Women upskill women in Somalia

Somali artisan Muse Mohamud Olosow carefully sorts through a huge pile of camel bones, discarded by a slaughterhouse in Mogadishu, selecting pieces that he will carve into jewelry and ornate beads used by fellow Muslims while reciting prayers. To Olosow's knowledge, he is one of just four artisans in his country of 16 million people who work with the bones of camels.

Stories of courage, specifically about women, are the theme of a special festival organised this weekend by Amnesty International in Paris. For three days, the curtain will go up on the 12th Cinema and Human Rights Festival. The event invites moviegoers and activists to watch a series of short and longer films and then debate their content. In Perspective, we spoke to coordinator Ievgeniia Sokova.

Women represent half the population in Iraq, but are almost invisible in the public sphere. In this ultra-conservative society, a woman's place is neither at school nor at work, but out of sight at home. Yet some brave women have decided to fight against these traditions, despite the danger. Our reporters went to meet them.

Countering violence in their homeland by peaceful means has been the goal of thousands of Muslim and Christian women in Kaduna, Nigeria. They have been awarded the Aachen Peace Prize for their work.

Islamic militant group al-Shabab had reportedly been "hunting" Abdiaziz Afrika for a long time. The director of the state-run Radio Mogadishu was reportedly attacked after leaving a restaurant.

A Taliban ministry has asked TV networks to stop broadcasting programs that the ultra-conservative group deems immoral. They have said that the directives are not obligatory, but rather "a religious guideline."

Italian authorities said the criminal network forced 41 Nigerian women into prostitution while nine were forced to beg for money on the streets. The exploitation stretched outside Italy into Germany and Libya.

At least eight people were killed in Somalia's capital on Thursday (November 25) when Islamist militants launched a suicide attack on a U.N. security convoy using a vehicle laden with explosives, officials and witnesses said. The Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the huge blast which rocked Mogadishu and injured at least 23 people, including school students, sending a column of smoke above the city. Gunfire echoed around the scene, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear if any U.N. personnel were among those killed or injured in the huge blast, which targeted the U.N. convoy as it passed near the site of a school.

Every two-and-a-half days a woman in Germany dies at the hands of her partner or former partner, according to figures presented on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The US and UN made renewed appeals to the combatants in Ethiopia to de-escalate and work towards negotiating a truce. This comes as PM Abiy Ahmed goes to the front.

On International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, GuardianTV's Ijeoma Thomas-Odia discusses 'Eliminating Violence Against Women' with Risikat Omolara Yusuff - Founding President, Organization Nonformal Education Foundation (ONEF), Amaka Chibuzo-Obi - Founder, Wivesroundtable Foundation, and Abimbola Ojosipe - Executive Director at Chamagne Foundation.

In Afghanistan, women have now been waiting for three months for their fate to be decided by the Taliban government. One key question is whether older schoolgirls will be able to return to high school. With winter school holidays coming up, women in Kabul fear that the Taliban will simply play for time and postpone any decision on the issue. In the meantime, some Afghan provinces have been able to reopen their schools, but not others. Our team on the ground reports from Kabul.