Prime Minister Boiko M. Borisov of Bulgaria has instituted a policy to increase women’s participation in politics. He has recently endorsed a “legion of women”, changing the almost exclusively male face of Bulgarian politics.

It is a promising, exciting time for Iraqis as they await their second major post-war parliamentary elections. For the women, though, this time is also a bleak reminder of the long and difficult road that lies ahead before they can exert any significant political influence in what has always been a very “male-oriented culture.”

Despite the sixteen years that have passed since the end the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the deep wounds across the country remain all too visible. Avega Agahozo, a non-profit association of genocide widows, demonstrates how this slow process of recovery is directly linked to the wounds thousands of Rwandan women continue to suffer from in complete silence.