Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritian Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare Minister Mireille Martin announced Thursday that a protest march would be held in the nation's capital, Port Louis, next Wednesday ''to say an unequivocal NO to violence'' and to advocate for peace in the society. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay on Monday called for gender equality to be fully integrated into the post-2015 development agenda. Full text...

Cotonou, Bénin (PANA) - A three-day workshop, designed to give women more roles in Benin politics and other spheres of life, will begin Tuesday in Cotonou, the capital, PANA learnt from official sources. Full text...

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire (PANA) – The Ivorian Solidarity, Family, Women and Child Minister, Anne Désirée Ouloto, on Thursday deplored the high rate of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Cote d'Ivoire, PANA has reported from here. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN officials on Thursday called for a complete end to genital Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday pledged to root for women everywhere, while stressing the need for the UN and its partners to lay the groundwork to enable all women to enjoy their rights and be empowered. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – The rate of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Malian women, aged between 15 and 49 years, has reached 85% and 84% for girls under 14 years, the Malian Family Women and Child Promotion Ministry revealed this here at a conference organised Wednesday ahead of the International Day of Struggle against Excision. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for more investment to release the potential of over half a billion adolescent girls in developing countries, who are currently held back by poverty, discrimination and violence. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - A nine-member Senegalese delegation has wrapped up a two-day visit to Rwanda to study the progress made by the country in the fight against gender-based violence, PANA learnt from official sources here Wednesday Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered a probe into the case of a 34-year-old woman, Mrs. Alexandra Ossai, who lost her seven-month pregnancy after she was allegedly kicked in the stomach by her Lebanese boss, the private Punch newspaper reported Friday. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – Gambian MPs Tuesday passed a new law against domestic violence that seeks to tackle the problem in the country and bring perpetrators to justice, the pro-government Daily Observer newspaper has reported. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – Ms. Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), on Wednesday said despite significant progress in meeting international development goals for women’s empowerment, gaps in key areas remain. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called on people to wear the colour orange to mark the International Day to End Violence against Women, which is marked on 25 November. Full text...

Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Violence against women is violence against all, according to African Development Bank (AfDB) President Donald Kaberuka. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) on Friday announced US$8 million in grants to 17 initiatives in 18 countries and territories. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on Friday called for an end to gender-based violence, which is said was not only a serious human rights violation but also increases the risk of HIV infection. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Police Adviser Stefan Feller has stressed the need to increase the number of women officers in UN peacekeeping missions for success in fulfilling their mandates. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The United Nations/African Union Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) has tasked traditionally male-dominated communities to involve women in local administration, saying less than 1 percent of women are involved in such processes. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Two UN independent experts on Thursday called on Sudan to desist from threatening women with flogging, saying stressing the practice amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that goes against international law. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A new report released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said ensuring that women have better access to and control of natural resources such as land, water, forests and minerals can improve the chances of long-term peace and recovery Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has praised the resilience and courage of the women in Mali under very difficult conditions, as their country emerges from a trying moment in its history. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Committee has urged the government of Djibouti to effectively enforce laws aimed at protecting women from violence. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) – Women-dominated Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Mauritania on Thursday said there was a glaring under representation of women in the country's electoral process as voters prepare for the 23 Nov.-7 Dec. legislative and municipal polls. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – A key UN human rights body has provided authoritative guidance to countries that have ratified the women’s rights convention on measures they need to take to ensure that women’s rights are protected before, during and after conflicts. Full text...

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire (PANA) – The United States embassy in Cote d’Ivoire will organize a two-day workshop to reinforce the capacities of Ivoirian businesswomen, diplomatic sources told PANA here Wednesday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Security Council on Friday issued a strong call on the international community to strengthen its commitment to ensuring that women play a more prominent role in conflict prevention, resolution and in post-war peace building. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Some 40 women representatives of civil society organizations from North Darfur have met in Fashir where they discussed ways of realizing peace and implementing the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), signed in the Qatari capital of Doha on 14 July, 2010. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Determined to lay the foundation for strategic measures for prevention and response to sexual violence in Africa, the African Union (AU) is convening a three-day high-level consultation of experts here this week to work out a framework of action to allow victims to access justice and end impunity. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Commission, Ms. Judy Cheng-Hopkins, on Thursday said women play a vital role as countries recover from conflict and seek to build lasting peace. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - A new World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) report has found that legal and regulatory barriers to women’s economic inclusion have decreased globally over the past 50 years, but many laws still hinder women’s participation in the economy. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equity and Full text...

Quatre-Bornes, Mauritius (PANA) - At least 300 women would have been trained in politics by the end of 2013 under a programme aimed at politically empowering women in Mauritius, PANA reported from here Monday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), announced on Thursday new efforts to strengthen their collaboration to advance reproductive health, including voluntary family planning, worldwide. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), announced on Thursday new efforts to strengthen their collaboration to advance reproductive health, including voluntary family planning, worldwide. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka of South Africa took the oath of office on Monday as the new head of the UN body tasked with promoting women’s rights and their full participation in global affairs. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Friday said about 800 cases of sexual and gender-based violence had been reported in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, during the first six months of the year. Full text...

Praia, Cape Verde (PANA) – The United States of America has signed a memorandum of understanding with Cape Verde aimed at promoting gender and empowering women's rights in the island, diplomatic sources told PANA in the country’s capital, Praia, on Saturday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson on Tuesday highlighted the power of technology to empower women and girls, especially to protect them from violence, and create a safer world for all vulnerable groups. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday appointed Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, a former Deputy President of South Africa and Women’s advocate, as the new Executive Director of the UN body tasked with promoting women’s rights and their full participation in global affairs. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The acting head of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Ms. Lakshmi Puri, on Wednesday emphasised the need to ensure that women can make their voices heard in Egypt without fear of violence, stressing that their right to take part in the country’s public life must be protected. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - There is no excuse for women in Africa to continue bearing the disproportionate burden of poverty, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete said here Tuesday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - US First Lady Michelle Obama has called on her African counterparts to focus their energies more on education of children so that they can understand the power of education on their future. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Tanzanian women entrepreneurs Tuesday got a shot in the arm following the launch of a mobile service by the UK-based Cherie Blair Foundation to help them grow their businesses. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – An increasing number of Congolese women has embarked on basic education over the last years to prepare them as teachers, Henri Vital Eka, Director General of basic education, said here Tuesday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The importance of gender equality and the empowerment of women in driving development in Africa will be the focus of a high-level panel to be moderated by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, Ms. Helen Clark, at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) on Sunday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Following a campaign launched in 2012 by the Moroccan ‘Spring of Dignity’ coalition, in collaboration with Equality Now, to end legal exemption from punishment for rapists who marry their victims, the Moroccan Ministry of Justice and Liberties has approved amendments to the Penal Code that would eliminate this exemption. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Wednesday called on Libya to ensure that women in the country actively participate in the drafting of the new constitution, stressing that their contributions are necessary to rebuild the north African nation. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - On the 50th anniversary of Africa’s quest for strength in common purpose, African women, who have contributed to the African Renaissance, will be honored at a reception on 24 May, it was officially announced here Thursday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Ongoing celebrations of 50 years of Pan Africanism will be incomplete without paying glowing tribute to the role played by our ‘foremothers’ and ‘foresisters’ in the liberation struggle, according to UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Executive Secretary Carlos Lopes. Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) – Practitioners of the Female Genital Mutilation (FMG) in 20 villages in Niger Republic on Thursday vowed to end the practice which has been in existence in their communities for several past generations. Full text...