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India | Kashmir | Nepal | Pakistan | Sri Lanka

2008

PAKISTAN: Civil Society United Against 'Honour' Killings
October 6, 2008 - (IPS) The current campaign against "honour" killings in Pakistan led by anti-death penalty NGOs has support from lawmakers and lawyers pressing for modifications of Islamic law to prevent perpetrators from evading justice.

Pakistan: Hopes for women’s rights in Pakistan
October 2, 2008 – (AWID) AWID interviews Farida Shaheed - active in the women’s rights movement in Pakistan for over 25 years - about women’s rights activism in Pakistan, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, and the hopes of the women’s rights movement.

PAKISTAN: Rape Survivor Families Struggle
September 30, 2008 - (IPS) Rape and sexual violence are endemic in Pakistan, but cases are rarely registered. Few survivors and their families can withstand the pressure to compromise with the assailants over the years the cases drag on.

Honour Killings in Pakistan Strongly Condemned
September 16, 2008 – (Islamic Supreme Council of Canada) The founder of Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, Imam Syed Soharwardy strongly condemns the recent honour killings in Pakistan. According to Imam Soharwardy, in the Pakistani province of Sind, the un-Islamic tradition of honour killing has been practiced by a minority for many years. However, the Pakistani government has done nothing to stop it. This situation has come about because, typically, those involved in killing innocent girls and women in the name of "honour" belong to the ranks of the rich and famous of Pakistan.

India: 6 women injured in lathi-charge
September 5, 2008 – (The Hindu) Six persons were injured when police lathi-charged a large group of women who came seeking relief from the government in Tikabali area of strife-torn Kandhamal district of Orissa on Thursday.

South Asia: Women take up fight for equality
September 5, 2008 – (The Telegraph) All-India Progressive Women’s Association members today pledged to continue their fight for rights and equal opportunity in social, economic and political matters in India.

Sri Lanka: WOMEN, POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT AND CONCERNS
September 4, 2008 – (Daily Mirror) The most dramatic political developments to enhance women’s political representation and participation have taken place all over the world. Several countries of South Asia moving faster than Sri Lanka have achieved or are in the process of achieving Millennium Development Goal 3 to "promote gender equality”. MDG includes 8 goals, 18 targets and 48 indicators. MDG 1 is “Halving extreme poverty” and MDG 2 is “Achieving universal primary education”. All three inter relate to promote political empowerment of women.

Nepal: Nepal’s Culture War
September 1, 2008 – (Scoop) It took a decade for the rise in level consciousness around the country on women’s rights and rights of minorities to reach Kathmandu. The national media centered in the capital were content covering the combat side of civil war and missed the social changes that came along with it.

India: National Convention Of Muslim Women Demands Justice And Equality
August 31, 2008 – (People’s Democracy) The meeting is a part of the broader women’s movement where its important that specific issues faced by different sections of women, in this case Muslims are raised, said Brinda Karat. She added that issues of dalits, tribals and others should have the right focus. She also said the government should realise the suffering of the women in Kashmir due to imposition of curfew. The government should start political negotiations with the people of Kashmir to bring peace instead of leaving it to the army and the paramilitary forces to deal with the situation. Brinda Karat said the freedom struggle was fought together by women, irrespective of their religion but the policies now being followed by the government were divisive.

Bangladesh: Bangladesh Raises New unit of Women Police
August 30, 2008 – (The Hindu) Emergency-ruled Bangladesh has raised a new female police intelligence unit as criminal activities by women were on the rise in the country, officials and reports said here on Saturday.

India-Kashmir: Violence Touches “each family living in Kashmir”
August 29, 2008 - (The WIP) Dr. Dabla says women are committing suicide more than men, especially in Kashmir’s rural areas. Attributable to the conflict, Dr. Dabla adds “All throughout the world, suicide rates are highest among men and more intense in urban areas, but in the Kashmir valley, the reverse is true. Failure in school, unemployment or family problem are common reasons for suicide but the underlying factor is the conflict

Pakistan: Over 200,000 conflict victims in Pakistan need urgent help
August 22, 2008 - (Xinhua) The conflict has intensified recently in Pakistan's northwest Bajaur region and large numbers of civilians - mainly women and children - were forced to flee their homes, the Geneva-based humanitarian agency said in a statement.

