South Asia | Afghanistan | Culture

The Taliban orders women to wear head-to-toe clothing in public

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Taliban officials announced that women and girls would be expected to stay home, and if they were to venture out, to cover in all-encompassing loose clothing that only reveals their eyes – preferably, a burka. The restrictions on women's movement and dress are the harshest that the Taliban have announced since they came to power in August. It suggested the increasing dominance of the group's hard-line leaders, who appear to be behind the extended ban on most women and girls attending secondary school. Saturday's announcement seemed to confirm the fears of many Afghans that the Taliban
Europe | Great Britain | Crimes

Muslim community shuns women released from prison, says report

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The Muslim community in Britain shuns women who have been to prison while forgiving convicted men, “no matter what they’ve done”, according to a report. Female former prisoners told researchers, Muslim experts in the criminal justice system, that they suffered a “conspiracy of silence” after being released from jail, having to hide or move away in order to not bring shame on their families. The Muslim Women in Prison project worked with 55 women on their release from HMP New Hall and Askham Grange, two Yorkshire jails, helping them reconnect with their families – or to start
South Asia | India | Career

Between domestic chores and agricultural work, rural Indian women have no time for child-rearing

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Working in agriculture-related jobs brings financial freedom to Indian women, but it comes at a cost. Intense work leads to stress and compromises in care responsibilities towards children and also affects the women’s own health, according to recent research published by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). “Women’s work in agriculture seems to have a negative effect on household nutrition through two pathways: lack of adequate time for care work in peak agricultural seasons and seasonal energy with consequent losses in body weight,” the study notes. “Recognition of women
Latin America | Colombia | Activism

Revered Social Leader and Activist Killed in Colombia

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Social leader Tatiana Paola Posso Espitia, 35, was shot twice in the head Wednesday morning in front of her house in El Copey located in the Department of Cesar when two men on motorcycles fired at the activist and fled the scene. The assassination occurred just as Espitia’s taxi driver, Wilson Ortega Palomino, arrived at her home to take the social leader to work, according to local media reports. The bad timing resulted in Ortega also being shot four times by the hitmen. He is in critical condition at a nearby hospital. The National Network for Democracy and Peace in Colombia
Europe | U.K. | Courts

U.K. Court of Appeal Overturns Ruling Ordering Mentally Disabled Woman to Have Abortion

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A British appeals court on Monday overturned a lower court’s order that a mentally disabled woman undergo an abortion. The earlier ruling had prompted an outcry from the Roman Catholic Church and abortion opponents. The three judges on the Court of Appeal didn’t explain why they ruled against proceeding with the abortion and said they would give their reasons at a later date. The lower court ruled Friday that the woman, who is in her 20s and 22 weeks pregnant, didn’t understand the challenges of caring for a child and wouldn’t be able to meet them. That court, known as the Cour
South Asia | Afghanistan | Culture

Kabul’s Women Find Power and Liberation in the City’s Vibrant Cafes

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On some days, life as a young woman in Kabul can feel suffocating for Hadis Lessani Delijam, a 17-year-old high school senior. Once, a man on the street harangued her for her makeup and western clothes; they are shameful, he bellowed. A middle-aged woman cursed her for strolling and chatting with a young man. “She called me things that are so terrible I can’t repeat them,” Delijam says. For solace, Delijam retreats to an unlikely venue – the humble coffee shop. “This is the only place where I can relax and feel free, even if it’s only for a few hours,” Delijam said recen
Latin America | Brazil | Scandal

Survey Indicates 97 Percent of Women Were Harassed in Public and Private Transport

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Almost all (97 percent) of Brazilian women over age eighteen who were surveyed, said they had experiences incidents of sexual harassment on public transport, in Apps transport or in taxis, according to research conducted by the Instituto Patrícia Galvão and Instituto Locomotiva, supported by Uber. "It's a compelling number. This is everyday life for women, the very expression of what is happening," said Jacira Melo, executive director of the Patrícia Galvão Institute. In February of this year, the institutes interviewed 1,081 women who used public or private transportation in the thr
Latin America | El Salvador | Crimes

