Basing on the experience of her mother, Dr. Ana Lua Tubban, wife of Mayor Ferdinand Tubban, who was the guest speaker during the Women's Day celebration in the city on March 8, said that women of today are better off than their counterparts in the 1950s when it comes to discrimination against their sex.

The Laoag City Police women's desk continues to process cases of violence against women having recorded at least 15 cases, three of which have been filed in court, from January to present.

To appease "Arab spring" protesters, Algeria lifted a 1991 law that banned public assembly, but a longstanding women's vigil for the country's "disappeared" complains it doesn't help them. Other political women debate the effects.

The violence in Côte d'Ivoire has gotten so that women sitting at a vegetable stall mid-afternoon can end up in pools of blood on the ground in an instant.

A mortar attack that killed at least 25 people in the commercial capital Abidjan on 17 March came from military forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo and “could constitute a crime against humanity”, says the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI).

Egyptian women fought for the overthrow of Mubarak alongside men. But now the male-domination of transitional politics is like going backwards, writes Nadya Khalife of Human Rights Watch.

The images of Egyptian men and women standing side-by-side in Cairo's Tahrir Square inspired and captured the attention of the world and shattered stereotypes about the restriction of women from political life.

The National Commission for Women is criticizing the Riau chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for banning women from running in the Pekanbaru mayoral election.

"It is against the 1945 Constitution,” Commission deputy chair Masruchah said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

She said Riau's MUI had also violated the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

The resilience of women helps communities stay together in times of crisis because they shield their children and family from hardships and have the will to survive.

Former defense minister of Finland and peace activist Elizabeth Rehn said that women had a unique ability in post-conflict peace building because they would think not only about themselves but also their children and family.

While Libya's revolution is being decided by bombs, Egyptians still hope to finish theirs by casting ballots. A referendum is being held Saturday on amending the constitution. It's the first vote on anything since former President Hosni Mubarak lost power in February.

The first flush of revolution is like a drug - colors, surging emotions, a beautiful future ahead.

But what happens when the drug wears off?

"Let's take a moment of silence for our sisters and brothers in Cote d'Ivoire," she said.

Recent images of women brutally slaughtered in Ivory Coast resonate with Liberians. During the country's 14 years of civil war, which ended in 2003, women were routinely targeted.

Jerome Verdier, chairman of Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, said rape was used by every fighting faction as a tactic of war.