Kashmir: Kashmir Witnesses Largest Freedom March in 20 Yrs
August 22, 2008 – (News Blaze) The summer capital of Kashmir witnessed one of the largest freedom march with people demanding freedom from "Indian occupation".

Kashmir: College girls register sentiment, stage anti-India demos
August 20, 2008 – (Kashmir Watch) Joining their male counterparts, female students of various colleges in Srinagar boycotted classes and staged demonstrations against the killing of students in firing by police and paramilitary personnel in Kashmir.

Sri Lanka: Tens of thousands at risk in Sri Lanka as fighting escalates
August 19, 2008 – (Amnesty International) Amnesty International has established that around a third of the displaced families were forced to live in the open air with no shelter. Many could not receive food, tarpaulin for temporary shelters and fuel because of a lack of access to LTTE-controlled areas and restrictions on goods going through Omanthai. The lack of adequate privacy for women and girls has led to an increase in reports of sexual and gender-based violence.

India: Women court arrest in Jammu over Amarnath land row
August 19, 2008 - (IANS) Peace might have returned to the Kashmir valley after eight days of protests on the Amarnath land row but the issue continued to fester in Jammu with several thousand women banging on the gates of police stations here on the second day of their ‘court arrest’ agitation Tuesday.

India: Repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act
August 18, 2008 – (Human Rights Watch) India’s Armed Forces Special Powers Act has been used to violate fundamental freedoms for 50 years and should be repealed, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Nepal: Women participation in state affairs stressed
August 14, 2008 – (The Rising Nepal) Vice-Chairperson of Spanish Communist Party and Parliamentarian, Emarira has said that she would recommend to her government back home to support the capacity building and empowerment of women in Nepal.

Nepal: US hopeful about govt formation
August 13, 2008 – (eKantipur) US Ambassador to Nepal Nancy J Powell Wednesday said that the US has expressed its belief that the government will be formed on time ending the political deadlock. At the meeting, Powell also forwarded a letter proposing to provide training to women and marginalised members of the CA.

India: Delhi fiddles, Kashmir burns
August 12, 2008 – (Daily News & Analysis) Shaheena, 22, is in a state of shock after a bullet pierced her leg during a procession at Lasjan. Shaheena was part of a women’s contingent of the procession that was fired upon by the security forces at Lasjan. She is among countless people including women wounded in the street fight that broke after the killing of Hurriyat leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz.

India: Women’s team on peace mission
August 12, 2008 – (Howrah News) A six-member national women peace delegation on Tuesday exhorted the people of both Jammu and Kashmir regions to keep at least one window open for negotiations to restore peace.

Nepal: Activists debate on empowering women
August 12, 2008 – (Nepalnews) Women activists have extensively debated the empowerment of women emerging out from the decade long insurgency alongside the deliberate incidents of sexual and domestic violence and cultural domination at the backdrop of the war.

Nepal: Another civil war if Maoist-led govt obstructed: Yami
August 9, 2008 – (eKantipur) CPN-Maoists leader Hisila Yami Saturday warned of launching another civil war if the party does not get the leadership of the next government.They suggested the Maoists women leaders to excel in facts, statistics and remarks stating sentiments and ideas alone are not enough to lead a government.

India: We Want Your Women
August 8, 2008 – (Strategy Page) Noting the success of female military pilots in the United States, other countries are moving in that direction as well. India has joined its neighbors China and Pakistan by allowing women to train to be combat pilots The reason is simple, many of the women who go through flight training turn out to have better flying skills than the average male pilot. But the traditional fear of women getting killed in combat still plays a role. For example, India has been at war with Islamic terrorists in Kashmir for over a decade. While female police and government workers are at risk of injury from terrorist attack, that is not considered the same as the risk to female pilots flying in the area. So, bowing to real, or imagined, public opinion, the Indian Air Force quietly transferred female pilots from units that fly into Kashmir or near the Pakistani border. That has now changed because the Indian military has been suffering a severe officer shortage for some years. There has also been a shortage of officers with technical skills, like flying aircraft.

