Asia

The few women's crisis centres that exist in Kyrgyzstan are finding it hard to carry on as the international donor support they rely on is drying up.

In the absence of domestic charity fundraising opportunities, the best hope seems to lie in applying for state funding.

A top Saudi cleric challenged a ban on women driving on Tuesday, saying women should be allowed more social participation in the puritanical Islamic state.

Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by Al Saud family in alliance with clerics from the strict Wahhabi school of Islam. Women must be covered from head to toe and are not allowed to drive.

Amid incessant campaigns to end violence against women, the abuse of women continues right in front of our eyes.

Just one day before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25, Septi, a housewife from Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, was reportedly dragged behind a motorcycle because the tea she made for her husband wasn't sweet enough.

As Kurdistan is fast progressing, becoming democratized and westernized, it faces serious difficulties with its conservative culture that has subjected women to painful and deadly rituals including honor killing. Barham Salih, prime minister of Kurdistan, promised on Thursday to put the issue of women first in his government's policies and eliminate violence against women, who constitute more than half of the Kurdish society.

The worst natural disaster in Pakistan's history has created new dangers for the girls and women who make up much of the 20 million victims of the country's recent floods.

October 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls for women to be engaged in all phases of securing, building, and maintaining peace. Commemorative events have focused on the challenge of implementing resolutions that call for the protection of women and the transformative inclusion of women in conflict prevention, resolution, and recovery.

Women and children suffered terribly during the 2010 general election given the gun battles in border areas, according to a Women's League of Burma (WLB) statement issued on Thursday, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Catholics have joined with other Indonesians to launch an anti-sexual violence campaign to counter the increasing number of women facing abuse.

“We are holding this campaign because sexual violence cases are increasing in Indonesia and happening at individual, public and state spheres,” said Siti Maesaroh, campaign coordinator, at a press conference in Jakarta on Nov. 25.

The improved political representation of women in Iraq is in sharp contrast to their broader disempowerment, as highlighted by the persistence of domestic violence and early marriage, according to a new report by the UN Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit.