United Nations Radio

Women: a weekly 14-minute news magazine that looks at issues affecting ~women around the world.

The first woman ever to climb Mount Everest, Junko Tabei, reportedly said, I can't understand why men make all this fuss about Everest -- it's only a mountain." Well, men and women are again making a fuss about Everest, this time because this past May for the first time ever, 10 Nepali women representing a range of the country's castes and ethnicities reached the summit of the highest mountain in the world. The women, only two of whom were professional mountain climbers - the rest were beauticians, nurses, human rights activists and journalists - ranged in age from 17 to 27. Their team, known as the First Inclusive Women's Sagarmatha Expedition, climbed over 29,000 feet (that's over 8800 meters) to reach the world's highest peak. The climb, though historical, was certainly not easy, says 27 year old Maya Gurung.

Women's health and protection in Myanmar following Cyclone Nargis

The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes is visiting Myanmar to assess the situation in the country as it recovers from the devastation of Cyclone Nargis in May. One of the agencies helping Myanamar in this effort is the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). Dr. Henia Dakkak, who deals with emergency relief and reproductive health issues at UNFPA, has been to Myanmar and told me about some of the challenges facing pregnant women in the country.

A Women's Rights Research Center for the Great Lakes Region

At the end of July, a Conference of Ministers of Women's Rights of countries of the Great Lakes region will take place to create a women's rights research and documentation centre. The 11 countries of the Great Lakes region are Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. UNESCO and the Ministry of Women's Rights of the DRC jointly organized the meeting. Eunice Smith is Programme Specialist in the Social and Human Sciences Sector Works on Gender Equality and Development of UNESCO. She spoke to UN Radio's Dianne Penn about how the centre will help women.

Gerry Adams: Producer

(duration: 14'00")