Bangladesh: Bangladeshis vote in "gateway to democracy" poll
August 4, 2008 - (Reuters) Bangladeshis voted on Monday in the first polls organised by the country's army-backed interim government since it took power in early 2007 with a promise to restore democracy.

Nepal: Abuses Against Tibetans Protesting China's Tibet Crackdown
July 24, 2008 – (Human Rights Watch) Human Rights Watch said that Nepal’s police have used unnecessary or excessive force to carry out arrests, at times with the apparent intent to disperse crowds of peaceful protesters. Police have beaten protesters with lathis (canes) on the head and body, and kicked and punched them, and sexually assaulted Tibetan women during arrest. Police, especially at Boudha police station in Kathmandu, have severely beaten detainees. Many detainees, including those who suffered injuries while being arrested, have been provided limited or no medical care. Threats of violence, sexual intimidation and deportation to China by the police also appear to have been used to deter future demonstrations.

PAKISTAN: Schoolgirls Lured To Suicide Bombing
July 18, 2008 - (IPS) "I was able to save my daughter from becoming a suicide bomber. She had been lured by her teacher at the religious school," said Jamilur Rehman, a Pakistani schoolteacher, whose 13-year-old daughter was taken away by a Taliban group to be trained as a suicide bomber in North Waziristan, a lawless border area.

Nepal: Nepalese Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare Says NO to Violence against Women
July 11, 2008 - (UNIFEM) H.E. Pampha Bhusal, Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare, signed onto UNIFEM's Say NO to Violence against Women campaign at a ceremony on 9 July 2008 in Kathmandu, Nepal, during an interactive panel co-organized by UNIFEM and Saathi to share and disseminate the findings of the UN Secretary-General's Report on Violence against Women.

Sri Lanka: Civilians continue to face deadly daily threat
July 11, 2008 – (Relief Web) Amnesty International today condemned the targeting of civilians in the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka.

Nepal: Nepalese journalists receive training in human rights reporting from UN
July 10, 2008 – (Relief Web) The United Nations human rights office in Nepal today completed training for 25 local journalists in reporting on rights issues in the post-conflict country.

Pakistan: Women in Pakistan mosque protest
July 9, 2008 - (BBC News) Hundreds of Islamist women have held a protest outside the Red Mosque in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, to demand the reconstruction of a seminary. The mosque has long had a reputation for radicalism, mostly attracting hard-line Islamic students from North West Frontier Province and tribal areas where support for the Taleban and al-Qaeda is strong.

Nepal: Gender and Transitional Justice in Nepal
July 9, 2008 - (Telegraph Nepal) The world has seen many forms of conflict, from rifts between tribes of one community, to large scale atrocities to arbitrary war. Whatever be the case, destructive and violent conflict leaves deeper wounds than just those visible from the surface. The Nepalese internal conflict between the Maoist and state forces which lasted 13 years left approximately 13,000 dead and between 100,000 to 200,000 displaced. The “Peoples war” is internationally known for the overwhelming number of disappearances especially between 2002-2003 as reported by United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Voluntary Disappearances.

Nepal: Nepal’s New Political Landscape
July 3, 2008 – (Reuters) The International Crisis Group today released companion reports: Nepal’s Election: A Peaceful Revolution?, an extensive analysis of the 10 April vote, and Nepal’s New Political Landscape,* which examines the major challenges remaining in a peace process that has made considerable progress but is still incomplete. The voters in the CA elections delivered a mandate for peace and change, giving the Maoists a clear victory but leaving them without an absolute majority. The major established parties, shocked by their defeat, have stalled the formation of a Maoist-led coalition government.

Sri Lanka: Kalaivani Saravani — Shattering Ethnic Prejudices in Sri Lanka Through Communication
July 2008 – (Internews) Forgiveness was a difficult word for Kalaivani Saravani when she was growing up as a war orphan in Sri Lanka. But recently the 18-year-old Tamil university student discovered personal healing, almost by accident.

NEPAL: A Small Victory for Nepali Women
June 24, 2008 - (IPS) Representatives from the Madhesis, Janajatis, Dalits and other indigenous groups were present when Nepal’s newly elected constituent assembly sat for its very first meeting late last month, and 191 of the 601-member assembly were women.

