In The News

Living Under Police Protection: Advocates for Muslim Women Face Constant Danger

Cordula Meyer September 11, 2006
The legal system is often helpless, when it comes to intervention on cultural or family differences, such as assisting women who refuse to enter arranged marriages. Or the police help arrives too late. Muslim women who want to shed cultural restrictions endure taunts, brutal attacks and even death. Intimidation is so intense that some lawyers refuse to assist Muslim women in family disputes....

Move Over, Barbie

Amany Abdel-Moneim June 12, 2006
With Muslim women’s ever-growing adherence to traditional dress code, it is no wonder that a new doll, Fulla, is becoming popular in Egyptian and Middle Eastern markets. The doll’s physique and large assortment of accessories, from lace underwear to prayer mat, place her in the Barbie genre, but many young Egyptian girls feel more connected with Fulla’s dark hair, hazel eyes and ankle-length...

This is Freedom, Say Courageous Women Risking All for Democracy

Declan Walsh May 24, 2006
As Afghanistan falls back into violence at the hands of the Taliban, a small number of courageous women risk their lives for the cause of democracy. Emerging from a history that has notoriously treated women’s views, education and personhood as beneath consideration, several female politicians – including one 18-year-old – have come to prominence in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, that prominence...

Islamist Threats to Dutch Politician Bring Chill at Home

Andrew Higgins May 18, 2006
Born in Somalia, Ayaan Hirsi Ali grew up in Muslim countries, escaped an arranged marriage and arrived in the Netherlands as a refugee disgruntled about women’s rights in Islamic culture. She soon emerged as a member of Dutch parliament and a formidable critic of Islamic extremism. After extremists targeted Hirsi Ali with death threats, her fearful neighbors demanded that she be ousted from her...

Prejudice Forms a New Line Between East and West

Nicholas Watt May 9, 2006
A new boundary is forming between east and west in Europe. While official policy in the west has extended tolerance toward the gay community, conservative governments in the east take a hard-line stance to control what they regard as a growing threat. In countries like Poland and Russia, politicians openly declare homosexuality to be a deviant lifestyle that must be reigned in. Often, anti-gay...

Daring to Use the Silver Screen to Reflect Saudi Society

Hassan M. Fattah May 2, 2006
Saudi Arabia has no legal movie theaters, but its filmmakers have a big budget and huge ambitions. The first Saudi Arabian feature film, funded by a Saudi prince and featuring a Saudi actress, portrays a family caught in a struggle between modernity and tradition. The film’s timing could be right, with Saudi women taking more public roles, pursuing education and opening companies without the...

Mothers Want Hope for Their Children

Sonia Nazario April 19, 2006
The tide of illegal immigrants to American shores has become unmanageable, with numbers far outstripping those at any other time in US history. Immigrants take jobs that are unpopular with native US workers, often at reduced wages, thus allowing US firms to compete globally. The immigrant workforce reduces US food and clothing costs and makes child-care readily available for US families,...