Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP) is gaining ground in the battle against female genital mutilation (FGM), with several communities in the West African nation abandoning the practice, PANA reported from here Friday. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The Malian Children’s Parliament on Thursday urged the international community to create a framework for dialogue, exchange and sharing of experiences between the different children's parliaments in the West-African sub-region and the world. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – Gambian Vice-President Isatou Njie-Saidy, has called for the empowerment of women and girls, emphasizing that “investing in women and girls is cost-effective and essential to solving the world’s most challenging problems,” PANA reported from here Tuesday. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The Chief Executive Officer of Plan International, Nigel Chapman, will embark on a working visit to Mali from Wednesday, the NGO’s country office in Mali told PANA here. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – France on Friday called on the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) to intensify its collaboration with the Congolese authorities and civil society to prevent the resurgence of rape in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A report by UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), on Wednesday said governments around the world had not done enough to guarantee equality before the law for women and should rescind legislation that limits the access of women to legal systems. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday said that it was time to make ``faster and wider progress'' in promoting the participation of women in all levels of society, including democratic institutions. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Executive Director, UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Michelle Bachelet, said Tuesday that empowering women and advancing their rights were not only the right thing to do but they could lead to progress on a range of issues, including the fight against poverty, hunger and violence. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged societies to ease the hardship that widows endure when their husbands die by respecting their rights to social entitlements as access to inheritance, land tenure, employment and other means of livelihood. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Thirteen per cent of the Liberian security forces are women, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said Friday in Dakar, Senegal, as she was awarded the Africa Prize for excellence for the genre, "African Gender Award 2011" on the sidelines of the 4th International Conference on Gender which ended Saturday with what is called the "Dakar Declaration". Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – In a tribute to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, winner of the African gender award 2011, Senegalese leader, Abdoulaye Wade, said the Liberian president had succeeded in changing mentalities in her country which was destroyed for several years of civil war. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – "If women are empowered, the world will be a better place to manage," the president of the jury for the "African gender award", Mrs. Gertrude Mongella, said here Friday as the Liberian leader, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, won the 2011 prize. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Fourth International Conference on parity began Friday in Dakar, chaired by the Senegalese President, Abdoulaye Wade. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - A three day follow-on conference to the 2010 African Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme (AWEP) ended in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, on Friday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), on Friday said that stronger action must be taken to change harmful gender norms and practices and to integrate the prevention of gender-based violence into anti-HIV efforts. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - Angola will be represented at the meeting of the gender ministers of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), set for 2 June in Namibia, by the Minister of Family and Women Promotion, Genoveva Lino, PANA reported, quoting the Angolan News Agency (ANGOP). Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-Ban Ki-moon on Thursday underlined the huge benefits societies reap from ensuring that girls and women have access to education, saying the opportunity to acquire knowledge creates a new generation of mothers who in turn raise educated and empowered young women. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has challenged men to champion the cause for the empowerment of women, saying women remained ``second-class citizens" and are often subjected to violence in many societies. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday stressed the need to promote the participation of women in decision-making, noting that, "democracy and gender equality are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Full text...

Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) – About 20 female journalists in the Great Lakes region on Sunday ended a four-day meeting in Bukavu, eastern DR Congo, at which they discussed the establishment of a regional media observatory for women. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - The UN Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health Monday concluded its second and final meeting here, agreeing to new recommendations for an unprecedented level of accountability to save lives of women and children in developing countries. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, has called on the international community to remain mindful of the reality of poor health facing populations in developing countries, particularly on matters of women's and children's health, and take a concerted action to bring about change in tackling this challenge. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - Burundi's Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender said no fewer than 2,330 rape cases were recorded in the country in 2010, slightly more than half of what was recorded in 2009, PANA reported from here Friday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Hamadoun Toure, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), on Thursday stressed the need for greater efforts to support girls and young women to acquire skills in information and communications technologies (ICTs). Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Ms. Margot Wallstrom, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, on Friday stressed the need to prevent conflict-related sexual violence before it happens. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Executive Director of UN Women, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, on Friday commended women for their role in the pro-democracy protest movements that have swept across North Africa and the Middle East. Full text...