South Asia: Violence hinders women's political participation, empowerment
June 20, 2008 - (The Daily Star) Violence against women in politics hinders their political participation and empowerment in South Asian countries, said speakers yesterday at a regional experience sharing programme.

PAKISTAN: Girls still being used to settle disputes
June 15, 2008 - (IRIN) Marriages between children aged no more that 12 or 13 - sometimes even younger – are reported from time to time, whereas in other instances girls as young as seven have been "given away" to much older men, often to "settle" a conflict.

Nepal: Women CA members feel pride
June 8, 2008 – (The Rising Nepal) Constituent Assembly member representing the Nepali Congress, Uma Adhikari said it is a matter of pride that women in large number are sharing the same forum to raise voice for the rights and interests of women. She added that never in the history of the country so many women had been represented in the Parliament. "I felt both opportunity and challenges while entered the Assembly chamber," she said.

India - Jammu & Kashmir: Women’s Rights
June 2, 2008 - (Global Human Rights Defence) India ratified the CEDAW on the 9th July 1993. However, the situation for women in Jammu and Kashmir is poor, with the women suffering from both physical and emotional traumas.

India: Amnesty slams India communists for land violence
May 28, 2008 - (Reuters) Militias of a communist party ruling an eastern Indian state have killed people and raped women with impunity after farmers refused to give their land for industry, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.

BANGLADESH: Divisions over women's development policy
May 28, 2008 - (IRIN) Two months after it was proposed, the National Women's Development Policy (NWDP) 2008 is facing fierce opposition while the government is maintaining a veil of silence on the subject. The NWDP suggests legalising equal rights for women - including property rights – as well as a 40 percent quota for women on the government's high executive, judiciary and legislative branches, parliament and local government bodies.

Nepal: Women Building a Democratic Nepal
May 20, 2008 – (CEDPA) As Nepal emerges from conflict and continues its historic march toward democracy, the recent April 10 elections represent a special milestone for women in the country.

India: A Nation’s Lowest Women Work Under Severe Degradation
May 12, 2008 – (WNN) In spite of the modernization of many parts of India, the age old custom of using dry – non-flush – toilets have exposed many bio-hazards to women in India who work as manual scavengers. Manual scavengers are, "exposed to the most virulent forms of viral and bacterial infections which affect their skin, eyes, limbs, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. TB (tuberculosis) is rife among the community,” continues the UN report.

Nepal: Nepal arrests 560 Tibetan women
May 11, 2008 – (BBC) Nepalese police have arrested some 560 Tibetan women, including many Buddhist nuns, after breaking up demonstrations against China's crackdown in Tibet.

India: Women in governance- ‘Men need to understand the value of partnership’
May 6, 2008 – (OneWorld South Asia) On April 30, hundreds of women representing various organisations gathered at Parliament Street in the Indian capital New Delhi under the umbrella of ‘The Alliance for Women’s Reservation Bill’.

Asia: The Economics of Violence
May 1, 2008 - (The Morung Express) The story looks good till you notice the underbelly of economic growth: unprecedented levels of inequality, violence, epidemics, congested roads, teeming slums, polluted rivers and failing democracies. The story looks good till you begin to hear the stories of dalits, tribals, ethnic minorities, women from the hinterlands of rural deprivation.

Nepal: Combating Violence against Dalit Women of the Terai
April 30, 2008 - (Telegraph Nepal) Even after the restoration of multi-party democracy in Nepal in 1990, there has not been any remarkable change in the socio-economic status of the Terai Dalits. Worse among these people is the condition of the Dalit women, who are triply oppressed by the so-called high caste people, patriarchal social system and the Dalit males. Most of these women are tortured mentally, physically and sometimes even killed on one or the other ground.

Nepal: The human-rights test
April 28, 2008 - (HRW) Nepalis have great hopes for peace after two decades of conflict and bloodshed in the Himalayan nation. In mass demonstrations and riots of 1990, they took to the streets demanding parliamentary democracy. But these aspirations were foiled, and between 1996 and 2006 nearly 13,000 people died as the Maoists embarked upon an armed rebellion to end feudal monarchy and social injustice.

