Participation

Two U.S. government agencies, the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, recently issued detailed implementation plans to carry forward the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.

As Victims Of The Conflict

On Monday, President Obama set the record for most women judges appointed to the federal bench in one term when Stephanie Rose was confirmed on a 89 to 1 Senate vote as a new U.S. District Court Judge in Southern District of Iowa. Obama has now appointed 72 women to federal judgeships. This is the same number of women judges appointed to the federal bench during George W. Bush's entire presidency.

She pointed out that although many women should like to take part in representative politics, the prevailing political system discourages them, despite being 53 percent of the county's population.

She could have added that women make the biggest contribution to Sri Lanka's economy; besides doing the bulk of domestic work, they pluck tea, sew garments (the main exports) and provide the greater part of overseas workers' remittances.

Under the slogan ‘'together to administer our areas autonomously'' the permanent People's Council in Western Kurdistan has held its second meeting.

Access to information including education programmes for rural women to enable them to participate in formal decision making structures, transforming structures to increase levels of participation at local level to comply with women's human rights treaties and conventions including UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security) will be some of the key issues to be raised during the next television simulcast in conjunction with

Somaliland women's narratives have largely been absent from accounts in state and nation building in Somaliland, yet their contributions cannot be denied. Female poets, writers, artists and activists recount their experiences in shaping the peace and their political participation in Somaliland today

The only female aspirant for the Chairmanship of the Kailahun District Council in the November 17 polls, Mrs. Navo Kai-Kai of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) has reported of how she was on Sunday 2nd September 2012, intimidated and vigorously chased out of Kailahun Town by power thirsty male politicians of the SLPP ostensibly at the request of her opponent Lawyer Alex Bonapha.

Amnesty calls for the immediate release of Zhila Bani-Yaghoub

The Iranian authorities must release prisoner of conscience Zhila Bani-Yaghoub, an award-winning journalist and women's rights activist held solely for exercising her right to freedom of expression, Amnesty International said.

The elections taking place across Africa this year present an opportunity for a rising tide of women to take political office. An enouraging precedent was set a few weeks ago, when the proportion of women in Senegal's parliament swelled from 22% to 43%. But without action to tackle the barriers that keep women out of power, the great wave of equality may amount to no more than a trickle.