The new constitution of Afghanistan formally grants equal rights to women and men. The government has also endorsed the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which, according to development agencies, is significant progress on gender equality 聯policy advocacy聰. The first time I arrived in Kabul the women I saw on the streets were wearing scarves on their heads and those wearing full chador were a minority. Maybe, at a superficial glance, the situation had improved for the women of Afghanistan?
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The Islamic Girls and Women聮s Group will make its office in Ross House on Flinders Lane available for use by Muslim Legal Services Victoria to provide free legal services for Muslims.
On February 28, Major Michael Mori, David Hicks聮s US military lawyer, addressed a packed Founders Hall at the University of Ballarat. The mixed crowd of at least 600 learned a whole lot more about how Hicks is the Australian government聮s sacrificial lamb in the 聯war on terror聰.
During a visit to Venezuela, Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner signed an agreement with Venezuela聮s socialist President Hugo Chavez that will launch the 聯Bank of the South聰 (Bancosur) within four months, reported a February 22 Venezuelanlaysis.com article. Bancosur is part of the push, led by Venezuela, for Latin American integration to challenge US corporate domination. Chavez has promoted the bank as a source of cheap credit for countries in the region and a non-exploitative alternative to the First World-controlled International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
Young people are likely to be hit hard by Work Choices, the Youth Coalition, the peak youth affairs body in the ACT, told the Legislative Assembly聮s select committee on working families on March 1.
The Howard government鈥檚 Work Choices laws 鈥渉ave had an overall negative effect for women in the work force鈥, Griffith University Professor David Peetz told 91自拍论坛 Weekly on February 27. 鈥淭he slow trend toward improvement in female compared to male levels of pay and conditions has been reversed under Work Choices, threatening much of the gains of the previous 10 years鈥, said Peetz.
This year聮s annual International Women聮s Day rally in Melbourne is being organised by the Victorian Trades Hall Council. To be held at the GPO at noon on March 8, the rally will focus on protesting against PM John Howard聮s legislative attacks on the wages and working conditions of women workers.
On December 27, 2006, the Socialist Alliance, along with all other parties without representation in the national parliament, lost its federal electoral registration. If we do not regain registration, the name Socialist Alliance will not appear on ballot papers at the next federal poll.
On February 23, representatives of the Murray and Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN) and the NSW National Parks Association (NPA) signed an agreement for shared protection of the ecology of the Murray and Lower Darling areas.
The following letter was sent by Cuban consul-general Nelida Hernandez Carmona in response to Sydney Morning Herald columnist Miranda Devine聮s claim that, 聯You know Australia has lost its mind on the green front when the conservative Howard government starts emulating the communist dictatorship of Cuba聰. Devine (the SMH聮s resident right-wing ranter) argued that while 聯federal environment minister Malcolm Turnbull聮s plan, foisted without warning on the nation last week, to ban incandescent light bulbs from 2010 and force us to replace them with more energy-efficient fluorescent ones聰 was presented by the government 聯as a world first, the Associated Press soon pointed out that Cuba聮s dictator Fidel Castro launched a similar program two years ago聟 His protege, Venezuela聮s socialist president Hugo Chavez, soon followed suit. You might say Turnbull, Castro and Chavez are the three amigos of the climate change nanny state.聰
While Qantas workers鈥 job security remains uncertain if the proposed Airline Partners Australia (APA) $11.1 billion takeover bid for Qantas eventuates, executives at the national carrier stand to pocket millions.
China鈥檚 much increased economic activities in Africa in recent years 鈥 investments in energy and natural resources extraction and loans to African governments 鈥 have provoked accusations that it is becoming a new neocolonial power in the continent.
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