Human rights abuses remain common across Iraq with the status of women and minority groups on the decline, eight years after the overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein, according to a rights watchdog.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) also said in a report released late Monday that journalists face harassment and assault from security forces and politicians, and detainees are regularly abused to coerce confessions.

Iranian Vice-President Fatemeh Bodaqi in a meeting with the Afghan parliament's female lawmakers stressed the necessity for the Muslim societies to improve the position of women to serve as a role model for western countries.

During the meeting in Kabul on Saturday, Bodaqi also lauded Afghan competent women and their constructive presence in social affairs of the country.

On Friday, Egyptians again gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, this time in a victory celebration, one week after their revolution unseated President Hosni Mubarak. Tunisians have also been sampling new freedoms of speech and press along a boulevard that is no longer a war zone. But even as the exultation lingers, women in both countries have launched new protests. They want to make sure that democracy does not erode their rights.

After several months of controversy and delays in the certification of election results, 249 members have now taken their seats in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga or lower house of parliament. Among them are Farida Hamidi and Frishta Amini, two women who make up the entire delegation from Nimroz province in the far southwest corner of the country.

Sitting cross-legged on blue velour cushions on the living room floor, the women of the self-help brigade sip green tea, nibble on sugar cookies and report the week's news from the neighbourhood.

United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today organized the launch of the Darfur Regional Women's Legislative Caucus, in El Fasher, North Darfur. The establishment of the Caucus is considered an essential step to support the promotion of gender equality in the region.

Sudanese security authorities have employed several forms of gender-based violence, including rape, against female activists who took part in recent anti-government campaigns, a local right group said on Sunday.

The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) pledged on Tuesday to legislate and enforce specific laws against gender-based violence after media reports indicated last week that a girl was beaten to death by a relative in Rumbek North County, Lakes state, over a disputed marital gift.

Female members of the Islamic opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) in North Sudan claimed they were assaulted on Wednesday by the country's security authorities as they gathered to deliver a petition against the detention of fellow party members.