RIYADH, September 15, 2013 (AFP) – Saudi Arabia, where cinemas are banned, is to compete for an Oscar for the first time next year with feminist film “Wadjda” directed by Haifaa al-Mansour, a Saudi official announced Sunday. The movie tells of a young girl’s quest to own a bicycle in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom where … Read more
Photo, Malala Yousafzai speaking before the United Nations Youth Assembly July 12, 2013, at UN headquarters in New York. LONDON, September 17, 2013 (AFP) – Rights group Amnesty International announced on Tuesday it had awarded its highest honor to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen shot in the head last year by the Taliban for campaigning … Read more
Simplicity at its best is what Rani Hatta is all about. By Shea Rasol. A lovely mum of one, Rani Hatta is a young and aspiring designer from Indonesia. She also happens to be one of Instagram’s most popular hijabi fashionistas, who have managed to capture the hearts of thousands with her simple and effortless style. … Read more
RIYADH, September 22, 2013 (AFP) – Saudi women activists have called for a new day of defiance next month of the longstanding ban on women driving in the ultra-conservative kingdom. An online petition entitled “Oct 26th, driving for women” had on Sunday gathered almost 6,600 signatories, as activists try again to push authorities to end … Read more
DUSHANBE, September 27, 2013. By Akbar BORISOV (AFP) – A woman is for the first time bidding for the presidency in Tajikistan after an opposition bloc including an Islamic party chose a respected female rights lawyer as its candidate in the majority Muslim country. A 65-year-old lawyer and rights activist who does not wear a headscarf, … Read more