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka rights activists face growing dangers
April 18, 2008 - (Reuters) In the last year, with a return to war and a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation, Sri Lanka has very slowly managed to grab a few international headlines. But the real-life narratives of the people who fight to draw attention to these headline-making stories remain untold.

Nepal : Women, Dalit Seek Change From Historic Elections in Nepal
April 9, 2008 – (Advocacy Net) Advocates for lower-caste Dalit and women are anxiously awaiting the outcome of tomorrow's election in Nepal, and hoping that a peaceful vote will boost their efforts to end discrimination.

Nepal's Historic Vote Puts Women in Running
April 9, 2008 - (WOMENSENEWS)- Nepal has sealed its borders as it tries to safely forge a new path after 240 years of autocratic monarchial rule, 10 years of a violent Maoist insurgency and two years of a wary stability under an interim government.

Nepal: Nepal's democratic future hinges on Constituent Assembly Poll
April 7, 2008 – (American Chronicle) The essential test of Nepali democracy to be determined by this election is the notion of political choice, in other words: can we cross the democratic hurdle? Can we prove that Nepali leadership consisting of various political parties, not only the Seven Party Alliance, are capable of democratic governance without resorting to periodic andolans like JA-1 and JA-2 or violence which is anathema to the rule of law? Are Nepalis confident enough to determine whom they will be governed by based on a democratic choice, for, by and of the people´s choosing? And, finally, will Nepali people be able to elect honest representatives that can be entrusted to run future governments impartially?

Bhutan: New democracy, old problems
April 7, 2008 – (ISN Security Watch) Though Bhutan held its first general election to phase out absolute monarchy, refugees in exile say it's a farce, writes Sudeshna Sarkar for ISN Security Watch.

Nepal: Women's victory is necessary for new Nepal- Women candidates
April 6, 2008 – (Nepal News) Women candidates affiliated with different political parties have said that a new Nepal is impossible unless there is a victory of women candidates in the CA polls.

PAKISTAN: Landmines ruin lives, leave hundreds dead
April 4, 2008 - (IRIN) Palvasha Ahmed and her two younger sisters know all too well the risks posed by landmines. “Our cousin, Maryum Ahmed, 19, was injured by a landmine nearly a year ago in her village in South Waziristan. She lost her right foot and now goes around on a crutch. No one will marry her,” the 17-year old said in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

India: WA Shishak- Abuse of women rooted in discrimination
April 3, 2008 – (The Imphal Free Press) Violence against women is not accidental but is a weapon of war and the abuse of women in armed conflict is rooted in a global culture of discrimination that denies women equal status with men, said WA Shishak, chairperson of the Manipur Human Rights Commission at the inaugural session of a three-day workshop on `Women’s human rights in armed conflict` held at Hotel Imphal today morning.

BANGLADESH: Government moves to boost women’s rights
April 1, 2008 - (IRIN) The Bangladesh government is pushing ahead with a new National Women’s Development Policy (NWDP), despite criticism from a section of Muslim clerics and some Islamic political parties.

Nepal: Himalayan Women Get Set For the Fray
April 1, 2008 – (Asia Sentinel) Nepal’s shaky new democracy treats women candidates gingerly. Nepal goes to the polls next weekend to determine whether the country will continue with a 250-year-old monarchy or become a federal republic, with Nepal’s Maoist guerrillas becoming part of the electoral process after almost 16 years of strife and as many as 13,000 people killed.

Bhutan: In Bhutan, Tibetan refugees yearn to join protests
April 1, 2008 - (Reuters) In a remote corner of the Himalayas, a small Tibetan refugee community felt helpless as it watched protests erupt all over the world against Chinese rule in their homeland. For in the tiny Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, ethnically, culturally and linguistically close to its giant northern neighbour Tibet, demonstrations are not allowed. Young Tibetans were even reluctant to give their names for fear of trouble.

South Asia: "WE CAN" Campaign on Violence Against Women
March 31, 2008 – (WUNRN) The six-year, six-country, South Asian Campaign to End All Violence against Women - or the 'WE CAN" campaign - aims to deal with violence women endure daily, both within their homes and in the larger society in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Nepal: Nepal police break up Tibet protests, 284 held
March 31, 2008 - (Reuters) Nepali police beat pro-Tibet protesters with sticks in Kathmandu on Monday and detained more than 280 people for demonstrating against China, police and officials said, hinting at a bigger crackdown on protesters.

