Women’s Rights

List of Women’s Rights articles

A mural depicting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first supreme leader after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is pictured as women walk along Enghelab Square in central Tehran on Sept. 10.
A mural depicting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first supreme leader after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is pictured as women walk along Enghelab Square in central Tehran on Sept. 10.

Why Did Last Year’s Protest Movement in Iran Fail?

The supreme leader learned what not to do from the Shah.

Infantry soldiers following a British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) training excercise at the Loldaiga conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya, on Nov. 14, 2022.
Infantry soldiers following a British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) training excercise at the Loldaiga conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya, on Nov. 14, 2022.

A Challenge to British Impunity in Kenya

A parliamentary inquiry into an alleged 2012 murder by British soldiers is causing a diplomatic crisis for the U.K. government.

Afghan women protest against a new Taliban ban on women accessing university education in Kabul.
Afghan women protest against a new Taliban ban on women accessing university education in Kabul.
A child sits with her face in her hands between two women in full burqas at an orphanage in Afghanistan.
A child sits with her face in her hands between two women in full burqas at an orphanage in Afghanistan.

‘The Taliban Turned All My Ambitions Into Dust’

Two years after the fall of Kabul, the Taliban continue to raise hell. Here are the tales of the people who have been through it.

A woman inside her house protects her face from the tear gas n the Abbasiya neighborhood of Omdurman, on November 13, 2021 in Omdurman, Sudan.
A woman inside her house protects her face from the tear gas n the Abbasiya neighborhood of Omdurman, on November 13, 2021 in Omdurman, Sudan.

Sudan’s Failed Democracy Is a Disaster for Women

Women helped bring down the country’s Islamist dictator—and are still stuck with fundamentalism.

A woman confronts police during a protest against the government's plan to overhaul the judiciary at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 11.
A woman confronts police during a protest against the government's plan to overhaul the judiciary at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 11.

Women Will Be the Biggest Victims of Israel’s Judicial Reforms

The country’s Supreme Court has played a pivotal role in securing gender equality. Neutering it will deal a blow to women’s rights.

Bia Zaneratto of Brazil celebrates with teammate Ary Borges after scoring her team’s third goal during a match between Brazil and Panama during the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Adelaide, Australia, on July 24.
Bia Zaneratto of Brazil celebrates with teammate Ary Borges after scoring her team’s third goal during a match between Brazil and Panama during the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Adelaide, Australia, on July 24.

A High-Dollar, Highly Outspoken Women’s World Cup

Latin American players push for free expression and equal pay at this year’s tournament.

Nida Usman Chaudhary, a woman wearing a suit jacket and glasses, looks down at an open book in her hands as she stands in front of a large shelf of legal volumes.
Nida Usman Chaudhary, a woman wearing a suit jacket and glasses, looks down at an open book in her hands as she stands in front of a large shelf of legal volumes.

In Pakistan, the Legal Profession Remains an All Boys’ Club

An entrenched culture of misogyny is keeping the country’s female lawyers away from the corridors of power.

A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Freetown on March 31, 2018 during a country's general elections.
A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Freetown on March 31, 2018 during a country's general elections.

Do Gender Quotas in Elections Work? 

Sierra Leone is about to become the latest country to find out.

A poster at a university in Kabul shows a woman wearing all-black clothes and a black hijab while carrying a purse, books, and a cellphone. The opening of her head scarf is blank, showing a plain white oval instead of her face.
A poster at a university in Kabul shows a woman wearing all-black clothes and a black hijab while carrying a purse, books, and a cellphone. The opening of her head scarf is blank, showing a plain white oval instead of her face.
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Hero-podcast-women-gender-foreign-policy-gates-foundation-1500x1000_site

Religious Leaders as Advocates for Female Success

What a pastor and a prince tell us about the path towards gender equity.

A photo illustration shows 10 Barbie dolls in an array of shapes and sizes against a glittery and shiny pink backdrop.
A photo illustration shows 10 Barbie dolls in an array of shapes and sizes against a glittery and shiny pink backdrop.

It’s Not a Barbie World

Why the American doll never made it abroad.

A couple walk past a billboard calling for a stop to domestic violence in Beijing
A couple walk past a billboard calling for a stop to domestic violence in Beijing

Chinese Courts Want Abused Women to Shut Up

Personal and political violence are intermixed in authoritarian societies.

Activists raise green headscarves during a demonstration demanding the legalization of abortion in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Activists raise green headscarves during a demonstration demanding the legalization of abortion in San Salvador, El Salvador.

When Abortion Bans Are Too Popular to Overturn

A court may soon rule against El Salvador’s anti-abortion law. But will that make a difference?

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva talks to his wife, Rosângela “Janja” da Silva, during an event to celebrate International Women’s Day and announce a package of measures to protect and support women at Planalto Palace in Brasília, Brazil, on March 8.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva talks to his wife, Rosângela “Janja” da Silva, during an event to celebrate International Women’s Day and announce a package of measures to protect and support women at Planalto Palace in Brasília, Brazil, on March 8.

The Fight to Elevate Women Inside Brazil’s Government

Brazil trails many of its neighbors in trying to tackle gender parity. Advocates are pushing Lula to change that.

A burqa-clad Afghan woman walks past as a U.S. soldier belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) keeps watch during a patrol outside Bagram airbase, 50 kilometers north of Kabul on February 28, 2009.
A burqa-clad Afghan woman walks past as a U.S. soldier belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) keeps watch during a patrol outside Bagram airbase, 50 kilometers north of Kabul on February 28, 2009.

America Is Again Failing Afghanistan’s Women—and Itself

The deteriorating status of women under Taliban rule is a strategic disaster for Washington.

Afghan women wait to receive food aid.
Afghan women wait to receive food aid.

The Taliban Have Turned Afghanistan Into a Graveyard of Women’s Rights

The Taliban are marking International Women’s Day with an ever-worsening cascade of abuses against women.

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