Women's Campaign International

Happy International Women’s Day!

aileene — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:14:20 +0000

Join WCI tonight at International House at 7pm to celebrate!

Monday, March 8 at 7pm

International International Women’ Day 2010

Join us for a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women.This event will embody the decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development. The evening’s festivities include comedic and musical performances by female artists and opportunities to learn about organizations promoting the empowerment of women. Refreshments and live music follow the performances.

Performers:

Comediennes Rebecca Krefting and Micia Mosely

Sharon Katz and Wendy Quick of The Peace Train

Shayna SheNess Israel, hiphop/spoken word artist

Abigail Hong, violin and Grace Hong, flute

Guest Speakers:

Mary Day Kent, Field Coordinator-MidAtlantic States, CARE

Kerri Kennedy, Executive Director, Women’s Campaign International

Hazami Sayed, Executive Director, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture

Christiaan Morssink, President, UNA-GP

Ulysse Toussaint, creating a non-profit to support women in Haiti

Sponsored by:

International House Philadelphia, CARE USA, Women’s Campaign International, Women’s Caucus for Art Philadelphia, United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania’s African Studies Center, Center for East Asia Studies, South Asia Center, Middle East Center, Penn Women’s Center, One Book One Philadelphia

We Hope you can make it!

Prominent Female Leader Faces Fierce Resistance in Cambodia

aileene — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:08:06 +0000

The Cambodian parliamentary elections are still three years away, but Ms. Mu Sochua, prominent female politician of the opposition party, is already working hard to win her re-election votes “‘one by one.’” Denied access to the government-controlled newspapers and television – and facing fierce resistance from a male-dominated political elite – Ms. Sochua knows that “she has no time to lose.”

Most of her challenges stem directly from the glass-ceiling restricting Cambodian women across all areas of public life. As a current member of parliament and the former Minister of Women’s Affairs, Ms. Sochua is part of a new generation of women in Asia who are slowly making their way into the circle of politics and influence. During her six years in the ministry, she pushed to make women’s issues a central focus during the country’s resurgence from a long, bloody conflict. Throughout those six years, she spoke out against child abuse, marital rape, human trafficking and exploitation of female workers. She even played a major role in drafting Cambodia’s law against domestic violence. Ms. Sochua has worked tirelessly to open thousands of government jobs to women. Partly as a result of her efforts, 27 out of the 123 seats in the National Assembly are held by women.

Despite her efforts in raising awareness of women’s issues and leading the way for a new era of female leadership in the country, she regretfully admits that this has had little impact in such a male-dominated society. When it comes to women’s political empowerment, she explains, the growing number and prominence of women has not translated into progress for the women’s agenda. She explains that even among the 27 women in office, most of them are merely placed as “window-dressing.” Ms. Mu Sochua is highly critical of this: “‘I don’t want to antagonize women,” she explained “but if we suffer in silence we are responsible.’”

Both fearless and outspoken, Ms. Sochua faces far more burdens than the glass-ceiling effect. Her ordeal began last April when Cambodia’s Prime Minister Mr. Hun Sen used a highly insulting, sexist phrase to describe her in front of her own constituency. She immediately sued him for defamation only to find her actions turned against her. The Prime Minister immediately stripped her of her parliamentary immunity, and successfully sued her back with the help of a friendly court room. Sochua now has a fine of $4,000 dollars which she refuses to pay despite the threat of being thrown into jail. For her, though, giving in would be much worse: “‘I’m not going to pay the fine. Paying the fine is saying to Cambodian women, ‘What are you worth? A man can call you anything he wants and there is nothing you can do.’” She continues to refuse, seeing this act of resistance as one of the only ways she has left to fight for the rights of women in her country.

As Ms. Mu Sochua goes from village to village introducing herself, she is always highly aware of the traditional gender roles and disparities of Cambodia. Yet she is also encouraged when men and women tell her in a whisper that they did in fact vote for her. As a woman, and the new face of the opposition, Cambodians often do not associate themselves with her out of fear of being tainted as an opposition movement . This mere associationcould quickly kill their movements and initiatives. What is important, though, is that many secretly admire her and believe in what she is doing. As she travels to the different villages, this number of supporters, although not outspoken, will continue to grow. This may be a small step, but perhaps it is a necessary one in order to slowly, but surely, bring credibility and legitimacy to female leadership in Cambodia.

