Asia

Free trade, weak government and rising religious fundamentalism made Indonesian women's lives more miserable last year, the Indonesian Women Coalition said.

Fluctuating prices of food commodities, such as chillies, have born extra burdens for women, as many in Indonesia are still traditionally responsible for preparing meals for their families, the coalition said in the notes of its 2010 review, made available over the weekend.

Iraqi women have been angered by the new government formation in their country, which sorely lacks female representation, wrote Meead al Taei in an opinion piece for the pan-Arab daily Asharq al Awsat.

Iraq's female parliamentarians refused to control the single ministry they were offered so far in the hope of leading some of the more important ministries.

Advocating greater participation of women in the areas of conflict prevention, peace negotiations, peace keeping and post conflict reconstruction, India wants UN organs to do more against sexual violence.

The official spokesman for the 13th congress of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) stated Tuesday the assembly members have agreed to allocate 10% quota to female members for the leadership of the party.

In 2009, Tcell launched a special tariff plan for women in Tajikistan, to empower and enable women to stay better connected with family and friends, improve their safety, and help them obtain paid work.

A member of Kurdistan Blocs Coalition (KBC), called on Tuesday on her coalition to give women the ministry of Trade or civil society as a legal benefit.

Alaa Talabani, told AKnews that several names of candidates for the remaining ministries of her coalition were mentioned for the post, but none of them have yet been chosen, noting that the final candidates will be chosen within the coming days.

Riyadh al-Ashqar, spokesman of the P.A. ministry of prisoners and ex-prisoners in Gaza City, commented on the sever treatment against Palestine women held captive in Israeli jails during an open forum organized by the independent bureau for human rights in Gaza City. He added that 36 Palestinian women are detained in the Israeli Hasharon and Damoun prisons.

In many of the conflicts of the last decades – from Afghanistan to Somalia, from the Balkans to the Democratic Republic of the Congo – violence against women has reached horrific proportions and constitutes the most difficult challenge confronting the relief community.

Around 700 people, many of them women, attended a memorial march in the West Bank on Friday to honour a woman who died after being tear-gassed by Israeli troops, organisers said.

Indonesian women are largely unfamiliar with the Millennium Development Goals despite being a key target demographic, hence hurting the government's chances of achieving the campaign's objectives, experts say.

The MDGs that specifically target women include reducing the maternal and infant mortality rates, ensuring universal primary education for girls and providing decent employment for women and men alike.