News headlines in March 2011, page 33

Not so long ago, my colleague Nasrin Sotoudeh was the lawyer that so many of us human rights defenders in Iran called when our own government harassed us or put one of us, or a family member, in jail. Sadly, it is now Nasrin who is in jail, one of many in Iran targeted -and punished- for speaking up for the rights of others, writes Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and co-founder of the Nobel Women's Initiative, a global women's rights organisation that also includes five of her sister Nobel Peace Laureates.

Violence against women is not a subject that one would normally associate with comic strip books, but a French publisher thought this would be a 'perfect' medium for raising awareness among both young and old.

Sobia Aslam, in her forties and twice divorced, often feels she should get married a third time.

Eleven soldiers found culpable in the rape of more than 50 women in the Congolese town of Fizi Centre in January, have begun serving lengthy sentences in the provincial capital, Bukavu. Their speedy trial and sentencing by a mobile court is a welcome sign of a new commitment to ending impunity for sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

'It is yet another significant day in the life of women across the world in the struggle for gender equality and equity. It is for this reason that women look forward to marking yet another International Women Day,' says Janet Kanene, a gender studies university student.

'It is yet another significant day in the life of women across the world in the struggle for gender equality and equity. It is for this reason that women look forward to marking yet another International Women Day,' says Janet Kanene, a gender studies university student.

Under growing political pressure at home, President Barack Obama inched closer here Monday towards committing U.S. military power to at least protecting areas under rebel control, if not ending the 42-year reign of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.

Hugo Chavez's offer to mediate in the Libyan crisis marks the Venezuelan president's latest attention-grabbing foray onto the world stage, yet analysts warn that he risks 'ending up on the wrong side of history' if he stands by Muammar Gaddafi's internationally discredited regime.

Amarilis Chilel, 15, left her hometown of Ixchiguán in northwest Guatemala to work as a domestic in the capital: a common story among rural girls and women in Central America. 'I went to school up to fourth grade,' she told IPS.

The international community is ramping up efforts to alleviate the growing humanitarian crisis in Libya, with has affected over 200,000 people since the Muammar Gaddafi regime first began a violent crackdown on opposition forces some three weeks ago.