For the New York Times’ full article about Ms. Mu Sochua, written by Seth Mydans, please click on the following link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/world/asia/22cambowomen.html. This story is part of a yearlong series of articles, columns and multimedia reports where The International Harold Tribune examines where women stand in the early 21^st century.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Faces Catastrophic Challenges During Last Weeks in Office

aileene — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:26:54 +0000

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook the country to its core this Saturday. With powerful aftershocks continuing throughout the weekend, and widespread destruction throughout the entire country, officials could only begin to evaluate the full extent of the damage a few days later. Michelle Bachelet, the first female president of Chile, is ending her four year term as president in just a few weeks. Nonetheless, it may be in her last few weeks in office, following a disaster deemed “unparalleled in the history of Chile,” that she will face the greatest challenge as President of a severely shaken nation in need of leadership now more than ever.

While officials are still evaluating the full extent of the damage, Chilean officials are already describing a bleak picture of a serious humanitarian crisis. It is estimated that 500,000 Chilean residential buildings were severely damaged in the quake, leaving nearly one in eight residents without a home. Over two million have been displaced due to the damage, and the death toll is currently at 700 and quickly rising. In several cities, hundreds of people are still trapped under collapsed, 14-story buildings as rescuers tirelessly work their way through the rubble with saws and hammers. Officials are reporting that entire coastal villages washed away by a tsunami. In just one of these towns, Constitución, the death toll is already reported to be at least 350 people.

As massive looting erupts in various cities, and voices of discontent with the slow aid response echo across the radio waves, the Chilean government must rush to prevent any kind of “conflictive…social explosion” that is currently a major threat. The president finds herself in a difficult situation of having to uphold security and social order while at the same time ensuring that Chileans are provided with their basic needs of food, water and shelter. In Santiago and other regions, officials have announced a curfew and the arrival of 10,000 troops to stop the looting. Military roadblocks were set up outside many cities to keep other looters from entering. At the same time, President Bachelet is promising to deliver the necessary food, water and shelter to the thousands of people living on the streets.

While Bachelet is stepping out of office in just a few weeks, President-elect Sebastián Piñera has already announced he will be working with Bachelet and her administration for the organization of long-term relief. Bachelet certainly does have a legacy of strong leadership in difficult times, and a long history of overcoming challenges.

In fact, while her very own life has been shaken to the core many times, she holds a long list of accomplishments that represents some of the first steps in breaking the glass-ceiling that women face in Latin America and around the world. During the coup in 1973, her father, General Bachelet was arrested, accused of treason, and tortured until he suffered a severe heart attack in 1974. Despite this difficult time, Michelle Bachelet continued to pursue her studies and participated in the Socialist Party by helping those who were hiding from the regime. A year after her father’s death, intelligence agents detained both her and her mother, and questioned and tortured for a month. They were then sent to Australia and later East Germany as exiles. Still, Michelle Bachelet did not let this crush her own ambitions as she enrolled in medical school in Germany, married a fellow Chilean exile, and formed a family. Upon her return to Chile, she graduated as a successful surgeon and then continued to pursue a specialty in pediatrics and public health. Throughout the years, she would continue to take classes in a variety of fields, and embark upon all kinds of career paths in health, policy, and politics. By the year 2000, she was named Minister of Health, finding herself at the head of an organization consisting of more than 70,000 workers and a national network of public health services. During her time in office, she led important reforms in Chile’s health care system. In 2002, she was appointed as the first woman Minister of Defense in Chile. While this came as a surprise to many, her experience was a very positive one as the rank and file of the military collaborated with her to modernize the organization and make crucial decisions about equipment. In 2004, Dr. Bachelet stepped down as Defense Minister to embark upon a 438-day presidential campaign against three other contenders. On January 15, 2006, she won the final election runoff with 53.5% of the votes, and became the first woman President in Chilean history.

