Participation

During the recent United Nations Sierra Leone Country Specific Configuration review meetings at the UN, Sierra Leone's Civil Society participated and made a deep and stirring impression.

Egyptian women played a critical role in the revolutionary protests that brought down former president Hosni Mubarak last month. But as Egypt transitions toward a new government, questions are being raised about whether women will gain a stronger role in politics.

Many countries are celebrating growing numbers of women in political life, however the Pacific Islands continue to have the poorest level of women's participation in municipal governance. The International Women's Development Agency reports on their efforts to change this.

Egyptians were glued to their televisions on Wednesday as the military handed down the country's new working constitution.

Some here would have preferred more time for emerging political factions to organize before elections that will be held by the fall, but most saw the announcement as a hopeful step toward democracy, equality and unparalleled freedoms in the wake of the January 25 Revolution.

Women have played a critical role in the pro-democracy protest movements that have swept across North Africa and the Middle East this year, and their rights and leadership potential must continue to be encouraged, the head of the new United Nations entity for gender equality and women's empowerment said today.

The International Day of the Roma is celebrated on April 8. The day was officially declared in 1990, in honour of the first major international meeting of Romani representatives, 7-12 of April, 1971 in London. On the occasion of this day, a session of the Commitee for Gender Equality was held in the Serbian Parliament and was attended by members of several Roma associations. The topic of the meeting was the position of Roma women in Serbia.

News that the U.S. may negotiate with the Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan raises many questions, the most important of which is, should we, or shouldn't we? That question has generated a small cyberspace library of its own in recent weeks, with the consensus so far in favor. It is widely believed that there are at least informal official talks about talks going on behind closed doors. But should we harbor any continuing doubts?

The Gender Equity Bill in Liberia that had sought to allocate 30% of women's representation in the government was defeated in the House. Please allow this piece as my response.

"Study after study has shown that there is no effective development strategy in which women do not play a central role," former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Last year, Serbia passed a bill regulating gender equality, but the traditional Balkan notion that women belong at home is slow to change.

Still, the vice-president of the Gender Equality Council and state secretary in the Labour and Social Policy Ministry, Snezana Lakicevic, says women have far more opportunities in Serbian politics than was the case even a few years ago.

The United States Ambassador to Liberia has challenged Liberian women to stand-up and say no to the on-going political crisis in Ivory Coast. She said women have the voice and must stand up as mothers to say no to their children participating in the ongoing fighting in the wake of reports that Liberians are involved in the fighting in that country.