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
Amal Awad speaks to Göknur Shanal, an opera singer from Australia who is working to live out her dream. It’s not often you meet someone who can single-handedly and dramatically, alter the mood of a packed room. At a recent panel for local community group the Justice and Arts Network (JAAN), there was a palpable shift … Read more
NEW YORK CITY, October 11, 2013 (AFP) – Teenage rights activist Malala Yousafzai told an audience in New York Thursday that she would like to become prime minister of Pakistan to “save” the country. In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour at a sold-out public event, she also said winning Friday’s Nobel Peace Prize would … Read more
RIYADH, October 10, 2013 (AFP) – Saudi women are increasingly getting behind the wheel in defiance of a driving ban ahead of a nationwide campaign planned by female activists for later this month, witnesses said. A video posted on social networks this week shows a fully veiled woman driving in Riyadh as male motorists and … Read more