Violence Against Women in El Salvador Is Driving Them to Suicide — Or to the U.S. Border

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It’s hard to grasp the scale of El Salvador’s problem with gender violence. In the Central American country of just six million people, one woman was the victim of a femicide — a man murdering of a woman or girl because of her gender — every 24 hours in 2018. That’s one of the worst rates of femicide in the world, according to the United Nations. Sixty-seven percent of Salvadoran women have suffered some form of violence in their lifetime, including sexual assault, intimate partner violence and abuse by family members, a 2017 national survey found. But only 6% of victims had re
South Asia | Afghanistan | Crimes

Mena Mangal: Journalist and women’s rights campaigner shot dead in broad daylight in Kabul

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An Afghan journalist and political advisor, who was vocal about women’s rights in the country, has been gunned down in broad daylight, just days after saying she believed her life was in danger. Mena Mangal was shot dead on Saturday morning in a public place while she was on her way to work in the capital city of Kabul. Nasrat Rahimi, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said one or possibly more assailants had escaped the scene but no one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and police say it is not yet clear whether the murder was a terror attack or an attack from
Latin America | Venezuela | Economy

In Venezuela, women sell hair as another way to get by

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Valery Díaz covered her eyes and held her breath before looking in a hair salon mirror to see herself without much of the long dark hair that used to frame her face. The 16-year-old student was paid $100 for the shorn hair, money she'll use to help her family and buy a cellphone at a time when Venezuela's sharp economic decline has led to shortages of food and medicine, and hyperinflation has made salaries nearly worthless. Increasing numbers of women in poor neighborhoods are selling their hair for use in wigs and extensions as the demands of daily survival force them t
Middle East | Dubai | Activism

Emirati woman begs for asylum in Macedonia after fleeing family

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An Emirati woman who fled to the Republic of Macedonia has made a desperate plea for help after her asylum request was rejected by the Balkan state. In a video posted online and obtained by CNN, Hind Mohammad Albolooki, 42, says she fled Dubai after her family threatened her when she sought a divorce from her husband. Her request for asylum in Macedonia was rejected on February 4 by the Macedonia interior ministry. While awaiting a decision, Albolooki is being held in immigration detention, where she has been since December 7, and now fears she will be deported back to the United Ar
North America | United States | Corruption

A Woman President For The United States? Absolutely…Just Not This Woman!

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There should never be a candidate for the Presidency of the Untied States, or any public office, that has as much scandal attached to her as does Hillary Clinton. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should not have been allowed to run, let alone become the Democratic nominee and there are a lot of questions regarding how she won the nominee. Femina.com, which highlights and showcases the good that women are doing around the world, cannot support the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. As her untrustworthy number continues to increase (NYT/CBS Poll: Hillary's Untrustworthy Rating Soars
Latin America | Brazil | Politics

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff ousted in impeachment vote

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Brazil’s Senate ousted Dilma Rousseff as president Wednesday, voting overwhelmingly to impeach the leftist leader in the culmination of a protracted process that has divided the country. The vote to impeach Rousseff was 61 to 20. Two-thirds of senators — 54 out of 81 — were needed for impeachment to pass. Senators broke into cheering and applause after the electronic voting was announced and sang the national anthem, concluding a process that was given the go-ahead in December.
International | Design

Zaha Hadid, famed architect, dies at 65

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Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, whose modernist, futuristic designs included the swooping aquatic center for the 2012 London Olympics, has died at age 65. Hadid's firm said she died Thursday in a Miami hospital. She had contracted bronchitis earlier this week and had a heart attack while being treated. Born and raised in Baghdad, Hadid studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut before enrolling at the Architectural Association in London in 1972. She worked for the groundbreaking Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas before setting up London-based Zaha Hadid Architects in 1979