Women
Afghan Women Confront the Taliban
The Taliban’s newly formed interim cabinet doesn’t include any women. They have banned unauthorized protests and attacked journalists for reporting on them. Yet the protests have continued. The women are fierce. They are not content with simply preserving their rights, they are demanding leadership positions in any new government.
The Eva Perón of Afghanistan
Standing next to the king was his wife, Queen Soraya Tarzi, who was to Amanullah what Khadijah was to the prophet. As her husband finished his speech, the queen smiled and looked at the king with pride and affection as she gently tore off her veil, sending shockwaves throughout Afghan society.
Pakistan’s Aurat March and its Unrelenting Feminists
This is a behenchara, a sisterhood that grows stronger with each media attack or attempt to pull it down. Pakistani women have fought the patriarchy for so long and have suffered its consequences too many times. But like before, they have only reemerged stronger for next year.
‘Silence No More’: Women’s Rights in Kuwait Face an Uphill Battle
A string of femicides struck Kuwait over the past year - one in which zero seats were won by women in parliamentary elections, highlighting the intricately systemic obstacles Kuwaiti women face in a country often imagined as a progressive hub in the region.
Who You’re Reading When You’re Reading Arab Women
Everything from our expectations and background, to social mediators like teachers, critics, and influencers, and even the book's cover design can subtly change how we read a book in translation.
Facing Midlife Womanhood in the Middle East
In time, we will come to terms with growing older, as we must do, as the women in these series have done. But for now, we must look at ourselves with love and accept that the seasons are changing and that we, alone, are the authors of our destiny.
The Hidden Face of Nawal El Saadawi
The Egyptian writer was marginalized and misunderstood at home and abroad. In Egypt, she was labeled anti-religion and secular. But in the West, too, she was put in boxes: Arab, feminist, revolutionary. She was more than all those things: a universal writer who transcended boundaries and wrote of the human condition.