Women have been in the news a lot this week, what with International Women’s Day on Monday, the wrap up of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, and Kathryn Bigalow winning the first female Best Director Oscar.  Here are a couple of highlights from the news, including one on our very own Saba in the Hamilton Spectator:

Taking Girl Power to the United Nations
A burning desire to improve the lives of girls everywhere has catapulted 17-year-old Saba Ghahari from her Stoney Creek home to New York City today where she is at the United Nations fighting youth gender inequities and injustices…

The war on baby girls: Gendercide
Killed, aborted or neglected, at least 100m girls have disappeared—and the number is rising…

Gender Matters!  Can the UN Bring Change?
Blogger Wendy Harcourt suggests that “There is a sense that Beijing promises were great on paper but the implementation has not brought women’s rights nor freedom and autonomy to the centre of development.” She concludes her comments on the recent conference by saying “As usual, I and most of the women here have many more questions than answers.”

Also check out:

IPS TerraViva is a special site created for the Commission on the Status of Women meeting in New York by the IPS news site that “gives voice to gender equality” (put it in your bookmarks!).  Here are some of the stories that they reported during the conference on issues faced by women, including lack of access to income, sexual violence, water shortages, maternal rights, and access to land.

And if you didn’t hear enough from the Speakers’ Bureau’s visit to New York, check out all their posts here.