The Iraqi parliament is facing mounting pressure from civil society, women’s rights groups, and activists as it considers amendments to the Personal Status Law that could drastically affect the rights and well-being of women and girls in Iraq. If passed, these amendments would lower the legal marriage age from 18 to as young as nine […]
The Weaponization of Girls And Women During Conflict
Photo by DVIDSHUB In a recent event on October 28 hosted by the O’Neill Institute of Georgetown Law, a panel of experts convened to discuss the alarming realities faced by women and girls in conflict zones and beyond. The discussion was moderated by Pema Levy who highlighted a stark report released by the United Nations this […]
Thailand to be the first Southeast Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage
Photo by Cecilie Bomstad On Tuesday June 18th, Thailand’s Senate overwhelmingly passed a marriage equality law, paving the way for it to become the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. It will now become the third Asian country to allow same-sex marriage. The legislation labels marriage as a partnership between two individuals and […]
A new academic year begins in Afghanistan without girls as the Taliban continues to deny their education
Spring is a season that signifies fresh opportunities, growth and hope. This month is also marked with the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8th. However, for Afghan women and girls, the reality is very different as they continue to be oppressed by an extreme gender apartheid. In Afghanistan, the school year begins in […]
Afghan Women’s Rights Activists Murdered
Last week, bodies of four Afghan women’s activists were discovered in Mazar-i-Sharif, northern Afghanistan. One of the victims was identified as Frozan Safi, a 30-year-old activist and private university economics lecturer. According to Safi’s family, she left her home on October 27 after she received an anonymous call asking her to collect her documents because […]
Starving Afghan Families Forced to Sell Their Daughters for Food
A recent CNN video features Afghan families who are unable to afford food at the displacement camps selling their daughters to old men in order to survive. The video shows a nine-year-old, Parwana, who was sold to a man as old as 70, for 200,000 Afghanis, approximately $2,200 on October 22. The incidents took place […]
Afghan Women Protest: “Why is the world watching us die in silence?”
A number of Afghan women took to the streets of Kabul on Tuesday to protest the world’s silence over the current situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. Videos on social media show Afghan women activists gathering at the gates of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul and holding signs which […]
The Taliban Announces Additional Government Officials, All Members of Their Old Guard
Early this week, the Taliban announced additional members of their cabinet, and once again, all of them are the old guard of the Taliban, despite promises of an inclusive government during peace talks. The 38 new members of the interim government of the Taliban were appointed to military and civilian positions. On September 7th, the Taliban announced […]
Thousands of Protesters March to Demand Abortion Rights Across Latin America
In several Latin American countries, thousands of people marched for the right to safe and legal abortion on Tuesday, marking International Safe Abortion Day. Large groups of people marched to protest the restrictive and severely punitive abortion laws in many Latin American countries. Protesters held up signs with the slogans, “legal abortion for health and […]
Switzerland Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage in a National Referendum
Swiss voters approved a law that allows same-sex couples to marry in a nationwide referendum Sunday. Switzerland is one of the last countries in Western Europe to give full marriage rights to LGBTQ couples. Last year, the Swiss government amended marriage laws to extend full marriage rights to LGBTQ couples. However, those who opposed the […]
The Taliban issued a statement only calling for boys to return to school
On Sep. 17, the Taliban issued a statement calling only for boys to return to secondary schools. The statement did not include girls. When the schools reopened the next day, millions of girls across the country did not return to their classes, depriving them of their basic right to education. Students in secondary schools are […]
Mexico Supreme Court Rules to Decriminalize Abortion
Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that the criminalization of abortion is unconstitutional in a unanimous vote Tuesday. This decision sets a precedent to decriminalize abortion throughout the country, which has the second-largest Catholic population in the world. At question was a law in the northern state of Coahuila which stated people who had an abortion, or […]
United States Sends First Batch of Promised 500 million Vaccine Doses to be Donated Internationally
On Tuesday, the Biden administration shipped nearly 500,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Rwanda as part of the administration’s promise to donate 500 million vaccines to low- and middle-income countries. Rwanda will receive 488,370 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, 188,370 of which come from the 500 million doses bought by the Biden administration earlier […]
Thousands of People Celebrate Pride in Hungary Despite Anti-LGBTQ Legislation
On Saturday, 300,000 people marched in Budapest for the annual Pride parade to both celebrate Pride and protest the Hungarian government’s recent homophobic legislation. The Hungarian Parliament passed a law in June that restricts media seen to promote homosexuality or gender nonconformity. Content that is considered to do so must be labeled as “not recommended […]
Actor and Gay Icon Billy Porter Gives LGBTQ State of the Union
“Pose” star Billy Porter gave an LGBTQ state of the union hours before Donald Trump’s speech last night. Porter criticized the president ad highlighted the many issues that LGBTQ people are facing in the United States. Sponsored by Logo TV, Porter quickly called out the President as having “painted himself as a friend of the […]
Esther Duflo Wins Nobel Prize in Economics for Work Addressing Global Poverty
Esther Duflo, a researcher from Cambridge, Massachusetts, alongside two others, has been awarded this year’s Nobel Memorial Prize for economics. Duflo is part of a trio of researchers from Cambridge, Massachusetts, including her husband Abhijit Banerjee and colleague Michael Kremer, to win the prestigious prize for their work in addressing global poverty. “This year’s Laureates […]
Saudi Arabian Feminist Movement Celebrates Lifting of Driving Ban
In a historic win for the Saudi Arabian feminist movement, women in Saudi Arabia have won the right to drive. In a royal decree issued Tuesday, the Saudi Arabian monarchy announced that the ban preventing women from driving will be lifted. A committee has been assembled to determine how the lifting of the ban will […]
Kabul University to Open First Gender Studies Program in Afghanistan
Kabul University just launched its first Gender and Women’s studies graduate program, the first of its kind in all of Afghanistan. The two-year program is another important step for Afghan women in achieving equality and increasing opportunity. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the mission of this program is “to create a platform […]
Deal in Trans-Pacific Partnership is Reached
The United States and ten other countries have reached an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, leaving environmentalists, human rights activists, women’s rights activists, doctors, and many others concerned.
Saudi Women Prepare to Vote for the First Time
Women in Saudi Arabia registered to vote over the weekend, preparing to participate for the first time in local elections this December.
