Full Coverage: Gender

30.05.2008 Short interviews with Addis Bekalu, 18, from Ethiopia, Sanchita Rani Das, 17, from Bangladesh, and several other young women illustrate how empowering an adolescent girl can make the world a better place.
From: The Girl Effect

30.05.2008 Aimed at legalising equal rights for women in Bangladesh, the National Women's Development Policy proposed by the government is facing stiff resistance from Islamic hardliners. The pro-woman policy is inviting the wrath of clerics for violating the Koran.

30.05.2008 Delhi based Centre for Women's Development Studies announces a two-week certificate course on Women's Studies beginning June 30, 2008 in the Indian capital. The course will focus on women's roles in society and current economic trends which affect their lives and status.

29.05.2008 Inspired by a national television programme, women in Chhattisgarh villages in central India went on to form Kalyani clubs to drive awareness on health-related issues. Six years after their inception, the declining cases of diseases and improved maternal and child health speak of the clubs' success in transforming lives.

28.05.2008 A new video compiles clips of media commentary to highlight the pervasive nature of sexism in U.S. media and encourage viewers to take action.
From: Women's Media Center

27.05.2008 Women have a significant role in environmental management and disaster risk reduction. Taking forward this line of thought, the third Global Congress of Women in politics and governance will define an action agenda for parliamentarians to adopt gender responsive legislation and programs for climate change.

27.05.2008 A social initiative undertaken in a rural district in western India has made it easier for young girls to pursue their studies and be empowered. A 'bicycle bank' helps them go to schools and colleges situated far from their homes.

26.05.2008 The Journal of Community Informatics calls for submissions for its forthcoming special edition on Gender and Community Informatics. The issue will focus on the interplay between gender and information society by examining new technologies, issues of identity, social hierarchies, citizenship and politics of knowledge.

26.05.2008 The Journal of Community Informatics calls for submissions for its forthcoming special edition on Gender and Community Informatics. The issue will focus on the interplay between gender and information society by examining new technologies, issues of identity, social hierarchies, citizenship and politics of knowledge.

22.05.2008 Ahead of the April elections, Nepalese women from all walks of life worked with an international women's empowerment group to articulate the changes they want to see in their country and to put their demands into action.

22.05.2008 A recent agreement between licensed labour recruiters in Sri Lanka and Kuwait may not safeguard the rights of migrant workers, says a Sri Lanka based organisation. Lacking social and legal protection, over one million Sri Lankan women work as domestic help in the Gulf states and face numerous human rights violations.

16.05.2008 Lacking support from the government, a group of tribal women from a remote district in Orissa in eastern India, devised a unique way to get rid of water scarcity. By using bamboo pipes to carry stream water to the villages, these women have benefited hundreds of people.

15.05.2008 Ever since it was first introduced in 1984 by the Australian government, the concept of gender-sensitive budget has spread far and wide with more than 50 countries embracing it, including India and Bangladesh. Women’s groups now want it to be extended to more countries.

14.05.2008 A documentary film titled My Daughter the Terrorist chronicles the lives of two female Tamil Tigers, taking a close look at war and its tragic consequences. The film has been acclaimed globally but the Sri Lankan government is upset saying it glorifies the act.

09.05.2008 In Nepal, many women and children live with HIV/AIDS passed on to them by their husbands and fathers. UNICEF is helping them by taking care of their treatment and arranging for education of their children.

07.05.2008 Durgabai Deshmukh Award winner Daud Sharifa Khanam from southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu provided Muslim women a platform to challenge the oppressive patriarchal system. For this, she has had to face the ire of Muslim clerics. She was hated, abused and threatened but she never gave up the fight.

07.05.2008 Erive Community Radio is bringing a change in the lives of young girls in Maganja da Costa. The UNICEF-supported station has led to a rise in enrollment in primary schools through its programmes promoting girls’ education. The station is run in partnership with Mozambique’s Social Communication Institute.

07.05.2008 NEW YORK, May 6 (OneWorld) - Women's rights advocates in the United States have launched a novel global initiative aiming to help millions of women across the world who face violence at the hands of men.

06.05.2008 Indian government has decided to table the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha on May 6. Earlier in an interview with OWSA, Dr Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research spoke on the whole gamut of issues concerning the need for women in governance.

06.05.2008 Initially introduced in 1996 and subsequently in lapse; snatched and torn up in 1999, the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill is finally set to be tabled in Rajya Sabha on May 6. The Bill seeks to provide 33% reservation for women in state assemblies and the parliament.