© Muniba Mazari

Muniba Mazari represents the modern woman in Pakistan. In a conservative country like Pakistan, she has broken the stereotypes. She is a writer, artist, singer, activist and a motivational speaker . The beautiful and attractive young female is also a paraplegic, having lost control of both legs after sustaining injuries in a car accident. Recently, UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, named Muniba Mazari as Pakistan’s first female goodwill ambassador to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

© DW/Murali Krishnan

The capacity to bounce back and thrive in the face of adversity is not a natural talent or quality. Rather, it’s the result of a set of skills that can be learned. And no better has this been demonstrated in the impoverished state of Bihar in northern India. 

© DW/Murali Krishnan

Child marriage, considered a human rights violation, is a prevalent phenomenon in India that many activists have been fighting against for decades. A report by the ICRW states that the prevalence of child marriage is 60 percent in the state of Bihar, the highest in the country.

Demonstration for women’s rights in Cologne. “Keine Gewalt gegen Frauen” (no violence against women)

It wasn’t usual for me what I experienced nearly two weeks ago. On my way back home from work a group of boys passing by started whistling and singing songs in a language that was not English, Hindi, Urdu or German, the languages I recognize. It shocked me as it had never happened to me during my three years long stay in Germany. It shocked me even more when a similar incident happened to me again a few days later.

© picture-alliance/dpa/C. Oelrich

More than half of all Indonesians are under the age of 30, but very few can afford a good education. Social entrepreneur Veronica Colondam wants to change that. Her organization, YCAB, provides affordable schooling for the poor. See here!

© Getty Images/AFP/R. Moghrabi

The human rights record of Saudi Arabia is far from good. One of the things which makes it bad is the protection of women and their rights. Even though women have been allowed to take part in an election recently for the first time, as voters and as candidates, they are still not allowed to do some things or restricted. And those are things which are considered normal for women in other countries. Here are some of the things.

Women in New York’s ultraorthodox Jewish community live secluded lives. They get married at 19 or 20 at the latest. So women have little time for higher education. And they tend to have a lot of children at a young age. Every family in the comunity has six or seven children.