The Confederation of African Football (CAF) are set to introduce gender testing before the next African Women Championship in 2010.

Born in Bizerta on January 2, 1909, Tawhida Ben Cheikh, the first Tunisian and Arab female physician, celebrated on Friday her hundredth birthday.

A law passed in November 2008 prohibiting female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in the state of Southern Kordofan is unique in Sudan. But for it to translate into genuine abolition, deep-seated attitudes and misinformation will have to be overcome.

A select group of reporters and some staff of Bayero University, Kano had waited patiently at the office of Dr Umar Faruq Jibril, the Head of Department of Mass Communication, of the institution to speak with the Head of BBC Hausa Service, Jamila Tangaza.

Detectives at the Mararaba Police Station are trying to find out why a 30-year-old housewife Olajimoke Ilesonmi allegedly set her husband and their four-month-old son ablaze in their apartment at Mararaba, Nasarawa State, on Christmas eve.

THOUSANDS of youths and women, in collaboration with the Edo State chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Civil Society Organisations, yesterday, protested the deplorable state of the Benin-Lagos expressroad and the Benin-Okene expressroad.

Clarisse Bilai, 29, has been working as what she calls a "house girl" for almost 10 years, living first with her aunt in central Togo in the town of Sokode before they moved to the capital Lome. Having left her birth country, Ghana, at age nine, Bilai helped clean her aunt's house while she made money as a street vendor until age 23. But she wanted more, she told IRIN.

The Federal Government is to partner with Canada in the implementation of a new policy framework on Millennium Development Goals gender related issues.

An Abuja-based Muslim cleric has called on Muslims in the country to educate their children, especially the female ones, in order to eradicate poverty from the society.

The Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) gender desk plans to form clubs that will embark on fighting Gender Based Violence (GBV) by February next year, they will also help in alleviating poverty among women.

Niger State has been recording a steady decline in the enrolment of girl-child into higher educational institutions, heightening the fears that the state may not meet up the 30 percent world minimum representation of women in all socio-economic and political development by the year 2020.

The Ministry of Family and Woman Promotion (Minfamu), announced on Monday in Luanda that it will carry out several actions aimed at promoting family competence and women's empowerment and capacity-building at all levels.

Girls are paraded after undergoing circumcision in Bukwo in eastern Uganda. The traditional practice can sometimes lead to over-bleeding

Head held high and determination written all over her face, Chelangat was wrestled to the ground. Her legs were spread wide open before a grim woman in her late 60s poured a handful of yeast in her private parts. The yeast is meant to increase friction on her clitoris during the 'operation'.

ABOUT 500 girls were circumcised in Sebei region over the Christmas period, a sharp rise in Female Genital Mutilation from just 90 in the previous circumcision season.

The Sokoto State government has said it would ensure diversification of projects and programmes to engender balanced development and fair distribution of basic amenities in all parts of the state as a focus of next year's budget.

Rwanda held landmark parliamentary elections on 15 September 2008.

Students of Kigali Institute of Education (KIE), members of the gender club have completed a two-day training on gender consciousness and gender based violence.

Tunis, December 30, 2008- Following its 17 th congress, held in Gammarth, North of Tunis on Sunday, the Tunisian Writer's Union elected its Executive Board and at its head, Mrs Jamila Mejri, who becomes the first woman to occupy this function.

Women in Malawi continue to be exposed to the risk of HIV infection as the country does not have laws criminalizing social or cultural practices that negatively impinge their rights basing on their sex.