In the article “Access to land for women vital,” Times of Zambia reporter Tiyese Sakala covers the challenges women face in regard to land...

by Marlena Chertock

A year ago, participants in the International Women’s Media Foundation’s sixth annual U.S. Leadership Institute for Women Journalists left Chicago after spending three days deeply immersed in learning how to become leaders in the media. The 20 women developed “personal action plans” for future career goals. Over the last year they have tackled these action plans and put the skills they learned to use.

The IWMF has written a letter to Iranian and United Nations authorities on behalf of Iranian journalist Jila Baniyaghoob, winner of a 2009 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award. Baniyaghoob was sentenced to one year in jail and banned from practicing journalism for 30 years by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

Her lawyer placed an appeal on June 27, arguing that Baniyaghoob has twice been found innocent of charges and should not be placed in jeopardy again.

The IWMF is calling for the dismissal of charges against Baniyaghoob and for the release of her husband, journalist Bahman Ahmadi Amoyee, who is in prison in Iran.

• Read our letter and sign the petition.

July 15, 2010 Ban Ki-moonUnited Nations Secretary GeneralUnited Nations Plaza, SA-1B15New York, NY 10017Fax. 212-963-7055Your Excellency:We are writi...

The IWMF is speaking out on behalf of Agnes Uwimana, the editor of Umurabyo, a private newspaper in Rwanda. Uwimana was arrested July 9 and chaged with defaming the president and espousing genocide. She faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted. Read more about the case and sign the IWMF's petition.

For immediate releaseJuly 13, 2010 For more information:Lindsey Wray(202) 496-1992LWray@iwmf.org Washington, D.C. -- The International Women’s Media...

Howard Buffett, founder of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, which funds the IWMF Reporting on Agriculture and Women: Africa project, talks about how ...

Reporting on Agriculture and Women: Africa project trainers visited visited Howard G. Buffett's farm in Pana, Ill., to learn about agricultural techniques and food production in the United States.

Tsering Woeser, a recipient of a 2010 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award, reported on her blog that her Skype account has been hacked. She says hackers have been impersonating Tibetans to contact her and send her infected files. See Woeser's blog. Read a Reuters article about a similar Skype incident that happened to Woeser in 2008.

Agnes Taile, a 2009 winner of an IWMF Courage in Journalism Award, was awarded the 2010 Cameroon Professional Society Distinguished Award for Leadership. Taile has frequently risked her life in her journalistic work. She reports on government corruption, human rights abuses and lack of press freedom in Cameroon. Taile has received threatening phone calls, been abducted and beaten for her reporting. Read more from the CPS.

Jila Baniyaghoob, an Iranian journalist who received a 2009 Courage in Journalism Award, wrote an account of when she and her husband were arrested last year following post-election protests in Iran. Read Baniyaghoob's piece on her website.

IWMF board member and independent journalist Kalpana Sharma edited the book Missing: Half the Story Journalism as if Gender Matters, which was released in May. The book focuses on gender-sensitive journalism and addresses the issue of journalists missing out on the full story by not asking questions related to women. Read more about the book.

The United Nations Development Program and Makerere University in Uganda have developed a master's degree in gender-aware economics. The one-year program will provide the future generation of African policy-makers and planners with the necessary knowledge and tools to apply gender equality as a parameter in economic policy-making, analysis, planning, budgeting and implementation. Visit Makerere's website for details.

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) has a position open for an executive director. The deadline for applications is July 5. E-mail completed applications to linnie(at)linniecarter.com. Information on the job description and documents to include in the application can be found on the NABJ website.

In her article, “Jinja Woman into Food Processing,” Daily Monitor reporter Pauline Kairu features a woman whose small-scale, rural project has grown i...