Participation

The haunting portrait of a young, disfigured Afghan woman on Time magazine's cover this summer issued a stark reminder that the stakes in Afghanistan are high -- and that the consequences of failure are brutal, especially for women.

Hargeisa (Somalilandpress) – The first lady opened a national conference for the women at Ambassador Hotel. The conference was attended by 120 women from regions of Somaliland. The conference was organized by Nagaad Umbrella, which is an umbrella for Somaliland women organizations.

Vice Kalonzo Musyoka has called on women to fully involve themselves in political affairs and governance issues.

Mr. Musyoka said time for women to participate only as bystanders, cheerleaders or passive observers is long gone and urged the Women, Gender and Development Directorate to support women's participation in political and electoral processes in countries scheduled to hold elections.

Female servicemembers are going where their male counterparts often can't: inside Afghan homes to engage with women barred by custom from talking to male strangers.

The Female Engagement Team program officially started Oct. 1, though some teams have been operating since late May.

The drive to promote women in political and corporate decision-making positions has historically been a slow and resisted one worldwide.

It was as if women needed to move mountains to join what became “the gentlemen's club.” Now, thanks to a series of International Conferences in the 80s and early 90s, the Beijing one included, it gained momentum.

Norwegian Deputy Minister for International Cooperation and Environment, Ingrid Fiskaa, underscored that for more women's representation, even if it is challenging for women to come to politics, in the peace and other political processes is a must for the country's prosperity.

In Malawi, if both a girl and boy are born into a poor family, it will naturally be the boy in whom all the financial resources are invested.

"Money for school will be given to the boy child," said Victor Maulidi, the acting network coordinator for the NGO Gender Coordinating Network. "The girl child will stay home. They won't expect (her) to go higher."

Ten years after the adoption of a Security Council resolution calling for equal participation by women in post-conflict peacebuilding, much remains to be done to ensure they can play their part in shoring up peace, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a report released today.

The reality of gender equality isn't the same as the Indonesia government would like the public to think, an Indonesian woman's rights activist told a packed auditorium at University of Guam last night.

Zohra Andi Baso, a prominent gender rights activist in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, spoke about the challenges women face in a predominantly Muslim country.

More women could emerge as powerful political figures in Kyrgyzstan as the country prepares for weekend elections, a watchdog group says.

Kyrgyzstan has parliamentary elections Sunday, six months after supporters of Roza Otunbayeva overthrew the government of Kurmanbek Bakiyev.