Asia

Due to its apparent efforts to improve women participation in politics, Indonesia was elected as the first country in the Asia Pacific region to see on Thursday the launching of politics empowerment program for women initiated by international agencies.

The program, called "I Know Politics", was aimed at promoting women's gender equality to men in political forum worldwide.

West Aceh Regent Ramli M.S. issued the controversial regulation on Tuesday.

Those found wearing tight trousers, such as jeans, will have them cut by sharia police, and will be forced to wear loose-fitting attire.

"We have issued the regulation to further enforce Islamic sharia granted by the central government," Ramli told The Jakarta Post by phone on Tuesday.

Two female Indonesian economists have emerged as front-runners for the post of finance minister in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, with an announcement of the appointment considered likely within days.

From May 15-16, 2010, SGI-Indonesia women and young women members sponsored the fourth Women's Peace Conference at the SGI-Indonesia Headquarters Building in Jakarta. The event was also held in commemoration of "SGI-Indonesia Women's Day" on May 14.

Amid rising opposition to the war in Afghanistan and speculation about a U.S. withdrawal, debate has begun over what will happen to Afghan women and girls should U.S. troops leave. From former first lady Laura Bush to top California female lawmakers including Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, women leaders in America have been ardent champions of Afghan women since the U.S.

Hillary Clinton today promised that any peace deal with the ultra-conservative Taliban movement would not come at the cost of the rights of Afghan women.The US secretary of state told a conference of the world's foreign ministers that women in the country "will not be sacrificed" and announced a number of initiatives to improve their situation.

Dozens of Afghan women from the provinces of Kandahar in the south to Takhar in the north are calling on Afghan leaders to give more visibility to women's rights at the Kabul Conference on Tuesday, cautioning that unless more is done to include women in the national decision making, the progress towards women's empowerment made in the past decade will be lost.

Women living in Afghanistan's safest region are retreating behind the veil amid fears they are being stalked by a resurgent Taliban determined to trample their rights. Human rights groups are concerned that plans by the Afghan government to make peace with the Taliban could lead to an erosion of women's liberties.

Zeynab Bayazidi, former member of the Kurdistan Human Rights Organization, has gone on hunger strike in Zanjan prison.
According to Movakerian news agency, Bayadizi's mother has confirmed this news and said: “Zeynab has gone on hunger strike in protest to the inappropriate behavior of the chief of Zanjan Prison with a number of female prisoners.”

Jose Guara Fara, a 46-year-old doctor, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of raping two women at his home in Modi'in by using anesthetic drugs. Fara, a Mexican citizen, has been living in Israel and specializing in anesthesiology at the Assaf Harofeh Hospital. He is suspected of meeting the women months ago on the internet dating website J-Date. Dr.