women

The Guardian: “Aretha Franklin, who has died at the age of 76, reflects on her 1967 cover hit Respect in a collection of archive clips. The queen of soul discusses how she and her sister injected Otis Redding’s song with their own twist and its subsequent use as a ‘battle cry’ and ‘women’s anthem’ 1. […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Women can Finally Drive, But are their Voices Being Heard?

The Conversation

By Nermin Allam | – Earlier this summer, Saudi Arabia lifted the decades-long ban on women’s driving. The move is part of a series of reforms that the country has been implementing. In April the kingdom loosened male guardianship laws – under which women need the permission of a male guardian to work, travel or […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s Arrest of Women’s Rights Activists puts it on Wrong Side of History

Zainah Anwar

Co-author: Kamala Chandrakirana | – London (OpenDemocracy) – From Indonesia to Saudi Arabia, Muslim women’s movements for equality are increasingly interconnected – and unstoppable. A Saudi woman poses with her new driving license after the country’s ban on women driving was lifted in June, 2018. Photo: Gehad Hamdy/DPA/PA Images. All rights reserved.Saudi Arabia’s ongoing crackdown […]

Kuwait

Kuwait Joins Tunisia in Granting Women Full Political Rights

Middle East Monitor

Kuwait City (Middle East Monitor) – Kuwait has become one of the first countries in the Middle East to give full political rights to women. Gulf news agencies reported that the oil rich state has granted full suffrage after decades of campaigning by women’s rights campaigners. Praising Kuwait’s progressive move, regional media commented on the […]

Iran

Iranians Dance To Protest Detention Of Teen Over Instagram Videos

contributors

Washington, DC ( RFE/RL) – Iranian social-media users are expressing support for a teenager who was detained over her Instagram dance videos by posting their own clips showing them dancing in solidarity. Maedeh Hojabri, who had more than 40,000 followers on Instagram, recently appeared in a program on state-controlled Iranian television in which she acknowledged […]

Saudi Arabia

At Midnight, Riyadh Erupts in Cheers for Women Drivers–but Women Activists still in Jail

Natacha Yazbeck

Riyadh (AFP) – Every few metres someone — a newlywed couple, a group of young girls with balloons — stops Samar Almogren to cheer her on or flash her a thumbs-up. It’s midnight in Riyadh, and she’s making her way across the city she was born and raised in, finally in the driver’s seat of […]

Saudi Arabia

The Real Reason Saudi Arabi Lifted its Ban on Women Driving: Economic Necessity

Martin Hvidt

Odense (The Conversation) – After years of campaigning by women activists, on June 24 the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia will be lifted. It is the most visible of a bundle of recent initiatives taken by the Saudi king and the crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, to strengthen the role of women in […]

Feminism

After arrest of Feminists, Saudi Arabia sets Harsh Penalties for Sexual Harassment

AFP

Riyadh (AFP) – Saudi Arabia is preparing to outlaw sexual harassment, officials said Tuesday, less than a month before the conservative kingdom lifts its decades-long ban on women driving. The kingdom’s Shura Council, which advises the cabinet, approved a draft law on Monday which would introduce a prison term of up to five years and […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudis to let women drive but Jail a dozen Women’s Rights Activists

AFP

Dubai (AFP) – Saudi authorities have widened a crackdown on women’s rights advocates, detaining at least three more activists a month before the kingdom lifts its decades-old ban on women drivers, campaigners said Tuesday. Saudi authorities on Saturday announced the arrest of seven people, mostly identified by rights groups as women who have long campaigned […]