The gang rape and subsequent death of a young medical student seven months ago united India in outrage and brought promises from the country's leaders to curb attacks on women. That hasn't made New Delhi any safer.

US Ambassador to Nepal Peter W Bodde has said that the US government will work with the government of Nepal and civil society to encourage participation of women and underrepresented groups in politics.

The Somali Ministry of Development and Social Affairs is drafting a bill that outlines a new gender policy for the country and safeguards women's rights, particularly in politics and education.

The proposed legislation is part of a wide-ranging government programme that aims to promote women's rights and support their access to education, health services and participation in governance.

Serbia has made certain progress in terms of the position of women, officials concluded at the session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women during which the Serbian government delegation presented the report on the implementation of the international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

The former deputy president of South Africa, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, was named the new head of UN Women on Wednesday.

Mlambo-Ngcuka takes over as executive director from Michelle Bachelet, who resigned in March to run for another term as president of Chile.

More than two years ago, Haiti's parliament approved a landmark amendment to the country's 1987 constitution to ensure that women fill at least 30 percent of elected and appointed positions at the national level.

But despite some advancements – for example, out of 23 ministries in the current Martelly-Lamothe administration (2011-2016), 10 are headed by women – implementation of the law has stalled.

Political parties in Liberia have been asked to ensure that at least 40 per cent of all elected positions at the district, regional and national levels are occupied by women.

The electorates have also been advised to vote for women to occupy political positions instead of always giving preference to men.

Despite the United Nations' "zero tolerance" policy against sexual violence, there has been a rash of gender-based crimes in several of the world's conflict zones, including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Northern Uganda, Somalia, the Central African Republic - and, more recently, in politically-troubled Egypt and Syria.

Bangladesh Nari Mukti Sangsad in a statement on Saturday said ‘Shafi in his remarks have disrespected and offended women'.

“For this, he should be arrested and brought to justice immediately,” said a statement signed by the rights body's Presdient Hajera Sultana and General Secretary Saleha Sultana.

A group of prominent Iranian women's rights activists and intellectuals have outlined some of their main demands for Iran's President-elect Hassan Rohani, who spoke against gender discrimination during his campaign and said women and men should enjoy the same rights and opportunities.