The peace imposed on the more than 200,000 people living in the Complexo do Alemão group of favelas in Rio de Janeiro by Brazil's military police is helping to pave the way for the recognition of basic human rights.

In June 2010 a brawl in the southern capital of Osh sparked four days of clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz. Many of the predominantly Uzbek neighbourhoods were looted and burned to the ground, and at least 426 people of both ethnicities were killed.

Experts have predicted an increase in the incidents of violence against women (VAW) in future and termed the trend a natural product of new social order which allows larger space for women.

On February 28, 2011, the White House released President Obama's proclamation reaffirming March as Women's History Month and March 8, 2011 as International Women's Day. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the holiday celebrating women. In the proclamation, the President applauds the accomplishments of women in all walks of life while reminding us that “there is still work to be done before women achieve true parity”.

Warfare is stopping 28 million children worldwide from receiving an education because of sexual violence and attacks on schools, the UN education fund says.

The report's author told the BBC one of the worst-affected places was the Democratic Republic of Congo, calling it "the rape capital of the world".

One third of the rapes reported in DR Congo involve children, Unesco says.

Young women in America are more likely than men to have a college degree, and women's earnings constitute a growing share of household income, but their wages still lag significantly behind those of men with comparable education, according to a report on the status of women released Tuesday by the White House.

2011 did not witness the first Egyptian revolution. After all, Egypt's Tahrir ("Liberation") Square earned its name from some other struggle. For Egypt, this liberation came in the 1920s when men, women, Muslims, Christians, the young and the old from across the land rallied to drive the British out of Egypt. They succeeded in no small part due to the role Egyptian women played during the 1919 revolution.

If you believe Central Asian women are reluctant to take part in politics, then think twice.

Three Kazakh women have so far applied for candidacy in the country's April 3 presidential election. A fourth female hopeful, pensioner Zaure Masina, has changed her mind and withdrawn her application.

Nepal launches National Action Plan on Women Peace & Security internationally

Nepal launched its National Action Plan (NAP) internationally on the Implementation of the United Nation Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1325 and 1820, at a special side event on the margin of the 55th Commission on the Status of Women in New York on Wednesday.

The US government launched a five-year ‘Gender Equity Programme' in Pakistan in 2011, to advance women's human rights and support Pakistani government's policies against gender inequities, says a press release issued here Wednesday.