Empowerment

Afghanistan: Afghan women 'worried by Taliban plan'

President Karzai is to outline plans to re-integrate Taliban fighters into Afghan society and government at a conference in London tomorrow. A news conference under the theme "Afghan Women Leader's Priorities for Afghanistan Stabilization and Reconstruction" is being held ahead of the main meeting.

Malaysia: Ban lifted on Sisters in Islam book

The [Sisters in Islam] SIS Forum (Malaysia) succeeded in throwing out the Home Minister’s order banning its 215-page book, Muslim Women and the Challenges of Islamic Extremism. High Court judge Justice Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof on Monday ruled that the book is not a threat to public order. He said the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia’s (Jakim) objection to the book was that it could confuse Muslims, especially those who with only a superficial knowledge of their religion, as the publication explains Islamic teachings according to the writers’ own views.

Egypt: Women reciting Quran in spotlight

Egypt's women have already made inroads into several one-time domains of men. But a suggestion to allow women to recite Islam's holy book the Quran in public has triggered sharp differences among Muslim clerics in this country recently swept by a wave of Islamism.

البحرين: حملة تضامنية مع الناشطة والمناضلة البحرينية / غادة جمشير

غادة جمشير / رئيسة ما عرف ب ( العريضة النسائية ) , والناشطة في مجال حقوق الإنسان وتمكين المرأة في البحرين , تتعرض ومنذ سنوات الى شتى صنوف المضايقات والاضطهاد من القوى الرجعية المتحكمة في بلدها البحرين , وقد صدر في عام 2007 م تعميم من وزير الديوان الملكي في البحرين الى جميع وسائل الإعلام المرئية والمقروءة والمسموعة بمنع نشر أبّ شيء لها , وفي نفس الوقت يشنّ الرجعيون والظلاميون الحملات المتتالية على المناضلة غادة جمشير .

Iran: Green Movement versus the mullahs

Iran is passing through a very critical moment of its history, the credibility of the so called Islamic republic is questioned. Despotism, sexism and tyranny are no more accepted or tolerated. The green movement and presidential elections aftermaths revealed the ugly face of the Black Islam adopted by the black turbaned Ayotallah. In a very informative and impressing talk, Prof. Ziba Mir Hosseini, a distinguished Iranian Anthropologist and one of my great mentors, elaborated on her paper "Broken Taboos in Post-Election Iran", find it on this link:http://www.merip.org/mero/mero121709.html

LetsBreakthrough's Channel: Education Lucknow

Breakthrough is an international human rights organization that uses media, education and pop culture to promote values of dignity, equality and justice in the United States and India. Mehrunissa and Tarannum are two women teachers in Lucknow. They talk about ideas of education and exposure among lower middle class Muslim societies, their own experiences, and prejudice faced by their friends and peers. They talk about their mothers and the remarkable perseverance they showed in educating their daughters.

Iran: La Journée internationale des droits de la femme 8 mars 1979

Sudan: A year of campaigning and a beat for peace with Sudan365

Thousands of activists gathered at events in 15 countries on Saturday 9 January in a global coordinated effort, calling on world leaders to take urgent steps to prevent a return to severe and widespread conflict in Sudan. Sudan365 (www.sudan365.org), a year of campaigning for Sudan, has been organised by a coalition of groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Save Darfur Coalition, FIDH, Refugees International, Darfur Consortium and Arab Coalition for Darfur.

International: A Look back at the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions

In December 2009, Melbourne, Australia hosted the Parliament of the World’s Religions, a global dialogue of faiths. Sister Joan Chittister, longtime champion of peace, human rights and gender equality attended the Parliament and spoke with AWID to share her perspectives on what the Parliament proceedings mean for women.

Palestine: Breaking the lens that binds you - Gaza's women photojournalists

For many years, photojournalism in Palestine was the exclusive domain of men. Women were largely restricted to only taking pictures of weddings and social events. Recently, Palestinian women have burst on the photojournalist scene challenging these social norms, while receiving accolades for the work abroad. Although the Palestinian Territories are filled with stories that are worth documenting through the lens of a camera no matter who carries it, the number of female photojournalists is still relatively low in comparison with male photojournalists.