June was a watershed month for homosexual rights in the West. The homosexual community in South Asia, especially in India, has been making news as well.
The burgeoning incidents of rape of young women point to an increasingly common phenomenon in what are known as cites the massive housing projects that ring most of the country's large cities.
Since Sept. 11, 2001 there has been constant public reference to concepts of terror, war, and security, but little debate about their meaning and the voices of women and girls have been conspicuously absent from the discussion.
Although this article is not about Muslim laws, the issues it raises apply to women's engagement with the law and the impact of customary practices across diverse countries and communities.
A religious alliance in Pakistan's Northwest provinces is ushering in strict new laws that threaten the rights of women and remind many of the Taliban.
Dr Sima Samar, the chair of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (IHRC), will be presented with the Perdita Huston Human Rights Award on June 11 in Washington, DC.
