More than two years after the end of the 30-year war between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels, women in the north and east of the country still suffer from sexual violence, poverty and displacement, according to a new report.

New Delhi, Dec 26 (IBNS) ASSOCHAM, Creative Living Foundation of India and Paiman Trust of Pakistan have set up an institutional mechanism called SAARC Women's Initiative for Peace and Prosperity (SWIPP) to form a sustainable coalition of women from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan.

SRINAGAR, India -- Parveena Ahangar hasn't known peace for years.

"I can't describe how each day passes. I keep taking medicines every single day to control my tension. At night, I'm awake. I just can't sleep," Ahangar says.

She's felt this way, she says, ever since the day 21 years ago when she lost her son.

Arab women use social media far less than men, a new survey shows

The virtual Middle East of Facebook,YouTube and Twitter has nearly twice as many men as women and, despite a year of political ferment and explosive growth in social media across the region, the ratio remains stubbornly unchanged.

BEIRUT — An Egyptian woman beaten by soldiers, a Syrian blogger detained for her work and the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize highlight the central role played by women in the Arab Spring uprisings.

The number of reported rapes in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, has risen sharply, creating “a climate of fear”, according to a civil society source.

The government has not only empowered the womenfolk in the country but also working to provide them space in all walks of life, said, Goodwill Ambassador for Women Empowerment Syeda Fiza Batool Gilani.

The public campaign to end violence against women has come and gone but the issue of sexual violence against women is on the rise in Liberia.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor, George Sargbeh speaking recently at a news conference in Monrovia said, “the lack of sufficient evidence is an impediment to prosecuting sexual and gender-based violence.”

There is an escalating pattern of physical attacks by Egyptian military and police officers against women and male protesters, journalists, and activists in Cairo, some of which are sexual in nature, Human Rights Watch said today. News reports and images of protestors in Cairo being stripped, beaten, and dragged through the street in the past several days are just the latest incidents.