Today is International Women’s Day, a day dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements and acknowledging their contributions to society. In 2012, we have much to celebrate. Women’s health and rights have made great strides in the past century. Yet there are some in positions of power who would like to take us back in time. Let’s urge lawmakers to protect access and funding for family planning services for all women. Politics should not stand in the way of women’s access to family planning.

by Jessica Mack

Although studies show that women spend approximately twice as long in public restrooms as men, Chinese urban planners have not compensated for the difference. This has led one student, Li Tingting, to try to address the issue. In an operation called "Occupy Men's Toilets," Li and several other activists recently commandeered a public restroom. "For three-minute intervals, they warded off the men and invited the women to shorten their waits by using the vacated men’s stalls. Then they waved the men back in for 10 minutes," the New York Times reports.

On 22 February, 2012, four Western journalists were attacked in a house - thought to be safe - in Baba Amr, Homs, by Syrian regime forces. American Sunday Times' journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Olchik died when the makeshift media centre frequented by mainstream and citizen journalists was shelled. The two remaining journalists, Le Figaro's Edith Bouvier and British photographer Paul Conroy, were injured and managed to survive the attack.

by Jessica Mack

The French government is doing away with the term "Mademoiselle" -- the title for an unmarried woman, as "Miss" is in English -- in official documents. Two women's groups lobbied for the change, pointing out that the male title, "Monsieur," is the same for married and unmarried men. That should be the same for women, the groups pointed out. Osez le Feminisme and Les Chiennes de Garde launched the campaign, arguing that "the Madame/Mademoiselle distinction ... is a sign of standard sexism that endures in our society."

The 36 year long civil war (1960-1996) that ravaged Guatemala, left more than 200,000 people dead and at least 100,000 women raped: most of the victims were Mayan. Only recently have women started speaking out about the violence they suffered in hands of the Army and paramilitaries, and finally, thanks to Women's Link World and The Center for Justice and Accountability, the sexual violence perpetrated against Mayan women is being investigated as part of the genocide proceedings taking place in Spanish tribunals.

Carnaval is arguably the one week of the Brazilian year that least represents life in Brazil. With its roots in European pre-Lent celebrations – and a 400 year history of creolisation into a uniquely Brazilian phenomenon – carnaval is in fact seen as a reversal of every day life in Brazil. A social release and a momentary abandonment of all the usual conventions, hierarchies and pressures, it is the one week when everybody has permission to be anybody or anything, with the help of wild disguises and costumes (“fantasias”).

"In Spain, thousands of African immigrant girls are facing the danger of becoming victims of female genital mutilation," the Latin American Herald Tribune reports. "Although no official figures exist for Spain, experts at Barcelona’s Autonomous University calculate that some 10,000 girls are at risk of genital mutilation, all of them originally from one of 27 countries in the world – most of them in the sub-Saharan region – where the practice is widespread."

Panama went through one of the biggest crises it has seen since democracy was restored in 1989 when the indigenous people of Gnobe-Bugle decided to take over the highway on January 31, 2012, protesting mining and construction of hydroelectric facilities in their district. They stayed there until February 5, when national police removed them by force. The crisis has been alleviated for the moment with an agreement between the indigenous group and the government. Even so, the uncertainty of what could happen if there is hydroelectric construction or mining in these districts is still on the minds of Panamanians.

Love is in the air; today is Valentine's Day and lovebirds everywhere are causing sales of greeting cards, chocolates and flowers to skyrocket, while those looking for love may be hoping that Cupid points his bow in their direction. But love is so much more layered than the romantic love of Eros; what better gift for Valentine's Day than to talk about love with a Caribbean blogger whose entire mission revolves around sending love and positive energy into the blogosphere?

A nude photo and video of popular Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani have divided Iranians, with Iranian authorities taking action against the star and thousands of supporters rallying for her online. The Daily Beast's Omid Memarian reports: "Less than 24 hours after the photo and video appeared on Facebook, thousands of people had shared or commented on them. Some saw the actress as brave to ignore the taboos in Iran. Considering Farahani was born after the Islamic Revolution and is considered a child of the Islamist system enforced by the Iranian regime, some saw her behavior as a protest against oppressive policies that for the past three decades have done things like force women to wear the hijab."

The Asia Floor Wage network is organizing Cambodia’s first ever People’s Tribunal on Minimum Living Wage and Decent Working Conditions for garment workers. The tribunal is scheduled on February 8, 2012, in Phnom Penh: The garment industry in Cambodia represents 90% of all exports. However, despite its relative economic importance, workers receive only half of what is needed to safely support their families and the statutory minimum wage is currently the lowest in the Mekong region.

"I would like to tell you about my grandmother – Boiko Anna. She was born and lives in the village of Yaglush in Rogatyn district of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. She is a cheerful, talented, strong person. A person who has been through a lot, who is full of knowledge and memories." This is how Anna Boiko’s granddaughter, Olya Suprun, starts her blog called “The Story of Anna Boiko's Life.” Online, Olya shares her grandmother’s memories, including stories from the life of their family and other residents of Yaglush.

A Honduran radio journalist named Gilda Carolina Silvestrucchi has been receiving serious death threats against her life and the lives of her children since interviewing individuals critical of the nation's mining laws, according to the Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared of Honduras. Silvestrucchi has been followed in her ca, and she has received calls at home and her mother's home with specific threats like, "We know that you have three children, that the oldest is 15 years old, that you are on the street with your 7 year old child, and that the oldest is in your home caring for the one year old. We are going to kill you."