Donald Trump has described Hillary Clinton as the American Angela Merkel, hoping to cast his rival in a role that feeds the deepest fears of xenophobes, writes DW’s Ines Pohl.

© Reuters/R. Zvulun

The last International Women’s Day has women’s groups around the world calling attention to persistent injustices against women. The Israeli women’s magazine Laisha is attempting to pull sexual abuse out of the shadows by putting victims on its cover.

© Colourbox

We are living in the 21th century. In this modern age we tend to think that men and women are equal. But are they really? Ahead of International Women’s Day 2016, DW spoke with activist and feminist Kristina Lunz about how far we’ve come and how far we’ve yet to go regarding gender equality.

© Reuters/Hannibal

Anyone who wants to say something on International Women’s Day this year has to say something about what happened on New Year’s Eve in Cologne, Germany. The massive sexual assaults on women in front of Cologne central station – and also in other German and European cities – were reported in various international media. And it is abominable! In Germany this topic is now almost only discussed in the context of “foreigners and women” or “Islam males and their image of women” and “what this means for Germany.” These are of course very important and worthy of debate in the light of the gigantic wave of refugees currently arriving in Germany.

© Roheena Sajid

A few months ago some women from Islamabad (Pakistan) organized a conference to raise awareness about rape and sexual assault. This conference was organized in one of the universities in Islamabad by the collaboration of “Gender And Woman Studies” department professionals. People from different walks of life attended the conference including politicians, teachers, students and social workers. The basic purpose of this conference was to raise awareness about the rape and harassment.

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.