"The voices of rural women need to be heard in this 1325 National Action Planning process. We need to make sure that their voices are heard because they are the ones who suffer in the conflict.

The disturbing case of a Somali woman who alleged she was raped by security forces, only to be convicted by a court Tuesday of making a false claim and insulting the state, has outraged human rights groups and advocates for women's rights around the world. The court also convicted a journalist who had interviewed the woman of the same charges (although he has published nothing so far). Each was given a one-year prison sentence.

Girl child soldiers are often thought of only as “sex slaves”, a term that glosses over the complex roles many play within armed groups and in some national armies. This thinking contributes to their subsequent invisibility in the demobilization processes - in fact, girls are frequently the most challenging child soldiers to rehabilitate.

In the small nation of Montenegro, men are in the minority. However, in the country's 81-member legislature, men occupy 67 seats. This leaves just 14 seats (17 percent) to women.

The good news? This is the greatest representation female candidates have achieved since 1992.

A series of workshops on women's participation in the Darfur Peace Process were organized throughout Darfur by the African Union - United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The forums, which targeted more than 160 local media representatives of which most were women, aimed at enhancing the capacity to advocate on the importance of the role of women in the peace and political process in the region.

I have exciting news to share—a worldwide campaign is taking off, and we need you!

As someone dedicated to women's rights worldwide, you're probably well aware of the lifesaving work of Haitian women who mobilize to protect rape survivors. MADRE and our Haitian sister organization KOFAVIV have worked together to make sure that women get the urgent care and long-term counseling they need to heal.

The time has come for the United States to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, commonly known as Cedaw, particularly after women voters asserted themselves so effectively in recent US elections.

A series of opinion polls in recent months in Chile show that Michelle Bachelet, the executive director of UN Women, is still the most popular Chilean politician three years after her four-year term as the country's president ended. Reports from Chile say that across the political spectrum, party officials are assuming she will be returning soon to start a campaign for the next presidential election, in December 2013.

A dozen years have passed since the United Nations Security Council made history by adopting a resolution that addressed women's rights during conflicts and required their participation in preventing wars and in peace talks.

We, the women from Western Sahara ask every person to sign in the petition launched by the President of the Center for Justice and Human Rights, Mrs.