The G7 leaders have been told to get rid of discriminatory gender laws that still exist on their statute books and begin enshrining equal rights in the legal system.

In Sudan, women are well-represented in the workforce. They are not lacking in any public spaces. And over the past few months, they have made up half, if not more, of the protest crowds making demands of their new transitional government.

Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to Iraq, Alice Walpole, on Sunday called for an increase of women’s role in politics and include them in the decision-making process in Iraq and elsewhere.

Her comments were delivered during a regional forum aimed at advancing women’s rights in Iraq and across the Middle Eastern region, with participants from Iraq, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, and Yemen.

In 1973, Congress declared August 26th "Women's Equality Day."

The date, according to the National Women's History Alliance, celebrates the passage of the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote, and brings awareness to the continued fight for women's equality.

The G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council releases today its Recommendations for advancing gender equality and the empowerment of girls and women and Call to Action.

The sheer tenacity of women raising their voices and organising for fundamental change has been, and will continue to be, the driving force for achieving women’s rights and a gender-equal world. Yet we cannot ignore the fundamental role that governments can play in either promoting or thwarting change.