Asia

In a country where women's' rights are still fiercely contested, Soosan Firooz has added a strong new voice to the debate in Afghanistan.

Aged just 23, the Afghan actress has become the nation's first female rapper, making her debut with a song that speaks directly to other Afghans who have shared her experiences of pain and exile as refugees.

If history is anything to go by, women candidates fielded by the three major parties—UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN-UML—have only around 27 percent chances of winning the November election under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) poll system.

The Indian government has come under severe criticism in a UN-sponsored study for losing its focus on broader sexual and reproductive health of women while attempting to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

"The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) in its 27 National Targets has a target on reduction of anaemia amongst women and girls, which has a direct bearing on maternal health and maternal mortality.

The role of women in politics of the country from the platform of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) was filled with splendid contributions from the movement for the creation of Pakistan to the establishment of an image of progressive Pakistan today. The role of women was still very vibrant under the leadership of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

A searching independent review finds that NATO and its operational partners have made ‘significant progress' in implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo – but says there is ‘ample room for improvement'.

In the Solomon Islands in the south-west Pacific, where two in three of the estimated female population of 252,000 have experienced physical and sexual partner abuse, recognition is growing that ending the cycle of violence cannot be achieved without the partnership of men as catalysts of change. And initiatives by men are gaining support.

Female representation in the legislature remains low, especially in the eastern part of Indonesia, despite increases from election to election, says a minister.

The modern Arab world has never known a female leader, and against all odds, Syria may be the country where it happens first. Forget Bashar Assad and the other male politicians who dominate coverage of the war-torn nation, and turn your attention to two women: Suhair Atassi and Razan Zaitouneh.

While political parties are busy preparing for the second Constituent Assembly (CA) election and working on their manifestos, women rights activists on Wednesday analysed various parties' last CA election manifestos and suggested ways to include gender issues in their documents better this time.

Nearly 2,000 widows who have been abandoned by society and their families live in government shelters lacking basic amenities in India's northern city Vrindavan. The Supreme Court last year said the women should be given the resources and support they need to live their lives with dignity. One organization is trying to make that ruling a reality.