FRIDAY FILE: Conversations about funding for women and girls were a focal point at this year’s Annual General Assembly of the European Foundation Centre (EFC) held from 26-28th May in Cascais, Portugal, thanks to the launch of strategic visionary research produced by Mama Cash and the Foundation Center (FC).

By Amanda Shaw and Veronica Vidal Degirogis

“Untapped Potential: European Foundation Funding for Women and Girls” is a bold new study exploring a previously under-researched subject – namely, what, why, and how European foundations fund.

FRIDAY FILE: The release of recent figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that, despite an increase over 2009, donor countries are way off track on delivering on their aid disbursement commitments. Women’s organizations are mobilizing for profound changes in the system to better meet development needs and guarantee respect for women’s rights.

By Ana Inés Abelenda and Anne Schoenstein

FRIDAY FILE: The low numbers of women elected into public office in Nigeria’s recent elections reflect the slow pace of change and even regression in the country’s legislative, political and social systems. AWID interviewed two Nigerian women’s rights commentators about women’s participation and performance in the 2011 elections.

By Kathambi Kinoti

FRIDAY FILE: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has established an Office of the Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders to address the increasing violence against those who defend human rights in the region. Women's rights and human rights organizations welcome the news as a progressive step towards protecting women human rights defenders.

By Analía Penchaszadeh

FRIDAY FILE: From March 5-8, 2011, the 6th Continental Meeting of Indigenous Women of the Americas (ECMIA in Spanish) took place in the Hueyapan Community, in Morelos, Mexico. AWID spoke to two of the participants, Cecilia Velasque and Tania Pariona Tarqui, about the event and their insights on the status of indigenous women’s rights in the region.

By Gabriela De Cicco

The importance of sharing, learning and growing as leaders

FRIDAY FILE: Every year, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice produces a Gender Report Card that assesses the progress of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in rendering gender-inclusive justice. AWID spoke with Brigid Inder, the Executive Director of the Women’s Initiatives, about the issues highlighted by the ICC Gender Report Card 2010.

By Kathambi Kinoti

FRIDAY FILE: The Personal Status and Family Code of Mali was adopted in 2009 by the National Assembly, but promulgation by the President of Mali has been delayed until now due to the mobilization of Muslim religious organizations opposed to it.

AWID interviewed Djingarey Ibrahim Maiga, the President of Femmes et Droits Humains, and Yaba Tamboura, member of the Steering Committee of Collectif des Femmes du Mali (COFEM) on the status of the new Personal Status and Family Code of Mali (hereafter referred to as the Family Code).

By Massan d’Almeida

FRIDAY FILE: Growing unemployment, dwindling pensions, increasing taxes, domestic violence and a possible reinforcing of “traditional values” were just a few of the challenges facing women during Greece’s first wave of economic crisis and structural adjustment.

By Lois Woestman and Kathambi Kinoti

FRIDAY FILE: “The Colombian armed conflict has been going on for over 50 years and has developed alongside the situation of poverty in the country. Forced displacements, massacres of the Colombian people and other acts violating international humanitarian law are taking place, principally affecting women”.

By Gabriela De Cicco

FRIDAY FILE: Microfinance is often regarded as having significant potential to alleviate poverty. Despite some success stories, though, micro-credit arrangements with unscrupulous lenders frequently contribute to making bad situations worse by driving women deeper into poverty and desperation. Many Dalit women have experienced the down-side of microcredit, the most common form of microfinance.

By Kathambi Kinoti