better jobs and wages, are unaccounted for. According to husbands and relatives they become victims of prostitution and slavery. The migrants who manage to return, show signs of physical exhaustion, injuries, psychological damage and are often infected with AIDS.

Palestinian officials and international personalities have hailed the support extended by HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairperson of the General Women's Union and of the Family Development Foundation, to build a Rehabilitation Centre for people with disabilities in the city of Hebron in the West Bank.

Bahrain hosted a ceremony to appoint the Rev. Catherine Dawkins as the first female priest in the Middle East. A vote by members of the Anglican dioceses of Egypt, Jerusalem, North Africa and the Gulf confirmed her appointment.