KUNAN POSHPORA, KASHMIR, INDIA -Located in the remote northern district of Kupwara, Kunan Poshpora looks like any other village in Indian-administered Kashmir.

But on Feb. 23, 1991 something happened here that would change this village forever.

That night, villagers say that Indian troops laid siege to their village. The army assembled the men at several locations in the town and then entered homes.

At Kahawatte, representatives from several religions met and addressed a press conference on the issue of insecurity relating to the women living in this area. Ten women have been raped and killed in this area within a short period of time; the most recent incident occurred one month ago. For further information please see the article published by the AHRC.

Arab women have fought bravely over the last year to demand dignity and new freedoms. And their courage has been noted: In December, my Yemeni sister Tawakkol Karman became the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Prize for Peace, in recognition of her principled democratic activism.

But launching transitions was the easy part.

The women's international day on March 8 is generally celebrated throughout the country with enthusiasm and jubilation, to assert the achievement of the rights gained by women through their continued struggle. There is no doubt that the women of Pakistan and the leadership of feminist organizations have achieved remarkable success for getting stronger laws in favour of women and their rights.

Karen representatives and international groups have expressed caution over recent peace efforts in Myanmar, appealing to the international community, especially the European Union and the US, to maintain pressure on the Burmese government.

Across the Middle East, countries are witnessing parliamentary changes under newly-installed governments which have been credited as a result of the Arab Spring.

It means issues such as setting quotas for women in parliament have stepped into the limelight under a post-revolutionary glow, in the hope that new governments can take advantage of pro-democracy reform.

The head of the United Nations entity mandated to promote gender equality today highlighted the role of quotas to accelerate women's political participation, adding that more hands-on measures are needed to achieve significant progress on this issue.

In the quiet corners of the Lungga area a small but important workshop has just been completed this week. The workshop was intended to train women as peace-markers in our societies.

The African Women's Decade (2010-2020) is a bold political initiative that aims to put women at the centre of development on the continent. Launched in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2010, with roots traceable to the UN First World Conference on Women, held in Mexico city in 1975, this initiative aims to create conditions under which the participation of all African women in the continent's socio-economic development can be guaranteed.