Participation

A WOMAN who has given her life to teaching the country's children with disabilities has had her work recognised yesterday.

Catherine Anilafa, headmistress of the Red Cross Handicapped Centre in Honiara, was the recipient of the United States sponsored 2010 International Women of Courage Award.

She became the fourth local woman to be given the award since its introduction four years ago.

Something that gets lost in all the coverage of the Haiti earthquake is how people on the ground organize in the face of adversity. Rape and violence against women has become increasingly widespread in the tent camps across Haiti. While Haitian police and UN forces have done little, women on the ground are organizing to protect themselves. We spoke with Malia Villard Appolon, of coordinator of KOFAVIV, the committee of women for survival.

FORTY-TWO victims have been confirmed to give their stories to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) third provincial hearing in Gizo, Western province next week. TRC Communication Officer, Dykes Angiki said 16 of them come from Choiseul, including two women.

He said the other 26 are from Western Province.

Mr Angiki said the victims are already in Gizo for the hearing.

The UN voted unanimously Friday to create a new office on women to be called the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), which will begin operating officially in January 2011.

Grace Lagulu was only 15 years old when she was abducted by the Lords Resistance Army, LRA, in 1987. She was forced to become a sex slave and bore two sons by a rebel commander who is now dead.

“I was an orphan,” she said. “I was abducted along with my brother, who was later killed in captivity. I was severely beaten.”

A UN committee on the elimination of discrimination against women has begun a review of the situation of women in India and seven other countries. During its 19-day session, India will be reviewed on an exceptional basis, with the committee considering the country's follow-up report on the impact of the 2002 Gujarat massacres on women, the rld body said.

Ongoing Taliban attacks on women in Afghanistan show why women's rights should be a priority in any political agreement with insurgent forces, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Jean-Michel Tijerina, CEO and Founder of the Cambodia Project, insisted I must meet her.

After an hour over coffee, I fully comprehended why.

I was talking to the Cory Aquino or the Aung San Suu Kyi - of Cambodia.

And given her courageous outspokenness, I am now very concerned for her safety.

In the lead up to the 2007 national elections in Papua New Guinea, women's participation in electoral processes is still limited. AWID interviewed Robyn Slarke from Mama Lo Stoa, recipient of one of AWID's Innovation Seed Grants, about the issues women are facing in PNG, and about their project Meri Kirap (Women Arise).

A Commission on Elections (Comelec) official and a prominent female lawyer were among the 28 candidates vying for the lone vacant position in the Philippine Supreme Court.

However, since they are "outsiders," both Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento and lawyer Ma. Carolina "Katrina" Legarda have to attend a public interview to be conducted by the Judicial and Bar Council to fill up the vacancy before August 17.