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

Can songs help to halt female genital mutilation, early marriage in Egypt?

In a new project, the UNFPA in Egypt is using popular singers and youth bands to create awareness of gender inequality and family planning.

Iranian teenage dancer's arrest sparks backlash as tolerance for radicalism drops

The backlash in the wake of Iran’s arrest of an Iranian teenage girl for posting dance clips on social media highlights significantly reduced tolerance for hard-liner excesses among the public.

Woman elected to head opposition council in western Aleppo

The new leader of the opposition council in western Aleppo plans to implement projects to benefit women and develop their potential.

Iranian MPs are seen during a meeting of the Iranian parliament for the impeachment of the Minister of Labor on March 13, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Violence against women at center of debate on landmark bill in Iran

A landmark bill to expand the legal definition of violence against women remains stalled amid objections from the Iranian judiciary.

CAIRO, EGYPT: Physically handicapped couples are seated in a straight line during a group wedding held at a five-star hotel in Cairo late 16 August 2004. Twenty disabled couples, most of them sports champions in national games for the physically challenged, celebrated together in a mass wedding party organised by the Egyptian Handicap Challengers Association. AFP PHOTO/Marwan NAAMANI (Photo credit should read MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Play challenges deadly Egyptian wedding night tradition

A daring new play called "Wedding Night" casts a critical eye on Egypt's archaic traditions that make some young couples' wedding nights a nightmare.

Will Tunis' first female mayor advocate for women’s rights?

Tunis' city council has elected its first female mayor from the Ennahda movement, yet some critics are wary of whether the new mayor will be a strong advocate for women.

Soccer Football - World Cup - Group B - Morocco vs Iran - Saint Petersburg Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia - June 15, 2018 General view of a banner displayed referencing Iranian women during the match REUTERS/Dylan Martinez - RC1F6A0CB660

Iranian women's movement pushes for more rights, at its own pace

Faced with calls for radical change from abroad, Iran's activists for women’s rights keep pushing their own agenda at home at their own pace.

An Iranian dress designer checks the fit of a veil on a bride at a high fashion studio in north Tehran October 2, 2007. Wearing the all-enveloping chador (veil) or a headscarf and loose-fitting full-length coat is obligatory under Sharia law, imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Offenders face fines, whipping or jail. But that has not stopped image-conscious Iranian women and a growing number are going under the knife for new noses, tummy tucks, liposuction, lifting eyelids or breast augmentation. Pic

Instant verbal divorce rips families apart in Iran's Kurdish region

An uncommon Sunni practice granting immediate verbal divorce has wreaked havoc on the lives of many Kurdish-Iranian families, and some legal and religious parties argue it should be abolished.

Women's center opens its doors to formerly displaced in Iraq's Qaraqosh

In the predominantly Christian city of Qaraqosh, where almost one-third of the previous population returned after the liberation from the Islamic State, Women's House has been founded to assist and support displaced and vulnerable women.

An Egyptian policewoman checks women's handbags outside a polling station in the capital Cairo on November 22, 2015, on the first day of the second and final round of the country's parliamentary elections. Egyptians began voting Sunday across 13 of the country's 27 provinces in the second phase of parliamentary elections after a low turnout marred the first stage in the absence of any strong opposition. AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Egyptian women look to boost presence in police force

Although women have made increasing progress in entering Egypt’s police force, they still face many obstacles.

Film about Egyptian superstar a hit everywhere but Egypt

In Europe, Iranian director Shirin Neshat’s "Looking for Oum Kulthum" is seen as a landmark artistic collaboration across the Middle East, but Egyptian critics are unimpressed with its historical inaccuracies.

Iranian women win big in fight over right to watch soccer games

Iranian women were allowed into Azadi stadium to watch a soccer game alongside men for the first time since the 1979 revolution.