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by Nina Somera, Isis International

Australia is not to be left behind in the national processes towards the UN ESCAP Meeting, CSW and the Asia Pacific NGO Forum on Beijing + 15 from 22-24 October 2009 in Manila, Philippines. But unlike countries such as Nepal, India, Pakistan, Philippines, China, Japan and others, Australia is turning to its tested mode of organising, exploring new ways of reaching out to more stakeholders, and discovering new pulses within its feminist movements.

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by Nina Somera, Isis International

Shirkat Gah and the ASR Resource Centre organised the Pakistani national consultation on Beijing + 15 from 10-11 September 2009 in the capital Lahore. The two-day event was attended by over 130 participants from various sectors within and outside the women's movements. Aside from grassroots women, women's human rights activists, minority groups and stakeholders from other social movements, parliamentarians and the media were also present. Many of the participants also consisted of young women.

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by Nina Somera, Isis International

Philippine senator and secretary general of the 1985 Nairobi Women's Conference Leticia Ramos-Shahani leads the gathering of Philippine feminists in preparation for the Asia Pacific NGO Forum on Beijing + 15. The National Women's Summit will be held from 20 to 21 October 2009 in the Miriam College.

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[Editor's Note: This is the output of Nepal's recently concluded national consultation on Beijing + 15, held from 13-14 September 2009 in Kathmandu]

Recalling the Twelve Critical Areas of Concern relating to women's rights, equality, peace and development embraced in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted during the historic UN Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995;

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by Nina Somera, Isis International

“A cup that is half-full.”

That is how Dr. Patricia Licuanan, president of Miriam College described her expectations in the upcoming Asia Pacific NGO Forum on Beijing + 15 from 22 to 24 October 2009 in Manila, Philippines and its culmination in the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in February 2010 in New York, United States. A veteran of Beijing processes, Licuanan chaired the drafting committee that yielded what is now known the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA).

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by Nina Somera, Isis International

Philippine leader Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) into law last 14 August 2009 at the presidential palace in Manila. Now known as Republic Act 9710, MCW is meant to be a comprehensive law on women's human rights. It strengthens existing laws on violence against women and children, rape, labour migration and many others.