Pakistan: Refugees Fear Return to Afghanistan
March 27, 2008 - (IPS) A veiled Afghan woman in a sky-blue burqa, her baby in her arms, waits in front of the camp of the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to register. She identifies herself as Raeesa Bibi. Originally from Jalalabad, on the road from Kabul to Peshawar, she does not want to return to her country. "My husband died of cancer three years ago," the 39-year-old said. "I work in the houses of local people who feed my three children and meet other requirements."

Sri Lanka: Newly resettled IDPs dream of life without war
March 26, 2008 - (IRIN) “A year ago I was either living my life in a bunker or running from shell fire,” Nalathambi Shanthi, a 23-year-old woman from Vakarai, said. “Today, I am living in a house but still unemployed.”

Kashmir: Negotiating the Boundaries of Gender, Nationhood, and Community
March 24, 2008 – (Kashmir Watch) What are the traditional freedoms and prerogatives of Kashmiri women in the land of a spiritual luminary like Lalla-Ded? Over the years, tremendous political and social turmoil has been generated in the state by the forces of religious fundamentalism and by an exclusionary nationalism that seeks to erode the cultural syncretism that is part of the ethos of Kashmir. These forces are responsible for the shutting down of dissenters who voice cultural critique, repression of women, political anarchy, economic deprivation, lack of infrastructure, and mass displacements that have been occasioned by these events

SRI LANKA: Election begins to solidify government control
March 20, 2008 - (IRIN) The presence of armed TMVP cadres proved unnerving to most civilians, despite the peaceful ballot. “We want reassurances that we will not be harmed, that we can live in peace,” said Vellappaddi Sellamma, 56, from Ichchanthivu village in Batticaloa district, 300km from Colombo, the capital. “We want our children to live without fear.”

SRI LANKA: Spreading the news to IDPs
March 17, 2008 - (IRIN) People receiving emergency relief rarely know exactly what is available for them, or how to access it. For many people escaping violence in Sri Lanka's war zones and stuck in camps, information on basic services or job and education opportunities could be vital.

Kashmir: What Difference Do Women Make?
March 15, 2008 – (Kashmir Watch) Kashmiri scholar, journalist and former civil servant Ather Zia details the range of ways in which women participate in politics in the disputed region of Kashmir in India. Through profiles of various women activists, she shows that although women differ ideologically and in their political actions, they nevertheless participate increasingly in shaping Kashmir’s future.

South Asia: Global symposium on conflict begins in Delhi
March 13, 2008 - (IANS) A global seminar on conflict transformation will begin here Friday that will bring around 40 scholars from around the world to speak on peace building, particularly in the context of South Asia. Discussants from Northern Ireland, South Africa, the US, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and around India will participate in the three-day symposium “Dialogic Explorations: Texts and Contexts”, at Hotel Ashok here.

NEPAL: IDPS BEING NEGLECTED BY GOVERNMENT, SAY AID WORKERS
March 12, 2008 - (IRIN) Local and international aid agencies struggling to get internally displaced persons (IDPs) back to their homes are concerned about an alleged lack of government interest in their plight.

NEPAL: Rural poor pin hopes for better life on 10 April elections
March 10, 2008 - (IRIN) After witnessing so much violence over the past 11 years in Nepal, Laxmi Motari, aged 60, was beginning to lose hope of ever improving her impoverished life. “But now I am quite hopeful that things will change for the better,” she said, explaining that the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections on 10 April could restore lasting peace.

Pakistan: City celebrates Int’l Women’s Day as ‘Benazir Day’
March 9, 2008 – (Daily Times) The Women’s Action Forum (WAF) held a press conference at the Lahore Press Club to pay tribute to all Pakistani women who had struggled for equal rights, peace, justice and dignity both in the past and the present.

