Asia

In October this year, the United Nations will commemorate the tenth anniversary of an important, but inadequately recognized international development landmark: Security Council resolution 1325, which recognized the importance of understanding the impact of armed conflict on women and girls and guaranteed their protection and full participation in peace agreements.

The headquarters building here is undergoing renovations. The quarters are more cramped and the 54th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, March 1-12, has been more challenging than ever for delegates like me to navigate. There are the U.N. committee meetings, caucus schedules and a plethora of side meetings sponsored by nongovernmental groups in the near and not-so-nearby neighborhood.

Speech by Inés Alberdi, UNIFEM Executive Director

Date: 4 March 2010

Occasion: Women Thrive Worldwide and UNIFEM Co-Host Second Annual International Women's Day Legislative Breakfast Event in Washington, DC — "Lessons from the Frontline: Haiti, Afghanistan, and the Challenge to Build a More Secure World".

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that full empowerment of women requires expanding economic opportunities and ending violence against them.

The Secretary-General spoke at a special event in New York on engaging philanthropy to promote gender equality and women's empowerment.

The Israeli prison administration is forcing female visitors to strip completely before seeing family members at Ofar, a prison built on Ramallah lands.

Female lawmaker Fatemeh Alia said on Sunday that her nomination as education minister has become certain.

"In the light of my 20-experience in education. I have been selected as the final choice for the ministry of education," Alia told the Mehr News Agency.

Alia represents the people of Tehran at the parliament.

Young Palestinian women are being forced to into prostitution in brothels, escort services, and private apartments in Ramallah and Jerusalem, including areas inhabited by Jews, according to a report released Wednesday. The Palestinian organization SAWA (All Women Together Today and Tomorrow) published the paper, the first of its kind, urging Palestinian society to break its silence over its sex industry.

Four Palestinian documentaries are screening in Ramallah early next month. Produced in collaboration with the European Union, the films were translated into English and reflect the reality of Palestinian women.

In conjunction with the presentation of the UN Fact Finding Mission's report to the Human Rights Council on 29 September, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) release “Through Women's Eyes: A PCHR Report on the Gender-Specific Impact and Consequences of Operation Cast Lead”.

Women make up only a tiny minority of more than 7,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, but they often pay a high personal price for what has largely been a supporting role in the Palestinian uprising.

Some have raised babies behind bars, and others have watched their families torn apart in their absence.