As a political instrument of power projection and status, nuclear weapons carry a peculiarly masculine symbolism. In the 1980s, Greenham women were at the forefront of challenging masculine ideologies of defence and security. We need to seize the initiative and again become the agents of security transformation.

DEVELOPMENT

Fears of further violence in Sudan are currently generating many news headlines because of the looming January 2011 deadline for the referendum on southern independence.

Reports of rape and attempted rape in Northern Ireland have increased by ten per cent compared to last year, according to the BBC.

Between April to September this year, 261 cases of rape and attempted rape have been recorded. ‘If the figures continue to increase for the next six months we will be looking at the largest number of recorded rape offences within recent years,' Detective Chief Inspector Don Glass said.

Poor, rural, Quechua-speaking women in the Peruvian province of Anta who were victims of a forced sterilisation programme between 1996 and 2000 have filed a new lawsuit in their continuing struggle for justice.

Ten years ago, the UN passed a resolution underscoring the role of women in promoting peace and security. Yet despite the passage of three similar agreements since then, men still hold most of the influence.

The president of Somalia's Puntland government opened the country's first-ever international women's conference in the Puntland capital Garowe, where he praised the positive role of Somali women and encouraged women to take the lead in Somalia, Radio Garowe reports.

GOP candidates Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle and Nikki Haley have captured the attention of the country this election season, but they're just a few of the record number of women pursuing office this year.
More than 160 women congressional and gubernatorial candidates won their primaries and will be on the ballot next week, leading some observers to dub 2010 the "Year of the Woman."

The Sri Lankan government plans to implement self-employment projects for the war widows in the North and East Provinces.

Deputy Child Development and Women's Affairs Minister M.L.A.M. Hisbullah has said the projects would be launched with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNDFW).

In a recent report, women in Afghanistan have voiced their discontent on their marginalisation in the ongoing “peace process”. The Talibanisation of Sharia law and the ongoing war has proved to be detrimental for their free movement and hence, their overall development.

Khatool Muhammadzai loves martial arts, underwent commando training in pre-Taliban Afghanistan, and has logged 500 official jumps as the only female paratrooper in the country's post-Taliban military.

But the middle-aged general, Afghanistan's highest-ranking woman officer, wants to be known as a peacemaker.