Algeria: New women's radio station (MEMRI)
13/05/2008 An Algerian women's association has announced the launch of a radio station for women, an innovation in Algeria and in the Arab world. The station is aimed at "supporting the Algerian woman's great struggle against violence and extremism, and advancing it on the legal, media, and cultural level."

Tajikistan: UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women to visit Tajikistan (WUNRN)
13/05/2008 Prof. Yakin Ertürk, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences, will conduct an official visit to Tajikistan, at the invitation of the Government, from 15 to 23 May 2008. During her visit, the Special Rapporteur will meet with Government authorities, civil society members, representatives of United Nations agencies and international organizations, and individual victims of violence against women to assess the types of violence against women in Tajikistan as well as the State response to address such violence.

Saudi Arabia: Young woman married at 10 years old must pay for divorce (AKI)
13/05/2008 A 23 year old woman, forced to marry at ten in Saudi Arabia, was ordered to pay the equivalent of 16,750 euros to obtain a divorce from her husband, according to Saudi daily al-Watan. The girl, deemed as a 'rebel' by a judge in the capital, Riyadh, was forced to marry a 67-year-old man due to her family's economic problems, in exchange for a dowry of 100,000 Saudi riyals (16,750 euros).

Kenya: Muslim clerics declare war on condoms (IRIN Africa)
13/05/2008 Muslim leaders in Kenya's North Eastern Province have resolved to campaign against the promotion of condoms as a means of preventing HIV. The decision was made after a recent meeting on the theme of "Islam and Health", attended by more than 60 Muslim scholars and teachers in the provincial capital of Garissa.

Middle East: Annual women's bike ride for peace and solidarity (Turkish Daily News)
13/05/2008 Affected by the murder of Italian artist Pippa Bucca, 21 Turkish women are taking part in a 296-km bike ride from Beirut to Palestine this May, and dedicate their ride to her and peace. The ride is organized by Follow the Women and over 500 women from 30 countries are expected to participate

Peru: Crimes of passion: Hundreds of women murdered in the name of 'honour' and 'passion' (IPS)
10/05/2008 Close to 70 percent of all the women killed in one year in Peru died at the hands of their husbands, partners, lovers or boyfriends, and the murders were committed at home or in a place that was frequented by the couple. Violence against women has reached alarming levels in Latin America. More than 300 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, in the last 11 years, while in Guatemala, 500 women suffered the same fate in the 2000-2004 period. Peru's case is also dramatic, to the point that people have begun to talk of "femicide," or the murder of a person based on the fact of the victim's being female.

India: Increase in women-initiated divorces (The Independent)
8/05/2008 "India is a country where marriage is considered sacred, so it is hardly a surprise that there is no word in Hindi for divorce. But increasing numbers of women trapped in unhappy relationships are finding a way out." "To the casual observer, Heena may have appeared to have everything that many young Indian women aspire to. She had her own burgeoning career, a marriage and two children. What she also had – albeit largely hidden from public view – was an alcoholic and abusive husband.

Afghanistan:"My husband cut off my ears and nose and broke my teeth" (IRIN)
6/05/2008 Doctors at a hospital in Qalat, capital of Zabul Province in southern Afghanistan, are treating a brutally tortured woman whose husband cut off both her ears and nose, broke her teeth and shaved her head only three months after their marriage. The victim, 16-year-old Nazia, is also suffering from psychiatric distress due to her experience, according to a doctor in Qalat hospital.

Africa: Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) regional consultation meeting (WGNRR)
4/05/2008 In 2008 the WGNRR Regional consultation meeting in Africa will be linked to the AWID Forum. This year’s Africa RCM is to strengthen linkages and facilitate networking between WGNRR members both in Africa and other regions. It will address regional reproductive and sexual health and rights (RSHR) issues and have a specific focus on this year’s call for action “Women and Conflict”.

Jordan: Increased domestic violence among Iraqi refugees (IRIN Middle East)
3/05/2008 A study published in March by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on the mental state of Iraqis in Jordan and Lebanon has pointed to mounting social and economic problems as the cause of increased domestic violence. "Most families prefer to sweep their problems under the carpet because [to them] reputation matters more than anything else," said Shankul Kader from the Jordanian-Iraqi Brotherhood Society, a non-governmental organisation trying to help the Iraqi community in Jordan.