For the past year, Israelis and Palestinians have been participating in a weekly demonstration against the evacuation of Palestinian families from their houses in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Last summer, in the midst of the demonstrations,a feminist debate flared up on the internet following the request of organizers of the "Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement", who asked protesters to come to the demonstrations dressed in a way that respects the values of the Palestinian residents of the neighborhood.

FRIDAY FILE: Since the end of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, there have been tremendous gains for women, particularly on the political front.

By Kathambi Kinoti

Rwandan President Paul Kagame was re-elected into office last September with an overwhelming majority vote of well over 90 percent. Kagame played a central role in putting an end to the horrific events of 1994 that saw between an eighth to a fifth Rwanda’s population massacred in a period of three months.

FRIDAY FILE: Due to the financial and economic crisis, renewed attention has been placed on Financial Transaction Taxes (FTTs), which have been lauded by proponents for both their revenue generating potential and regulatory effects.[1] The crisis – which has disproportionately impacted women – has reversed many development gains of the last 10 years.

FRIDAY FILE: Fifty four years ago, in 1956, Tunisia adopted its Personal Status Code, the most progressive legislation in terms of women’s rights in the Arab world. What provisions of this law safeguard women’s rights and interests within marriage and in the event of divorce? How does the Code promote equality between men and women?

By Massan d’Almeida

Marriage

FRIDAY FILE: How do women fare in this rich nation with a relatively poor women’s rights record?

By Kathambi Kinoti

FRIDAY FILE: How do women fare in the prosperous Mediterranean nation of Cyprus?

By Kathambi Kinoti

Cyprus is a nation with a rich cultural history that stretches back over many centuries.Its modern history has been dominated by the territorial conflict between Turkey and Greece, and it is a unique nation, prosperous in some ways and challenged in others.

Girls and boys have equal access to education, and at higher education institutions,young women outperform men by number and by performance.

Well, this is fun. Three women, not zero, or one, or two, but three now sit on the Supreme Court. Three seems formidable. Somehow one seems like a token gesture, when all the rest remain men. And two seems tokenish because what can two do. But three—three is a third of the Court. Three is also an odd number and it seems like one might be moving to something of consequence.

Well, this is fun. Three women, not zero, or one, or two, but three now sit on the Supreme Court. Three seems formidable. Somehow one seems like a token gesture, when all the rest remain men. And two seems tokenish because what can two do. But three—three is a third of the Court. Three is also an odd number and it seems like one might be moving to something of consequence.

By Zillah Eisenstein

FRIDAY FILE: The war against HIV and AIDS cannot be won without a rights based approach.

By Kathambi Kinoti

On January 31st and February 1st, 2008, 50 women’s rights activists and gender experts from all regions participated in the International Consultation of Women’s Organizations and Networks and Aid Effectiveness organized by the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Women in Development Europe (WIDE), with the sponsorship of CIDA-Canada, UNIFEM and Action Aid International. This document summarizes the recommendations from the Consultation.

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