Facing arrest, her lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, fled to Norway via Turkey, where he was briefly detained. His wife and two relatives were held hostage in Tehran's Evin prison. They have since been released on bail. Non-government organisations campaigned forcefully on their behalf. However, few Muslim or non-Muslim leaders have spoken out against the criminalisation of adultery and its punishment by stoning.

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President Jacob Zuma has called for action to address transformation in South Africa's workplace, saying the country is not achieving the kind of gender parity required by its democratic rule.

Just talking about women's rights is not enough, South African President Jacob Zuma has said, highlighting out how far the country needs to go to make good its goals for equality.

"The laws in our statute books are not enough,” said the leader, speaking at National Women's Day celebrations yesterday.

“They will become truly meaningful when they create a tangible improvement in the lives of women.”

One of the key targets in the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development is 50% women in all areas of decision-making by 2015.

Progress towards equal representation of women in political decision-making over the past 10 years has been slow and uneven.

Counting is not yet complete in the Solomon Islands election, but there is one result that is already certain - no women will be represented in the national parliament this time around.

Twenty five women contested the election, but not one has been successful. It is a disappointing result for organsations who have been working so hard to get women into parliament.

Chid Liberty's family business high-rise was corrupted into a site of conflict, mass graves and executions during Liberia's fourteen-year civil war.

A prominent building on Monrovia's cityscape, it was occupied by warring factions - including Charles Taylor. The family investment was pillaged, with even the metal electric wiring from the building stolen.

Anticipating the appointment in the next few weeks of the highest-level United Nations official ever to promote the rights and status of women worldwide, peace advocates are demanding that the new office take on the issue of the unending violence against women in conflict zones—a plague that keeps spreading despite a decade of Security Council resolutions.

The preparation of Turkmenistan's periodic report under the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was reviewed at a two-day workshop in Ashgabat during 5-6 August 2010.

Elena Kagan has been sworn in as the newest justice in the US Supreme Court. She is President Barack Obama's second appointment to the US's most powerful court and only the fourth woman to serve on the nine-member panel. The 50-year-old becomes the youngest serving Supreme Court judge. She will serve alongside President Obama's first appointment, Sonia Sotomayor.