Source: The Herald
AFRICAN women from more than 12 countries in the region will from  today meet in Harare and deliberate on ways to accelerate implementation  of international commitments for the advancement of gender equality and  economic empowerment.
Source: IRIN
“My father is old. At home we did not have enough for everyone, so I  wanted to better our situation and join the army to help my family and  my mother... After one year with the armed group FSR [Front for the  Salvation of the Republic], I became commander of a group of 50  fighters.
		
Source: IRIN
Given the choice, people preferred to pay for subsidized condoms in  attractive packaging because it gave them greater social status, rather  than using free condoms, an official in the northern Zambian town of  Mpulungu told IRIN. 
		
Source: USAID
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a speech at Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman, Sudan, on April 9, USAID Deputy Administrator Donald  Steinberg announced a new USAID global grant program to increase the  substantive involvement of women in peace processes. 
Source: IPS
As Nigeria tries again to begin its staggered  general elections on Apr. 9, spare a thought for the women who will be  putting themselves forward as candidates in an overwhelmingly male  field.
		
					
 Source: IPS
Martha Karua fears nothing and no one, and when  her adversaries look back at her long track record in politics, they  must get nervous. This previously staunch supporter of Mwai Kibaki  resigned as justice minister in 2009, and will challenge all comers for  the presidency at the head of her own party next year.
		
					
Source: UN WOMEN
Closing Keynote delivered by Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women at the Women’s Funding Network Global Conference, Brooklyn, New York, on 9th April 2011.
Source: IFAD
Last  week while visiting the IFAD-funded Central Kenya Dry Area  Smallholder  Community Services Development Project and Mount Kenya East  Pilot  Project for Natural Resources Management, I had the privilege to  meet  inspiring and successful women such as Jane Njaguara, Lizz  Wangari Bundi  and the Wangu Environmental Conservation Women’s group.
		
Source: UN News Centre
The head of the United Nations population fund  today urged Member States and development partners to take quick action  to facilitate universal access to reproductive health, the empowerment  of women and poverty alleviation. 
					
Source: IRIN
As news of Laurent Gbagbo’s fall from Côte d’Ivoire’s presidency spread  around Abidjan, residents of the economic capital expressed a mixture of  relief, anger and apprehension. Albertine, a midwife who hails from the  Cocody District of the city, scene of the fiercest fighting in recent  days, said Alassane Ouattara’s victory as president was tainted. 
		
Source: IRIN
A former politician, diplomat and aid worker, few people have witnessed  the fight against HIV from as many international vantage points as  former UN Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis. Now  co-director of the international advocacy organization, AIDS-Free World,  Lewis spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about the direction of the international  response to HIV. 
Source: Unicef
UNICEF called today for an immediate end to the siege of Misrata,  warning that tens of thousands of children were at risk in the  conflict-ridden city. 
		
Source: The Herald
BEFORE he went silent after he was unceremoniously relieved of the  presidency of the MDC-M, Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur  Mutambara was very vocal about the need to develop a national branding  strategy and a common vision for Zimbabwe.
		
Source: Mail&Guardian
The Muslim Marriages Bill, which seeks to  regularise and regulate Muslim marriages, has been characterised by  extensive consensus building, negotiation and compromise between  academics, activists, religious bodies, civil society organisations and  women's groups. 
		
Source: The Citizen
WINDHOEK. University of Namibia students are participating in a range of activities to create awareness on the need to stamp out gender-based violence after research showed that the problem - which has become an acknowledged social challenge in the country - exists at their institution.
Source: BikyaMasr
CAIRO: A group of some 16 women organization announced on Sunday the  launch of the Women’s Organizations Coalition in a press conference  discussing the role of Egyptian women in formulating and building a  democratic country after the January 25 revolution. 
		
Source:  UN Nesw Centre
Women have  played a critical role in the pro-democracy protest movements that have  swept across North Africa and the Middle East this year, and their  rights and leadership potential must continue to be encouraged, the head  of the new United Nations entity for gender equality and women’s  empowerment said today.  
Source: IRIN
Ivoirians who have fled across the border to Liberia have reported  incidents of rape, sexual abuse and murder to NGOs and human rights  groups working in Grand Geddeh and Nimba counties.
		
Source: World Food Programme
Like many other women in her village, Elise spends all  of her energy providing for her family. Thanks to the Lowlands  Management Project, she can now afford education and health care for her  six children.