Women’s rights

Will Syrian women get wider representation in opposition?

The Syrian opposition is working to empower women and increase their participation at the political level, amid low female representation in official institutions.

Khaled al-Khateb | Syria | Apr 20, 2021

Syrian women and children attend a ceremony to celebrate the last day of the school year in the rebel-held town of Azaz, in northern Syria, May 24, 2017.

Egyptian parliament approves tougher penalties for female genital mutilation

Egypt's parliament has given preliminary approval to a bill stipulating tougher penalties for female genital mutilation, which remains widespread despite an official ban on the practice. The move coincided with the death of feminist author Nawal El Saadawi, who fought long and hard for an end to the procedure from which she herself suffered as a child.

Shahira Amin | Egypt | Apr 2, 2021

Egyptian doctor advises about female genital mutilation

Nawal el-Saadawi, renowned Egyptian writer, dies at 89

As a prominent Egyptian feminist, doctor and novelist who wrote more than 50 books on taboo social issues in a deeply conservative country, Saadawi fiercely campaigned for the end to the practice of female genital mutilation.

Al-Monitor Staff | Egypt | Mar 22, 2021

Tunisian Egyptian feminist writer Nawal el Saadawi speaks during a radio show hosted by France Inter and daily newspaper Le Monde "8 mars, 8 femmes" (March 8, 8 women) on March 8, 2012 in Paris. AFP PHOTO / MARINA HELLI

Biden calls Turkish exit from women’s treaty a ‘disheartening step backward’

The Biden administration has rebuked Turkey's "unwarranted" withdrawal from the landmark Istanbul Convention.

Al-Monitor Staff | Turkey Pulse | Mar 22, 2021

Women wearing face masks hold signs in Ankara, on August 5, 2020, during a demonstration to demand the government not withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a landmark treaty on preventing domestic violence. The protests were the biggest in recent weeks as anger grows over the rising number of women killed by men in the past decade since the Istanbul Convention. The treaty's official title is the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, agreed up

Egyptian women’s access to judiciary still limited

The Egyptian State Council approved the appointment of women as members to the council and the Public Prosecution office, in tandem with the launch of a social media campaign against a personal status draft law that activists say denies women’s rights to take control of their own decisions.

Hagar Hosny | Egypt | Mar 22, 2021

Female voters, some mask-clad due to the coronavirus pandemic, wait before entering a polling station in El-Ayyat, during the first stage of the lower house elections, south of Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 24, 2020.

Hamas appoints first woman to political bureau

Hamas announced March 14 appointing a woman as a member in its political bureau for the first time since its establishment in 1987, in an attempt to improve its image to the world and deny the patriarchal aspect of its leadership structure.

Rasha Abou Jalal | Palestine | Mar 12, 2021

Palestinian Minister of Women's affairs Haifa al-Agha (L) sits next to her predecessor in Gaza Jamila al-Shanti as she attends her first meeting with the new Palestinian government on June 8, 2014 in Gaza city. A unity government sworn in on last week under a reconciliation deal between Hamas and the West Bank-based Palestinian leadership to end seven years of rival administrations in the two territories. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisian LGBT activist imprisoned after reporting police harassment

The concerns of civil society organizations and the international community have grown stronger regarding restrictions on personal freedoms after a Tunisian court ruled against LGBT rights activist Rania Amdouni.

Mohamed Ali Ltifi | Tunisia | Mar 12, 2021

Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul's sentence upheld in Riyadh court

The women's rights activist had appealed her probation, which reportedly includes a five-year travel ban.

Al-Monitor Staff | Saudi Arabia | Mar 10, 2021

Barred from traveling by their husbands, Iranian women suffer under unjust laws

While a new bill awaiting parliament’s approval aims to address gender discrimination and stop violence against women, it falls short in guaranteeing Iranian women equal rights.

Leila Alikarami | Iran | Mar 8, 2021

Online ‘auctions’ of Yazidi captives speak of ongoing Islamic State activity in Turkey

The rescue of a 7-year-old Yazidi captive in Ankara raises questions about how hard Turkey is trying to tackle Islamic State militants in the country.

Fehim Tastekin | Iraq | Mar 5, 2021

Yazidis refugees carry their belongings on January 3, 2017 in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey as they change their refugee camp and move to Midyat, further south.
The population of Yazidis reaches 700,000, the majority residing in northern Iraq where persecution from Islamic State jihadists led to as many as 40,000 Yazidis fleeing their ancestral homes to the Sinjar Mountains in northwestern Iraq, where they were trapped without food or water. / AFP / ILYAS AKENGIN (Photo credit should read ILYAS AKE

Belgian children and some women to be repatriated from IS camp in Syria.

The Belgian prime minister said the children in the notorious al-Hol camp could become “the terrorists of tomorrow.” Women will be repatriated on a case-by-case basis.

Al-Monitor Staff | Syria | Mar 4, 2021

Civil society in northeast Syria promotes women’s role to fight extremism

A civil society organization in northern and eastern Syria has launched a project to eradicate violent extremism by promoting the role of women on the educational and economic levels.

Akhin Ahmed | Syria | Mar 1, 2021

Houthi security official in Yemen sanctioned by UN for crimes against women

Sultan Saleh Aida Aida Zabin, who heads criminal investigations in Houthi rebel territory, has allegedly played a role in arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual crimes against women involved in politics.

Al-Monitor Staff | Yemen | Feb 26, 2021

Gaza court revises women’s travel restrictions after backlash

Outrage erupted in the Gaza Strip after a judge issued a ruling banning unmarried women from traveling without the consent of a male guardian, yet a revised ruling doesn't go far enough, activists say.

Entsar Abu Jahal | Palestine | Feb 22, 2021

An Egyptian security officer checks the travel document of a Palestinian woman returning home through the one gate that remained open in the newly erected border fence between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, 03 February 2008. Egyptian and Hamas forces sealed off the border between Gaza and Egypt today after reportedly agreeing to control the frontier, blown open nearly two weeks ago amid an Israeli blockade. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli Labor picks gender warrior Michaeli as its new leader

Polls indicate that the election of gender-equality activist Merav Michaeli to head the struggling labor party was a good pick.

Mazal Mualem | Israel | Feb 3, 2021

Women’s rights

Will Syrian women get wider representation in opposition?

The Syrian opposition is working to empower women and increase their participation at the political level, amid low female representation in official institutions.

Egyptian parliament approves tougher penalties for female genital mutilation

Nawal el-Saadawi, renowned Egyptian writer, dies at 89

Biden calls Turkish exit from women’s treaty a ‘disheartening step backward’

Egyptian women’s access to judiciary still limited

Hamas appoints first woman to political bureau

Tunisian LGBT activist imprisoned after reporting police harassment

Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul's sentence upheld in Riyadh court

Barred from traveling by their husbands, Iranian women suffer under unjust laws

Online ‘auctions’ of Yazidi captives speak of ongoing Islamic State activity in Turkey

Belgian children and some women to be repatriated from IS camp in Syria.

Civil society in northeast Syria promotes women’s role to fight extremism

Houthi security official in Yemen sanctioned by UN for crimes against women

Gaza court revises women’s travel restrictions after backlash

Israeli Labor picks gender warrior Michaeli as its new leader

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