With such a long list of challenges overcome and successes earned, we can all hope that President Bachelet will not see this as a defeating moment but rather as one that calls for decisive action.

For news regarding the earthquake and its aftermath, please visit the following links: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/28/chile-earthquake-death-toll

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/americas/Chilean-President-to-Deploy-10000-Soldiers-to-Quake-Regions-85807512.html

For a detailed biography of President Michelle Bachelet, please visit the following link: http://www.chileangovernment.cl/index.php?Itemid=5&id=701&option=com_content&task=view

Women Make a Place for Themselves in Bulgarian Politics

aileene — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:00:01 +0000

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”,[1] changing the almost exclusively male face of Bulgarian politics. Positions held by female politicians include the justice minister, the mayor of Sofia, the speaker of Parliament, the nominee to lead the European Union’s humanitarian aid and the head of the prime minister’s office. Of the candidates nominated by Mr. Borisov for the 2009 elections to the European Parliament, 60% were women, and last summer, he formed a women’s wing of his party. When explaining why he believes more women should enter politics, he said: “Women are more diligent than men, and they don’t take long lunches or go to the bar” and “Women have stronger characters than men because when they say no they mean no, and they are less corruptible.”[2] While his efforts to increase women’s participation in politics have been criticized by some as a ploy to improve the famously corrupt country’s image, it is indisputable that the results for women’s empowerment are tangible in the marked increase of high level female representation in government.

For more information, see http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/world/europe/08iht-bulgwomen.html?emc=eta1

[1] Dan Bilefsky “Women’s Influence Grows in Bulgarian Public Life” The New York Times. (February 7, 2010)

[2] Ibid.

As a New Female Political Class Emerges in Iraq, Many Challenges Lie Ahead

aileene — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:27:36 +0000

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.”

During the drafting of Iraq’s new constitution, women had pressed officials to establish a minimum quota of 40% seats for women in the Parliament. Many resisted these demands and in 2005, the newly drafted Constitution called for a compromised minimum of 25% of the Parliament seats for women. Five years later, both analysts and female politicians explain that this quota has had little effect.

People attribute this to many different factors. Some women point out that they are often placed in the “‘soft ministries.’” Also, the women, chosen by political parties to serve, are expected to follow the orders of a party boss. Other women fear for their reputations as they are sometimes criticized and accused of being too liberal or against Islamic values. Some women have been too afraid to serve as they are equally if not more vulnerable to the electoral threats, harassment, and violence. Many Iraqi women refuse to run because taking they would be lying to the people by giving them the false impression of a democracy. Finally, several women have decided not to run for re-election in order to take care of their children.

Of course, one cannot ignore the ways in which the overall situation of women has improved in the past several years. There are now clear signs of a growing, active political class of women in Iraq who can finally speak out. Safia Taleb al-Souhail, a member of the Parliament who is currently seeking re-election, believes that “women have more space than four years ago, and the ability to go from place to place.” She also believes that things are changing because of the many mistakes committed by men in the past including violence, militias, and corruption. “We do believe,” she says, that “we have improved the willingness of our people for our acceptance in the future.” For Ms. al-Souhail, the mere fact that women no longer have to wear a hijab for security purposes, and that they can now drive, are the important beginnings of a positive “‘change in the tone of (their) society.”

This combination of progress and challenges is driving a growing number of women to exert their influence and lead in their communities. For example, the New York Times reports that 12 women from outside the political system have established their own party with a focus on issues of women’s rights, and a jobs program for the 700,000 widows of Iraq. For these women, it is very important that they remain independent of any political party in the country. Jenan Mubark explained that what they wanted was to “empower Iraqi women in the educational and economic centers.” This is crucial, as countless statistics show that Iraqi women have higher rates of poverty and unemployment, and lower education than men. Besides being an active member of this new group of women, Mrs. Mubark manages a construction company as well as a non-governmental organization called the Iraqi Center for Women’s Rehabilitation and Employment.

