South Asia | Afghanistan | Activism

The activists leading efforts for women’s rights at Afghan talks

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Jamila Afghani, a prominent women's rights activist, was getting ready to address a peace dialogue attended by Afghan leaders and Taliban representatives in Doha, when she got the news of an attack back home. Sponsored by Qatar and Germany, the two-day talks in Doha are attended by Taliban representatives and about 50 Afghan politicians and activists, including 10 female delegates. Afghani said many young female Afghans were pinning their hopes on her and other women delegates to continue talks with the Taliban on women's rights in the country. "The meeting is a good start, w
South Asia | Pakistan | Activism

Women, politics and policy

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Within Pakistan, and without a recent census therefore, arguably, every indicator points towards an outstanding surge in women’s advancement into the public realm and a variety of fields and occupations. Let’s be clear that this has not been due to the largesse of the state or any government but despite their indifference towards women’s equality. Women as actors and in their individual and, sometimes, collective capacity continue to create spaces for their entry into public space to reclaim some power in homes and communities, express their skills in any meaningful way and, sometimes
Middle East | Syria | Activism

Senior female Isis figure who helped recruit women from Europe to Syria is revealed as student from Seattle

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A senior female Isis figure who reportedly helped recruit women to join the extremist group in areas under its self-declared caliphate has been exposed as a student from Seattle, who may have been living in the city up until March this year. The person behind the influential @_UmmWaqqas Twitter account has been revealed by Channel 4 as a woman in her 20s who lived and studied in the US. Her Twitter account had a following of over 8,000 before it was suspended and shows that British recruits, such as Aqsa Mahmood, and other women from Europe were in contact with her in the day
Africa | Uganda | Activism

Angry women strip naked in Ugandan land dispute protest

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A long-running district border dispute in northern Uganda took a new turn when a group of elderly local women stripped naked before two visiting ministers, in protest against perceived land grabbing. Members of the local Acholi tribe fear that a government plan to draw up new boundaries between the districts of Amuru and Adjumani will be the prelude to mass evictions, as happened in 2012 when over 6,000 Acholis were evicted to make way for a game reserve. The protest led the ministers to announce a postponement of the boundary demarcation exercise pending further consultations with inter