Sadaf Foroughiʹs debut feature film, AVA, examines the complexities of the relationship between a mother and a teenage daughter living in present day Tehran. The movie is both a fascinating character study and an examination of the damage caused by the rules governing women’s behaviour in Iranian society.

Some analysts have dubbed her the “new Benazir Bhutto” for confronting the Pakistani military. But Maryam Nawaz, daughter of the deposed PM Sharif, says she wants to carve her own niche. Will she live up to her image?

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Captain Hettie Geenen in action on board the Rainbow Warrior. – @Greenpeace

“The longer I am sailing around the world, from Greenland to Brazil, from the Marshall Islands to India, the more I see what we do with Mother Earth, and the more I feel the need to keep on working for Greenpeace, for the environment.” – Captain Hettie Geenen.

Life deals a really rough hand to some people. It can feel tragically unfair but there is no pleading out. The impassive wheels of misfortune have been known to break myriad spirits. Yet sometimes, life encounters a Nandita Venkatesan.

Feshta Karim (25) “My education is in public policy and that’s why I want to work in Afghanistan.”

Freshta Karim is 25 years old. She is from Kabul, Afghanistan. Her family moved to Pakistan after the Taliban took power but she remained in Afghanistan until 2002. Later she went to Britain to study.

Peymana Assad, whose parents came to the UK as refugees 25 years ago, is playing an active role in British politics. In an interview with DW, she talks about her political activities and far-right extremism in Britain.

Were it not for the timely intervention of women down the centuries, many an Islamic dynasty would have torn itself apart.