These women are fully aware of the long road ahead, but they are ready to stick to it. Ms. Mubark is convinced that this is the “‘first step for change in (their) country,’” and for Safia Taleb al-Souhail, “‘Everything is possible.’”

You will find the full article on Iraqi women seeking greater political influence in Iraq at the following link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/world/middleeast/17iraqwomen.html?pagewanted=2

Celebrate International Women’s Day 2010!

aileene — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:22:20 +0000

WCI is planning a series of events this March and April in honor of International Women’s Day: March 8, 2010. Please stay posted on the following events listed below:

1. International Women’s Day Panel

Monday, March 8th 7:00pm

Location: International House Philadelphia, 3701 Chestnut Street Phila PA 19147

Join us for a global celebration of the economic, political, and social achievements of women. This event is sponsored by International House Philadelphia; Women’s Campaign International; United Nation’s Association of Greater Philadelphia; and the University of Pennsylvania’s African Studies Center, Center for East Asia Studies, South Asia Center, Middle East Center and the Penn Women’s Center. This event is free and open to the public.

Link for more details: http://www.phillyfunguide.com/event/detail/63521

2. Wing Tsun Self-Defense Fundraiser

In honor of International Women’s Day 2010, Women’s Campaign International (WCI) would like to offer community members the chance to participate in a Wing Tsun – Based Self-Defense Class in University City. If you are interested in this activity, please e-mail aileene[at]womenscampaigninternational.org so that we can let you know about upcoming class dates and times.

Cost of Class: Women’s Campaign International, a registered 501c3 nonprofit, would like to ask all participants to give a tax deductible donation of $20 for this class. WCI encourages businesses, agencies or groups to sponsor a team of their employees or members to attend. No other supplies or equipment needed.

Wing Tsun:

Was developed by a woman, and is designed for a smaller person (man or woman) facing a larger attacker.
Is considered a “soft” martial art, in which one learns to give way to greater force and allow attacks to pass. One learns to use the opponent’s force against him, as well as to use her own body weight to her greatest advantage. Wing Tsun practitioners learn to compensate for smaller size with speed and aggression.
Wing Tsun is direct and deadly; it does not involve acrobatics or exceptional flexibility, and is appropriate for men and women, as well as for a broad range of ages and body types.

Participants will leave the class having learned:

Awareness and control of personal space
Effective responses to aggression
How to strike an attacker: defenses against a variety of grabs and chokes, punches and palm strikes
Common attacks experienced by women and basic defenses against them

Structure of the class (about 2 hours):

Intro and Demo (10 minutes)
Striking (10 minutes)
Effective responses to aggression (10 minutes)
Defenses against grabs and chokes (1 hour 10 minutes)
Questions (15 minutes)

Sixteen years later, Rwanda’s Genocide Widows Continue to Suffer in Silence

aileene — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:07:41 +0000

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.

Throughout the killings, genocidaires used sexual violence as a war tactic to humiliate and degrade the women. Some were gang-raped, and others were violated with sharp objects. These same women were then forced to witness the killing of a relative. A recent study by the Assistance Fund for Genocide Survivors found that between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped in the 100 days of violence that left 800,000 to 1 million Hutus and Tutsis dead. There are approximately 10 times more widow survivors than widowers as genocidaires often targeted men and boys.

The serious impact of this war tactic is still very apparent today. One recent study of women in Rwanda’s twelve provinces found that in a sample of 1,125 genocide widows, nearly 80 percent had suffered some form of trauma and 67% now had HIV. It is also estimated that up to 20,000 children were born from the rapes which explains the thousands of homeless orphans on the streets, and the tens of thousands of survivors that remain vulnerable to this day. In addition, women have not found justice in their traditional gacaca courts which human rights organizations have accused of not providing adequate legal services and of blatant unfairness in their rulings.

Unfortunately, the continued suffering is not solely due to flaws in the judicial or medical systems. Many women are actually unwilling to step forward because they were ashamed or too traumatized to talk about it. Other women are only speaking out now because they were previously too sick to take action. Avega reports that even now, they are receiving cases of damaged sexual organs that are directly linked to the sexual acts of violence committed sixteen years earlier.

