World
| For 
Many Women, a Lost
    Decade.  [World] 
A new United
    Nations report on women in 150 countries concludes that many women all 
over the world are
    worse off today than they were 10 years ago.  The
    report accuses governments of failing to keep their pledge to achieve 
equality of the
    sexes. | 
| Female Genital Mutilation. [World] Approximately 135 million girls throughout the world have undergone female genital mutilation. Approximately two million girls are at risk for this mutilation. It is practiced most often in Africa and the Middle East, but it also occurs in parts of Asia, North America, and Europe. |