women

By Mattea Kramer | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Back in 1992, a certain New York real estate mogul told a reporter from New York magazine that you have to treat women “like shit.” That was a perfect summary of his philosophy, but it may be an even better descriptor for the way many women […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi decree allowing women to drive cars is about politics, not religion

Juan Cole

By Haifaa Jawad | (The Conversation) | – – In an unexpected move that surprised everyone, including his own people, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia has suddenly passed a royal decree permitting women to drive. His stunning decision comes after years of the ban, which was justified using Islam as a pretext. […]

Feminism

The Biggest Impediment to Saudi Women Was Never the Driving Ban

Juan Cole

By Medea Benjamin | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – No matter their age, Saudi women are treated like minors — to the point that many require permission from their sons to work, study, or travel. It looks like 27 years of protesting, along with international pressure and government recognition that it needs more […]

Featured

Saudi King seeks Recognition for letting Women Drive, a basic right

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued a decree on Tuesday permitting women to drive as of June of next year. Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world to forbid its female citizens from driving automobiles. This unusually misogynistic position derived from two sources. One is […]

Donald Trump

Betsy DeVos and “Real” Rape

contributors

By Gail Ukockis | (Informed Comment) | – – When I was in college in the early eighties, the dorm staff told us females to get escorts if we had to walk outside after dark. Watch out for the dark bushes in front of the dorm building, they warned us. Each communal bathroom also […]

Climate Change

A Sustainable future depends on Women’s Equality

contributors

H. Patricia Hynes | ( Truthdig ) | – – I am looking at the faces of 10-year-old girls from across the world—faces brimming with expectancy. The U.N. report, “The State of World Population 2016,” opens with their photos, and these words are part of the introduction to Chapter 4, “The Face of the Future”: […]

Feminism

Tunisia: A Gender Equality Manifesto

contributors

Manifesto of the Under-Signed | Tunisia | – – During the 61st anniversary commemorating the enactment of the Personal Status Code, the Tunisian Head of State Beji Caïd Essebsi made two announcements of historic proportions. If implemented, they would constitute a major step forward in the field of women’s rights. The first proposal concerns equal […]

Feminism

Given Fundamentalist impact on Syria, Women’s Freedoms in Doubt

contributors

By Manal Ismael | ( Global Voices Online ) | – – In early September 2017, a piece of paper with a potent message targeted against women, held by a group of Hezbollah fighters in Juroud Arsal, Eastern Lebanon, went viral. The message, which celebrates “every woman who is not using her own photo as […]

Donald Trump

If she had said, “Back off, you Creep!”

contributors

By Gail Ukockis | (Informed Comment) | – – The image of Donald Trump looming ominously behind Hillary Clinton still disturbs me on a visceral level. He may have belittled his previous opponents (e.g., “Little Marco”), but he never threatened to lock them up. Trump’s attempt to intimidate Clinton had nothing to do with […]