Philadelphia, US (PANA) - The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called on universities around the world to help in the fight to "overcome discrimination and change perceptions about what women can and should do." Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Margot Wallstrom, has welcomed the commitment of the African Union (AU) to combat sexual violence on the continent. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Determined to sensitize the people on the dangers of female genital mutilation (FGM), Malian NGO, "Aid for the Development of Traditional Medicine" (Aidemet), has launched a book here advocating a change of approach in the fight against excision. Full text...

Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - About 150 women have commenced an exhibition of products dedicated to women at the International Fair of Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, PANA reported from here Thursday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Italian Cooperation, an integral part of Italy’s foreign policy, Monday announced it is working with over 30 local authorities and hundreds of personalities from the Italian and international institutional, cultural and entertainment worlds and the civil society on a campaign to promote the candidacy of African women for the Nobel Peace Prize. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - A women's NGO, the Inter-African Network for Women, Media, Gender and Development (FAMEDEV), on Tuesday called for equal opportunities for women in the media. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - African countries, which have not ratified the various African Union protocols regarding gender and the rights of women, should urgently do so to preserve gender equality and equal access to education for women and girls. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday said despite gains made in empowering women around the world, much remainsed to be done to eliminate gender discrimination. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - The Angolan Minister of Energy and Water, Emanuela Vieira Lopes, Tuesday praised Angolan women for their efforts in demanding their rights, gender equality and their involvement in the overall development of the country. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The hopes of gender equality, expressed 100 years ago on the occasion of the maiden international women's day celebration, are still a long way from being realized despite some progress made, the UN Women Executive Director, Michelle Bachelet, said Monday in a message to mark this year's fiesta. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro, on Wednesday stressed the importance of education in raising the status of women in society. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - The United Nations and its social partners, including Angola, Tuesday commenced a meeting in New York, US, to outline a strategy to facilitate the access and participation of women in social services. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has granted about 1.9 billion CFA francs to Congo to support the gender policy of the government, an official source in Brazzaville told PANA here Monday. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - African female media practitioners and those in the civil society here Thursday called on governments in the continent to enforce the texts, conventions and protocols they signed on the protection of women's rights. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - The Reception Centre for the Victims of Marital Violence (RIHAB), a Mauritanian NGO, offered legal assistance to 130 female victims of marital violence in the country last year, the chairperson of the organization, Mrs. Toutou Mohamed Moctar Ahmed Jiddou, told PANA in an interview Tuesday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A UN study, launched on Tuesday, said that greater action is needed by UN peacekeeping missions to work with local women national authorities to increase the participation of women in peace negotiations, national security institutions and governance in post-conflict situations. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The newly-created UN agency for gender and women affairs (UN Women) is ready to work on policies required to help implement various African Union (AU) decisions to help improve the quality of life of women and children in Africa, the agency's head said. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The international community in general and men in particular must understand that sexual violence against women is a crime and that everybody has the responsibility to fight it wherever it takes place, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here Monday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Sunday called for greater protection for the African women, saying that culture and tradition should not justify the injustices made to them. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Executive Director of UN Women, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, on Tuesday laid out an action plan which is designed to promote women's rights and full participation in global issues. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Africa’s leading gender activists said here Monday that the African Union Summit on “shared values” was weak on gender issues because no particular emphasis had been put on the protection of women in conflict and the need to create an improved environment for education. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Liberia has won the African Gender Award 2011 for its efforts in the enhancement of women's rights with strong emphasis on girls' education, economic empowerment and legislation to curb violence against women, the award nomination committee has announced here. Full text...

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Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's federal government is to offer financial assistance to women candidates for the 2011 general elections, as part of efforts to encourage more women to participate in politics. Full text...