SUDAN: Female Candidates

Nearly 500 Sudanese female candidates are actively participating at different levels for various seats ahead of Sudan's April elections - a sign that the country may be gradually accepting the participation of women in leadership.

SUDAN: No Time for 'Business as Usual'

The next two years will be critical in determining Sudan's future. The country faces national elections in April, the first multi-party elections in 24 years, and a referendum on southern independence in January 2011.

DRC: Why Congo is the World's Most Dangerous Place for Women

I was unemployed, trying to kickstart a career in political journalism, when I received a call from a BBC producer making a documentary about the Democratic Republic of Congo. My uncle works in the Congolese community in north London, translating, teaching English, offering advice; the documentary makers had come to him looking for a young woman, living in Britain but born in DRC, who had not been back for a long while. I fitted the bill.

IRAQ: UN Universal Periodic Review Excerpts

Gender Related Excerpts from II Conclusions and/or Recommendations:

21. Undertake additional measures to protect rights of women and children.

41. Advance in the promotio of gender equality and equity and study the necessary

legislative reforms to follow international standards such as CEDAW.

43. Raise social awareness of the importance of women's rights.

IRAN: UN Universal Periodic Review Excerpts

Gender Related Excerpts from II Conclusions and/or Recommendations:

7. Enhance efforts to further promote economic and social rights, as well as the rights of vulnerable groups, including women, children and people with disabilities.

8. Reconsider the inclusion of "apostasy," "witchcraft" and "heresy" as capital offences in an updated penal code.

SOMALIA: Somalis in Rare March Against al-Shabab Militants

Hundreds of Somalis have marched through the streets of Mogadishu, protesting against al-Shabab militants.

The protesters, mostly women and children and wearing traditional white clothes, chanted slogans denouncing the al-Qaeda-inspired group.

The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan says this is only the second public demonstration against al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia.

RWANDA: 30 Women Complete Entrepreneurship Training

30 women entrepreneurs were over the weekend awarded certificates after completing a two-month training in business and leadership conducted by the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW).

Speaking during the ceremony, the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Dr. Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya, hailed the government for its drive in empowering women.

INTERNATIONAL: Young Women More Peaceful, Says US Diplomat

Speakers at a seminar on ‘Women: Inspiring Hope and Possibility' highlighted the role of economic facilities, education and healthcare in women empowerment.

The seminar was organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in collaboration with Public Affairs Section, US Embassy, on Monday.

KUWAIT: Interview with Dr. Rola Dashti, Member of the Kuwaiti Parliament

Arab Reform Bulletin (ARB): Since the election of the current parliament in May 2009, relations between the parliament and the government seem to have improved, after many episodes in which the parliament was dissolved. In December, the prime minister agreed to be questioned by the parliament for the first time. Have relations changed and, if so, why?

SOMALIA: (En)-gendering Somalia

For over two decades now, the tiny nation Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, has endured protracted militarized violence and statelessness.

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