Bangladesh executes war criminal Abdul Quader Mollah, who was responsible for killing thousands of men and raping several women during the Bangladesh war of independence in 1971. Read on to know the latest women’s news.

Bangladesh executes war criminal

Bangladesh executed the Islamist leader and convicted war criminal Abdul Quader Mollah late last night, making him the first person to die for crimes against humanity during the country’s struggle for independence with Pakistan in 1971. Read more here.

A year since the Delhi rape

The phones were ringing nonstop in the tiny, windowless office in downtown New Delhi, with urgent appeals from desperate women.  One caller, speaking in whispers, said her husband beat her regularly because she failed to bring in enough dowry. Another woman said her teenage daughter was being stalked by a neighbor and needed legal advice. Read more here.

Pakistan’s Kabaddi team

Pakistan has sent its first women’s team to India for the Kabaddi World Cup. It is a tough competition involving tag team wrestling, and it is the first time they have sent women to take part. Read more here.

Afghan women’s rights

When, in late November, I read a draft law prepared by Afghan government officials that reintroduced execution by stoning as the punishment for the “crime” of adultery, I was horrified but not that surprised. The draft, leaked to me by someone desperate to prevent reinstatement of this Taliban-era punishment, is just the latest in a pattern of increasingly determined attacks on women’s rights in Afghanistan. Read more here.