Participation

Un Sokunthea became Cambodia's first female deputy police chief on Thursday.

The promotion ceremony was held at the Ministry of Interior chaired by Em Sam An, secretary of state of Ministry of Interior, said Keat Chantharith, spokesman of National Police Commissariat.

Just prior to her promotion, Major Gen. Un Sokunthea served as deputy director of central justice department of Interior Ministry.

Serbia must appoint at least one woman to its PACE delegation before the start of the April session, or have its voting rights suspended.

This was announced by the organization on Wednesday in Strasbourg.

The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) decided to give Serbia, Montenegro and San Marino until the April session, set for April 11 to 15, to choose at least one woman for their delegations, reads the release.

A repressive and violent rule by the Taliban and Mujahideen that pushed the country backward by decades and treated women like a commodity is now giving way to some norms of decency under a democratic rule. Surprisingly, hundreds of women contested the 2010 elections to Afghan parliament and now, 69 of 249 MPs are women.

It remains out of donors' reach and almost invisible in the media, increasing during and after disasters as already fragile structures of law and order break down.

But does this mean African women are always helpless, voiceless victims in places of conflict?

With Laurent Gbagbo drawing much of his support from the largely Christian south and Alassane Ouattara strongly associated with the predominantly Muslim north, the polarization has also taken on a religious dimension.

When Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki introduced what he called a national partnership government two weeks ago, he included allies and adversaries, Arabs and Kurds, Shiite Muslims and Sunnis. One group, however, was woefully underrepresented.

Through intimate stories and details, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young highlighted women's role in the Civil Rights Movement in his King Week keynote address on Tuesday.

Despite a wide range of initiatives to support women scientists in their careers, considerable barriers remain, as shown in a recent report by AAAS/L'Oréal. We examine what issues still need addressing in order to break down the remaining hurdles.

Political parties came up with manifestos and charters that fairly promised to handle women and gender issues, including promoting involvement of women in their decision making, as well as advancing women's issues and concerns.

In a presidential statement, the 15-member body called for “a more effective and coherent” national and international response so that countries emerging from conflict can deliver core government functions such as ensuring security, managing political disputes peacefully, protecting their populations, revitalizing the economy and providing basic services.