BRASILIA, BRAZIL – In the typical dry and hot climate of Brasília, Brazil’s capital, voices of protest, amplified by megaphones, resounded throughout the city center last Wednesday as 70,000 people – mostly women – marched to demand more rights for women who work in forests and rural areas at the Marcha das Margaridas, or March of the Daisies.

During its discussion on the protection of women’s rights in conflict and post-conflict situations on 18th of  July, the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) heard from a wide range of inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations from around the globe.

The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) is gravely concerned by the increasing violence against women in Turkey. 42% of women and girls in Turkey are systematically subject to violence. The failure of the Turkish state to prevent and respond to this violence is a violation of the right to life.

Like those of its competitors in New York or London, the sleek glass and steel offices of media company Rotana are filled with preening attitude and fashion-conscious staffers: assistants teeter in shoes that might have absorbed much of their monthly paycheck; executives parade the halls in power suits and pencil skirts. But Rotana isn't in New York or London; it's in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, a country in which women normally adhere to a strict dress code in public — a black cloak called an abaya, a headscarf and a veil, the niqab, which covers everything but their eyes.

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.

When my husband died I was 29 years old with two young children. I was educated and from a professional middle-class family in Katmandu, the capital of Nepal. My husband was of similar background.

China Women's federations, at all levels, have combined their regular work with law publicity and educational activities. In cooperation with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, ACWF has conducted various actions, which have involved women's re-employment, and called on relevant departments, in more than 100 cities, to encourage society to pay special attention to women's living conditions and the protection of women's rights. They have also urged society to help women start new careers or find jobs.