Asia

Former Deputy Health Minister Faizullah Kakar recently completed a study (published in Dari) indicating that rising numbers of women and girls aged 15-40 are attempting suicide in Afghanistan. His findings were presented at a news conference in Kabul on 31 July.

The picturesque northeastern state of Manipur known for living with violence and unrest was once again in the news these last few months. The proposed visit of the Naga nationalist leader Thuingaleng Muivah to his home in the Ukhrul district of Manipur after four decades in early May this year was strongly opposed by the state government.

Amnesty International has condemned the statement on violence against women in today's Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting communiqué as weak and disappointing.

Pacific Islands Forum leaders made a pledge one year ago to “eradicate sexual and gender-based violence,” but since then have done very little to address the epidemic.

Time magazine's moving portrayal of the plight of Afghanistan's women is a tribute to their heroism and silent suffering. However, the poignant images and story fail to reflect the determined achievements of a women's movement that has battled cultural and Islamist misogyny. They deserve more from the West.

Sporting a long blue dress and white headscarf, Umm Omar barely blinks as she whips out a pistol in her garden. For her, the gun is a necessary evil to protect her young family. "I hate the sound of gunfire, but it is the terrorists who have forced me to learn to handle a gun to protect my children and my home," the 27-year-old mother of three says almost matter-of-factly, while deftly handling the weapon.

Every morning the two girls wake up before dawn, row their wooden skiff out into Gaza's heavily-patrolled waters, and try to catch enough fish to feed their family. They are perhaps the only women in the territory of 1.5 million people who make a living from fishing, and are a rare sight in Gaza's conservative society where women rarely venture into the sea even to swim.

The Human Rights Committee concluded its ninety-ninth session today, during which it considered and adopted concluding observations and recommendations on the reports submitted by Cameroon, Colombia, Estonia and Israel on how those countries implement the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The leader of a Solomon Islands women's organisation says a number of strong women are standing in next month's election, and there is hope four or five could make it to parliament.

25 of the 509 candidates running in next month's election are women, down slightly from the 26 who stood in 2006.

Several female politicians have expressed disappointment that more women are not standing in the August 4 election.

Women getting into Parliament this election do not mean they won't face challenges since in our culture, men dominate in leadership position.

Audrey Manu National Coordinator for Gender Equality and Political Governance Program of the United Nation Fund for Women (UNIFEM) told journalist at a press conference on Tuesday.