Asia

"If we had money we'd get married right away," says Samir*, 23. He has found his bride, but not the money to hold the wedding.

The Israeli siege imposed shortly after Hamas's election in early 2006 has ruled out marriage for many. Palestinians traditionally marry young, between 18 and 25, but more and more now pass their mid-twenties single.

Equality for women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is still one of the most difficult and complex issues to be discussed. Although everyone has the freedom to talk about all matters of life freely and easily (no matter how sensitive the issue may be), the subject of women's rights is entirely different and always needs to be considered carefully.

Although women are the most vulnerable to extremists in Yemen, their voices are the least likely to be heard and their role in fighting terrorism is restricted by social and legal status, say human rights activists.

In the lead-up to the 28 January London Conference on Afghanistan hosted by the UK Government, Afghan women human rights defenders today released strong, specific recommendations on security, development and governance priorities for their country.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, good afternoon, everyone. I think we have just wrapped up a very productive conference and we have seen the results of cooperation in the international community on a number of very important issues. I want to thank Prime Minister Brown and Foreign Secretary Miliband, the Government of Afghanistan, and the United Nations for bringing us all together and sponsoring this important meeting.

Selay Ghaffar is part of the unofficial Afghan delegation, the official version of which is entirely male dominated.

A civil society activist for the Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan, she managed to attend the London conference with her colleagues by applying for media accreditation.

In May 2005 I was elected to be the first woman to join the Sinjel Municipality in the Ramallah district. At that time a new law had been passed which set a minimum quota for women's representation in local councils. The assumption underpinning the law was that women should take part in decision-making processes.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke briefly yesterday about the need for Afghan women and girls to be involved in the transition of security to the Afghan military. Clinton made these remarks at an international conference yesterday in London on the subject of Afghan security.