women

(By Rothna Begum and Adam Coogle) When the story broke earlier this month of four Saudi princesses allegedly confined to their Jeddah home by members of their own family, the kingdom soon went into damage control mode. Within a week, several British newspapers started calling Human Rights Watch, asking if we knew about a news […]

Human Rights

Iraqi Women’s Rights Under Threat

contributors

(By Erin Evers) Few disagree that the Iraqi government’s increasingly Shia character has alienated its Sunni population—but what has mounting sectarian division meant for the rights of women and girls? Last October, Iraq’s justice minister introduced a draft law to its Council of Ministers which would legalise child marriage and severely affect women’s rights in […]

Human Rights

Iraq’s Freedom Agenda shouldn’t Include Child Marriage and Summary Divorce

Juan Cole

(Human Rights Watch) (Baghdad) – Iraq’s Council of Ministers should withdraw a new draft Personal Status Law and ensure that Iraq’s legal framework protects women and girls in line with its international obligations. The pending legislation would restrict women’s rights in matters of inheritance and parental and other rights after divorce, make it easier for […]

Free Syrian Army

Syria: Kurdish Women Soldiers take on Extremist Jihadis

Juan Cole

DW writes, “According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have died in the civil war in Syria so far. The real number of dead is probably much higher. Many “Free Armies” have formed in the country, and they all want one thing: to topple Bashar al-Assad.” DW: “Syria: Kurdish women soldiers against jihadists […]

Featured

Bill O’Reilly says Muslims will Diss Hillary; but 8 Muslim Countries Chose Female Leaders

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Bill O’Reilly maintains that one downside of having a woman president is that Muslims won’t respect her. For Mr. O’Reilly’s information, here are the women leaders of Muslim-majority countries, most of them freely elected by Muslim publics and all of them respected by the latter: Tansu Çiller, elected prime minister of Turkey, […]

Barack Obama

Don’t Let the Global 1% off the Hook: Obama should Press Saudi State on Human Rights when he Visits Riyadh

contributors

(By Sarah Leah Whitson) President Barack Obama The White House Dear President Obama, As you prepare for your upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, we write to urge you to include critical human rights issues in all your discussions with Saudi officials. While the purpose of your visit may be to discuss “ongoing cooperation to […]

Featured

Dear GOP: Top 5 Biblical Marriage Moments far worse than Gay Marriage

Juan Cole

David Edwards at Raw Story quotes Mitt Romney from Meet the Press as saying “But I think marriage should be defined in the way that it has been defined for several thousand years . . .” implying, by the Bible. (Mitt says it is all right with him if gay people just shack up with […]

Human Rights

Iraq illegally Jailed thousands of Women, Torture & Abuse Alleged

Juan Cole

(Human Rights Watch) (Baghdad) – Iraqi authorities are detaining thousands of Iraqi women illegally and subjecting many to torture and ill-treatment, including the threat of sexual abuse. Iraq’s weak judiciary, plagued by corruption, frequently bases convictions on coerced confessions, and trial proceedings fall far short of international standards. Many women were detained for months or […]

Featured

Top 10 Reasons Rand Paul’s Lewinsky Gambit Can’t Obscure GOP War on Women

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Sen. Rand Paul, in preparation for his run at the presidency in 2016, has been attempting to deflect the GOP disadvantage with women by bringing up the Bill Clinton/ Monica Lewinsky scandal. It is a desperate ploy and, like many of Paul’s initiatives, quirky and a little bit creepy at the same […]