As a gangly, nerdy and awkward 11-year-old, I was bad at basketball. I remember being in gym class at school, an orange ball in my hands and absolutely no idea what to do with it. My attempt to make it sail towards the hoop hovering above me, which involved throwing the ball from between my [...]
The establishment of the Republic of South Sudan came with high hopes that it might improve the lives of women there. But women’s rights activists in the country left behind–the mostly Muslim Sudan–are bracing for a battle against an escalation of Islamic fundamentalist law. Following South Sudan’s independence, its neighbor to the north, Sudan, is [...]
Saturday marked the birth of the world’s newest country: the Republic of South Sudan. The separation from the mostly Muslim North after decades of civil war was a result of a near-unanimous January voter referendum, and was met with jubilation yesterday in the new capitol of Juba. Women, who make up 60 percent of the [...]
Bothaina Kamel, a well-known TV talk-show host and activist, has recently declared her intention to become Egypt’s first woman president. No stranger to controversy, Kamel is best known for tackling topics usually considered taboo to speak about in public, such as sexual relationships and domestic violence. She became a vocal advocate for democracy and transparency after [...]
On Monday, France’s controversial veil ban went into effect. Backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, the law does not explicitly mention Islam, but it prohibits the act of covering one’s face in public and would outlaw the full-face veil, or niqab. Offenders must pay a fine of 150 € ($217.47) or take French citizenship classes. Supporters [...]
