he annual United Nations report documenting conflict-related sexual violence around the world today for the first time names some of the military forces, militia and other armed groups that are suspected of being among the worst offenders.

Mary Nyekueh Ley has a quick way of summing up her life.

“My life's a curse,” she said

Her first husband was wounded in battle and died in her arms. Her second husband beat her.

Two of her children perished from one of the most curable diseases — diarrhea.

Three women and two children, allegedly abducted from Pibor County in Jonglei state in an offensive by over 6,000 armed men from the Lou Nuer ethnic group against the Murle tribe in December and January, jave been recovered and are being returned to their families officials say.

Their release was negotiated by security agents in Jonglei, South Sudan's largest and often most volatile state.

The 9th Choice Women First 5Km run organized by Great Ethiopian Run will be held on Sunday March 11, 2012. The event is committed to empowering women and has grown from 5,000 participants to 9,000 in the past eight years. The event which is sponsored by various organizations including Choice, Plan International, Irish Aid, Concern and many others has become a popular annual women's festival in Ethiopia.

As the UK hosts a major conference aimed at ending two decades of conflict in Somalia, Faduma Aden Mohamud, 37, explains how she manages to survive in Mogadishu, selling samosas and cold drinks in a refugee camp to support her large family.ve in Mogadishu, selling samosas and cold drinks in a refugee camp to support her large family.

“I was raped during the war by three men. I live with two stigmas: of rape and of HIV.” Although Benetta describes the situation of thousands of Liberian women, her determination to break the silence around these difficult issues, sets her apart.

Would the world be better off with more women at the helm? A recent book by Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, quoted by Prof. Joseph S. Nye in Project Syndicate, concludes that the answer is definitely yes.

“There was a piercing cry, then nothing,” says Jamila, large tears welling up in her dark eyes. “They were beating her legs with a long metal pipe.

Today, Ambassador Eklil Hakimi spoke at a panel discussion titled, Women, Peace and Security in Afghanistan: Prospects on the Way Forward.

In 2011 the United Nations consolidated all four UN bodies working on gender equality - OSAGI, UNIFEM, INSTRAW, and DAW - to create one UN agency working on women's rights.