Participation

It was a historic moment for the United Nations when, 10 years ago, the Security Council unanimously recognised "the intrinsic role of women in global peace and security" through Resolution 1325, said Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury of Bangladesh at a panel at the U.N. Thursday on the continuing obstacles to its implementation.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced two awards with grants up to $ 500,000 for the empowerment of women and girls.

Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Innovation Award seeks to find and bring to scale the most pioneering approaches to the political, economic and social empowerment of women and girls around the globe.

During Lebanon's civil war - and Israel's invasion and occupation of Lebanon - some women fought on the frontlines.

These women proved determined and were often resourceful in the weapons they used.

In Women Warriors, Lebanese Muslim and Christian women reflect on the days when they were fighters and talk about how it has impacted their lives.

Kamla Persad-Bissessar may never want the year 2010 to end.

In February, she became the first woman to hold the post of Opposition Leader, one month after she ousted the leader of the main opposition United National Congress (UNC), Basdeo Panday, in a bruising campaign in which she was portrayed as everything from a drunk to a weak leader.

Haitian women have been increasingly vocal and active in social, political, and economic issues since the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986. Though it has not come easily, their progress in changing gender relations of power within the home, within social movements, and within the nation has been steady.

Women's civil society groups were noticeable by their absence from the landmark Haiti donor conference on 31 March, which secured pledges of US$5.3 billion over the next two years to support the country's post-quake recovery.

When Iraq finally forms a new government, one thing is certain -- there will be many new faces. Only 62 of 275 incumbents were re-elected.

In particular, some of the new faces will be women. By law, 25 percent of the parliament must be female. In some cases, that means replacing men who would have won seats -- which isn't always welcome news to the men.

More than five hundred women leaders from five continents participated in the Fifth Meeting of Spanish and African Women for a Better World, hosted by the Government of Spain in Valencia on 27-28 March, with support from UNIFEM. The participants adopted a ten-point declaration, committing to move forward on improving gender equality and promoting women's economic and political capacities.

Four women from a rights group have been denied bail after staging an allegedly illegal demonstration and will remain in jail until Tuesday, the end of a two day holiday marking 30 years of independence in Zimbabwe, their group says.

Sudan's first multiparty elections in 24 years, which wrapped up earlier this week, fell short of international standards but should be recognized as an important step forward for the nation, observers said Saturday.