The situation of women in Kenya, as is the case in many other countries in Africa, leaves a lot to be desired. Women remain the suffering face of HIV/AIDS in the world. Statistics from the Kenya Aids Indicators Survey show women constitute three of every five people living with HIV. The issue of feminisation of poverty remains a reality for many women especially in the agricultural sector. According to Vision 2030, a government economic blueprint, five out of a total eight million households are engaged in agriculture. It is estimated that 80 per cent of labourers are women.

Just one woman has been included into the newly sworn-in cabinet. Essam Sharaf, Egypt’s new prime minister, has instead announced the creation of a committee that deals with the advancement of women, formed under the supervision of the cabinet. Throughout the uprising, women were at the forefront of the street protests. However, they have largely kept quiet about their gender rights in a country where they have faced rampant discrimination and received little legal protection against widespread violence and sexual abuse.

Few people are aware that a group of women - calling themselves the Peace Women - were instrumental in bringing peace to Liberia. Their story, which begins with the simple act of sitting along the streets for months under the hot sun or torrential rains of Liberia, led to the exile of alleged warlord Charles Taylor in 2003, now awaiting his verdict in The Hague. In 1998, women united in their common goal for an end to violence, and played an essential role in the decommissioning of young rebels to install peace and democracy in a war-torn country. The movement took place under the auspices of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP). Today the work of these Peace Women continues.

Almost five months after the anti homosexuality bill was tabled before the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) organisations and activists say they have not had the opportunity to mobilise or even undertake any action to oppose the bill due the lack of funding to support the activities. Jean Bedel Kaniki of Hirondelles Bukavu, an LGBTI organisation in the DRC, said organisations had solely depended on financial support promised by an international funder, which they did not get.

Following a statement issued by the Democratic Alliance on 31 January this year, calling for the axing of controversial columnist, now South African Ambassador in Uganda, Jon Qwelane from his post, government has responded in full support of Qwelane stating he will occupy his current position despite any opposition. Clayton Monyela, spokesperson of the Department if International Relations and Cooperation said 'the issue of those people asking for the removal of Ambassador Qwelane is not up for debate, the ambassador shall remain as ambassador as appointed by the President himself'.

On the centenary of International Women’s Day 2011, FIAN calls for equal land rights for women worldwide. Access to and control over land is one of the most important means for men and women in rural areas to realise their right to food. Discriminatory practices, however, have driven women into increased marginalisation, especially when it comes to access to resources such as land, water or seeds. As a consequence, women are disproportionately affected by hunger and malnutrition.

As the world celebrates hundred years of the commemoration of International Women’s Day on 8 March Ugandan human rights defender Kasha Jacqueline has been nominated as one of the top hundred most inspiring people who have delivered for girls and women worldwide by a global advocacy organisation Women Deliver. According to Women Deliver the list of a hundred most inspiring people recognises individuals who have committed themselves to improving the lives of girls and women around the world and comprises of women and men, both prominent and lesser known.

To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, Reporters Without Borders released a report on the problems of women who work as journalists. It reaffirms several important principles, contains interviews with women journalists throughout the world and describes all the different problems they encounter, ranging from everyday discrimination to the most tragic forms of violence.

To mark the centenary year of International Women's Day on 8 March, Panos London has produced a case study media pack profiling extraordinary women from around the world who have taken on roles previously deemed just for men. 'Breaking Barriers: Women in a Man's World' is a showcase of exceptional women who are breaking stereotypes to change their own lives and inspire other women and girls around them.

Women and girls returning to northern Uganda from forced conscription into the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) struggle to resettle in their home communities because of stigma and a severe shortage of reintegration facilities tailored to their needs, say analysts and returnees. After leaving the LRA, former female combatants return to their villages with children forcibly fathered by LRA commanders and delivered in the bush. They are often shunned by their families and stigmatised as 'bush women' by their communities.

