A petition signed by 3,000 Saudis has urged the Shura Consultative Council to debate on allowing women to drive in the ultra-conservative kingdom, Arab News daily reported on Monday. The newspaper, quoting Abdullah al-Alami, a signatory to the petition, said that the human rights committee of the council -- also known as Saudi Consultative
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood sharply criticized an anticipated U.N. document on combatting violence against women, saying on Wednesday that it was “deceitful,” clashed with Islamic principles and undermined family values. The text or details of the document have not been published yet, but it may be issued at the end of a meeting of the
Dozens of Lebanese women dance in front of the home of the country’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, to send a clear message of urgency to pass a law that looks to protect women from domestic violence. Berri’s home was the chosen destination because in a 2009 parliament session he was the one who called
An Egyptian Salafi preacher said raping and sexually harassing women protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square is justified, calling them “crusaders” who “have no shame, no fear and not even feminism.” In an online video posted Wednesday, Ahmad Mahmoud Abdullah, known as “Abu Islam” and owner of the private television channel of “al-Ummah,” said these
Women without veils complained they were not allowed to vote for the new Egyptian anti-secular constitution. Mass protests on Tuesday. Egypt's opposition is calling for mass protests on Tuesday over alleged polling violations after Islamists backing Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi claimed victory in the first round of a referendum on a new charter.
The Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University for women in Saudi Arabia has banned students from wearing trousers, urging them to abide by the campus dress code. The statement was mainly addressed to female students in the school of art and design, for reasons unstated by al-Hayat newspaper. The dress code bans students
A crowd of 300 young people on Sunday sexually assaulted three women near Tahrir Square, according to a report on the website of Egypt’s flagship paper Al-Ahram. After the assault, which took place near the Qasr al-Dobara Church that is used as a field hospital in the current protests, the women ran to the
Denied the right to travel without consent from their male guardians and banned from driving, women in Saudi Arabia are now monitored by an electronic system that tracks any cross-border movements. Since last week, Saudi women’s male guardians began receiving text messages on their phones informing them when women under their custody leave the
A Saudi women’s rights activist said on Monday she has filed a lawsuit against the interior ministry over a decree banning women from obtaining driving licenses in the ultra-conservative kingdom, AFP reported. Nassima al-Sadah is the third woman to file such a lawsuit this year over the rule, which enforces a traditional ban on
Afghan women activists are urging the global community to ensure hard-won progress in Afghanistan in the past decade is not lost amid fears that as US and NATO-led troops leave they will be forgotten. “We do not want to go back on our gains. Whatever we have gained in the past 10-11 years, we
