Women directly affected by the 12 year long armed conflict have drawn the attention of the Government towards ensuring access of women in all sectors from the policy making to the implementation level and building a non-discriminatory social structure and just society. They also pointed out the need to address gender inequality, imbalance of power and lack of opportunities for the conflict affected women.

A new initiative has been launched by UNIFEM, aiming to bring the world's attention to the need to end sexual violence against women in general and in conflict zones in particular. Global Voices is a scheme whereby media outlets and individuals spread the word and raise public awareness, fighting for women's rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women.

It's a funny feeling when you step off an airplane at Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's like having landed on a military base. Scores of UN aircraft line the tarmac, all part of a massive nearly 20,000-strong peacekeeping operation now known as MONSUCO.

Women have remained faceless in the supra-national body such as the United Nations with less than 15 per cent of country representatives based at the New York headquarters, according to a UN records released Friday.

An online UNelections Monitor report cited the figures kept by the UN Protocol and Liaison Service that out of 192 permanent representatives at UN Headquarters, only 26 are women.

The incentive to use rape as a weapon of war in Africa would be less if more was done to ensure men were involved in discussions about gender equality, claims the director of a human rights project in Uganda.

President Lula asked Iran to allow Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani to accept the offer.

Ms Ashtiani's case prompted international outrage when she was initially sentenced to death by stoning.Although that threat was apparently lifted last month, she may still face execution by hanging.

Papua New Guinea--one of the few countries in the world where women's life expectancy is lower than men's--ratified a major U.N. women's rights treaty in 1995, but then proceeded to miss four deadlines for reporting on its compliance with key provisions.

The Mozambican MP, Luísa Diogo, was impressed on Sunday in Luanda by the process of integration of Angolan women in politics.

The Angolan women's participation in the parliament rose from 12 per cent to the current 38 per cent.

Fifteen years after the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) was adopted, women's voices are still largely absent from the mainstream media. Recognising the powerful role of the media in shaping perspectives, the BPfA makes comprehensive recommendations to improve the visibility and voice of women and promote balanced and non-stereotypical portrayals of women. Some of the recommendations are:

Brigitte Rasamoelina and Yvette Sylla are women with two different approaches to politics in Madagascar. One formed a political party, while the other decided to legalise her organisation as an association. But both women are considering running in Madagascar's November elections.

But they know that it will not be an easy road. ”We'll have to be assertive and prove ourselves,” they each confided separately to IPS.