BRUSSELS, Jan 8 (IPS) - Extreme poverty will continue to blight sub-Saharan Africa for another 200 years unless action to overcome it is intensified, a new report has suggested.

BERKELEY, California, Jan 2 (IPS) - The U.S. government's calls for civil society to work for "regime change" in Iran has increased pressure on activists on the ground who are engaged in a peaceful process of improving their society and addressing social problems, according to Sussan Tahmasebi, a prominent women's right activist in Iran who has not been allowed to leave the country for the past two years.

CAPE TOWN, Dec 29 (IPS) - A few years ago 66-year-old grandmother Regina Fhiceka and her family of five ate vegetables only once a week. They would survive on maize and bread the rest of the time -- the cheapest food available in the poor township of Philippi, just 15 minutes from the affluent business district of Cape Town.

SRINAGAR, Dec 26 (IPS) - With voting for the provincial elections in Indian Kashmir safely over, observers say that what was remarkable about the process -- apart from its relative peacefulness -- was the active participation of women in a Muslim-majority state.

MEXICO CITY, Dec 20 (Tierramérica) - Margarita Mbyvângi, the first indigenous woman to hold a ministerial post in Paraguay, is facing charges of ineffectiveness from among her own ranks. But she is asking for time to achieve her goal: that no one will suffer the slavery and rootlessness that she experienced for nearly 20 years.

COLOMBO, Dec 19 (IPS) - As the Sri Lankan army pushes deeper into Tamil rebel-held territory hundreds women can only pray that their sons and husbands, believed held captive by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), are spared.

DURBAN, Dec 17 (IPS) - Each year, for 16 days in December, the world’s focus shifts towards taking action against gender-based violence. Governments and civil society organisations raise awareness around women’s rights and lobby for gender equality. But activists lament that little action is taken throughout the rest of the year and women’s legal rights often fail to be implemented and put to action.

LISBON, Dec 16 (IPS) - "Portugal does not own the European Union’s strategy for Africa, but we do feel a special affection for that continent and recognise that our relationship with them is unlike that with any other region in the world."

NAIROBI, Dec 16 (IPS) - Pressure is mounting to include a National Land Policy that ensures equal access to land between women and men in Kenya's new constitution.

MADRID, Dec 12 (IPS) - The Spanish government announced a new plan Friday to combat human trafficking, which includes a measure for the immediate seizure of the assets of anyone convicted of involvement in such activities, in particular, those who force foreign women into prostitution.

LOS CACAOS, Dominican Republic, Dec 12 (Tierramérica) - Communities in 10 southern provinces of the Dominican Republic are feeling the benefits from the collective activities of small growers of organic coffee. Women participate in the production and sale of the coffee, and their sons and daughters are pursuing studies in order to improve the sector's productivity.

NEW YORK, Dec 11 (IPS) - One night, in a country swept up in a long and harrowing armed conflict, Liberian social worker Leymah Gbowee dreamt that she gathered women together to pray for peace.

MEXICO CITY, Dec 10 (IPS) - When transsexuals or transgender persons in the Mexican capital have their birth certificates altered to reflect their change in identity, is it legal to include a notation on the new document indicating that Ms Y used to be Mr X?

MBABANE, Dec 8 (IPS) - When a Swazi women's rights organisation noticed that many women continue to stay in violent relationships because they are financially dependent on their abusive partners, they knew something had to change. They started self-help groups that assist women in breaking away from gender-based violence (GBV) by gaining financial muscle.

LUSAKA, Dec 5 (IPS) - "There will be no peace, security and sustainable economic development in Zambia as long as women’s rights continue to be treated as a secondary issue," said Non-Governmental Organisation Coordination Committee (NGOCC) chairperson Marian Munyinda.

Two men entered guilty pleas Wednesday after firebombing the office of Dr. Curtis Boyd, an Albuquerque abortion provider. The men broke one of the clinic's windows, poured gasoline into the building, and ignited a fire before fleeing, according to the

Ghana's retired Supreme Court Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo became the first woman elected Speaker of Ghana's Parliament on Wednesday. Speaker Bamford-Addo was sworn in by Chief Justice Theodora Wood after she was elected to the position unanimously, reported

In an outstanding victory for women's rights, the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act were the first bills to pass the House in the new legislative session. The Paycheck Fairness Act passed w...

US Senators and national civil rights leaders expressed their support of the nomination of Eric Holder to the position of US Attorney General in a press conference yesterday. Participants included Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and representatives from the

Seven South Carolina state representatives prefiled a bill in December that aims to tighten regulations on abortion. The existing state law requires that women have an ultrasound and wait one hour after discussing the details of the abortion procedure prior to the abortion. According to