Women's rights

Mahsa Amini's legacy, four years after her murder by Iran's morality police - editorial

“Women’s problems are not limited to the hijab,” Fattahi said. “Freedom does not simply mean having the freedom to choose whether or not to wear a hijab. This is the most basic of women’s rights.”

A woman hand holds a sign with drawings of a lion and an Iranian woman and the slogan Woman Life Freedom in Paris in France on January 18, 2026. Demonstration in support of the Iranian uprising against the Islamic and in favor of the return of Reza Pahlavi.
Artists perform, as Kurdish female fighters attend a military parade to mark the 13th anniversary of the founding of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) in Qamishli, Syria, April 4, 2026.

UN adopts post-Assad Syria resolution recognizing women searching for missing family

Dr Manal Radwan at the Med-Gulf Summit 2026.

Saudi Arabia names women diplomat Manal Radwan as special envoy for peace efforts

 TOLOnews television anchor Tahmina Usmani, 23, poses for a portrait in Kabul, August 1, 2022.

Afghan journalist explains her escape from Taliban after restrictions on women in broadcasting


Five years after Taliban takeover, Afghan women remain trapped in deepening rights crisis

The Afghan women who spoke to The Media Line said that words could hardly capture the hardships they have endured in exile, while their loved ones continue to face difficult conditions back home.

 Women wearing burqas pause at the side of a road in Kabul, Afghanistan October 26, 2021.

Taliban celebrate ‘victory day’ five years after seizing power in Afghanistan

Five years after seizing power, the Taliban are projecting control in Afghanistan while rights groups warn of deepening humanitarian crises and sweeping restrictions on women.

 Taliban soldiers celebrate on the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul on a street near the US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023.

Half of Afghan women rarely leave home as Taliban restrictions deepen, UN agency says

Afghanistan remains the only country in the world to ban girls from secondary education and women from attending university.

Afghan women prepare dough to make traditional cookies inside a bakery in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 5, 2024.

Female Afghan Christian convert flees Taliban, only to risk deportation in Qatar

Since retaking power, the Taliban has largely excluded women from public life. Girls are barred from secondary schools and universities, while women have faced sweeping restrictions.

Taliban personnel detain a woman in Herat, Afghanistan, for allegedly violating the dress code.

Islamic Regime instructed universities on how to suppress 2023 staff, student protests - report

The ministry, in a letter addressed to the heads of universities, higher education institutes and research institutes across Iran, demanded that protests be met with a harsh response.

Protesters light fires, set roadblocks in Tehran following the death of Mahsa Amini, September 21, 2022.

Iranian women, girls die by suicide, honor killing after Telegram sextortion channel

Over the past week, two girls in Lorestan province ended their lives after their photos were leaked on the Telegram channel.

In this photo illustration a smartphone screen displays the logo of social media app and instant messaging service Telegram, on February 19, 2026 in Bath, England; illustrative

Women’s OIC conference in Pakistan sees Syrian delegation after 14 years

Syria’s minister of social affairs and labor, Hind Kabawat, led the delegation, as few Afghan women were represented in their fight for rights under Taliban rule.

Women prepare for Eid al-Adha prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, May 27, 2026.

Rights org. files complaint after Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yosef shames women for private mikveh use

Religious rights organization ITIM said Chief Rabbi David Yosef's comments shaming women who want to use a mikveh privately were "halachically harmful."

Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef, December 28, 2025; illustrative.

'Date, marry, shag': Australia PM Anthony Albanese apologizes for crude Kylie Minogue remark

Albanese initially declined to respond, saying he was recently married, but Osborne pressed, asking who he would choose if his marriage broke down, and Albanese replied, "Kylie, clearly."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, 30 March, 2026.

SCOTUS upholds state bans on transgender sports participation, paving way for further restrictions

The court decided 9-0 that the state laws do not violate the Title IX civil rights statute that bars discrimination in education "on the basis of sex."

 United States Capitol Police lines up along the perimeter while LGBTQ activists and supporters hold a rally on the steps of the Supreme Court as it hears major LGBT rights case on whether federal employment law that outlaws discrimination on the basis of sex covers sexual orientation and gender ide