Elections are on in India, the world’s largest democracy, and it may seem that male leaders rule the roost, but their fates lie in the hands of these powerful women politicians.

During World War II, hundreds of thousands of Asian women were forced into sex slavery for Japanese troops. Conservative groups argue that this accusation is false. A Berlin university has opened courses for women and the Afghan president seems to be willing to change a law which was described as a setback to women’s rights. Read on for women’s news that made it to the headlines.

Anke Domaske is a 28-year-old biologist and fashion designer who makes clothes from a very unusual fabric, milk yarn.

Akrami: ‘Women are afraid of what will happen in Afghanistan after 2014.’

Mary Akrami is the Executive Director of Afghan Women Skills Development Organization, which was founded in Kabul in 1999 for protecting women’s rights in Afghanistan. Women Talk Online blogger Beenish Javed met Akrami and asked her about the status of women in Afghanistan.

Samina: aiming for more summits

Samina Baig is a 23-year-old Pakistani woman who created history earlier this year by becoming the first Pakistani women to climb the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest.  Samina will soon be embarking on an extraordinary journey in which she, along with her brother, Mirza Ali Baig will climb the seven highest peaks across all seven continents. Beenish Javed met Samina in Islamabad.

Angela Merkel speaking at a political rally in Bonn

A pragmatic persona and a confident, unswerving approach towards the people of her nation is an important element of her success. She is counted among the most influential women of the world and is serving her second term as Germany’s chancellor. Angela Merkel is known for her confident speeches and the power to defend herself. She wears a broad smile on her face and half of her job to motivate her people is done.

Durga Shakti Nagpal, a young officer in the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), was suspended by the government of Uttar Pradesh in north India on July 27. She was accused of risking communal tension by ordering the demolition of the wall of a mosque being built illegally on government land at a village in Greater Noida, close to India’s capital, New Delhi. Amid allegations that she was punished for going after the state’s powerful sand mafia, the president of India’s ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, asked the Prime Minister to ensure that the officer was not unfairly treated.