Participation

The coming elections in Burma on Nov. 7 are not a step toward real democracy.

A parliamentary select committee has begun compiling comments on a new constitution, gathered at 4,000 meetings held across Zimbabwe over the past three months. Gender activists are confident that women's views have been expressed; it will be up to the eventual drafters of the new constitution to ensure they are reflected.

As part of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's two-week Asia-Pacific tour, Clinton stopped in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Wednesday to "promot[e] human rights and women's empowerment in a South Pacific nation suffering from an epidemic of rape and police brutality," the Associated Press reports (Lee, 11/3).

When NATO unveils its new doctrine later this month, it will include a revamped nuclear policy, a section on cyberwar and fresh thinking on how to engage Russia.

But will it follow a little-noticed recommendation (from an expert group led by Madeleine Albright, a former U.S. secretary of state) to give women greater say in matters of war and peace?

Ten years ago, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security.

In short, “1325” (as the international law is known among advocates) seeks to elevate the decision-making of women in war zones and protect women during armed conflict.

Resources for women in the military services are lagging those of men, and officials within the military system do not yet understand the unique challenges of women in uniform, the top U.S. military officer said here Nov. 4.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to several hundred participants in the U.S. Institute of Peace Women and War Conference.

The Gender Review Team found the IPU to be much appreciated and trusted by Parliamentarians worldwide as an organisation with a shared wealth of knowledge and experience of the realities of the role of Parliamentarians.

Sri Lanka's construction industry has launched a project to provide construction skills to people, especially war widows and youth, in the east which is recovering from the effects of conflict, officials said.

GOP candidates Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle and Nikki Haley have captured the attention of the country this election season, but they're just a few of the record number of women pursuing office this year.
More than 160 women congressional and gubernatorial candidates won their primaries and will be on the ballot next week, leading some observers to dub 2010 the "Year of the Woman."

In a recent report, women in Afghanistan have voiced their discontent on their marginalisation in the ongoing “peace process”. The Talibanisation of Sharia law and the ongoing war has proved to be detrimental for their free movement and hence, their overall development.