Approximately 25,000 (some estimates put the number at 35,000) women suffered rape and sexual violence during the Bosnian War of the 1990s, an overwhelming majority of them Bosnian Muslim. Fewer than 40 cases have undergone legal enquiry in the past 17 years- an embarrassing lapse as far as the rule of law and human rights on behalf of the European and international communities.

Watching news channels has always been depressing for me, but on March 13, my heart sank when I heard about a teenage girl from a small town in Pakistan’s Punjab who decided to set herself on fire outside a local police station.She suffered severe burns on her body and succumbed to her wounds the next day, all because culprits who allegedly gang raped her were granted bail by the police.

Enisa: recalling the horrors of wartime rape
Photo: Armin Smailovic

“I am a Bosnian Muslim woman who has survived sexual violence during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but I now speak in the name of all women who have survived sexual torture and violence in conflict, regardless of ethnic affiliation, the color of their skin, faith, age or nationality… I wish to convey to the women of the world who have survived similar horrors to speak up and let the truth be known, because they have nothing to be ashamed of.

Women’s rights are in danger, especially in countries where the government does not want to change its laws because of pressure from conservative groups. A group of pink ladies in India literally “beats up” people who torture women and several cases of uterine prolapse reveal severe gender discrimination in Nepal. Read more for the latest women’s themes.

Last week, an interesting post was doing the rounds in social media: 26 questions people from India are sick of answering. In the years I have been living abroad, I have been confronted with these questions over and over again. Do you speak ‘Hindu?’ Which caste do you belong to? But you actually pray to cows right?

As an afterthought, I thought one more question could be added to the list, the question that perhaps all Indians were confronted with in the year 2013: what is wrong with the men in your country? What about the ‘rape culture’ in India?. I have been repeatedly asked this question and I am always at loss for an answer. Where do I begin?

On December 16 last year, six men brutally raped and tortured a 23-year-old girl in India’s capital, New Delhi. The incident shook India to the core. Indians finally woke up to the fact that women were unsafe. Mass protests helped in changing the laws against rape, punishing the accused and ensuring justice for the victim, but for her father, Badri Singh Pandey, time seems to have come to a standstill. DW journalist Aamir Ansari spoke to him.

We’ve been hearing a lot about abuse and rape lately, and it’s good that way because women are finally opening up, talking against abuse and demanding justice against their perpetrators. Women Talk Online presents a special collection of interviews and blogs on abuse and rape and what women can do if they encounter someone who’s been through abuse or are unfortunate enough to experience abuse themselves. Take a look at some of our stories and interviews and tell us what you feel.