FRIDAY FILE: The Personal Status and Family Code of Mali was adopted in 2009 by the National Assembly, but promulgation by the President of Mali has been delayed until now due to the mobilization of Muslim religious organizations opposed to it.

AWID interviewed Djingarey Ibrahim Maiga, the President of Femmes et Droits Humains, and Yaba Tamboura, member of the Steering Committee of Collectif des Femmes du Mali (COFEM) on the status of the new Personal Status and Family Code of Mali (hereafter referred to as the Family Code).

By Massan d’Almeida

FRIDAY FILE: Growing unemployment, dwindling pensions, increasing taxes, domestic violence and a possible reinforcing of “traditional values” were just a few of the challenges facing women during Greece’s first wave of economic crisis and structural adjustment.

By Lois Woestman and Kathambi Kinoti

FRIDAY FILE: “The Colombian armed conflict has been going on for over 50 years and has developed alongside the situation of poverty in the country. Forced displacements, massacres of the Colombian people and other acts violating international humanitarian law are taking place, principally affecting women”.

By Gabriela De Cicco

FRIDAY FILE: Microfinance is often regarded as having significant potential to alleviate poverty. Despite some success stories, though, micro-credit arrangements with unscrupulous lenders frequently contribute to making bad situations worse by driving women deeper into poverty and desperation. Many Dalit women have experienced the down-side of microcredit, the most common form of microfinance.

By Kathambi Kinoti

FRIDAY FILE: Activist Anastasia Danilova explains how Moldova’s campaign to join the European Union provides some opportunity and some backlash for LGBT Rights

By Masum Momaya

The north-east African nation of Sudan, currently Africa’s largest country by territory, will soon be split into two, following a referendum which took place in the south of the country in January 2011. On February 7, 2011 it was announced that an overwhelming majority (98.83%) of Southern Sudanese had voted in favour of secession from Sudan.

By Kathambi Kinoti

FRIDAY FILE: Côte d’Ivoire has been in a political impasse since the declaration of contested results of a second round of presidential elections held in November 2010. Since both candidates claimed victory and have been sworn in, the country has two presidents and two governments.

FRIDAY FILE: At first glance, female genital mutilation and genital surgery carried out for cosmetic purposes might seem intrinsically different. On closer examination, however, they may be more similar than they initially appear.

By Kathambi Kinoti

FRIDAY FILE: Margaret Sekaggya, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders submitted her third report to the UN Human Rights Council. This report is the first to focus exclusively on the situation of women defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues.

By Analía Penchaszadeh

FRIDAY FILE: Initiated in opposition to the exclusive World Economic Forum, the World Social Forum(WSF) has, since it began in 2001, become an important space for civil society movements to propose alternatives to the dominant system, under the banner “Another world is possible”.

By Ana Abelenda and Gabriela De Cicco