Men and boys suffer from lack of sexual and reproductive rights through inadequate access to information, services and care, but women and young girls of childbearing age are more vulnerable to sexual assaults and reproductive ill-health.

Reproductive health issues, rights and services that affect populations in conflict and post conflict situations, are the focus of part 16 of the IA and WWP Toolkit.
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'The day the women went on strike' (Annadis Rudolfsdottir, Guardian UK, 18/10/05)

In Iceland, 24 October 1975 was a "day off" among women, known as "the long Friday" by men: 90% of Iceland's women refused to work, cook or look after children that day. "It was, in all seriousness, a quiet revolution," recalls one participant. This Monday, on the 30th anniversary, women have been encouraged to leave work at 2.08pm, the time by which they would have earned their pay if they were earning the same as men.

More about the anniversary protest here.
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'Women are the future of African politics'

Thanks to African Update for alerting me to this blog post picking up Christian Science Monitor's piece on women in African politics. Greg suggests that women might be the answer to breaking the cycle of corruption in African countries. For more on Liberia, Zainab Bangura reports from monitoring Liberia's elections. She will be holding her breath for Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on 8 November.
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Keep abreast of October's 1325 activities with PeaceWomen's calendar. This week, New York will be buzzing with discussions and planning, in the lead up to the UN Security Council's meeting on 27 October.