Women’s rights

Speaker of the National People's Assembly, Dr. Khalida Boufedech, is pictured in this undated image.

Meet Khalida Boufedech, the first woman to lead Algeria’s parliament

Khalida Boufedech became Algeria’s first woman parliament speaker and the highest-ranking woman to hold constitutional office in the country’s history.

An activist takes part in a demonstration against sexual harassment, rape and domestic violence in the Lebanese capital Beirut on December 7, 2019. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Lebanon arrests man after video of public assault on wife goes viral

The man seen violently beating a woman at a restaurant has been arrested, but the incident has reignited debate over domestic violence amid warnings that such abuse can increase during periods of war.

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

A Mother’s Day advertisement featuring a “dog mom” triggered a backlash from conservative media, government officials and regulators, turning a soft consumer campaign into a flashpoint over motherhood, declining birth rates, stray dogs and even antisemitism.

Kurdish people waving Kurdistan flags gather to celebrate Nowruz on the hill of Urkesh in the countryside of Amuda in northeastern Syria on March 18, 2026. Nowruz, meaning "new day," is an ancient festival that marks the start of spring and the new year on the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. It is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide and has been observed for over 3,000 years across regions including the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and parts of Eastern Euro

Analysis

Is Syria’s Sharaa poised to outdo Turkey in formalizing gains for Kurds?

Damascus is making limited but tangible progress in its engagement with Syrian Kurds, even as Ankara seeks to shape the terms of any settlement.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Iran formally allows women to drive motorcycles: What to know

Iranian instructor Maryam Ghelich stands with student Narghes as they look at Elham (3rd R), Leila and Mona, posing on their motorbikes before their lesson at a training center in northern Tehran on Dec. 7, 2025.

Culture

Lebanon’s first lady Nehmat Aoun takes center stage during Pope's visit

Adri Salido/Getty Images

Lebanon’s citizenship offer for FIFA head sparks debate over equal rights

CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

Iran judicial chief orders crackdown on women defying hijab law: What to know

A couple sits facing the skyline of Tehran from Bam-e Tehran in Tehran, Iran on October 24, 2025. (Photo by Bahram / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by BAHRAM/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian film festival stars gender-based violence

This year's Palestinian Cinema Days film festival took up the problems faced by women in the region and beyond.

Iranian women cheer at soccer game, finally

For the first time since 1981, Iranian women got unrestricted access to a soccer stadium as they watch the national team beat Cambodia 14-0.

Women wave Palestinian flags during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border fence, in the southern Gaza Strip June 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC18913F8980

Rights now: Why Palestinian women do not want to wait for liberation

Outraged that Palestinian men are getting away with murder, women of Palestine take to the streets and to cinema halls to push for their rights.

Why women in this Lebanese refugee camp opt for trade, not aid

A group of Syrian and Palestinian women from a refugee camp in Lebanon transitioned a struggling project into an enterprise that aims to export around the world.

Women are seen at Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque before a visit by Pope Francis in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 4, 2019. REUTERS/Tony Gentile - RC187AF4AC70

GCC countries miss chance to grant women full citizenship rights

The tensions polarizing the Gulf region could have triggered long-awaited citizenship reforms, but the right to automatically pass on nationality remains a male preserve.

Esteghlal supporters attend the AFC Champions League group C football match between Iran's Esteghlal and Qatar's Al Duhail at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on May 6, 2019. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran in no hurry to allow women into stadiums after 'Blue Girl' death

The suicide of an Iranian soccer fan has reignited the issue of allowing women into Iran's stadiums, but the administration is unlikely to work toward a solution anytime soon.

In a picture released on May 23, 2005 by the Israeli Defence Forces shows an Israeli army female soldier painting the face of a comrade with mud prior to a week-long survival course for women in the infantry at an undisclosed location in Israel. REUTERS/IDF/HO OP/TW - RP6DRMVUMIAA

Female officers in IDF aiming higher and higher

With more women assuming combat roles in the IDF, it becomes more plausible that a woman will one day command the IDF and that along the way more women will be able to move from the military into high-level national politics.

A doctor examines a pregnant woman at a hospital in the province of Fayoum, southwest of Cairo, Egypt February 19, 2019. Picture taken February 19, 2019. REUTERS/Hayam Adel - RC15CBE129E0

Egyptian woman's egg-freeze decision creates debate on taboo subject

A woman's public confession that she had her eggs frozen has shocked Egypt and prompted public debate about an issue rarely discussed in the highly conservative society.

Child marriage nullified after social media outrage in Iran

After video of an 11-year-old bride surfaced online, a popular backlash prompted the authorities to investigate and prosecute the groom, the officiant and the girl's father.

People react as police try to disperse a march marking International Women's Day in Istanbul, Turkey, March 8, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1D15D67740

Outraged over mother’s murder, Turkish women demand protection

A brutal video of a mother’s last moments has reignited calls to better implement laws designed to prevent domestic violence in Turkey.

Southern Yemeni women enter storm of politics, war

Many women in Yemen's south would like to see a return of the more progressive rights they enjoyed before Yemen's north and south merged in 1990; could the Southern Transitional Council's gains against the Hadi government in Aden help bring this about?

Israeli society, ultra-Orthodox torn over gender separation

The issue of gender separation is not only an area of disagreement between the ultra-Orthodox and secular society in Israel, it is also a raging debate within ultra-Orthodox society itself.