In a Los Angeles Times op-ed, Malcolm Potts argues that Afghanistan will turn into a failed state if Afghan women remain "enslaved" in the nation's patriarchal society.

Every year, 536,000 women die during childbirth, and an additional 8 million become severely disabled. The death toll doesn’t end with the mothers: 5 percent of all newborns die after their mother’s death, and millions of other children are left orphaned. Isobel Coleman and Laurie Garrett argue that the way to reduce this staggering level of maternal mortality is to “pass legislation that shows real resolve, with money and legislated programs behind it.”

More than six years since the Taliban’s ouster, violence against women seeking to broaden their rights continues. But some experts see reason for hope.

Although women have made large strides professionally over the last century, politics remains a man's world. Significant barriers stand in the way of more women assuming positions of political leadership -- not least women's own attitudes. If serious efforts are not made to break down these barriers, the world will miss out on the benefits that women can bring to policymaking.

Strategic Studies Institute report on the empowerment of women in post-Saddam Iraq. It identifies security and economic obstacles to change, and says that women's rights depend heavily on local interpretations of personal status, penal, and other legal codes.

This report from Human Rights Watch is based on field research conducted in the West Bank and Gaza in November 2005 and early 2006 and documents dozens of cases of violence against Palestinian women and girls.

Investing in girls’ education globally delivers huge returns for economic growth, political participation, women’s health, smaller and more sustainable families, and disease prevention, concludes a new report from the Council’s Center for Universal Education.