Participation

So much has been said about it, so many small and international-scale conferences have been held in big salons, and so many informal talks in coffee bars...

Today we join the people of the world in celebration of the progress made for women's rights, women's empowerment and gender equality. We also acknowledge that progress has been slow, uneven and in some cases women and girls face new and more complex challenges.

"Violence against women, violence against our mothers and sisters has reached an unacceptable level and we all must join efforts to put this to an end," says Oniel Bestman, one of many men who participated in the One Billion Rising for Justice Campaign in Monrovia.

It was a sunny Friday afternoon. The sky was blue and a special feeling of love and affection filled the air... it was Valentine's Day.

During the National Assembly debate on the State of the Nation Address this year, the Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Lulu Xingwana, spoke passionately about the advancement of women.

She said the country had made great strides in addressing gender discrimination, and in creating institutions and mechanisms for women's empowerment and gender equality.

Women from the 17 districts of Mogadishu have staged anti-Al Shabaab protest in Mogadishu in support of lasting peace and tranquility across the war-ravaged nation on Sunday, Garowe Online reports.

The minister of social development in South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria state, Paska Hifita, has called on women across the region's eight counties to engage in peace building efforts as a way of unifying the nation.

The women of Port Loko District on Valentine's Day celebrated the first One Billion rising in Africa V-Day on the theme, ‘Strike, Dance and Demand Justice' from the police, education, health and the judiciary.

The South African National Defence Force is the only military in Africa, and one of a few in the world that deploys female soldiers to fight at the sharp end.

Before you believe we've overcome the notion that boys are stronger than girls, the vast majority of women who serve still only expect support roles; they have limited combat duties and are under-represented in leadership positions.

The German ambassador Christian Much launched the women's “it will be our constitution” campaign by sending the first of 50,000 SMS messages at an event in Tripoli yesterday.

Women's empowerment is possible only if state administrators implement the policies framed by the central government, K.G. Balakrishnan, National Human Rights Commission chairperson said Tuesday.

"Though the policies framed by the central government aims at empowering women, the delay and sometimes the non-implementation of the policies in states becomes a barrier in their empowerment," he said.