No turning back for Iran’s hijab protesters despite crackdown
Protestors hold a sign “No To Mandatory Hijabi” as hundreds of Canadians took part in a protest against the Islamic Republic of Iran in Toronto, Canada, January 6, 2018.
Iranian women took to the streets holding their hijabs aloft in protests at the strict dress code that quickly spread on social media last year, leading to a “bitter backlash” by authorities.
read more
25.01.2019 | 15:02
Center for Human Rights in Iran, CHRI, Farhad Meysami, Hijab, Iran, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Reza Khandan, women's rights
Women in India’s Kerala fight taboos to climb mountains
Divya Divakaran (left) spearheaded protests to gain access to the peak
Legend has it that the world will come to an end if women scale the Agasthyarkoodam peak in India’s southern state of Kerala. But these women want to take a chance and prove tradition wrong.
25.01.2019 | 14:27
Agasthya, Agasthyarkoodam, India, Kani, Kerala, mountain climbing, taboo, Tribal General Assembly, UNESCO Heritage Site, women's rights
Comments deactivated Thailand’s rebel female Buddhist monks defy tradition
A growing number of women defy generations of Thai Buddhist tradition by becoming ordained as novice monks at the unrecognised all-female Songdhammakalyani monastery outside Bangkok.
Last month, Boodsabann Chanthawong (below) joined a growing number of women defying generations of Thai Buddhist tradition by becoming ordained as novice monks at an unrecognised all-female monastery outside Bangkok.
read more
21.01.2019 | 14:23
Boodsabann Chanthawong, Buddhist, Dhammananda, female monk, Monk, novice, Songdhammakalyani monastery, Thailand, women's rights
Comments deactivated Children Living on Railway Stations
© Murali Krishnan
Deepa (who only has one name) is sitting desolate in the corner of the busy Thane railway station in Mumbai. She looks exhausted, weary and frightened after a long train journey that lasted 8 hours …
read more
18.01.2019 | 15:00
children's rights, girls' rights, India, mumbai, Murali Krishnan, pornography, railway station, sexual abuse
Comments deactivated A good yarn: Russia’s Insta-grannies take knitting skills online
Elderly women across Russia are often seen selling their hand-knitted wares on pavement corners for a few rubles to supplement meagre pensions.
Now a new Instagram project aims to change the public perception of their homely skills by promoting “granny chic” and help the women sell their knitted mittens, socks and other items online.
read more
17.01.2019 | 12:37
Comments deactivated ‘Not your habibti’: Palestinian designer seeks to empower women
Palestinian fashion designer Yasmeen Mjalli speaks while standing in her clothing shop where her label collection “BabyFist” carrying anti-sexual harassment slogans is showcased, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on December 19, 2018.
It’s only three words on a T-shirt or embroidered on a denim jacket in Palestinian designer Yasmeen Mjalli’s collection, but they carry a powerful message: “Not your habibti”, or darling.
She sees the clothes as helping empower Palestinian women facing unwelcome male attention in public.
15.01.2019 | 13:30
Arab, BabyFist, fashion, Gaza, harassment, Hassan Shehada, Instagram, Israel, Not your habibti, Palestina, taboo, women's rights, Yasmeen Mjalli
Comments deactivated Barred from bathing and banished from home – period taboos around the world
In this photograph taken on February 3, 2017, Nepalese woman Pabitra Giri prepares to sleep in a Chhaupadi hut during her menstruation period in Surkhet District, some 520km west of Kathmandu.
The practice of banning women from the home when they are menstruating is linked to Hinduism and considers women untouchable at this time. They are banished from the home — barred from touching food, religious icons, cattle and men — and forced into a monthly exile sleeping in basic huts.
In many countries women are excluded from religious rituals and banished from their homes while they are on their periods.
read more
12.01.2019 | 21:02
chhaupadi, Europa, Hinduism, India, Israel, menstruation, nepal, period, period pain, South America, tampon sex, Uganda, women's rights
Comments deactivated 
Feedback