Participation

On February 28, 2011, the White House released President Obama's proclamation reaffirming March as Women's History Month and March 8, 2011 as International Women's Day. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the holiday celebrating women. In the proclamation, the President applauds the accomplishments of women in all walks of life while reminding us that “there is still work to be done before women achieve true parity”.

2011 did not witness the first Egyptian revolution. After all, Egypt's Tahrir ("Liberation") Square earned its name from some other struggle. For Egypt, this liberation came in the 1920s when men, women, Muslims, Christians, the young and the old from across the land rallied to drive the British out of Egypt. They succeeded in no small part due to the role Egyptian women played during the 1919 revolution.

If you believe Central Asian women are reluctant to take part in politics, then think twice.

Three Kazakh women have so far applied for candidacy in the country's April 3 presidential election. A fourth female hopeful, pensioner Zaure Masina, has changed her mind and withdrawn her application.

Nepal launches National Action Plan on Women Peace & Security internationally

Nepal launched its National Action Plan (NAP) internationally on the Implementation of the United Nation Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1325 and 1820, at a special side event on the margin of the 55th Commission on the Status of Women in New York on Wednesday.

Among the most prevalent Western stereotypes about Muslim countries are those concerning Muslim women: doe-eyed, veiled, and submissive, exotically silent, gauzy inhabitants of imagined harems, closeted behind rigid gender roles. So where were these women in Tunisia and Egypt?

The National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) is striving to ensure women's participation in all domains, disclosed the head of Information and Campaign in the Union, Ms. Dehab Suleiman.

She told ERINA the union has been carrying out various campaigns and trainings to enhance women's participation in political, economic and other sectors, and that the endeavors have enabled to become self-supporting, particularly in remote areas.

Where women have gained a political voice around the world, there have been tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and more sustainable peace.

Women are playing a leading role in a powerful social movement addressing natural resource protection, adaptation to climate change, and corporate accountability in this coastal village in El Salvador.

Cristina Reyes is currently in her second term as president of the local community council in Ciudad Romero, located in the department (province) of Usulután, on the Pacific Ocean.

Iranian Vice-President Fatemeh Bodaqi in a meeting with the Afghan parliament's female lawmakers stressed the necessity for the Muslim societies to improve the position of women to serve as a role model for western countries.

During the meeting in Kabul on Saturday, Bodaqi also lauded Afghan competent women and their constructive presence in social affairs of the country.

On Friday, Egyptians again gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, this time in a victory celebration, one week after their revolution unseated President Hosni Mubarak. Tunisians have also been sampling new freedoms of speech and press along a boulevard that is no longer a war zone. But even as the exultation lingers, women in both countries have launched new protests. They want to make sure that democracy does not erode their rights.