Participation

In the next 40 years, an unprecedented number of women will be in positions of power, Muslim immigration to the West will rise, and office workers will be unchained from their cubicles, a report released last week says.

The two-day Women's Conference at the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) themed “Women and the Transformation of the African Continent” closed on Saturday after tackling a number of issues impacting on African women.

The South African government claims the key to it achieving its goal of having five million of the country's residents in employment by 2014 rests heavily on tackling the issue of teenage pregnancy.

Speaking at an Independent Development Trust meeting in Plettenberg Bay in Western Cape, deputy public works minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu said that teenage pregnancy condemns many women to a life of poverty.

The national campaign to grant women equal citizenship, allowing them to pass on their nationality to their children, gathered pace on Thursday as activists spelled out their strategy over the coming months.

A string of national demonstrations, including a protest outside Parliament, are now expected, alongside a petition calling for equal treatment of women, the National Gathering for Removing Discrimination against Women said.

Kurdish women broke the silence through their long lasting struggle against suppressions and general assimilations as well.

Why won't the Security Council endorse the Secretary General's strategy for enhancing women's role in matters of peace and security? Is it because of the deep divisions within the UN system itself? Or is it because of the Russians? Lyric Thompson reports on the battle behind the scenes at the UN

Ms Beti Namisango Kamya, the Uganda Federal Alliance boss, is using the axiom, “Uganda is ready for a woman President” to drive her campaign for the presidency in 2011.

Personally, I think it is sexist of her to make that claim, because Uganda has always been ready for a competent president – man or woman.

When Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva was selected to be President of Kyrgyzstan, she became the first woman head of state in the predominantly Muslim Central Asian region.

And she also took on a mission. Her mission is to pave the way for parliamentary democracy in a country that was formerly a part of the Soviet Union.

Mendefera — Concerted action is being taken to strengthen the competitiveness and productivity of women in all aspects, according to Ms. Dehab Suleiman, head of research and information in the NUEW.

Speaking at a training offered in Mendefera town to 230 women from all the administrative regions, she noted the paramount importance of nurturing dynamic women equipped with the necessary knowledge and skill.

The participation of women in organized violence, from guerilla movements to terrorism is a problematic and under-researched phenomenon. In peace, as former guerrillas go back to the anonymity of 'normality', outside interest subsides and marginalization becomes a real threat.