Women’s rights

A woman walks past a wall painting in the colours of the Iranian flag in Tehran on February 25, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How hijab dispute is opening new front in Iran-Azerbaijan tensions

Iran's longstanding unease over Azerbaijan's strategic ties with Israel is spilling into a dispute over religious freedoms and Baku's position in the Islamic world, testing already fragile relations between the two neighbors.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A shop owner assists one of his customers at Malta bazaar in the Fatih district in Istanbul, on Dec. 6, 2024.

Iran mum as Azerbaijan’s school hijab ban, Israel ties test alliance with Turkey

Azerbaijan’s restrictions on Islamic dress in schools have sparked an unusual public spat with Turkey, exposing tensions beneath the allies’ close political and security ties.

Protesters hold banners calling for child protection and justice

Culture

Rape of teenage girl shocks Tunisia: What to know

Violence against children and women remains a problem in Tunisia, despite a 2017 law aimed at helping the situation.

Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, Morocco's newly appointed head of government

Culture

Who is Fatima El Mansouri, Morocco’s first woman prime minister?

Her appointment marks the first time a woman has served as Morocco’s head of government and the second time a woman has held the position in the Arab world.

Latest News

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

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

Culture

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

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

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

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

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

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Egypt female candidate angers feminists by glorifying the patriarchy

A female candidate running in Egypt’s upcoming legislative elections has been glorifying men and the patriarchal system, raising the ire of feminists across the nation who have worked for years to change society’s view that women are inferior.

A woman looks at art work made by Iranian victims of acid attacks at the Ashianeh gallery in Tehran on February 28, 2018.
Acid attacks have been an occasional scourge in Iran, with a spate of incidents in 2014 triggering protests and claims they were linked to women wearing "immodest" clothing. Money raised by the show went to Iran's Association of Support of Acid Attack Victims. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Cleric reopens scars of acid attacks after threatening Iranian women

Threats by an influential hard-line cleric against Iranian women with loose headscarves has opened up old wounds left behind in acid attacks perpetrated by religious extremists.

Palestinian women mask-clad due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic wait with their children in a UN clinic to take Polio vaccine and Rota virus vaccines at Bureij refugee camp in the central of Gaza Strip on September 9, 2020. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza women use social media to reveal domestic abuse

In light of the rise of domestic abuse cases in the Gaza Strip, women are resorting to social media to share their stories and try to protect their rights.

The Takeaway: Normalization deals don’t ‘repair damage’ of Trump policies, says US senator

Democrat Chris Van Hollen takes apart Trump policies in Middle East; Al-Monitor gets the scoop on the art of the deal in Sudan; Turkey’s militarized foreign policy; the gold standard for nuclear power in the Middle East.

Two Egyptian women speak on a popular beach during summer vacations in the city of Alexandria, on August 01, 2019. (Photo by Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP) (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Egyptian TV host sparks controversy after saying there is 'devil' in unveiled women

The recent remarks of a well-known Egyptian TV presenter on the hijab, criticizing those who are unveiled, stirred up a heated debate in Egypt.

COVID-19 and the marginalization of Iranian women

COVID-19 has adversely impacted many segments of society across the globe, including Iranian women. Some fear the damage will be permanent.

ST PAUL, MN - AUGUST 05: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a press conference outside the DFL Headquarters on August 5, 2020 in St Paul, Minnesota. Omar is hoping to retain her seat as the representative for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District in next week's primary election. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Intel: House Democrats want answers from Saudi ambassador over jailed female activists

A group of seven congressional Democrats laid into Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States on Wednesday for failing to respond to their repeated requests to discuss the kingdom’s continued detention of female rights activists.

Alleged sexual offenders face social media barrage in Egypt

Despite rising online calls for sexual offenders to be held accountable for their crimes and a new amendment to the anti-sexual harassment law guaranteeing confidentiality of survivors, many women in Egypt are still reluctant to report sexual harassment incidents for fear of being stigmatized.

Female scooter-riders on the rise in Egypt

Despite an increase in the number of sexual harassment and bullying cases Egyptian women are subjected to, they still plan on conquering any means of transportation.

Women, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, wait to cast their ballots outside a polling station in the town of el-Ayyat in Giza province south of the Egyptian capital on August 11, 2020 for candidates running in the upper house election for the newly created Senate. - The two-day vote for 200 of the Senate's 300 seats will be largely contested by candidates who back President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has quietened most opposition within and outside the legislature. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo

Is COVID-19 pushing women in Egypt out of workforce?

With schools reopening and many shifting to partial online learning because of the coronavirus crisis, working moms in Egypt are facing the challenging task of juggling work and supporting their children’s education.

Israeli protesters, wearing protective masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hold placards as they take part in a demonstration in Tel Aviv on August 23, 2020, to denounce sexual violence against women following the alleged gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl in a Red Sea resort. - Police said 11 suspects, including nine minors and a woman said to be the manager of the hotel in which the alleged rape took place, had been arrested in connection with the affair so far as part of an "ongoing investigation". (Photo b

Rape of teen shocks Israelis, sends them to the streets

Women rights groups were joined by many Israeli firms in a protest over the gang rape of a 16-year-old in Eilat.

A woman wearing a face mask raises her fist in Ankara, on August 5, 2020, during a demonstration to demand the government does not withdraw from the Istanbul Conventio, 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 viol

Turkey's 'hedonist' singles become new target of AKP heavyweight

Numan Kurtulmus, deputy chair of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party who opened a Pandora’s box on the Istanbul Convention, has come under fire once more for remarks on “over hedonist singles.”