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

Kurdish women wearing traditional clothes dance during a celebration for Kurdish outfit day in the northeast Syrian Kurdish city of Qamishli Syria March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - GF10000340960

Northeast Syrian women to participate in meetings on tribal matters

Some women in the autonomous, Kurdish-led statelet welcome the move.

Women hold food aid distributed by humanitarian institutions in Afrin, Syria March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC169F36FD00

‘An insult to women’ everywhere: Afrin kidnappings prompt calls for investigation of Turkey-backed rebels

A video reportedly showing detained women inside a secret prison in Afrin has prompted further criticism of Turkey's proxy forces operating in Syria.

A female Israeli soldier from the Haraam artillery battalion takes part in a training session in Krav Maga, an Israeli self-defence technique, at a military base in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights March 1, 2017. Picture taken March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RC15DBEF26F0

IDF not in hurry to integrate women in elite combat units

Young Israeli women have petitioned the Supreme Court demanding to be tried-outed for joining elite combat units.

Palestinian women work in a sanitiser factory amid precautions against the coronavirus, in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 12, 2020.REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RC2DIF9G27AF

Palestinian woman leads fight against coronavirus, while others fall victim to domestic violence

Women are taking the lead in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak in the Palestinian territories, while at the same the virus has brought more violence and suffering to some women.

Iran unlikely to release women activists during pandemic

The coronavirus outbreak is adding to the plight of imprisoned women’s rights defenders in Iran.

Migrants in detention center go on hunger strike in fear of coronavirus

Migrants in a Tunis detention center went on a hunger strike to protest bad conditions that aren't improving amid the coronavirus outbreak despite calls by rights organizations that prisoners be released.

A general view shows the deserted Istiklal Street during a two-day curfew which was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2020. REUTERS//Umit Bektas - RC2H2G9Y460H

Reports of child abuse in Turkey spike amid pandemic

A prominent children's rights activist told Al-Monitor that complaints of child abuse incidents have doubled since the closure of the schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Turkey’s femicide toll soars amid coronavirus lockdowns

Women’s rights groups are calling for urgent action to protect victims of domestic violence in Turkey, where coronavirus restrictions leave vulnerable women trapped with their abusers.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - AUGUST 3: Arab feminist group Women Against Violence founder Aida Touma-Suleiman listens during a conference organised by Abp Asbl (Association belgo palestinienne) on September 3, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. The Knesset is the unicameral parliament of the State of Israel in Jerusalem where members are elected for a four-year term. Since its creation in 1949, of the 19 elected chambers, 12 have been dissolved. In the 2015 parliamentary elections, of the 120 seats in the 20th Knesset, 13

Arab legislator to chair Knesset committee, undeterred by incitement

The appointment of Arab Knesset member Aida Touma-Suleiman to head the Welfare and Labor Committee generated racist reactions and incitement to hatred, but she is not upset.

Meet the women of the Knesset's Joint List

Out of the Joint List’s 15 members in the Knesset, four are women, and, despite the obstacles they face, they are determined to pursue their agendas in the Knesset.

Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul is seen in this undated handout picture. Marieke Wijntjes/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC14DBE1A650

Trial of detained Saudi women's activist postponed in Riyadh

A court hearing for Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul is delayed for a week.

Why women in the Middle East find little to celebrate on March 8

From Beirut to Khartoum, women in the Middle East held demonstrations calling for the elimination of discriminatory laws and improvement of their situation.