• Women Participation in Politics Discussed in Luanda. [AllAfrica.com] Angolan women participation in political and public activity in the country will be discussed in Luanda by local and foreign specialists. The event will be jointly organized by the Non-Governmental Organization Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) and the UN Human Rights Office. The meeting will discuss such topics as Angolan women situation in public affairs, political upgrading, election as a strategic moment for the rise in the number of women participation in decision-making organs and their role in the consolidation of peace.

Cameroon

• Prudence's Struggle Ends. [New York Times] As Prudence Lemokouno lay on a hospital bed here, spitting blood, her breath coming in terrible rattles, it was obvious that what was killing her wasn’t so much complications in pregnancy as the casual disregard for women like her across much of the developing world. Neither Western donor countries like the United States nor poor recipients like Cameroon care much about Africans who are poor, rural and female, so half a million such women die each year around the world in pregnancy.  It’s not biology that kills them so much as neglect.

• Rape Risk Spirals for Darfur Women. [BBC News] I have come here because of alarming reports of rapes, on the rise since African Union troops were forced to abandon "firewood patrols", which once escorted women to the periphery of the camp to collect wood for fuel. Twenty-one women and girls have been raped in Kassab camp in the past two weeks - 21 of them! It is a staggering figure that gives some insight into the vulnerability of areas where peacekeepers are absent.

• Renewed Efforts to Outlaw Female Genital Mutilation. [Reuters AlertNet, UK] Women in Eritrea have joined a nationwide campaign to try to eradicate FGM by lobbying for a law to ban the practice and raise mass awareness among the population. "We are campaigning throughout the country with different institutions, including religious leaders and government ministries," Dehab Suleiman, the head of information and research at NUEW, said. "We also want parliament to change the law to make it illegal." According to the NUEW, an estimated 94% of Eritrea's women have undergone the practice. "Most of the women undergo the mild type - especially in the highlands where farmers live. The more serious type - infibulation - is more common among the pastoralists in the lowlands."

• Drafting Women's Bill. [AllAfrica.com] The Vice President and secretary of State for Women's Affairs, Ajaratou Dr. Isatou Njie-saidy has that the implementation of a Women's Bill is challenged by lack of harmonization of our national laws, and effective awareness creation amongst the citizenry. The second citizen made these remarks at the Paradise suites Hotel yesterday where she officially a two day consultative meeting on the review process of the laws leading to drafting a women's bill for The Gambia.

• Women Bill Being Developed By Women. [AllAfrica.com] The Gambia Women's Bureau started a two-day consultative workshop on the review and drafting of Women's Bill as part of activities of its Silver Jubilee celebrations held at the Paradise Suites Hotel. The program is facilitated by the Women's Bureau in collaboration with Pro-Poor, and funded by UNICEF and ActionAid International The Gambia. Pro-Poor Coordinator, Dr Siga Jagne, in her statement, said that with the Women's Bill, they would cooperate on all affairs concerning women and also ensure that the fruit of their work and the Bill are reaped not only by women but also by the poor who are the most vulnerable.

• UN Envoy Praises the Role of Women At All Levels of Government. [AllAfrica.com] Speaking at a high-level forum in Liberia, which is run by Africa's only female president, the top UN envoy to the country praised the role of women at all levels of Government, saying they bring a "different perspective" to development and stressing the benefits of their involvement, particularly in the health and education sectors.

• Female Lawmakers Renew Commitment. [AllAfrica.com] Eleven of the 14 female members of the 52nd National Legislature of Liberia have renewed commitment to constructively engage their male counterparts during plenary on issues affecting the country. They made the commitment yesterday at the end of a three-day workshop organized by the International Republican Institute (IRI) in Monrovia. Many of the women told reporters at the climax of the IRI-sponsored Women Legislative Caucus Workshop held at the Panache Restaurant in Monrovia that the workshop has stimulated their interest in actively introducing issues on the floor during plenary for debates and decision-making both in parliament and the larger society.

Nigeria

• UNICEF Supports Female Education. [OhmyNews International, South Korea] In its bid to ensure success of its maximum enrolment drive for female child education in Nigeria, UNICEF has earmarked US$47 million to be expended on the project which is operating in six states of the country. The UNICEF Girl Education Project (GEP) project, according to country director Dr. Aminata Maiga, focuses on the northern part of Nigeria, where girls' enrolment, retention, and completion rates in primary schools are particularly low.

• Women Deserve Respect. [The Tide, Nigeria] Throughout history and nowadays in all the world, women are mainly the victims of oppressors in human relationships. In Nigeria, the situation is not different. In Yoruba culture for example, “women must pretend to be ignorant and acquiescent in the presence of their husbands, and when serving meals, they are required to kneel at their husband’s feet.” In other parts of the world, this subservience may be shown in a variety of ways a wife’s having to walk a certain distance behind her husband or having to walk while he rides a horse or a mule or having to carry burdens while the husband carries none or having to eat separately, and so on.

• Sarita: Calling All Female Drinkers. [iAfrica.com] South African Breweries has launched a new alcoholic apple drink — to be called Sarita, which will target the female drinker, the group said on Thursday. The mellow and dry drink will have 5.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). SAB currently has around 50% of the total flavored alcoholic drink (Fad) market in South Africa. The group said Sarita is positioned as an exclusive and superior quality alternative alcoholic beverage blended from four apple varieties.

• Female Prisoners' Suffering Ignored. [Mail & Guardian Online, South Africa] The Jali commission has shone a brutal light on violence and sexual abuse in South African prisons. But the investigation has largely focused on the experience of male inmates, while the battles female prisoners face “on the inside” have been downplayed in the commission’s findings. Brenda Wardle, convicted of fraud, is an ex-inmate of the female wing of the Johannesburg Central Prison, known as “Sun City”. Her personal experience of jail was not laced with tales of brutal midnight gang rapes and beatings. However, she says women inmates are abused and beaten by female warders who are careful to ensure there are no witnesses, and who take advantage of the culture of silence that is an integral part of prison life.

• 'Short Distance to Schools Reduces Female Drop Outs'. [Daily News - TSN, United Republic of Tanzania] Girl completion rates at secondary school level are expected to continue dwindling in Mtwara region if rapid measures are not put in place to check the long distances between homes and schools. This was said yesterday by the Regional Local Government Officer, Mr. Prometh Kisaro, after the government of Japan and Tanzania signed contracts to construct school facilities for Mtangalanga and Kiuta Secondary Schools in Newala District, Mtwara region. Mr Kisaro said that the region was witnessing a high rate of pregnancies among secondary school students because girls needed to commute up to 20 kms everyday from their homes to school.

• Top Female Athlete Tsatsa Wins Prestigious Marathon. [People's Daily Online, China] One of Zimbabwe's top female middle- and long-distance runners Thabita Tsatsa raced into international recognition when she won the 103rd edition of the prestigious City to City Heritage Ultra Marathon in South Africa.