Political unrest across the Middle East has increased appetite in the wider world for comment from within the region, and some are turning to bloggers for insider views on the events unfolding on their television screens.
Pakistan has earmarked 750-million dollars to create jobs and alleviate poverty in its troubled border regions with Afghanistan where it's estimated that 70 percent of men are illiterate and unemployment runs at over 50 percent.
The Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association (SLGGA) launched a project titled War Affected Women Empowered, at the Girl Guide Headquarters, recently. The project implemented with the objective of empowering women affected by the war will aim at skills development.
Whether the topic is Libya's rebels or Afghanistan's “reconciliation” with the Taliban, the pivotal question is, or should be: What about the women?
During my brief tenure as a CNN anchor, I insistently raised this question and was consistently disappointed by the answer, which more or less went like this:
“Yes, well, the women. Too bad about the women. They'll suffer.”
Interview with Elke Jonigkeit: Since 1985 Elke Jonigkeit has traveled through Afghanistan and produced seven films about the country and the women that live there. In 2003, she founded the Nazo training center in Kabul. Elke Jonigkeit is a 2010 award winner of the “Women's Worlds” film festival organized by “Terre des Femmes”. We met in a café in Berlin.
For me there are two reasons to be an MP. First, I come from a political family: my father was also a member of parliament during what we call the "democracy decade" in the 1970s. Second, I've experienced many different problems and discrimination just for being a woman, especially during the Taliban period, and I want to fight for that to change.
I've been fortunate to meet some very talented photographers and film-makers here in Afghanistan. We're planning an Afghan Film Festival for the United States this fall.
One film director Sahraa Karimi has produced an engaging and illuminating documentary called "Afghan Women Behind the Wheel."
Indonesia is planning a national action plan to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, security and peace. The Jakarta Post's Tifa Asrianti talked to Elizabeth Rehn, former defense minister of Finland, on the importance of gender equality in society. Below are excerpts from the interview.
Question: How do you see the condition of women in Indonesia?
Disturbing dispatches out of Yemen yesterday report that thousands of women, chanting “peaceful, peaceful,” as they protested against their country's president were beaten by police wielding sticks and rocks. This came just before news broke that America is (finally) supporting an exit strategy for Yemen's leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.
