DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Time For Action on Violence Against Women

Continued violence against women is one of the focuses of a continental meeting reviewing progress made towards achieving gender equality in Africa.

POLITICS-ETHIOPIA: Disappointed But Not Defeated

She fought alongside men in the Ethiopian liberation struggle. She fought for a free and fair society. But today, Yewubmar Asfaw feels that Ethiopia's revolution has failed to deliver a fair share of political power to women.

POLITICS-ANGOLA: A Tradition of Strong Women

She was orphaned by Angola's liberation struggle against Portugal, but through it she found a new family and a life-long inspiration.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Activists Demand Justice for Politically-Motivated Rapes

"I was raped by four Zanu PF militias at night, just outside their base, during the elections. They took turns to rape me, accusing me of supporting the opposition, MDC [Movement for Democratic Change]", said Pauline Moyana* from Mutasa, a community in Zimbabwe’s eastern Manicaland province.

DEVELOPMENT: Building a Stronger Women's Movement

For four days, Cape Town's convention centre will be filled with a profusion of languages, colours, and ideas as some 2,200 delegates from 144 countries take part in the 11th International Forum on Women's Rights and Development, organised by the Association of Women in Development (AWID).

POLITICS-GUINEA: Marching to the Beat of Her Own Drum

Surprises have been a common occurrence in the all-but-common political career that made Kaba Rougui Barry the first female mayor in Guinea since political parties were legalised in 1990.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: From A ‘‘Red Bush’’, Opportunity Is Born

Nestled in a valley in the Cederberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa’s southern most province, lies the charming little village of Wupperthal.

POLITICS-MOZAMBIQUE: Fate and Merit

Two deaths in a row placed Rita Muianga at the helm of Xai-Xai's municipal council. In 2003, council presidents Ernesto Mausse and Faquir Bay died suddenly and successively. Rumours of witchcraft gripped Xai-Xai, a small town 220 kilometres north of Mozambique's capital, Maputo.

Q&A: Major Challenges Will Be Met

When Barbara Hogan replaced South African health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang in September, her appointment was praised from all quarters. Hogan, who previously chaired Parliament’s finance portfolio committee, is known as an intellectual who stands up for what she believes in and finding hands-on approaches to solving difficult political issues.

POLITICS-MOZAMBIQUE: The Modern Face of Renamo

If Maria Moreno is elected president of the Municipal Council in Cuamba, in Niassa Province, Mozambique's parliament will lose one of its most interesting personalities.

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: Hide And Seek

Swazi gender activists are angry that King Mswati III and the newly elected Parliament have betrayed their hopes, and the Constitution, by not appointing more women to the House of Assembly and the Senate.

POLITICS-BENIN: Women Left Out of New Govt

"Every change is a step backwards in this new era. It's disheartening," is Claire Houngan Ayémona's response to Benin's newly-appointed cabinet.

POLITICS-MOZAMBIQUE: Still A Man's Thing?

Only a handful of women are running in Mozambique's municipal elections scheduled for Nov. 19. Among the 111 candidates vying to become president in 43 municipal councils, only eight are women.

POLITICS-MOZAMBIQUE: Ready To Roll

The posters and flyers are ready, and so is Marta Simango. Ready for Nov. 4, when the municipal elections campaign officially kicks off in Mozambique.

SOMALIA: Women 'Keep Life Going' in Violent Streets of Mogadishu

On the fifth day of every month a group of women entrepreneurs gather to share their experiences and discuss matters of trade. What makes this exceptional is that the women are from south-central Somalia and they meet in Mogadishu, one of the world's most devastated and dangerous cities.

POLITICS-ETHIOPIA: A Career In Dissent

Frozen in disbelief on the steps of the courthouse where she presided as a federal judge, Bertukan Mideksa watched as a man she had just ordered released on bail was detained by plain-clothes police with no warrant and no apparent regard for the law.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Women Demand Movement On Talks

Over 300 women gathered outside the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare on the morning of Oct. 27, dressed mostly in black and white. They were there to protest the prolonged impasse over the allocation of Cabinet ministries among Zimbabwe’s rival parties.

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: A Woman With Swagger

The writing is on the wall. "WANTED - Men who Believe that Wives are not for Beating," reads a poster on Nonhlanhla Dlamini's office wall.

POLITICS-MALAWI: The Bold and the Beautiful

The reigning Miss Malawi, Peth Msiska, has hit the campaign trail, not seeking another crown but to be voted into Parliament in her country’s general elections in May 2009.

POLITICS-GHANA: The Steep Price of Getting Elected

Mawusi Awity and her husband were willing to jeopardize his military career for her dream of running for parliament in Ghana but there was another price to pay that she could not afford.

SÃO TOMe AND PRINCIPE: A Retro Approach to Politics?

It is lonely at the top – especially when you are one of only two women among 53 men at the National Assembly.