Participation

ate-February lifting of the state's emergency powers law hasn't helped the women who keep a weekly vigil in the Algerian capital of Algiers for relatives who disappeared in the country's 1992-2001 civil war.

'We are prevented from demonstrating, we are still under surveillance and each time we try to march police violently shove us around and flood us with vulgarities,' said Amel Boucherf.

As Africa's first woman presidential leader, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, works for an October 2011 bid for re-election, a groundbreaking initiative affecting 450 Liberian women is now encouraging women throughout Liberia to become leaders for solutions and innovation. Political participation by women, especially in Liberia's parliament, is said to be “much needed” among advocates inside and outside the nation.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a boost to the candidacy of French finance chief Christine Lagarde for the top job at the IMF on Thursday, but stopped short of endorsing anyone yet.

Clinton said at a conference in Paris that "We welcome women who are well qualified and experienced to head major organizations such as the IMF."

By next week, Goodluck Jonathan would have assumed a fresh presidency that is completely his, and one of his first jobs would be to pick the men and women that will work with him to actualise the programmes of his administration.

Political parties should be forced, through changes in legislation, to bring more women into government.

This is the call from the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) after the country's local government election saw only 17.25 percent of women elected as councilors out of the total number of candidates standing in the election. Of the candidates running for election, only 37 percent were women.

After two years of intense wrangling and political deadlock, the extended deadline for passing Nepal's new constitution is looming, with a decision expected on 28 May.

The UN peacekeeping missions should have more women to increase trust with the local populace, said Poonam Gupta, head of the Indian women's police unit in Liberia.

"Women by nature are non-threatening which gives an advantage," Commander Gupta said, speaking from Liberia, on the occasion of the International Day for Peacekeepers being marked on Saturday.

From the earliest times Kashmiri women enjoyed freedom, wielded ample power and exercised responsibility. They had an elevated status than many of their counterparts in India. In Kashmir they were afforded opportunity to distinguish themselves in any sphere of social activity. As a matter of fact they had emerged from domestic into the political stage.

The campaign made them bear the brunt of a government ban on demonstrations around parliament announced on Tuesday, ahead of a critical ballot battle between Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal and the opposition parties with the beleaguered premier seeking one more year to draft the new constitution.

Security forces used brute force to break up a peaceful demonstration by women in front of Nepal's parliament building on Tuesday and arrested nearly two dozen women, including the who's who of women's rights defenders, as the republic's communist-Maoist ruling alliance began following in the footsteps of the hated regime of deposed King Gyanendra.