This week marks 100 years of International Women’s Day with a theme that mentions the need for a pathway to decent work for women. Despite the fact women cross-border traders make huge contributions to African economies, their path to decent work is still strewn with difficulty and danger. A recent United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) report surveyed 700 cross-border traders in Southern Africa and found that most women traders had reported sexual abuse and harassment. This exposes women traders to HIV infection and other sexually-transmitted diseases, yet nobody seems to take action.

The Executive Director of GAMCOTRAP, Dr Isatou Touray, is one of the recipients of the Africa Gender Award 2011 by FAMEDEV (Femme et media et Development) headed by a Gambian, Amie Joof-Cole based in Dakar, Senegal. Dr Touray is amongst other prestigious awardees such as the Senegalese President, His Excellency Abdoulaye Wade. Imam Baba Muhtarr Leigh, received the award on behalf of Dr Touray.

'Freedom of Information and Women’s Rights in Africa' is a toolkit guide published by the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) with the support of UNESCO. The book provides guidance for women’s organisations in Africa on how to organise around freedom of information. It has compiled five case studies from five African countries, namely, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia under different scenarios.

The uprisings sweeping the Arab world have been provoked by long injustice, low income, police brutality, and lack of social security. While the world looks at this, the suffering of up to three million maids across the Arab world remains wrapped in silence. Victims of abuse, confinement and rape, migrant domestic workers are often invisible because they suffer in places that remain hidden to the public eye, mostly private homes.

The Mozambican Association for the Defence of Sexual Minorities (LAMBDA), the only organisation in the country working for gay, lesbian and transsexual citizens, has praised Justice Minister Benvinda Levi for her categorical statement that homosexuality is not illegal in Mozambique. Levi was speaking in Geneva on 1 February at the review of Mozambique’s human rights record under the Universal Periodic Mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council.

Malawian civil society organisations have lashed out at religious leaders in support of the new bill outlawing lesbianism in Malawi, stating, 'Christianity as a religion should not be used to alienate diversity, people in Malawi come from different backgrounds and have different beliefs and traditions.' This came after Malawian Council of Churches (MCC) Chairperson Bishop Joseph Bvumbwe said same-sex practices 'threaten the family unit' and 'contradict Malawi’s rich traditions, culture and its spirituality as a God fearing nation'.

Côte d’Ivoire has been in a political impasse since the declaration of contested results of a second round of presidential elections held in November 2010. Since both candidates claimed victory and have been sworn in, the country has two presidents and two governments. In order to understand the impact of this situation on women and women’s rights organisations, AWID (Association for Women’s Rights in Development) spoke with two women’s rights defenders, Mata Coulibaly, president of SOS EXCLUSION and Honorine Sadia Vehi Toure, president of Génération femmes du troisième millénaire (GFM3), as well as with an Ivorian politician who prefers to remain anonymous and to whom we have given the pseudonym of Sophie.

Mount Elgon in Western Kenya is one of the most marginalised regions in the country. It is so marginalised that it is the only area where not even an inch of tarmac road has been constructed. The area is characterised by violent conflicts over land, as well as retrogressive cultural practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and early child marriages. It is from these harsh conditions that Jennifer Masis has risen, against great odds, to be a formidable force in the fight for women’s empowerment.

Liberia is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be pregnant - one in 20 women will die during pregnancy or childbirth. But the government is launching new projects to deal with the problem. One such project began in February, with the opening of the first of seven ‘maternity waiting homes’ in Bong County, in north-central Liberia. A ‘maternity waiting home’ is a facility, within easy reach of a hospital or health centre, that is equipped with medical supplies and provides antenatal care with skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetric care.

Despite the signing of international peace agreements, a deadly 15 year war continues in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Women shoulder a disproportionate burden of the conflict. Women in Eastern DRC, face threats of violence and pervasive insecurity, lack of livelihoods, educational inequalities, and poor health and wellbeing. This document from Women for Women International captures the voices of women in North and South Kivu in Eastern DRC.