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

Burkini bans causing waves in Egypt

Tourist-hungry Egypt finds itself stuck in the middle of the burkini debate.

Losing faith in Rouhani, Iranian women ever defiant

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s failure to nominate a single female Cabinet minister is leading women to lose faith in his promises — but not hope in their future.

Middle East's painter-princess finally gets her due

The artistic legacy of Fahrelnissa Zeid, an interesting figure of early Turkish modern art, gets spotlight back on the international art stage through a series of exhibitions in Istanbul, London, Berlin and Beirut.

People walk at the entrance of the State Council's building, Egypt's highest administrative court in Cairo, Egypt May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - S1AETLEPLWAA

Egypt's alimony reform debate begins before bill is introduced

A parliament member is looking to expedite the yearslong process Egyptian women often must go through to receive alimony when they file for divorce.

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.