Participation

Only a short time ago, commerce in Algeria was an almost exclusively male activity. Where once it was rare to encounter even a female sales assistant, today it is a common sight to see women-run businesses.

Two female radio journalists working for a Goma-based station have significantly improved their skills and gained in confidence as a result of IWPR training in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the director of the station.

The issue of women's rights was used as a political tool by the government and other entities in 2010, according to an annual report by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights (ECWR).

The report, which is based on the findings of international human rights organizations, stated that Egypt was ranked 125th out of 134 countries regarding women's rights, and was ranked 13th among countries in the Middle East/North Africa region.

FIVE years go by so fast. In 2006, our leaders made many promises as they convinced us to give them our vote; some were fulfilled while others were not. It is now payback time and power is back in the hands of the ordinary woman and man.

For the last five years, power has been in the hands of our leaders, now it is time for us to reclaim it.

There has been a lot of public outcry over corruption in Uganda and Africa as a continent. Corruption is a big issue because it has caused a huge loss to Ugandans and hindered the development of the country.

There are ghosts in every sector of the economy — health centres, pensioners, the Universal Primary Education programme and the army.

The National Electoral Commission (NEC) has released tentative figures of registered voters who will cast their votes in forthcoming local leaders' elections, which indicate that, 5,417,886 people have so far been registered.

A new UN agency dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women became operational on January 1st, 2011. This is a historical step forward that will consolidate and escalate UN efforts to achieve gender equality and promote women's rights worldwide, guiding Member States towards an agreement on international standards for gender equality, and helping to ensure those standards are implemented.

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) today was sworn in to the 112th Congress, becoming the longest-serving woman in U.S. Senate history. Senator Mikulski was first elected to the Senate in 1986, after serving five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as the Congresswoman from Maryland's 3rd District.

On January 9, a new country may be added to the world map as southern Sudanese vote on independence from their northern neighbors.