Top US diplomat in South Asia to discuss women issues

A top American diplomat is travelling to the Indian subcontinent this week to hold talks with her counterparts on issues of women and anti-trafficking, an official statement has said.
US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, Catherine Russell is travelling to India, Nepal and Pakistan, the State Department said.
In India, Russell will meet with law enforcement officials to learn about local policing efforts to protect women and to engage men as agents of change.
She will also meet with women political leaders to understand how India supports women's political participation.
During her India stay, she will also meet participants from South Asia Women's Entrepreneurship Symposium, a State Department initiative, and visit a US-supported effort to address girls' education.

In Nepal from February 8 to 11, Russell will meet with women cooperative groups, entrepreneurs, and organisations involved in anti-trafficking programmes.

She will also meet with women activists and civil society representatives involved in the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, the Department said.
In Pakistan, Russell will arrive in time to celebrate National Women's Day, a day that marks the struggle of Pakistani women against discriminatory laws and celebrates the contributions Pakistani women will continue to make toward their country's security, growth and development.
During her stay in Pakistan, she will engage with government lawmakers on women's legal rights there and will speak at a public school about the importance of literacy and education.

She will meet with US-supported beneficiaries of microfinance programmes, and speak with women who have survived acid-related violence.
Russell will also hold roundtables with policewomen, civil society members, women parliamentarians, and entrepreneurs from the US-Pakistan Women's Council, the Department said.