The conflict in Mindanao has by some estimates cost the lives of at least 120,000 people since the 1970s and displaced two million people. While the conflict stems from a separatist rebellion, it has generated internecine violence most recently in 2010, when a leading clan from the region slaughtered 58 persons including 34 journalists in one particularly deadly incident.

With a current population of 812,826 people, the west coast U.S. City of San Francisco, California is a beautiful seaside region, but the city is plagued with a grinding problem that also reaches across the country into every urban area – the problem of homelessness.

The event was organized by the Women engaged in Action (We Act) 1325, a coalition of women organizations and civil society groups working on women, peace and security issues in the country together with the local partner Katungod han Samareña Foundation (KSFI) in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPPAP).

Tuesday's New York Times carried a fascinating article on its front page about the prospects for peace in Afghanistan:

The once ambitious American plans for ending the war are now being replaced by the far more modest goal of setting the stage for the Afghans to work out a deal among themselves in the years after most Western forces depart, and to ensure Pakistan is on board with any eventual settlement.

First of all, Pakistan being a multinational federal state, the parliament ought to be so constituted as to ensure fair and adequate representation to the people of all the federating units, including especially the marginalized and disadvantaged sections and groups - women, workers, peasants and those labeled as "minorities or non-Muslims".

Preparations for the 2014 presidential elections are under way in Afghanistan, and this campaign appears likely to be markedly different from preceding contests. Fawzia Koofi, 35, announced her candidacy in May and is campaigning across the country in hopes of becoming its first female president.

When he was still a senator and a member of the then opposition, President Benigno Aquino III recalled, he took part in a protest march against graft and corruption where he found himself marching beside Teresita “Ging” Deles. “I noticed that she was dragging her feet, and I asked her if she was not feeling well,” he said.

The Government of Liberia via the Ministry of Gender and Development has said no considerable improvement has been made by the state in the welfare of girls in the country, despite the launch of a special operation to improve their (girls) lives.

For the past few years, Rwanda has been making global headlines for its outstanding role in providing the much-needed females in various peacekeeping missions in the world.

"I will miss my family very much...and then there is fear associated with a new environment," she told The New Times in an interview.

The UN envisaged Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, passed on the 31 October 2000 as a landmark document that promises to protect women's rights and guarantee their equal participation in peace processes. UNSCR 1325 takes into account women's different experiences of conflict and their contributions to building peace and sustainable security.