At the second Preparatory Committee of the WSSD in New York, women from all
regions and sectors came together to strategize about how to make our voices
heard at Johannesburg. The idea of the All Women's Voices Tent follows on
the success of Planeta Femea at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 - women's
organizing to mainstream gender into the final Agenda 21 document resulted
in 172 references to women, Chapter 24 devoted to women, and recognition of
women as a major group.

SAGBVHI, which was formed in 2000, is a partnership of 15 organizations working on gender-based violence and health issues. SAGBVHI plans to host an annual conference on gender based violence and health from 17-19 April 2002. Set to become an annual event, the conference will attempt to raise awareness about intersection between gender-based violence and health and to find creative ways of building a violent-free society.

In recognition of International Women's Day, March 8, women leaders from Brazil, India, Uganda, and the United States, discussed the successes and challenges facing women in different parts of the world in a series of live chats from March 5-7. Participants addressed questions to these dynamic women leaders representing diverse experiences in civil rights, health, education and activism. Global Women’s Voices: An Online Dialogue is a joint initiative of OneWorld U.S., Feminist Majority Foundation, PLANetwire.org, Women’s EDGE, Global Health Council and Digital Freedom Network.

The Book explores key ideas about raising money to fund women's rights work. It is especially designed for first-time fundraisers and for women's groups in developing countries. It captures the essence of the Global Fund's Women, Money and Empowerment workshops, which were given for activists at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.

The Dimitra project of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has published the first edition of its Guidebook on Rural Women and Development. This book contains profiles of 650 organizations based in Europe, Africa and the Near East which have projects or programmes involving or concerning rural women and development.

The Report covers the experiences of women in situations of armed conflict in the districts of Soroti, Katakwi and Kumi, which make up the Teso region in Eastern Uganda. It unveils the uniqueness of the Teso conflict which is multi dimensional in that it has an aspect of rebel insurgency and attacks by Karamajong warriors. The findings reveal a pathetic, gynaecological, psychological and orthopedic situation. The report is now in the final editing process and will be made public soon.

"The Millennium Declaration has given us an overriding mission for the twenty-first century. As we pursue that agenda and work for freedom from fear, freedom from want, and protection of the resources of this planet, our guiding motto is clear: putting people at the centre of everything we do. Thus, we are resolved to work for gender equality and the empowerment of women as vital tools to combat poverty and disease, and to achieve development that is truly sustainable; equally, we are determined to build on the contribution of women in managing conflict and building peace."

The Women-Refuge Of Africa (WORA) is condemning in no uncertain terms the recent spate of murders of women in their own homes where they are suppose to be safest, by men who are supposed to defend them from such acts.

The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) is an international membership organization connecting, informing and mobilizing people and organizations committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights. A dynamic network of thousands of women and men around the world, AWID members are researchers, academics, students, educators, activists, business people, policy-makers, development practitioners, funders, and more. Our goal is to cause policy, institutional and individual change that will improve the lives of women and girls everywhere. We do this by facilitating ongoing debates on fundamental and provocative issues as well as by building the individual and organizational capacities of those working for women's empowerment and social justice. The purpose of this position is to direct the Women's Rights and Economic Change "theme program" as part of AWID's Strategic Communications Program.

The poorest countries continue to be marked by gender inequality that, for many women, limits their schooling, hinders their ability to plan their pregnancies, and affords them few economic opportunities.

The National Assembly and National Council of Provinces has released a report of the Joint Monitoring Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Women. The paper asks how best South Africa can address the horrific impact of HIV/Aids on women and girls.

On International Women's Day, March 8, women worldwide celebrate their progress and reflect on the challenges ahead. OneWorld's campaign provides coverage on key issues, actions and resources from partner organisations worldwide focused on women's issues.

The United Nations is determined to work for gender equality and the empowerment of women as vital tools to combat poverty and disease, and to achieve development that is truly sustainable, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said in his message on the International Women's Day, observed on March 8, 2002.

UNIFEM's new publication contributes to understanding how the world’s foremost blueprint for women’s human rights can be put to work to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic from a gender perspective. The book is intended to be a resource for National AIDS Councils, HIV/AIDS activists, women's human rights activists, UN partners, and others who are doing work in this area and was enthusiastically received by the CEDAW Committee.

UNIFEM convened an interagency coordination meeting last month in New York in an effort to unify agencies in their programmes to end violence against women. Issues of sexual and reproductive rights, leadership, and gender indicators were addressed and participants included representatives from ECLAC, FLACSO, IDB/PROLEAD, PAHO/WHO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and the Queen Sophia Center.

Sixteen women were elected to Burundi’s Transitional Assembly last month. The elected women were candidates from 14 political parties and members of civil society. The elections come after intense years of lobbying by the women of Burundi, supported by UNIFEM and other partners, for the inclusion of women in decision-making and their participation in the Burundi peace process.

Independent experts Elisabeth Rehn and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf traveled to the Mano River countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia as part of a global assessment on the impact of armed conflict on women and women’s role in peace building, sponsored by UNIFEM.

UNIFEM established a Global Advisory Committee this month comprised of African IT entrepreneurs living in the Diaspora and in Africa, as well as representatives from the private sector and the UN system. The Committee of 12 experts will work with UNIFEM on a programme to help bridge the gender digital divide in Africa by advocating for women’s access to information communication technologies (ICTs) to improve their livelihoods.

The briefing provides practical recommendations for a gender-sensitive approach to multidimensional PSOs within the context of implementing United Nations Resolution 1325. It is intended as a resource for policy-makers and implementing agents, and is being disseminated to both military and civilian agencies within the United Nations, European Union and civil organisations.

The Gender Advocacy Programme (GAP) is hosting an international conference on women's representation in government in Cape Town on 7 & 8 March 2002.