Asia

The tiny new nation of East Timor came to the United Nations last month for its first women's rights checkup and picked up a few kudos.

Although still under house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi has returned to an active political role by initiating dialogue with both Myanmar's junta and Western nations, analysts say.

In the space of seven days, after a Yangon court rejected the pro-democracy leader's appeal against her recently extended house arrest, her status appeared to shift rapidly from political prisoner to potential key negotiator.

To be an outspoken critic of the government brings a heavy price in Cambodia, the South-east Asian country struggling to put behind decades of war and brutality, including the Khmer Rouge genocide.

October 28, 2009 - (IPS) Although the enacting in August of the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) - a major law aiming to end discrimination against women across the archipelago - was well-received here, there remain concerns about whether the legislation will be fully implemented.

Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency for parts of the southern island of Mindanao on Tuesday, after a political massacre there left at least 46 people dead.

Calling it as bestial act, Mindanao women expressed their outrage over the Maguindanao massacre where innocent civilians, mostly women and journalists were summarily killed in broad daylight.

“If unarmed women, lawyers and journalists are not safe, who is safe?” the Mindanao women in their statement said.

Most or all of the 22 women among the 57 people massacred Monday in the southern Philippines were sexually mutilated, the authorities said Friday, adding grim details to the catalog of horrors that has already emerged.

Philippine police investigators on Thursday said five women might have been raped before they were killed in the country's worst election-related violence last week while forensic experts found evidence indicating the toll could still rise.

A woman's place is at the negotiating table, especially when the issue at hand is about winning lasting peace that has eluded the community for decades. This view was strongly expressed by Laisa Alamiya, a lawyer and member of Nisa Ul Haqq Fi, a Muslim women's group; and Teresita Quintos-Deles, former presidential advisor on the peace process, during recent discussions held as part of the National Women's Summit held in Quezon City.

PORT-LOUIS , Sandhya Boygah considers herself a victim of male-dominated politics. In 2007, she was asked by her party, the ruling Labour Party, to step aside and allow a man to stand for the elected post she sought.