© Colourbox/Korionov Igor

Till a year ago, she could not have ever imagined that she would be working in a minefield every day, strapping on 25 kilograms of equipment to search for the very explosives that used to give her nightmares as a child. Today, though she can identify 10 different types of mines just by sight and, over time, the minefield has become familiar territory.

Painting from Catita Dias that illustrates the Elsa Figueira film poster. The film titled “Elsa Figueira” deals with a young woman standing up to violence from the man she loves. (© DW/C. Dias)

Turkish authorities arrested a 28-year-old woman who killed her husband with his handgun. She insisted that she was defending her “honor.” Her husband had allegedly beaten, drugged and abused her. Read more here, and other news about women that made it to the headlines.

Human Rights Watch has urged Bangladesh to scrap a proposed legislation that calls for lowering the legal marriage age of girls to 16. Child marriage rates are very high in South Asia, with Bangladesh topping the list.

Bamyan Governor Dr. Habiba Sarabi stands on a patio overlooking the Bamyan river valley where the ancient standing Buddhas of Bamiyan statues used to reside in two giant insets, one of which can be seen here, June 18, 2012. Sarabi is the only female Afghan provincial governor in history.Since becoming a Governor, Dr Habiba Sarabi has efficiently governed Bamyan and used this platform to promote the rich cultural heritage of the province. © Ali Sher

Born in the mid-50s in Mazar-i-Sharif, a cultural and religious site in Afghanistan with famous shrines that get thousands of visitors annually, Dr Habiba Sarabi’s childhood was similar to that of many girls in her country. She grew up in a lower middle class household where money was tight, and her father preferred her brothers. She had to work twice as hard to show that she was capable of doing as much as them, if not more.

Bangladeshi acid survivor Hasina attends a campaign program to End Violence Against Women organized by a national network in Bangladesh supported by UNFPA, Bangladesh, November 24, 2010. (© picture-alliance/dpa)

Women are victims of 80% of the roughly 1,500 acid attacks reported globally each year, says London-based charity Acid Survivors Trust International. These cowardly moves are meant to maim, disfigure or blind the victims. It is an atrocious act to cause shame, pain and suffering for other people.

A member of the Nigerian Army standing with a group of women and children rescued in an operation against the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. © Picture-alliance/dpa

The Nigerian military reported Boko Haram hostages had been held in terrible conditions in the Sambisa Forest. Earlier they had freed nearly 500 women and girls. Read other news about women here.

Deeply engrained social norms along with allegations of corruption and lack of professionalism are hindering access to justice for Afghan women victims of violence, a new UN report finds. DW examines.