Asia

Palestinian women have long been known for being an integral part of Palestinian society, whether working for local businesses, homemaking, or participating in civil society. In recent years, things have been changing for the Palestinian woman, largely through the efforts of powerful women thinkers, leaders, and entrepreneurs, such as Amal Masri Moghrabi, co-founder and chairwoman of the Palestinian Women's Business Forum (PWB).

The faces of five men in business suits and one woman in a white head scarf beam under the slogan “Modern Hebron” on campaign banners along the streets of this famously conservative city ahead of local elections scheduled for Saturday. Other banners saying “Hebron Independents” feature 12 less formal photos, including three women, with looks more stern than smiling.

Kurds are a forgotten people. Called the largest nation without a state, they have been fighting for social, cultural and, at times, national rights for decades. But most of the time, nobody cared. Recently the Kurdish Worker's Party's (PKK) renewed war against the Turkish government has made headlines. What bleeds, as journalists say, leads.

“Following the political change of 2006, concrete steps have been taken to empower women and increase the proportion of their involvement at all levels of decision-making,” said Adhikari while addressing the Third Committee of the sixty-seventh session of the UN General Assembly on Agenda item 28 Advancement of Women on Wednesday.

Other districts are Lahore, Okara, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Gujrat, DG Khan, Pakpattan, Muzaffargarh, Sahiwal, Mirpurkhas, Sheikhupura and Ghotiki, said the ‘Violence Against Women In Pakistan Monitor (Jan-June 2012) report released here on Tuesday.

The decade-long war in Afghanistan has been the focus of countless books and exhibitions, but there is one view of the conflict that has not been described well – until now.

The protesting female workers led by PTI leader Aysha Gulalay Wazir were holding placards and banners inscribed with slogans against the possible military offensive and killing of innocent people including women and children in the US drone attacks in Waziristan agency. They also raised full-throated slogans against the rulers and the US drone attacks.

Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi spoke to Sophie Claudet last week on the sidelines of the Women's Forum in Deauville, France.

Based in Ambon, the provincial capital of Maluku and the site of the most severe violence between Christians and Muslims, the group was one of the earliest interreligious civil society associations that initiated meetings and activities across religious boundaries to quell conflict and pursue peace in the conflict zone.

The report adds that the FIRs of around 59 per cent of the cases in the province were not registered.

An overwhelming impunity granted to perpetrators of violence against women has led to a steady rise in the number of cases across Pakistan, the report says.