Women’s rights

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.

Palestine

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.

Israel

Egypt’s first female MMA fighter blazes trail for more women

Aya Saeid has become Egypt’s first MMA fighter by breaking stereotypes in the patriarchal society.

Egypt

How female politicians in Turkey's ruling party help strengthen patriarchy

Female representatives of Turkey's ruling party have been a useful tool to expand patriarchal policies.

Turkey

Facebook launches partnership with Egypt to protect women from cyber harassment

Egypt’s National Council for Women teams up with Facebook for extra online security and protection for female users prone to online harassment and violation of their personal freedoms.

Originals

Lebanon passes law criminalizing sexual harassment

Lebanese lawmakers broadened what constitutes domestic violence but did not specifically outlaw marital rape.

Lebanon

Me Too movement rattles Turkey’s literary world

Turkish literary scene becomes a new battlefront in the women’s movement as female writers, editors and translators pour out their stories of abuse and one author commits suicide.

Turkey

Egypt moves fight against harassment to its trains

The Egyptian National Railways launched a new campaign to combat harassment on public transport, namely on trains, calling on women to report any incident they encounter.

Egypt

Honor killings against women increase in southeast Syrian city

Civil activists protested the lack of judiciary against domestic violence and honor killings, launching the hashtag “Our blood is on your hands” and calling on the government to consider honor killings as a crime to prevent the death of more women.

Syria

Women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul to stand trial in Saudi Arabia

Loujain al-Hathloul will appear in a Saudi court Wednesday more than two years after she was first detained in a crackdown on human rights defenders.

Saudi Arabia

Qatar reveals disturbing details and expresses 'regret' regarding strip-search of women at airport

The Gulf state is under fire after women headed to Australia said they were forcibly searched in an attempt to see whether they had recently given birth to a newborn found alive in a trash can at Doha's airport.

Qatar

Why women in Egypt continue to face violence

The killing of a young woman during a robbery in the streets of Cairo has raised the ire of activists, who continue to call for legislation to protect women against violence.

Egypt