women

Anti-Abortion, Women’s Rights, Choice, Health

Iraq’s Climate Crisis: America’s War for Oil and the Great Mesopotamian Dustbowl

( Tomdispatch.com ) – It was one of the fabled rivers of history and the Marines needed to cross it. In early April 2003, as American forces sought to wrap up their conquest of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and take strongholds to its north, the Marine Corps formed “Task Force Tripoli.” It was commanded by […]

Far Right

The Stabbing attack against women at the U. of Waterloo underscores the Dangers of Polarizing Rhetoric about Gender

The Conversation

By Shana MacDonald, University of Waterloo and Alysia Kolentsis, University of Waterloo | – In the wake of the recent stabbing attack on a University of Waterloo professor and two students in a philosophy of gender course, we need to talk about the profound power words have to shape our world. We are both professors […]

Feminism

Rising Sexual Violence in Sudan Conflict Reflects Entrenched Patriarchy – But Women and Girls are Fighting Back

The Conversation

By Tamsin Bradley, University of Portsmouth | – Watching and hearing the horrifying reports of violence and savagery in Sudan, those of us working to end violence against women and girls immediately become concerned about how it will inevitably spill over into sexual violence. As recently as July 5, a report from the UN highlighted […]

Feminism

Unveiling Resistance: The Struggle for Women’s Rights in Iran

Human Rights Watch

Tara Sepehri Far Iran and Kuwait Senior Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division @sepehrifar ( Human Rights Watch ) – The sweeping public protests that erupted across Iran in response to the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini in custody of Iran’s morality police last September have been characterized by many observers as the first […]

Authoritarianism

Iranian Protesters remain defiant in the Face of Violent and Brutal regime Oppression

The Conversation

By Afshin Shahi, Keele University | – The vibrant, brave and unyielding voice of dissent remains strong in Iran despite months of brutal repression by the clerical regime. The “women, life, freedom” movement is an insistent call for change that is meeting the Islamic Republic head-on with resilient defiance. Even as violence curbs the outward […]

Egypt

Jada Pinkett Smith’s Black Cleopatra Stirred Controversy, but What about the Forgotten Queens of Ancient Nubia?

The Conversation

By Yasmin Moll, University of Michigan | – Jada Pinkett Smith’s new Netflix documentary series on Cleopatra aims to spotlight powerful African queens. “We don’t often get to see or hear stories about Black queens, and that was really important for me, as well as for my daughter, and just for my community to be […]

censorship

Iranian Journalists Who Broke Mahsa Amini Story Stand Trial Behind Closed Doors

Golnaz Esfandiari

I’m RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here’s what I’ve been following during the past week and what I’m watching for in the days ahead. The Big Issue ( RFE/RL ) – A revolutionary court in Iran this week began the trials of two female journalists who helped break the story of Mahsa Amini’s death. Amini’s death […]