women's rights

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Malala 'Shocked' at How Quickly Afghan Women Lost Rights

Activist reflects on the state of Afghanistan in advance of documentary release

(Newser) - Malala Yousafzai, the crusading activist who has been fighting for the rights of women and girls since childhood, says she's been shocked at how quickly those rights have been eroded in Afghanistan since the Taliban retook control in 2021. "I never imagined that the rights of women would...

Now Afghan Women Can't Pray Loudly or Sing

And they should refrain from reciting the Koran in front of other women: government minister

(Newser) - Afghan women are forbidden from praying loudly or reciting the Koran in front of other women, according to a Taliban government minister. It's the latest restriction on women following morality laws that ban them from raising their voice and baring their faces outside the home. They're already excluded...

Streep: 'A Squirrel Has More Rights' Than Afghan Girls

Actor calls attention to the ongoing stripping of women's rights under the Taliban

(Newser) - Birds, squirrels, and cats have more freedom than Afghan women, the actor Meryl Streep said in a powerful speech at United Nations headquarters on Monday, calling attention to the stripping of women's rights under the Taliban. A bird can sing in public, a squirrel can frolic in a park,...

French Gates Is Throwing Serious Cash at Women's Rights

Will donate $1B, doesn't want her granddaughter growing up 'with fewer rights than I had'

(Newser) - Melinda French Gates is opening up her checkbook to the tune of $1 billion over the next two years, and it's going toward "people and organizations working on behalf of women and families around the world, including on reproductive rights in the United States," she writes...

Ladies, These States May Be Worth Looking Into

Massachusetts tops WalletHub's list of best states for women; Oklahoma comes in last

(Newser) - What better way to mark Women's History Month than to tag the places in the US where women have the best chances at career opportunities and a better standard of living? WalletHub looked at all 50 states, using more than two dozen metrics in two main categories to create...

Abortion Rights Victory in Florida Could Have 'Massive Implications'

Amendment to enshrine abortion access has enough signatures for 2024 ballot, pending other ruling

(Newser) - Voters in Ohio , Kansas , and other states have opted to enshrine abortion rights in their respective constitutions, and Florida may be next. The Tampa Bay Times reports that proponents have secured more than enough signatures to place on the 2024 ballot a constitutional amendment that would unravel the state's...

Case Against Woman Who Miscarried Sets Off 'Firestorm'

Brittany Watts of Ohio, whose fetus was found in toilet, is charged with abuse of a corpse

(Newser) - An Ohio woman who miscarried in a toilet is facing a charge of abuse of a corpse in "an extremely rare interpretation of a state law," per the New York Times . The case "has touched off a national firestorm," with some arguing Brittany Watts acted as...

Icelandic Women Are Going on Strike Tomorrow

The country's prime minister is joining them

(Newser) - Icelandic women are going on strike Tuesday, and Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir doesn't plan to be an exception. "I will not work this day," she told mbl.is , adding that she doesn't expect female cabinet members to work either. This will be the first full-day women'...

This Is the Best City for Women in America

Columbia, Maryland, tops WalletHub's list; Jackson, Mississippi, comes in last

(Newser) - Women make up just over half of the US population, and there are several factors they may want to take into consideration before finding a place to settle down, including safety, job opportunities, and access to resources geared toward women's health care. WalletHub looked at more than 180 of...

Taliban: Women Lose Value if Men See Their Faces

Molvi Mohammad Sadiq Akif says women who spurn hijabs risk 'falling into sin'

(Newser) - Women lose value if men can see their uncovered faces in public, a spokesman for a key ministry of Afghanistan's Taliban government said Thursday, adding that religious scholars in the country agree that a woman must keep her face covered when outside the home. The Taliban, who took over...

Security Council Pressures Taliban on Women's Rights

Unanimous vote calls for reversal of prohibitions on employment, education

(Newser) - The Taliban's systematic discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan has brought a rare instance of unanimity to the UN Security Council. A resolution approved Thursday condemns the bias and demands Afghanistan's leaders overturn their policies prohibiting the education, employment, and full public participation of women and girls....

Afghan Religious Scholars Speak Out on Educating Girls

Taliban minister warns clerics about complaining

(Newser) - Afghan religious scholars on Saturday criticized a ban on educating women and girls, after a key Taliban minister warned clerics not to rebel against the government on the issue. Girls cannot go to school beyond sixth grade in Afghanistan, with the education ban extending to universities . Women are barred from...

How Women Are Marking March 8
How Women Are
Marking March 8
Mar 8, 2023 12:26 PM CST

How Women Are Marking March 8

There are International Women's Day celebrations and protests alike

(Newser) - March 8 has been set aside by the United Nations as International Women's Day since 1977, and 46 years later, the AP reports that it appears to be holding strong. This year, women around the globe are variously noting advances, setbacks, and repression. Here, a look in words and...

This Is the Best US State for Women

Vermont is No. 1, while Oklahoma comes in last in WalletHub's rankings

(Newser) - It's Women's History Month , and what better way to celebrate the occasion than to offer some leads on tracking down the best places for women to live. WalletHub has done much of the legwork, looking at more than two dozen metrics for all 50 states and DC in...

After Women's Studies Move, Taliban Tells World to Butt Out

Education minister defends decision to bar females from universities

(Newser) - The minister of higher education in the Taliban government on Thursday defended his decision to bar women from universities—a decree that had triggered a global backlash. Discussing the matter for the first time in public, Nida Mohammad Nadim said the ban issued earlier this week was necessary to prevent...

Taliban Bans Women From Parks, Gyms
Taliban Bans Women
From Parks, Gyms
Nov 10, 2022 11:56 AM CST

Taliban Bans Women From Parks, Gyms

Group claims it has 'tried its best' to avoid imposing restrictions

(Newser) - More than a year after returning to power in Afghanistan and promising to respect women's rights, the Taliban are busy crushing the few rights women in the country still have. Women are now banned from parks and gyms in the country, according to a Ministry of Vice and Virtue...

This Is the Best State for Women's Equality

New Mexico takes No. 1 spot in WalletHub's rankings; Utah is last

(Newser) - Women's Equality Day was celebrated in the US on Friday, commemorating the 1920 adoption of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. There's been significant progress in terms of women's equality since, but the scales still aren't completely balanced, and some states are...

Woman's 'Death by Stoning' Sentence Rattles Activists

It's the first such sentence in Sudan in nearly a decade

(Newser) - An October military coup in Sudan may have shifted the movement on women's rights there, and not in a good way. A 20-year-old woman arrested in White Nile state last month and charged with adultery has now heard her fate: death by stoning, the first known sentence like it...

Pelosi: Roe Decision Is 'Slap in the Face to Women'

Speaker vows to codify law protecting abortion rights after Supreme Court ruling

(Newser) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, declaring that "the radical Supreme Court is eviscerating American rights and endangering their health and safety," per the Hill . She added: "What this means to women is such an insult. It's...

Female Anchors Cover Faces Under New Taliban Order

Male colleagues in Afghanistan wear masks in solidarity

(Newser) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers on Sunday began enforcing an order requiring all female TV news anchors in the country to cover their faces while on the air. The move is part of a hard-line shift drawing condemnation from rights activists. After the order was announced Thursday, only a handful of...

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