Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of the 200 countries in the world that joined the One Billion Rising Campaign and rose to demand an end to violence against women and girls.

"I will not stay quiet. All women in Egypt need to wake up – those to whom this [sexual assault] happened and those to whom this didn't happen. Otherwise, such violence will continue..."
- Dalia Abdel Wahab, a protester and survivor of a violent sexual assault on 25 January 2013, speaking to Amnesty International

21st PRE-SUMMIT CONSULTATIVE MEETING ON GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN THE AFRICAN UNION

January 22-­23, 2013 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

GENDER IS MY AGENDA CAMPAIGN

Following decades of civil war South Sudan achieved independence from Sudan in mid-2011 as the culmination of a long peace process. Both the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) and international donors consider a successful Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program a prerequisite for successful stabilization, peace and development in Africa's newest nation state.

The conference is organized by the Ministry in cooperation with EVE organization as part of its work on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in South Sudan.

The conference will bring government and civil society participants from all the 10 states.

“Its objective is to identify priority areas for the development of a National Action Plan,” said the statement.

About two weeks ago the US Defense Secretary lifted the ban on women in combat jobs. Both feminists and peace activists are still a bit troubled. Two questions stand out. Can this be considered a step on the way to achieving gender equality? And will it contribute to a more peaceful world?

The West Africa Network for Peace-building (WANEP-Gambia) and Pro-Hope International in collaboration with FAWEGAM recently conducted a three-day capacity building training for 30 women from the West Coast Region, North Bank Region, Lower River Region, Central River and Upper River Regions respectively in Jarra Soma, LRR.

To increase the pool of experts that can be rapidly deployed to participate in investigations into gender-based crimes during conflict, UN Women, Justice Rapid Response (JRR) and the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI), have jointly developed a specialized training course for judges and other experts.

Activists in Somalia are demanding that their new government do more to investigate rape charges, especially those directed at men in uniform.

Anchor Marco Werman talks with three women who work at a rape crisis center in Mogadishu, and finds out why the entry of women into Somalia's armed forces might be helping to combat rape.

For as long as she could remember, Claudia Paz y Paz was certain she would become a lawyer. Her grandfather, also an attorney, had inculcated in her that the rule of law was the only way to guarantee people's rights.

Today, she is the first female Attorney General of Guatemala.