The German Protestant Church Development Service (EED) in collaboration with the Association for Development Cooperation (AGEH) and the Civil Peace Service partners (CPS) said they are poised to make Sierra Leone a very peaceful nation.

Women are advancing further in school than at any time in recent history, a trend that is having a tremendous impact on child mortality, according to new research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

Women MPs from the Commonwealth countries voted for a new chairperson of their association in an emotional election Friday that was initially characterised by tension, mistrust and emotions.

But it all ended with dance, song and laughter as the 74 delegates elected Ms Alix Boyd Knights, the Speaker of Dominica House of Assembly in the Carribean, the new chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians.

While virtually the entire world has finally aligned on isolating Iran--including, even, Russia and Gulf states--Turkey is obstinately holding out. On Aug. 2 Bloomberg News reported that "Shipments of fuel (to Iran) are now dominated by Turkish and Chinese companies." Meanwhile, the Turkish police have just arrested a refugee former lawyer for the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning.

President Hifikepunye Pohamba has called for a fair gender representation on the ruling Swapo Party's nomination lists for the November 2010 Regional Councils and Local Authorities elections.

WHILE maternal health in Uganda has improved over the last 20 years with fewer mothers dying from pregnancy-related complications, the country's maternal mortality rate remains high.

A walk through the inner city – an area highly populated by Joburg's migrant community – is an opportunity to interact with people from almost all countries in Africa.

Most prominent are the women from central and west Africa, in their colourful flowing dresses and head scarves; Mozambican women braid hair on street corners - all have a different story to tell about their lives in Johannesburg.

The Zimbabwe Women in Trade and Development Trust, aimed at bridging the gap between professional women and their counterparts in the rural areas, has been officially launched in the capital.

The non-profit making Trust, which is open to all women in the country from different provinces, seeks to empower marginalised women through capacity building programmes and improving access to loans for income generating projects.

Almost a year after her election, an Indonesian parliamentarian says getting elected was easy compared to working in a male-dominated legislature. After eight months she has yet to be heard in a general floor debate.

On 9 September, the Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, stressed the need to involve more women in peace-building and decision-making at an EU event marking the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.