Chinese women are becoming increasingly successful in the business world, but still do not have equal rights. However, their growing economic power will change their role in society, says DW’s Frank Sieren.

There’s no electricity and only 500 residents in the Congolese village of Makwatsha. But a longstanding painting tradition by the local women has fortuitously become a star attraction for Chinese tourists.

Summer is finally upon us in the northern hemisphere. With rising temperatures, clothes are getting scantier, regular bodies are being exposed to the critical eyes of the tabloid press and those who prey on our insecurities. This in turn has led to the next head-scratching body trend.

Bangladeshi women work in a garments factory in Dhaka©MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/GettyImages

After the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed in 2013 and killed more than 1,100 people, Germany set up an initiative to improve working conditions in Bagladesh’s clothing industry. DW explores how much progress has been made.

A women from Syria with her baby as they have just arrived in Münich. @ picture-alliance/dpa/S. Hoppe

Refugee crisis is still a big topic in Europe. As governments obviously not able to find a way to solve this problem, normal people have been working as volunteers to help refugees with food, clothing, toys for children and one woman even saved a refugee’s by taking him to her boat in the Aegean Sea. Read more about her and other news about women here.

Indian author Sushmita Banerjee falls prey to an alleged Taliban attack, a Sudanese woman risks flogging to protest an anti-Taliban law, Coca Cola will empower five million women entrepreneurs by 2020 and Pakistan sees an increase in several forms of extreme violence against women. Read more to find about the latest in women’s news.

The rise of the middle class in Asian countries and the influx of educated women at workplaces have stirred a continuous debate about the role of women in a rapidly industrializing society. China is no exception. Ambitious Chinese women are breaking the boundaries- and facing the consequences.