Who should care about stoning?

Today sees the launch of a new Global Campaign to Stop Stoning. Rochelle Terman examines the history of this gendered practice of violence against women. With stoning, as with all forms of culturally-justified violence against women, it is very difficult to see where culture ends and politics begin.

Dangerous laughter: the mocking of Gender Studies in academia

Gender Studies is an increasingly established and influential area of study and research, however it continues to be the object of sustained mocking within, and beyond, academia. This allegedly ‘innocent teasing’ has significant and negative effects, says Maria do Mar Pereira.

The fetishists of nuclear power projection have had their day

Those who build, target, deploy and fire nuclear weapons are not supposed to think about the humanitarian consequences. They are not supposed to behave "like women". But a growing number of nuclear free countries are doing just this, and taking the lead in declaring it's time to outlaw these weapons of mass suffering.

CSW: the gulf between the UN and civil society

We are worlds apart. Separated not just by First Avenue, but by a vast gap in beliefs, philosophy, ideas and hopes. Margaret Owen, director of an NGO, reports on the battle over the text of the Agreed Conclusions at the 57th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

CSW: Voices from Afghanistan

The engagement of women as suicide bombers in the Taliban insurgency manifests fresh directions in the approaches and ideologies of those who are behind it. Counterinsurgency measures need to pay attention to the factors that drive women and girls to join the Taliban as suicide bombers, says Massouda Jalal

Criminal law: HIV and violence against women

Recent court decisions in Canada on HIV non-disclosure are bad science, bad public health policy, and bad medicine for women, says Louise Binder

Afghanistan: the blind pursuit of peace and reconciliation

Our peace process is a vessel for enabling more human rights violations to ensue in the near future. We need the international community to join us in strengthening the human rights of Afghan women. Let no country stand alone in protecting its people, says Massouda Jalal

CSW: women of old age - a lifetime of violence

Women's organisations working to address violence against older women are calling a for special convention of older people, and for amendments to the Agreed Conclusions now being argued over at the CSW.

Ex-President Zapatero : the fate of the new political man

As a "convinced and proud feminist" José Luis Rodrigues Zapatero opted for feminist strategies and policies as a means of furthering democracy. Liz Cooper suggests his failure to be recognised is because in a patriarchal society, equal rights for women, homosexuals, the old and dependent, are not seen as the stuff of politics

The post 2015 development agenda: what's at stake for the world's women?

"We want to be included. We are still invisible in the process of consultation. We are the key stakeholders. Inequality is part of discrimination. We want inequality to be included in the goals"- Jhocas Castillo, community organiser in Manila. Valeria Costa-Kostritsky reports from the UN CSW

Mazí Mas, “with us”

Women have played a seminal role in keeping food cultures all over the world alive. Nikandre Kopcke discusses her inspiration for setting up a pop-up restaurant which showcases the culinary talents and diverse cultural heritages of migrant women in London.

Beyond a war of words: will the UN agree to act to end violence against women?

The 57th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women opens today with member States - and thousands of women's rights advocates and organisations - set to debate how to end violence against women. Valeria Costa-Kostritsky reports from New York

Gender violence in the media: elusive reality

The death of Reeva Steenkamp has highlighted the problematic way in which the media treat the issue of domestic violence.  We need a better way to transmit and therefore tackle the reality – how violence is built into our lives and how space is gendered, says Heather McRobie.

Banning nuclear weapons: this time lip service will not be enough

A new grassroots network  launches this week with the twin aims of scrapping Trident and persuading the UK to join other governments in multilateral negotiations to achieve a global treaty banning nuclear weapons. If we get our strategies right, the peace movement can win this one, says Rebecca Johnson. 

A transformative strategy: the true value of investing in women’s rights

What happened to the largest pot of money ever made available for advancing gender equality and human rights? Srilatha Batliwala reports on the results of AWID's aggregate analysis of the impact of the MDG 3 Fund.

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