Women’s rights

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Lebanon’s citizenship offer for FIFA head sparks debate over equal rights

Lebanon’s president has announced he will grant citizenship to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, sparking a wave of outrage.

A couple sits facing the skyline of Tehran from Bam-e Tehran in Tehran, Iran on October 24, 2025. (Photo by Bahram / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by BAHRAM/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran judicial chief orders crackdown on women defying hijab law: What to know

Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei also called for legal action against the United States over the June strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Iranian women without wearing hijab shout slogans while gathering around a burning dumpster during a protest near Punak square, on Oct. 1, 2022

Culture

Rape case against movie star Pejman Jamshidi rocks Iran: What to know

The accusations against Jamshidi, one of Iran’s most famous celebrities, come amid ongoing discussions about women’s lack of rights in the country.

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Leaked video shows Khamenei aide's daughter in Western wedding gown amid Iran's hijab crackdown

Senior Iranian official Ali Shamkhani faced criticism online after video surfaced of his daughter’s extravagant wedding.

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Iran adding 80,000 personnel to enforce hijab in Tehran province

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As Syria finalizes candidates for parliament, women make up 14% of list

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Turkey's Erdogan acknowledges 'alarming' rise in violence against women

Women's rights activists and relatives of victims of feminicide wait outside the Istanbul court ahead of a hearing on June 1, 2022.

Culture

Iran mulls lifting ban on women driving motorcycles: What to know

A man and a woman ride their motorcycles past a billboard in the background bearing a portrait of Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi in central Tehran, on May 21, 2024.

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Turkey’s top religious body sparks outrage over women’s inheritance rights

Women rights activists say that the body is increasingly targeting women, challenging secular law and fostering conditions for gender-based violence.

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Opposition slams Erdogan after 9 killed in deadly week for Turkish women

Activists say the government’s rollback of legal protections and state-backed religious sermons are fueling gender-based violence and restricting women’s freedom.

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Women march with pictures of victims of a recent wave of sectarian violence targeting Syria's Alawite minority in the west of the country along the Mediterranean sea coast, during a protest condemning the attacks in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on March 11, 2025. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Amnesty: Syria's rulers must look into abductions of Alawite women and girls

The report comes after the coastal area witnessed deadly clashes last March between pro-Assad militias and security forces that triggered revenge killings against the Alawite minority.

A Tunisian woman wearing a "burkini", a full-body swimsuit designed for Muslim women, walks in the water with a child on August 16, 2016 at Ghar El Melh beach near Bizerte, north-east of the capital Tunis. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP) (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Syria mandates burkinis for women at public beaches: What to know

The decree has sparked concern that Syria’s new government could be veering toward a more strict Islamist governance system.

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, on June 4, 2025.

Culture

Syria’s top Islamic body issues decree against honor killings: What to know

US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack referred to the decision as “great first steps,” though concerns persist about the new Islamist-led government.

Vehicles move past as people queue outside the main headquarters of the Central Bank of Syria to exchange US dollars at prices lower than the black market.

Who is Maysaa Sabrine, first woman to lead Central Bank of Syria?

Syria’s new leadership has appointed Maysaa Sabrine to head the country’s central bank, the first woman to do so in the institution’s history.

Protesters take part in a demonstration in support of We Will Stop Femicide outside the courthouse in Istanbul on Sept. 13, 2023.

Outrage sweeps Turkey over double femicide as Erdogan pledges stricter measures

Activists are highlighting the government's failure to enforce existing laws to protect women.

Two young Iranian girls, not wearing the mandatory hijab, visit Bame Tehran on Sept. 9, 2023.

Iran hijab laws back in spotlight as police shooting leaves woman paralyzed

In a case reminiscent of Mahsa Amini's, the mother of two struggles against permanent paralysis amid a state-imposed media blackout and pressure on her family to remain silent.

A woman walks holding a placard as activists demonstrate against female child marriages, in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad on July 28, 2024, amid parliamentary discussion over a proposed amendment to the Iraqi Personal Status Law. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqis protest proposed 'anti-women' amendment to personal status law

Temporarily prevented from being read in parliament, an amendment to the country’s personal status law is seen as the “latest salvo” in a lengthy battle.

Two Iranian women are walking in the street of Tehran with optional covering.

Women activists face 'severe sentences' in Iran, as new president vows easing of restrictions

A woman labor activist was sentenced to death in Iran for allegedly belonging to an outlawed Kurdish group, as authorities continue their crackdown against any type of dissent.

Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani (C) kisses the Taliban flag as he reviews the newly recruited Afghan security personnel during their graduation ceremony at the police academy in Kabul on October 5, 2023. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

What's behind Taliban's decision to attend UN conference in Qatar?

The attendance in and of itself signals progress and the possibility that the international community might find better ways to deal with the de facto rulers in Kabul.

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How EU-West Bank police mission hopes to advance two-state solution

Newly appointed EUPOL COPPS chief Karin Limdal is tasked with helping Palestinian law enforcement institutions reform to facilitate the implementation of the two-state solution and Palestinian statehood.