Tuberculosis is the leading infectious disease cause of death in women globally. Reports have suggested that responses to tuberculosis may differ between men and women. Researchers investigated gender related differences in the presentation and one year outcomes of HIV-infected adults with initial episodes of pulmonary tuberculosis in Uganda. While differences existed between males and females at presentation, the outcomes at one year after the initiation of tuberculosis treatment were similar in Uganda.

One of the first major acts of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC is to elect the judges, prosecutor and deputy prosecutor. The combined efforts and actions of the international women's human rights movement and other civil society actors are needed during this critical phase to ensure that women are nominated.

The 1990s was a disastrous decade for women, marked by vicious civil wars in which 90 percent of the casualties were civilians. Women were killed, forced to flee their homes, starved, brutalized, enslaved and raped, often in the refugee camps that were expected to shelter them. The women who headed United Nations agencies pushed ameliorating measures that were often unpopular with governments, such as making the "morning after" pill available to refugee women. The 1990s saw a record number of U.N. agencies led by women. But when Mary Robinson stepped down as high commissioner for human rights, the decade of women leaders came to a close.

As parties prepare for Kenya's crucial presidential, parliamentary and civil elections, due later this year, where do women - one of Kenya's largest constituencies - feature in the political landscape? This time around, unlike previous elections, the stakes are much higher, and the political game is different.

At least 200 women representatives of Malian non-governmental associations have met to discuss democracy and sustainable development in their country, at a conference that started last Wednesday.

Mozambique's maternal mortality rate stands at an estimated 1,500 out of 100,000 live births, one of the highest rates in the world. Myths, lack of education and trained medical staff, poorly equipped health facilities with no maternity wards, unreliable or no communication and transport, make giving birth a high-risk event.

Some 30,000 Guinean women are set to benefit from a three-year literacy campaign launched during celebrations to mark Guinean Women's Day on 27 August.

In partnership with the Presbyterian Men Fellowship Kinoo Parish, Kenya and the Coalition on Violence Against Women-Kenya (COVAW-K), FEMNET will conduct a one day conference to sensitise Kenyan male gender activists and advocates in order to create a critical mass of men who support the empowerment of women and principals of gender equality, development and human rights. Participants will be drawn from universities, religious organisations, professional groups and the media.

The Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM) for ICT initiatives and ICT evaluation is an innovative gender analysis tool produced by the APC Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) for practitioners who share a commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment in ICTs. GEM provides a means for determining whether ICTs are really improving women's lives and gender relations as well as promoting positive change at the individual, institutional, community and broader social levels.

Civil Resources Development and Documentation Centre (CIR-DDOC), an NGO in Abakaliki, has urged women to show more interest in politics to boost female representation in governance.

It is widely assumed that women are not necessarily bread winners and are therefore not entitled to inherit property. This has created widespread confrontations. Human rights and non-governmental organisations are now crusading especially for the protection of widows in property rights disputes.

Women journalists in Eastern and Central Africa have launched their own news Web site to counter what they see as bias in Western and male-dominated news. The decision to launch a site came after fierce debate about gender sensitivity in the media during a recent East African Media Women's Association (EAMWA) workshop in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. The web site address is http://www.eamwa.org

Amid claims of "dictatorial behaviour", as well as unprecedented heckling, Namibian President Sam Nujoma on Sunday dropped plans to nominate 21 women to the Central Committee of the ruling SWAPO party.

In the aftermath of the mass atrocities in Sierra Leone, the United Nations has passed a resolution to set up a Special Court for the prosecution of human rights violations, as well as a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Write to the UN Secretary General, the President and Attorney General of Sierra Leone, and the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights urging them to ensure that the staff of both bodies are gender-balanced and experienced in dealing with cases of sexual violence.

Four virtual seminars were held between 1 July and 13 September dealing with multiple aspects relating to ICTs and gender empowerment and development. Visit the link below for an extract from the final summary of the virtual seminars.

Four virtual seminars were held between 1 July and 13 September dealing with multiple aspects relating to ICTs and gender empowerment and development. Visit the link below for an extract from the final summary of the virtual seminars.

Burundian women leaders have said they are satisfied with the progress they are making and are looking forward to obtaining more leadership positions in the country's institutions.

Nigerian women are mad and they're not going to take it any more! A coalition of leading women's groups has issued an 11-point declaration demanding an end to political repression, environmental degradation, and gender-biased persecution based on Islamic laws.

The newsletter of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Africa Internet Rights ICT Policy Monitor to mobilise African Civil Society for ICT policy for development and social justice (http://africa.rights.apc.org), has created an annotated list of a selection of women's organisations using information and communication technologies (ICTs) as tools to network and share information to advance gender equality in Africa.

" 'ICTs have enormous potential to benefit girls and women in terms of enhanced income-generation opportunities, employment, and improved quality of life, but because technologies are not gender neutral, it is important to advocate for ICT strategies to reduce and manage the potential for ICTs to create economic and social exclusion and reinforce existing social disparities.' -- Gender activist, Gillian Marcelle, in her chapter, 'Getting Gender into African ICT Policy: A Strategic View' which appears in the book 'Gender and the Information Revolution in Africa' (IDRC, 2000)."