Bangladesh: Burmese refugee marks Women's Day
March 9, 2008 – (Kaladan Press Network) Teknaf, Bangladesh: Burmese refugees in Nayapara camp marked International Women's day on March 8, with pleas for greater rights and equality for half the region's population. The theme of this year's Women's Day was "Investing in Women and Girls," said a Refugee Master from the camp.

PAKISTAN: Women Push For Political Space In Patriarchy
March 7, 2008 - (IPS) Saeeda Anwar is a 38-year-old Pakistani schoolteacher. She works in a school here in the capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), but she is not allowed to exercise her franchise.

INDIA: THE WORLD'S GREATEST, UNTAPPED ALTERNATIVE RESOURCE: WOMEN
March 6, 2008 - (National Catholic Reporter) More than 450 women from more than 45 countries have come to Jaipur, India, to make a difference, to unmask the woeful absence of the other half of the human race in the resolution of the greatest issues facing the human condition -- to be the launching ground for another kind of reflection -- on the human condition, to raise the ideas of the invisible in clear cadence, and loud voice -- to give this eagle wings!

NEPAL: Fire-affected Bhutanese refugees face hardship
March 5, 2008 - (IRIN) About 8,000 Bhutanese refugees are struggling to cope after the fire which destroyed most of their homes at Goldhap camp in eastern Nepal on 2 March.

PAKISTAN: NGOs close down operations after four die in Mansehra attack
February 28, 2008 - (IRIN) Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Mansehra, about 80km north of Islamabad, have suspended their work, wary of a potential security threat after an attack on the office of the UK-based Plan International left four dead.

Pakistan: Polling Lauded But Women Remain Wary
February 28, 2008 - (WOMENSENEWS) Following Pakistan's sweeping public repudiation of President Pervez Musharraf in its Feb. 18 election, more women will be included in decision-making as a new government forms to replace a military rule that served as a staunch U.S. ally in the war against terrorism.

Pakistan: Some Pakistan Women Warded Off Voting
February 18, 2008 - (The Associated Press) Despite the historic elevation to the premiership in the 1990s by Bhutto, who was assassinated in December, women still have little political clout in Pakistan. In the ethnic Pashtun belt bordering Afghanistan, things are going from bad to worse.

Pakistan: gender violence equated to terrorism
February 15, 2008 – (IndUS Business Journal) In Pakistan, violence against women and girls is a way of life. It is so ingrained into the national culture that under Pakistani law, a woman may be jailed simply for being seen in public with a man who is not her husband.

South Asia: RIGHTS: Widows Face a Life of Quiet Destitution
February 12, 2008 - (IPS) Widows are stigmitised by society not only in India, but across the globe. Worldwide, every day, about 100 million widows and their children are ostracised, exploited, and harassed by the societies they live in, according to the Loomba Trust, an international charity based in Britain that aims to educate the children of poor widows throughout India.

SOUTH ASIA: MIGRANT SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST; RIGHT BEARING CITIZENS?
February 4, 2008 - (Refugee Watch Online) South Asia, home to almost 2 billion people, comprises of seven countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives. The status and conditions of women in all the countries is not at par with men in society, with the exception of Sri Lanka and Maldives where the social indicators are better than the rest of the subcontinent.

NEPAL: Girls sold by parents for domestic labour
February 3, 2008 - (IRIN) Punita Chaudhary was barely eight when her impoverished parents sold her for US$50 to a local middleman who worked as an agent finding domestic servants for families in Kathmandu and other Nepalese cities.

India: Caste Difference Contributes to Violence Against Dalit Women
January 28, 2008 - (Women living under muslim law) "Madhya Pradesh has perhaps the highest number of gang rapes in the India. Shockingly, in the last 1,300 days — from Dec 7, 2003 to June 30, 2007 – 1,217 gang rapes were reported in the state as per the Madhya Pradesh State Assembly records." (Women's News Network)

South asia: SAARC to focus on six areas to end violence against women
January 19, 2008 - (India eNews) The sixth South Asia regional ministerial conference, which ended here Saturday, identified six priority areas for the next two years to tackle gender inequality and violence against women. The representatives of the eight South Asian Association for Regional cooperation (SAARC) countries deliberated on a range of issues related to the condition of women for three days here at the meeting hosted by India's Ministry of Women and Child Development and Unifem, the UN fund for women

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