The head-to-toe burqas that made women a faceless symbol of the Taliban's violently repressive rule are no longer required here. But many Afghan women say they still feel voiceless eight years into a war-torn democracy, and they point to government plans to forge peace with the Taliban as a prime example.

As the world marks International Women's Day, ambivalence, impunity, weak law enforcement and corruption continue to undermine women's rights in Afghanistan, despite a July 2009 law banning violence against women, rights activists say.

A recent case of the public beating of a woman for alleged elopement - also shown on private TV stations in Kabul - highlights the issue.

Palwasha Hassan had no idea that her impressive resume would be her undoing when her nomination to become Afghanistan's minister of women's affairs came up for confirmation in parliament in January.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — The Marines in a recent “cultural awareness” class scribbled careful notes as the instructor coached them on do's and don'ts when talking to villagers in Afghanistan: Don't start by firing off questions, do break the ice by playing with the children, don't let your interpreter hijack the conversation.

WOMEN must have an input into peace and security discussions.

Activist Sharon Bhagwan Rolls made the remarks while explaining her role in a workshop for rural women in Nadi.

The FemLINKPACIFIC Rural Women, Peace and Human Security Training at the Nadi Town Council chambers is designed to help rural women better understand the role of FemLINKPACIFIC in the community.

When she is sworn in as prime minister later this week, Kamla Persad-Bissessar says she will bring the same kind ofcare and attention to governing Trinidad and Tobago that she has devotedto her own family."I will lead a government of compassion. As a mother and grandmother,

I will not let you down," she told supporters, after voters here made history by electing the twin-island state's first woman head of government.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro's remarks to the seventh Council of Europe Conference of Ministers Responsible for Equality between Women and Men, in Baku, Azerbaijan, 24 May:

Although unmarried, Rajini Padamaraj, 32, is burdened with the responsibility of looking after the needs of her entire household, composed of her mother and two younger siblings.

The slightly built woman who is of Tamil ethnic origin and originally from the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka, found a job last October as a
sewing instructor in a training centre for women funded by a Japanese women's group.

Editorial

The Commission on the Status of Women met in New York recently to review implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA).

The United Nations'goal of recruiting more women peacekeepers over the last 10 years has borne encouraging results, particularly in the rise of civilian officers. But as the Department of Peacekeeping Operation's deployment hits a record high – 116,000 personnel spread over four continents -- efforts have grown considerably to attract more women at all levels.