Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - An international gathering of anti-violence activists Friday called on governments to implement the African Union (AU) protocol that bans harmful traditional practices that limit women from enjoying their full rights. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) has named Brigid Inder as the new Special Gender Advisor to its prosecutor, the body said in a statement received here by PANA Wednesday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – Equality Now, an international human rights organisation that works to protect and promote the rights of women and girls around the world, on Wednesday released its 2011 Annual Report, calling on the global community to “remain vigilant in the face of backlash on women’s rights emanating from escalating fundamentalism.” Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice Tuesday called on the new Tunisian government to take all necessary steps to safeguard the country's achievements in equality, non-discrimination and women's human rights, in accordance with its international human rights obligations. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have signed a grant agreement with Spain worth about FCFA 655 million (US$1.31 million) for a project aimed at empowering rural women entrepreneurs in the field of agriculture. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said the leadership and empowerment of young women would play a key role in advancing development around the world. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – A sub-regional meeting on the theme, “Validation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament Gender Strategy”, opened Tuesday at the Senegambia Beach Hotel in Banjul, the Gambian capital. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) has reaffirmed its commitment to support the UN Women campaign to end violence against women in Africa, PANA reports Thursday.Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - On the first of her two-day visit to Senegal, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Wednesday hailed the increasing role of women in the country's politics, especially the election of 65 women into its 150-member National Assembly (parliament), PANA reported from here. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – A two-day regional workshop on the rights of African women opened here Monday with participants looking examining how the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa can be better utilized and popularized.Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - The Nigerian presidency Wednesday denied media reports which alleged that the government purchased 200 new "exotic" cars for the African First Ladies Summit which formally opens in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, this week. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Working Group on Gender Justice in Africa Tuesday called on the African Union (AU) to encourage member states that are yet to ratify the protocol on the rights of women in Africa to do so. Full text...

Rabat, Morocco (PANA) - The European Union (EU), determined to promote Gender Equality in Morocco, has granted the north African country 45 million euros, local media reported Wednesday, citing official sources. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A group of independent UN experts has called for urgent actions to advance women’s human rights during political transitions, stressing that their equal participation is critical for any democratic and lasting change. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Mr. Ian Martin, has stressed the importance of the equal participation of women in rebuilding the country. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Ms. Michelle Bachelet, has said sustainable development will not be achieved without empowering women. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – International women’s rights group Equality Now issued an urgent alert Thursday calling for “immediate and unconditional release” of a Sudanese mother of three, Intisar Sharif Abdalla, who was sentenced to death by stoning on charges of adultery. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – Gender equity and mainstreaming in social and economic development are the basic and essential commitment of the East African Community (EAC), the regional grouping’s chief executive, Richard Sezibera, said Thursday at the launch of the East African Women in Business Platform (EAWiBP) in Arusha, Tanzania.Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) on Friday announced the members that will be part of a group that will facilitate dialogue between civil society and the agency. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - International women’s rights body Equality Now Friday called on Moroccan authorities to take action and end the legal exemption for rapists who marry their victims, citing the incident of 15-year-old Safae from Tangiers who was raped and impregnated in January 2011 when she was 14. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – In the first-ever global collaboration involving Nobel Peace Laureates, international advocacy organizations and groups working in conflict zones will this week launch the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict, it was officially announced Sunday. Full text...

Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - The African Women in Leadership Conference (AWCL) 2012 will be hosted by The Gambia 13-15 June 2012 at the Sheraton Gambia Hotel, Brufut, the organizers told a news conference here Thursday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Equality Now, an international women’s rights organisation, Wednesday called on the US government to uphold a zero tolerance policy on the demand for commercial sex that fuels sex trafficking, which is a violation of human rights of millions of women and girls around the world. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Executive Director of UN Women, Ms. Michele Bachelet, on Monday called for strengthening of the role of women in peace and security matters, as well as increased participation in politics. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria may get its first ever female Chief Justice, if the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Mariam Aloma for the top judicial post is ratified. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Liberian authorities to ensure the safety of journalists who have been repeatedly threatened for exposing the evil practices of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the West African country.Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - As activities marking the 2012 International Women’s Day is gradually drawing to a close in Nigeria, human rights activists have called on all Nigerians to promote attitudes that will protect the rights of women, children and other vulnerable persons in the society.Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Hundreds of women, men and children, including internally-displaced persons, took part in festivities, jointly sponsored by the Governor of North Darfur state, the United Nations (UN) Country Team, and the African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID), the peace keeping body said in a statement Thursday. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navin Ramgoolam, Thursday paid tribute to women in his country for their contribution to the island's progress and economic development. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Residents of low-income and informal urban settlements suffer mostly from inadequate living conditions and limited access to services, which put a disproportionate burden on women's unpaid time and results in far-reaching consequences for their well-being, according to a new research. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Thursday called on the international community to implement measures aimed at ensuring safer migration for rural women. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Equality Now, an international lobby for women and girls' rights, Thursday expressed concern that Egyptian women’s rights were eroding in the post-revolution era and called on Egyptian authorities to support the demands of its women on International Women’s Day. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Gender equality is central to meeting the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people - men and women alike - according to a new ACT Alliance report launched Thursday to mark International Women’s Day. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on Wednesday joined other senior UN officials on the eve of the International Women’s Day in highlighting the potential of rural women to improve the well-being of entire societies if given equal access to resources and set free from the discrimination and exploitation that hold them back. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – A new report, jointly published by the global media rights body, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and WageIndicator, has called for an end to “persisting gender pay gap in journalism”, as the world celebrates this year’s “International Women's Day”, on 8 March.Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for greater efforts to remove barriers that hinder women’s full participation in the economy, citing lack of access to jobs, markets, credit and property as some of the impediments. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), on Friday highlighted the role of quotas to accelerate women’s political participation, saying more hands-on measures are needed to achieve significant progress on this issue. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Entity for Gender and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has said it will provide US$10.5 million in grants to organizations working to advance economic and political empowerment of women in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia. Full text...

Tunis,Tunisia (PANA) – A national survey on violence to women in Tunisia carried out in 2010 has revealed that 47.6% of women have been subjected to, at least, one form of violence in their life. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro on Tuesday called for systematic and comprehensive strategies to empower women in rural areas to maximize their potential to combat extreme poverty and hunger, and help them facilitate sustainable development in their communities. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Independent UN human rights experts on Wednesday called on Morocco to consolidate and advance the country’s achievements on women’s rights by tackling gaps in its legal framework which put women at a disadvantage, saying that, ``domestic and migrant workers are at higher risk of having their rights violated''. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The international Organization on Migration (IOM) on Friday said that while trafficking of Ugandan women to Asia has increased recently, those already rescued and brought back home are subjected to a worse practice. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday stressed the need Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - A three-day young feminist forum for Central African countries got underway in Brazzaville, Congo, Wednesday with 40 young women from Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic and Chad participating, PANA reports from here.Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro on Tuesday Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudanese religious scholars, senior journalists and doctors held a special event here on Tuesday in a show of solidarity with the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), observed globally on 6 February. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Executive Director of UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Ms. Michelle Bachelet, said on Thursday that her priority this year is to enhance the economic empowerment and political participation of women. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on business leaders attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to increase their investment in women’s education and health, to ensure their well-being and encourage their participation in the world economy. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has launched a new web portal focusing on helping girls and women to access job opportunities, training and career advice in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A workshop in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on the psychological and social support for battered women has called for institutional suppoty for victims of the inhumane act. Full text...