Afghan women's rights advocate Masouda Karokhi was announced as one of the eight winners of the 2013 N-Peace Awards, the N-Peace Network announced on their Facebook site today. According to their website, the N-Peace initiative and the Awards campaign are managed by the UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Center (APRC).

To initiate consultation with different stakeholders on laws for women's issues, the Sindh government formed an eight-member committee comprising female legislators on Wednesday.

The Labor government's changes to immigration policy show a singular focus on stopping people seeking asylum in Australia and destroying the business of people smugglers. But unhappy prospects await the women and children who have fled conflict zones to seek asylum in Australia and find themselves in Papua New Guinea.

NEW YORK, July 31, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Reduction of Military Set for Next Year, Possible Further Drawdowns in 2015

With constitutional quotas for interest group seats in their favour and all political parties legally bound to respect women's quota of at least 30 per cent of their parliamentary nominees, women may retain or even widen their majority in the Chamber of Deputies after the upcoming September elections.

A dozen women were seated in the courtyard underneath a traditional African roof. They were casually chatting while engrossed in stringing colourful beads. Some were making bracelets decorated with the South Sudanese flag to celebrate two years of the country's independence on July 9. For many, the income from selling their handicrafts here at the Roots Project is the first they have earned in their lives.

There is need to invest in women's empowerment and leadership in order for countries to achieve sustainable development.

Peter Malnak, USAID Rwanda Mission director, made the remarks yesterday while opening the first partners meeting for a Women's Leadership Programme in Kigali.

The Women's Leadership Programme is a USAID-supported project that operates in four countries worldwide: Rwanda, South Sudan, Armenia and Paraguay.

UN women are now working with the Pacific Regional Facility Fund to try to prevent and eliminate violence against women.

The Pacific Regional Facility has funded this initiative, working with its regional partners in Fiji and the Pacific.

The speech of 16-year-old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai at the United Nations this month has served as an inspiration for the fight for women's rights and girls' education in Somalia.

Last October, Yousafzai nearly died when Pakistani Taliban gunmen shot her in the head for advocating girls' rights to education. Instead of retreating in fear, Yousafzai increased her activism after the attack.

A black Mercedes pulls up in a grimy street in Bamako and the back door swings open. A satin-shoed foot emerges beneath a crisp brocade gown and steps gingerly on to the litter-strewn asphalt.

Haïdara Aïssata Cissé, the only woman standing for president in Mali's upcoming elections, is greeted by deafening chants of "Chato! Chato!", her nickname.