In July last year Libya held its first free elections in almost 40 years, following the death of former dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Around thirty women were elected to become members of parliament. Their success has spurred other women on to become politically involved. RFI met some of these women in Tripoli and Zawiyah.

A group of women from North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have demanded to be involved in the on-going peace talks and negotiations in Uganda between the M23 rebels and the DRC government.

The talks are taking place under the mechanisms and guidance of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).

As if the war which drove them out of Syria and the hardships of exile were not enough, refugee women and children in Lebanon are facing domestic violence born of stress, deprivation and frustration.

The Syrian government is arming and training Syrian women to fight for President Bashar al-Assad, putting it ahead of the Pentagon when it comes to sending women to the front lines, according to video footage and activists' reports.

Speakers reiterated the demand of quota for women on general election seats and urged political leadership to finance election campaigns for women who are interested in contesting the forthcoming polls.

In Jordan, hundreds of Syrian females have been affected by an informal trade that has sprung up since the start of the war in Syria, where men use "agents" to source Syrian refugees to use for sex.

India dramatically tightened its laws on sexual assault and trafficking Sunday, with a far-reaching package of measures rushed through to satisfy public opinion in the wake of a horrific gang rape of a young woman in the capital in December.

The harsh reality inflicted on the people of Timbuktu by al-Qaeda and its allies is betrayed by the ordeal of Azahara Abdou Maiga.

Five of the Islamists placed a gun to the 20-year-old's head, ordered her to keep silent or be killed, and then raped her one by one.

"I did not cry out," said Miss Maiga. "I just cried inside of me."

The top United Nations official tasked with advancing gender equality today expressed “deep concern” about the escalating violence against women in Egypt, particularly those protesting in the days following the second anniversary of the revolution.

Somalia has charged a woman who said she was raped by government troops, accusing her of making a false accusation and insulting a government body, according to Human Rights Watch.