They work like stepping stones to pave a major fresh path in women's history: First 1325, then 1820, now 1888. These are U.N. resolutions that in the past 15 or so years have put wartime sexual violence on the international policy map.

In celebration of the International Women's Month this March, the Philippine government has issued Executive Order 865 creating the national steering committee on Women, Peace and Security. EO 865 adopts the National Action Plan of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UN SCR) 1325 that specifically addresses the impact of war on women, and women's contributions to conflict prevention and sustainable peace.

Cases of anxiety and depression, two leading mental health illnesses, are on the rise among women in some African countries, thanks to the current difficulties in the economy, gender roles and violence, writes Arthur Okwemba. Findings of study done at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi by the African Mental Health Foundation shows that 42% of adults and 41% of children who went to the facility were diagnosed with depression.

Both chose the legal profession for their career path, and both are bent on fighting for more rights for the people. But the fortunes of Vietnamese women lawyers Tran Thi Quoc Khan and Le Thi Cong Nhan cannot be more different: One enjoys prominence in the National Assembly, while the other was just recently released from jail.

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) welcomes the apology given by Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma on Saturday to women victims of the country's 10-year armed conflict that ended in 2002.

With the United Nations peacekeeping forces set to begin a pull-out in coming months, women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have little reason to see the move as a sign of increased personal security, experts warn.

Their likelihood of becoming victims of heinous rape crimes remains high. Impunity in the country only worsens their chances of falling prey to those using sexual violence as a weapon of war.

Vusumuzi Sifile

Mary Pamire will never forget the day a group of men took turns to rape her.

By Ramesh Nabizada in Parwan

Makai is so engrossed at the clattering sewing machine that she barely notices as visitors enter her new workplace.

Political manifestos are often met with cynicism
and even ridicule, but Sri Lanka's first such manifesto for women is
proving an exception to the rule as rights activists laud its recent
launch.

Put forth by the United National Front (UNF), Sri Lanka's largest
opposition group, the manifesto was released on Mar. 15, ahead of the
April parliamentary poll.

African countries, known for their penchant to ratify international conventions and other instruments, are not doing well when it comes to providing periodical reports on progress made in implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), writes Arthur Okwemba.