The pre-World Women's Conference meetings of the regional women's networks' generated passionate discussions on relevant issues which wwere followed up over the three days of the Conference.

This year World Women's Day will be celebrated in Caracas, in Venezuela with a four-days conference, from 4 to March. Kurdish women have been invited to attend the International Conference.

Southern Sudan's Interim Constitution, which came into effect in 2005, stipulates a 25 percent quota for women's participation across all levels of regional and national government. Six years later, in the wake of a referendum that will give the south full independence, women hold 19 percent of the positions in the south's legislative assembly.

The referendum is taking place from January 9 to 15 January, but official turnout figures are not expected until the beginning of February.

The outcome, which is largely expected to result in an independent South, will have an enormous impact in both the South and the North.

The results of Southern Sudan's referendum on secession from the North now seem apparent. According to the first complete results, around 99 per cent of the South Sudanese population which voted has done so in favour of separation. This marks one of the final stages of the historic 2005 agreement to end the long-standing conflict between North and South Sudan.

First lady Wafaa Michel Sleiman issued an open letter Monday calling for better treatment of women in Arab societies and for continued perseverance in the face of oppression and discrimination.

On the final day of the two-day African Union (AU) Summit taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for greater efforts to reduce sexual violence, particularly during armed conflicts, Ezega.com reports (Barea, 1/31).

The United Nations is making progress in its efforts to incorporate women into its conflict mediation activities - but much more still needs to be done,

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal today directed authorities to punish anyone found perpetrating gender-based violence.

The headlines may scream "war, drone bombings, militants, kidnappings," but they fail to reveal the positive strides which the city of Karachi has experienced lately. With a population of over 15 million, Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and the world's fourth largest metropolitan city. It's a bustling hub of commercial activity as well as a city in the throes of social change.

Nations should invest more to educate and empower women, as they can contribute to economic growth and help reduce poverty, international experts said. The observations came at a discussion styled “Making Economic Progress” on the sideline of the symposium “Imagining Another Future for Asia: Ideas and Pathways for Change” at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka yesterday.