Participation

As Canada prepares to pull out its military troops from Kandahar after a long and difficult run in southern Afghanistan, where 156 Canadian soldiers have lost their lives since 2002, it is not only time to reflect on the sacrifices made and the gains achieved by the Canadian presence in this war-torn nation, but also to focus on creating momentum for durable peace and justice which includes the consolidation of democratic ideals and gender equ

The head of the United Nation entity tasked with promoting gender equality today reiterated that economic empowerment of women, political participation, ending gender-based violence and raising women's involvement in post-conflict peacebuilding are the priorities of the body.

The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) has written two separate letters to the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan and voiced its concern and dissatisfaction for not including any women members of Parliament among the 14 recently appointed Ministers and Ministers of State.

Even with regards to the capabilities of Nepali working women, many of them have apparently found that their capability is put into question simply because they're women.

“If you're a woman, and even if you're professionally capable, many assume you work in an incompetent manner or are too feeble for work,” says Kreepa Shrestha, proprietor of Supply Support, a company that deals in promotional goods.

On 9 June 2011 three Sri Lankan women came together to show their work at the Saskia Fernando Gallery on Dharmapala Mawatha in Colombo. Anoma Wijewardene, Sujeewa Kumari and Nadia Haji Omar are three women whose series of work on paper present the strength of women artists in the Sri Lankan contemporary art scene today.

Bahrain hosted a ceremony to appoint the Rev. Catherine Dawkins as the first female priest in the Middle East. A vote by members of the Anglican dioceses of Egypt, Jerusalem, North Africa and the Gulf confirmed her appointment.

Married off at 12 years old to an abusive husband more than four times her age, Maryam wanted to join Afghanistan's police force to help others avoid an all-too-familiar plight in a country where women's voices often go unheard.

A mother of three, Maryam is one of the women who make up less than one percent of Afghanistan's National Police. They wear knee-length olive green skirts over thick trousers with navy hijabs.

As the Presidential and General Elections draw nearer, women in rural Liberia have called on political parties to include them as decision-makers in their various manifestos. The rural women are calling on leaders of political parties to allow them occupy higher positions in political parties and in the decision-making process of the country. They want women to be party leaders as their male counterparts and not to be placed at the back seat.

Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Lulu Xingwana, has reiterated the need for extra measures to be taken to accelerate the process of transformation and empowerment of women.

Presenting her department's Budget Vote in Parliament on Tuesday, Xingwana said while women constitute more than 50 percent of the population, they remain severely underrepresented in decision making positions.

Recently, Uganda made history when the 9th Parliament overwhelmingly supported Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga's bid for Speaker and elected her to become the first Ugandan woman to occupy the position of Speaker of Parliament.