Rape in wartime is a scar on modern society that must be stamped out by ending impunity and changing men's attitudes towards women, says Margot Wallstrom, the United Nations' first special representative on sexual violence in conflict.

In front of a theatre filled with college and high school students, community members, and representatives from Lone Star College, Shirin Ebadi, recipient of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, shared a riveting insight into the democratic movement in Iran and the role of young people and women in that movement.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a UN gathering in New York that the world body must appoint more women to top jobs in order to raise the profile and understanding of women's equality issues. Clinton also endorsed a UN program to field a "super-agency" that will consolidate four bodies focused on disparate issues affecting women into one.

The first "Peace and Equal Opportunities in Congo after 50 years of independence" fair opened on 18th March at the premises of the Kinshasa International Fair (FIKIN). The three-day event, which was organised in collaboration of the United Nations system in the DRC, was held as part of the celebration of International Women's Day.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has told several prominent individuals, former executives of Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) and a number of former Heads of State attending ECOWAS International Conference in Monrovia that the root causes of civil conflicts in Africa are associated mainly with bad governance, lack of respect for human rights, socio-economic and political inequity and grinding poverty.

While the normalization of diplomatic relations between Chad and Sudan and the signing of a cease fire and framework for peace negotiations between the Sudan government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) are being heralded as critical steps towards peace in Darfur, there is still a long way to travel to resolving the ongoing crisis in Darfur, writes Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate, founder of the Green Belt Movement and

Thirty-five women, including some involved in the Kenya post-election crisis peace process in 2008, will meet next week to draw lessons from their experience and to suggest ways in which the role of women in peace processes can be encouraged.

Southern Sudan army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) has been accused of killing and raping civilians in Central Equatoria state.

According to Nhial Bol, Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Juba-based The Citizen newspaper, in a news report he published on Monday, said residents of Terekeka County of Central Equatoria state have accused the forces of the SPLA of raping women and girls in their villages.

Lama al-Sulaiman, a 43-year-old Saudi Arabian businesswoman, was elected deputy chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry in December.

That might not be news in most places. It was in her country, where al-Sulaiman is the first female to hold such a post in Saudi history.

One minute Halimo Mohamed, 40, was at home with her children, the next she was on the move, fleeing violence in Somalia's capital, after her Karan neighbourhood, in north Mogadishu, was hit by a barrage of shells, killing dozens and destroying homes, including hers.