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)

New program draws Egyptian women to tech

An Egyptian tech school is looking to increase the representation of women in the tech industry with a new programming class exclusively for women.

Gaza radio station gives a voice to refugees, women

In its first month on the air, Hawwa radio station based in Nuseirat refugee camp has tackled issues prominent in Gaza refugee camps and aims to encourage women to stand up for themselves.

Egyptian Sunni Muslim clerics attend a conference on extremism at Al-Azhar in Cairo on December 3, 2014. Al-Azhar, one of the most prestigious centres of Sunni Muslim learning, is holding a two-day conference on "Fighting Extremism and Terrorism."AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Egypt's Al-Azhar rejects Tunisia's calls for equal inheritance for women

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi's calls to change the inheritance law faced backlash across the region, with Egypt's Al-Azhar sharply denouncing them.

Hotline helps Lebanese talk about sex

With no sex education in Lebanon's schools, the launch of a new hotline gives the Lebanese a chance to ask their questions related to sex, relationships, sexual health and gender identity.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi delivers a speech in Tunis, Tunisia May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RTS15ZS1

Tunisian president calls for gender equality in inheritance law

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi’s proposal on National Women’s Day to amend the inheritance law so as to secure equal rights for women sparked much controversy in Tunisia.

A Palestinian woman carries bread to be baked, near the wreckage of her house that witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip June 22, 2015. Israel disputed on Monday the findings of a U.N. report that it may have committed war crimes in the 2014 Gaza conflict, saying its forces acted "according to the highest international standards". There was no immediate comment from Hamas, the dominant Palestinian movement in the Gaza Stri

Gaza civil society organizations aim to empower women

The 2017 Women's Leadership Incubator project will empower a team of civil society organizations in the Gaza Strip to strengthen their staff’s sensitivity and response to the needs and rights of marginalized women.

Members of the Tunisian parliament celebrate after approving the country's new constitution in the assembly building in Tunis January 26, 2014. Tunisia's national assembly approved the country's new constitution on Sunday in one of the final steps to full democracy three years after protests erupted into an uprising that toppled autocrat Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi (TUNISIA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX17W7W

New Tunisian law takes long stride toward gender equality

Tunisia’s parliament passed landmark legislation to fight violence against women in the country.

Mystery shrouds disappearance of first female mayor in Egypt’s Sharqiyah

After Egyptian female activists thought that the appointment of a woman as mayor would serve the cause of female empowerment, they were surprised by her disappearance 120 days ago under mysterious circumstances.

A cleric speaks on his mobile phone on the campus of the Seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 3, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB72O

Women gain foothold at Iran's seminaries

In Iran, institutional change in favor of women’s participation at seminaries is moving ahead at an exceptional pace.

Palestinian women earn sweet money as pastry chefs

Once considered taboo, women take over pastry-making in West Bank sweets factory.