women's rights
22/03/2013 / SERBIA
14/08/2012 / TUNISIA
Are women’s rights in Tunisia under threat?
Considered one of the most progressive countries in the Arab world when it comes to women’s rights, Tunisia feted its National Women’s Day on Monday, August 13. This year’s celebrations, however, were marred by a proposed constitutional article, which would define a woman as “complementary” to a man rather than his equal. Read our Observers' reactions…
09/07/2012 / AFGHANISTAN
Execution video highlights violence against women in rural Afghanistan
A recent video of a Taliban fighter executing a woman in a small town in Afghanistan’s Parwan Province last month has sparked outrage, but our Observer on the ground says the footage finally sheds light on the kind of violence women in the country’s rural areas often face. Read more…
Contributors
28/10/2011 / YEMEN
Yemeni women burn veils in act of defiance
Yemeni women are playing an increasingly important role in protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. In one of their most striking acts of defiance yet, a group of women burned their traditional black veils to denounce the regime’s brutal clampdown on recent anti-government demonstrations, in which at least three women were killed. Our Observer in Sanaa explains why she decided to burn her veil.
Contributors
14/07/2011 / DR Congo
Activists march from Paris to Brussels to highlight mass rape in DR Congo
Over 300 km in a little under 14 days, covered entirely on foot. That’s the gruelling challenge a group of Congolese activists set for themselves when they decided to march from Paris to Brussels to draw attention to the plight of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Read more...
Contributors
13/06/2011 / MALAYSIA
For better, for worse: Malaysian wives taught to be ‘obedient prostitutes’
According to a newly created club in Malaysia, the secret to a successful marriage is simple: an obedient wife who makes sure her husband is sexually satisfied. Launched on June 4 in Kuala Lumpur, the 1000-member strong ‘Obedient Wives Club’ (OWC) has sparked controversy in one of the most modern and progressive Muslim-majority countries. Read more….
26/05/2011 / SPAIN
Feminist voices join the 'macho' Spanish revolution
When feminist activists joined the massive anti-government protest camp in central Madrid last week, they were met with a mixed response from other participants. Is Spain’s progressive ‘revolution’ actually a macho movement? Read more…
Contributors
23/05/2011 / SAUDI ARABIA
The Saudi woman who took to the driver's seat
In a tough setback for aspiring Saudi female drivers, Saudi police have arrested female activist Manal al-Sharif, who boldly posted a video of herself behind the wheel on YouTube on Friday. Our Observer was with her during the symbolic drive. Read more...
Contributors
02/05/2011 / ARABIE SAOUDITE
Saudi Arabia’s women go all out for the right to vote
In Saudi Arabia, a country in which women are legal minors who can do nothing without the permission of their male guardians, the last thing electoral officials expected was for a group of women to march in to a voter’s registration centre with the firm intention of signing up on electoral registers. Yet that’s exactly what happened in Riyadh on April 24, and the scene was caught on camera. Read more...
Contributors
06/01/2011 / INDIA
Was 'man-beating' incident in Delhi subway's women-only compartment actually staged?
A video of male passengers being slapped around by angry women after they enter a women-only compartment in the New Delhi underground has been viewed over 100,000 times on YouTube. But some viewers think the incident was especially staged for cameras. Read more and watch the video…