The non-profit Avega Agahozo, working hard sixteen years after the fact, shows that one cannot underestimate the time it takes for post-conflict zones to heal – especially when women of the community have suffered debilitating psychological and physical wounds. More importantly, they provide concrete examples of what can and should be done for women in Rwanda as well as other post-conflict zones. Founded in 1995 by 58 widows, the association now has three branches and 25,000 members. Every day, 20 to 30 women knock on people’s doors to seek the women who have not yet spoken out or sought help. At the moment, around 47,400 women are receiving medical treatment through its programs. The organization has also built over 900 houses for widows and orphans, and encouraged the women to engage in income-generating activities such as basket-weaving. They also trained 419 trainers who then train volunteers to teach women in local villages how to testify in court.

The activities of Avega remind us that we cannot put aside past conflicts simply because violence has officially ended. The most vulnerable of the population, especially women and children, will continue to fight their own silent battle in the years that follow – battles that can hold back an entire community or nation from recovering and developing once again.

For the full story on non-profit Avega Agahozo’s work, read the full article at the following link: http://allafrica.com/stories/201002110854.html

In the Wake of Intensifying Peace-Building Efforts, Afghan Women Voice their Concerns

aileene — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:15:34 +0000

As the long-awaited London Conference on Afghanistan lies just a day away, female Afghan human rights defenders, deeply troubled with the exclusion of Afghan women’s perspectives in the peace-building process, released a statement of detailed recommendations regarding their country’s security, development, and governance. UNIFEM reports that, to date, this is the “only concrete input from consultation with Afghan women” in the lead up to this conference. This is especially surprising considering the fact that officials will be making some of the most crucial decisions for Afghanistan’s future at this event. In this rare outreach of Afghan women, one is reminded how, as Carla Koppells of the Institute for Inclusive Security describes it, women remain the “‘single, greatest under-utilized resource’” in efforts to achieve stability and prosperity in Afghanistan.

The women drafted these recommendations after a week of intensive dialogue among Afghan women civil leaders and members of the Afghan Women’s Network in Dubai and London. In essence, the statement urges that as officials clarify the direction and priorities of the country, they also include gender concerns by renewing their dedication to already existing commitments to Afghan women. For instance, to ensure women’s representation in the peace process, they explain, women must comprise of at least 25% of any peace process, and this includes upcoming peace jirgas and any local or national policy-making forums. To guarantee that the reconciliation protects women’s rights, they recommend that the government and international community secure and monitor women’s rights in every reconciliation initiative. Otherwise, they fear that women’s rights will be bargained away in a short-term effort to reach stability. Also, for an effective security policy, they demand that all efforts to improve security in the country be designed to better serve and protect women.

Repeatedly facing the denial of their most basic rights and freedoms, Afghan women are one of the most important stakeholders in the peace-building process. As Mary Akrami of Afghan Women Skills Development Center explained, the women have the most to gain from peace, but also to the most to lose from any reconciliation which compromises their rights. Until now, the status of Afghan women remains one of the worst in the world, as women and girls continue to experience unimaginably high levels of violence. In fact, UNIFEM reports that 87% of women suffer from domestic abuse. In addition to this, women advocating for human rights or occupying prominent public roles are facing a high rate of deadly attacks.

By presenting their recommendations, these Afghan women leaders hope to bring the officials’ attentions to a whole half of the Afghan population that, although neglected, holds valuable expertise, insight, and ideas that is necessary to achieve peace. Hopefully, this will remind officials of a fact that is widely-known but too often put aside for the sake of a quick resolution: as independent women’s rights activist Orala Ashraf so eloquently phrases it, “women’s well-being is the test of real-security and stabilization” in Afghanistan.

