There is something distinctly male in the aura around violence, mass bloodshed, guerrilla warfare and the long-drawn-out struggle for political ends. Perhaps they comprise an imaginary ‘informal sector' in traditional male bastions.
When the Taliban fell in 2001, my family and I were already settled in Pakistan after having fled our home country, Afghanistan, like so many others. The new political landscape born in 2001 brought newfound hope to Afghans, including my family. I remember the mounting enthusiasm for women's rights, which was shared by the international community and the Afghan government.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) hosted the 11th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women in Noumea, New Caledonia, from August 16 - 20, 2010. 22 countries of the Pacific participated and the theme of the conference was “Progress and prospects: National level implementation of the Pacific and Beijing Platforms for Action”.
Katie Couric interviews HRW researcher Zama Coursen-Neff. Ongoing Taliban attacks on women in Afghanistan show why women's rights should be a priority in any political agreement with insurgent forces. To see the interview please click here.
We often hear people say that women in Lebanon are the most emancipated in the Middle East region. But this saying isn't exactly true because it is only based on the rich Lebanese minority who drives luxurious cars, and enjoys the pink side of life frequenting the most famous restaurants of the country's capital.
As a part of its Human Rights Week, the Italian city of Genoa honored Iran's strong and vibrant women's rights movement by unveiling a statue depicting the face of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young student who became the face of the Green movement after she was killed by militiamen in the first frantic days following the election. The city also named a roundabout Donne Di Teheran, or "Women of Tehran," in honor of Iranian women.
