North Africa and Middle East

The women’s quota for the parliamentary elections was among several issues that cabinet ministers didn’t agree on during a session held at Baabda Palace on Tuesday, media reports said.

The New York-based Women’s Media Center’s Women Under Siege Project has been using modern technology, from e-mail to YouTube to Twitter, to carry out ground-breaking research into sexualized violence as it unfolds in Syria.

Lecture by incoming AU Commission Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to the ANC Women's League

t is with honour and humility to have been invited to address this gathering on the issue of the African Union. Let me begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to all of you for your good wishes both, during the run up to the election of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and following my successful election as the new Chairperson.

Libyan women's next challenge is securing a foothold in the committee of 60 that will draft a constitution. It is unclear whether this group will be appointed or elected.

Two women are among 120 unaffiliated candidates who have won seats in Libya’s National Assembly, the nation’s first free election following the end of Muammar Qaddafi’s 42-year rule.

Mahmoud Jibril’s moderate National Forces Alliance won 39 of the seats, about half of those set aside for party-affiliated candidates in the 200-member National Assembly. The assembly is due to pick a prime minister and cabinet before full parliamentary elections next year. Jibril is calling for all parties to hold talks on forming a national unity coalition to help rebuild Libya.

South Africa's Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma won a tight fought vote to become the new head of the African Union Commission, the first woman to hold the post, African leaders said.