Stories related to: women's rights

President Bush addressed Arab leaders at the World Economic Forum today, urging them to make the changes necessary to achieve peace in the region. Citing improving women's rights, strengthening their economies, and bolstering democracy as the major goals, Bush reprised some of the same language from his speech last week in Israel, the New York Times reports. More »

An Afghan journalism student who has been sentenced to death claims he was tortured into falsely confessing that he had written an article championing women's rights. "I would never let myself write such an article," said the student, 24, in court today in a desperate bid to overturn his sentence for insulting Islam. The proceedings offer a rare glimpse into the conservative religious impact on Afghanistan's developing legal system. His trial has been adjourned until next week. More »

Saudi businesswomen are embracing a hotel for women-only that frees them of the pressures from a society in which they can't drive and, until January, couldn't check into a hotel without permission from a male guardian. But others are concerned the Luthan Hotel & Spa simply reinforces the kingdom's gender segregation. The Christian Science Monitor profiles the hotel and the controversy. More »

Politics are getting steamy in Ecuador these days. Maria Soledad Vela, a member of the nation's ruling party, wants to give Ecuadorian women the right to seek sexual happiness. Her proposal is sparking controversy in the conservative country, where women are traditionally seen as sexual objects or child bearers, the BBC reports. More »

Reacting to clients’ demands for sex, some Indonesian masseuses have begun wearing locked pants reminiscent of ancient chastity belts, the Los Angeles Times reports. What began as one parlor entrepreneur's idea to deflect pushy clients has spread and may now spawn legislation. But many, including Indonesia's minister for women’s empowerment, are outraged by the idea. More »

Women in Saudi Arabia need to gain a male guardian’s consent to do almost anything, living as “perpetual minors,” the Telegraph reports. Research by Human Rights Watch found that male permission is needed to go to a doctor, travel, and even get dressed. In addition, strict segregation denies women access to public libraries and educational institutions. More »

Women's rights in Iraq are devolving under the rule of US-backed militias, Newsweek reports. These Sahwa or "Awakening" groups have stabilized regions, but rule with medieval laws and customs: In some areas, women are commonly kept at home, forced to wear headscarves, or are married into polygamous relationships, Newsweek reports. More »

Citigroup will pay $33 million to some 2,500 female brokers to settle a gender-discrimination lawsuit brought by women at its Smith Barney unit, Reuters reports. The bank will also make operational changes in response to the class-action move, adding diversity-watchdog positions, working to retain and promote female workers and adjusting its distribution of accounts and bonuses. More »

The practice of female circumcision has been twice banned in Kenya, but nearly 40% of young women still undergo the painful and dangerous rite of passage into married life. The Christian Science Monitor profiles activists at the Tasaru Girls Rescue Center who work with villagers—using role models, lessons about womanhood and hygiene, and most of all, patience—to chip away at the deeply rooted rite.  More »

Activists have posted a video online to protest the Saudi ban on women drivers, the BBC reports. Made to honor International Women’s Day, the 3-minute clip on YouTube follows protester Wajeha Huwaider as she turns onto a forbidden highway and discusses the legality of the ban. “Many women in this society are able to drive cars,” Huwaider says as she drives. More »

Violence in the name of family honor affects at least 17,000 women every year in Britain, and the number of unreported incidents may be drastically higher, the Independent reports. Forced marriages, sexual assaults, domestic violence, and so-called "honor" killings are reaching crisis levels, British officials say; they are calling on their consulates abroad to ramp up rescue efforts when daughters, some as young as 11, are sent abroad to marry against their will. More »

A 37-year-old American businesswoman says Saudi Arabia's religious police swooped her out of a Riyadh Starbucks and bundled her off to jail, where she was strip searched, humiliated, and bullied into signing confessions, reports the Times of London—all for sharing a table with a male colleague when the Internet in her office went out. More »

Saudi Arabia’s Royal Court has decided to allow women to drive. The move is calculated to stem growing activism, including protest convoys of women drivers, reports the Daily Telegraph . "If girls have been in schools since the 1960s, they have a capability to function behind the wheel when they grow up," said a government official. More »

Benazir Bhutto wasn't always a staunch defender of women's rights, but for Pakistani women the fight for gender equality is a lot tougher now that she's gone. Bhutto may have jump-started women's health care and job programs, but she missed opportunities to repeal harsh anti-egalitarian laws—failures her defenders chalk up to the demands of political compromise. "She walked the walk," said one. "We just expected her to walk more." More »

A young Saudi gang rape victim whose case sparked worldwide condemnation when she was sentenced to a lashing and jail time for violating Islamic law has been pardoned, Al Jazeera reports. King Abdullah pardoned the woman in the "interests of the people" and out of compassion for the victim, though he is still "convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair," an official said. More »

The fairer sex should also be the quieter, according to a new study that found both sexes look more harshly upon couples in which she does the talking. Gender equality be danged, "We have these gender stereotypes where we expect men to be dominant," the lead researcher told LiveScience. "If they're not speaking and taking charge they're not being a man." More »

Turkish women are up in arms after a draft of the country's new constitution deemed them a "vulnerable" group in "need of protection," the BBC reports. Over 80 activist groups have slammed the document, which they say inserted the clause in place of language that would have committed the government to promoting equality. "We don't need protection. We need equality," said one activist.   More »

A group of Saudi women is trying to regain a “stolen right”: driving. The group will deliver a petition to King Abdullah this week demanding the right to get behind the wheel. But prospects for lifting the world's only ban on female drivers are cloudy, the BBC reports, because of concerns about women mixing freely with men. More »

India elected its first woman to the largely ceremonial office of president today, in a landslide vote among parliament and state politicians. Pratibha Patil's supporters hail her victory as a breakthrough for women's rights in the country, while critics assert her reputation is already marred by a slew of personal and financial scandals. More »

The Supreme Court severely limited the right of women to sue employers over pay discrimination in a stormy 5-4 decision yesterday. A lone woman employee at a tire factory sued because she was paid less than male coworkers over her long career; the court held that such charges must be filed within the 180-day window proscribed by the Civil Rights Act. More »