Rachel Mayanja, Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on gender issues and the Advancement of Women, briefs journalists at press conference to mark International Women's Day and the 15-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Credit: Bomoon Lee/IPS

By Thalif Deen*

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 3, 2010 (IPS/TerraViva) – A longstanding proposal for the creation of a special U.N. agency for women – officially called a “gender entity” – is apparently moving at the sluggish pace of a paralytic snail.
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Taina Bien-Aimé heads Equality Now, which reports that more than 25 countries have either repealed or amended laws that were clearly discriminatory against women. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 2 (IPS/TerraViva) Against the backdrop of a two-week U.N. meeting on gender empowerment, the London-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has blasted the government of Saudi Arabia for its feudal system of justice where women continue to be victimised because of their gender. Continue Reading

UNIFEM Executive Director Ines Alberdi says the fund has channeled 30 million dollars to projects that combat gender violence. Credit:UN Photo/Mark Garten

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 1, 2010 (IPS/TerraViva) – The 45-member Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), presiding over one of the largest gatherings of women at the United Nations, listened Monday to dozens of speakers spelling out the successes and failures of gender empowerment worldwide.
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Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director of Equality Now, briefs journalists at the UN. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 24, 2010 (IPS) – Nearly 62 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaimed “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” a few of the world’s discriminatory laws against women are being progressively repealed in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America.
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Carol Orozco hawking candy at a busy intersection in Guatemala City. Credit: Danilo Valladares/IPS

By Danilo Valladares

GUATEMALA CITY, Feb 16, 2010 (IPS) – “I’ve been working in the streets since I was a girl. My parents didn’t send me to school, so it’s really hard for me to find a job,” says Carol Orozco, 31, who forms part of the veritable army of vendors hawking their wares on the streets of Central America.
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Protest for women's lives. Credit: Jfruh

By José Adán Silva

MANAGUA, Feb 15, 2010 (IPS) – Nicaragua slammed the door on any possible debate on the restitution of therapeutic abortion – performed to save the life of the pregnant woman – despite demands that it do so voiced during a United Nations review of human rights in the country.
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Maya Yadav (L) mobilises women for gender awareness activities. Credit:Nitin Jugran Bahuguna/IPS

By Diana G. Mendoza

MANILA, Feb 17, 2010 (IPS) – Women and poverty still share an uncomfortable spot on the development matrix of countries across Asia-Pacific that are struggling to end deprivation, according to the newly launched third joint report of the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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Paula Fray interviews ANNE-MARIE GOETZ, UNIFEM chief advisor for Governance, Peace and Security

Anne-Marie Goetz: ‘The structural exclusion of women is striking, and does tell us that there are serious double standards.’ Credit: Paula Fray/IPS

NEW DELHI, Feb 9, 2010 (IPS) – Women’s movements have played a critical role in creating political space for female participation in politics around the world. In fact, there are more women in government today than ever before.
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By Milagros Salazar

Marina Huamani digging a ditch with other villagers from Padre Rumi in Peru’s highlands region. Credit:Milagros Salazar/IPS

PAUCARÁ, Peru, Feb 7, 2010 (IPS) – Although Huancavelica is the poorest region of Peru, it has more than just poverty, malnutrition and unmet needs. There are also women using their creativity, efforts and traditional indigenous knowledge to improve the diets of their families and communities. Continue Reading

By Evelyn Matsamura Kiapi

Many Ugandan parents are still too afraid to test their children for HIV. Credit:Evelyn Matsamura Kiapi/IPS

KAMPALA , Feb 4, 2010 (IPS) – HIV-positive Justine Kirumira* is a mother torn between doing what is right for her daughters and her own fear of HIV/AIDS. She suspects that her eight and 12-year-old daughters may also have the virus. But she may never know the truth of their status because she refuses have them tested.
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