Asia

For the first time, women peace activists from South Asia came together to present a joint resolution to the United Nations Secretary-General. In it, they outlined measures to improve the participation of women in peace building and as peacemakers. The resolution was a result of a two-day open discussion organized by UN Women.

The Finance Division of the government of Pakistan and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a 5-year partnership to enhance institutionalisation of Gender Responsive Budgeting in policies and plans at the Federal and provincial levels.

The 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan falls in the first week of October, but it will attract a fraction of the attention afforded last month's events marking a decade since 9/11. Only a few stalwart protests in the UK and the US planned for Saturday will try to get an inattentive public to engage with what is now America's longest war.

Wars are constructed as a ‘Masculine' concept where in only men are interested. Whatever women have done as warriors or ideologues or revolutionaries seems to be a deviation or aberration from the ‘norm'. The recognition of norm which is ‘War is Masculine' is coming from none other than the women who challenge the norms of patriarchy.

Stakes are high for Afghanistan's women, who fear their rights could slip away in a quick-fix bargain for peace, according to aid agency Oxfam. There is a risk that the Kabul government may sacrifice women's rights in its efforts to broker a peace deal with the Taliban, Oxfam says. The two sides are in talks to reach a political settlement to the Afghan war before U.S. and NATO troops withdraw in 2014.

The two-day Intra-Kashmir Women's conference that concluded in Gulmarg on Thursday sought an end to protracted conflict in the State and decided to set up a joint forum for peace comprising women from both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).

Guns available in new abundance in the troubled north of Pakistan are increasingly being used on women in ‘honour' killings and domestic disputes, according to local reports. "About 65 percent of the women killed fall prey to gunfire in honour-related cases and issues relating to domestic violence," local security analyst Brigadier (retired) Muhammad Saad told IPS.

For Magei Kasai the battle against hardships did not end when the guns fell silent two years ago in the Sri Lankan civil war. New battles began for survival, for herself and for what was left of her family. The 45-year-old mother of two lost her husband and a son to the war. Since the war ended in May 2009, more than 300,000 survivors like Kasai have returned to their native villages.

A new report from the World Bank and IFC released today finds that women still face legal and regulatory hurdles to fully participating in the economy. Women, Business and the Law 2012: Removing Barriers to Economic Inclusion finds that while 36 economies reduced legal differences between men and women, 103 out of 141 economies studied still impose legal differences on the basis of gender in at least one of the report's key indicators.

Whether it's as activists or politicians, artists or business leaders, women in the Middle East are stepping into the spotlight as never before. Some stereotypes still need to be challenged; domestic violence, illiteracy and conservative views continue to fuel a gender gap in many parts of the region. However, women are now proving their worth in most walks of life.