Article on UNIFEM website: http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=1017

Link to the original women’s statement: http://www.unifem.org/attachments/stories/20100127_AfghanWomenActivistsAtLondonConference_Statement_en.pdf

Violence Against Women: Haiti’s “unaddressed catastrophe”

aileene — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:43:17 +0000

In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director of international women’s rights organization Equality Now, wrote a powerful article: she reminds readers that gender issues, and the plight unique to the women in Haiti, must be a central component in the response and management of relief and recovery operations. She exposes the terrible extent of women’s silent suffering prior to the disaster, and warns that following the earthquake, they are left disarmed, weakened, and even more vulnerable to violence and injustice.

The statistics are shocking: Kay Fanm, a Haitian women’s rights organization, has estimated that 72 percent of Haitian girls have been raped. It is also estimated that 40 percent of Haitian women are victims of domestic violence. Prior to the earthquake, human trafficking as well as sex tourism was a prosperous business. Now, Taina Bien-Aimé poses a critical question: “Who would ensure [the women’s] protection in the aftermath of the disaster?”

Drawing from the outcome of past disasters Bien-Aimé paints a grim picture of what can happen to women in the aftermath of such a catastrophe. She cites data from the US Agency for International Development which, in 2006, showed a direct link between humanitarian emergencies and increased vulnerability of women and children to both sexual violence and exploitation. Data also indicated that relief efforts are often unsuccessful at accounting for women’s basic needs. Bien-Aimé finds Haiti to be an especially worrisome case. In Asia, governments were on the lookout for increases in human trafficking following the tsunami, but in Haiti, she explains, where the government is in shambles and Haitian police have returned home to their families, she is fearful of what lies ahead for the defenseless and unprotected women.

While Taina Bien-Aimé recognizes the importance of medical supplies, food, and shelter, she reminds us that protecting human rights, and especially the rights of women and children, is equally essential. Since she was young, she was stricken by how while Haiti is a land “inescapably sustained by its women, pillars unrivaled by strength and grit,” it is also a place where violence against women is pervasive in homes and on the streets. Even today, in a time where the nation is united in the face of this disaster, Bien-Aimé describes an all too common scene of men fighting over food and supplies as the women, with babies in their arms, have little chance of making it to the truck.

It is for all these reasons that Bien-Aimé urges the emergency assistance and recovery teams to ensure that security structures are in place to protect those most susceptible to violence, and to secure the participation of Haitian women. In this way, she hopes they can more effectively address the gender issues in disaster relief operations. For an example of the types of measures international relief agencies can adopt, you can check out the Inter-Agency Standard Committee’s Gender Handbook on Humanitarian Action at the following link: http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/iasc/.

You can view Taina Bien-Aimé’s opinion piece on the Huffington Post at the following link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taina-bienaime/haitis-women-in-the-after_b_428648.html?view=screen .

With the 15-Year Review of the Beijing Platform for Action in Full Swing, UNIFEM Invites the Public to Join in on the Discussion

aileene — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:17:28 +0000

UNIFEM announced yesterday the launching of a month-long online discussion forum on “Women in Power and Decision Making.” This is just one segment four-month series of United Nations online discussions organized and hosted by WomenWatch. This series was launched as a central component of the fifteen-year review of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action in 1995.

Fifteen years ago, the topic of Women in Power and Decision-Making was central to the Platform for Action. It was noted that despite a large democratization movement across many regions of the world, women remained seriously underrepresented, and had made barely any progress in attaining political power. There was also concern that they had not achieved the target endorsed by the Economic and Social Council of having 30 percent women in decision-making positions by the year 1995. Since that time, the five and ten-year reviews have pointed to significant achievements, but also many challenges of great concern.

UNIFEM is launching this online discussion in the hopes that individuals, groups, and networks around the world will share their own knowledge, experiences, ideas, and apprehensions. They see these voices and collective experiences as valuable contributions to the question many are asking 15 years after the Platform for Action: since Beijing, “what has worked and what has not in increasing the number and effectiveness of women in power and positions of decision making around the world?”

You can visit http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=1013 to sign up and join in on the online discussion. The discussion will run for four weeks and delve into four major issues: Achievements (20 – 27 January,) Gaps and Challenges (28 – 4 February,) Future Actions (5 – 12 February), and Summary of the Discussions (12-18 February). For information about the entire series of online discussions, please visit: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/beijing15/.