Last week, coffee in hand, I read a chilling email. Armed men had shot at Dr. Denis Mukwege, a Congolese surgeon globally renowned for his work to help the survivors of sexual violence, right outside his home. The bullets missed Mukwege — but killed his security guard, Joseph Bizimana.

The news hit close to home.

Mohammad Ishaq Aloko told TOLOnews that because most women in the remote areas of the country do not have access to or in some cases do not even know of the judicial bodies, many incidents are never reported.

"You see that women in the provinces such as Badghis and Daikondi don't know at all where the judiciary organisations are and what they do," he said in an interview Thursday.

The Department for International Development (DFID) must do more to improve the lives of women in Afghanistan who continue to suffer discrimination and abuse, MPs have demanded today.

Chairman of the International Development Committee, Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Bruce MP, said:

Her remarkable progress, reported by doctors at the specialist unit of a brilliant hospital I know well – Selly Oak, Birmingham – reveals yet another dimension of the courage and resilience of the world's most famous 14-year-old girl.

During its 52nd Session in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Commission) adopted a general comment on article 14(1)(d) and (e) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (African Women's Protocol, also known as the Maputo Protocol) which provides for women's human rights in the context of the HIV pandemic.

AS the African Development Bank (AfDB) plans to transform the state of gender parity on the African continent, a new strategy has been developed to ensure that economic opportunities, social progress and participation in decision making are gender inclusive.

This came up at a two-day regional consultative meeting on the Bank Group Strategy 2013 to 2017 that ended in Kigali on Tuesday.

Palestinian women have long been known for being an integral part of Palestinian society, whether working for local businesses, homemaking, or participating in civil society. In recent years, things have been changing for the Palestinian woman, largely through the efforts of powerful women thinkers, leaders, and entrepreneurs, such as Amal Masri Moghrabi, co-founder and chairwoman of the Palestinian Women's Business Forum (PWB).

The faces of five men in business suits and one woman in a white head scarf beam under the slogan “Modern Hebron” on campaign banners along the streets of this famously conservative city ahead of local elections scheduled for Saturday. Other banners saying “Hebron Independents” feature 12 less formal photos, including three women, with looks more stern than smiling.

Haiti's President Michel Martelly honored Maria Bello on Tuesday for her advocacy work on behalf of the Caribbean country's women.

The star of “Coyote Ugly” and “A History of Violence” was named goodwill ambassador for women at a special ceremony on the grounds of the National Palace. Bello spoke about how a group of women in a displacement camp organized themselves after the 2010 earthquake.