In The News

Is Globalization a Blessing or a Burden on Women?

Rezina Sultana March 6, 2006
Women, accounting for half of the world’s population and two-thirds of the world’s work hours, consistently have fewer resources and less representation at decision-making levels. Some industries, particularly in male-dominated societies, take advantage of eased movement of capital and reduced state controls on trade and investment to reduce wages for the poor, especially women. An example is...

Corporate Europe Ignores Diversity at its Peril

Marta Dassu November 30, 2005
The logic of obtaining the best possible candidates for a position seems to fall flat in the European corporate world, according to a recent study by European researchers. At the top of the business world, talent and qualifications may take a back seat to nationalistic hiring and promotion policies. In a survey of 450 different companies in the EU’s five biggest economies, the researchers found...

A Gender Jihad for Islam’s Future

Asra Q. Nomani November 7, 2005
To conservative Muslims, Islamic feminism is an insult to Islam. To a growing group of moderates, however, it’s a return to fundamental Islamic theology, a reaffirmation of rights granted to women at the foundation of Islam but stripped by “manmade rules and tribal traditions masquerading as divine law”. Asra Q. Nomani, an American activist, was among twelve women to lead a conference on...

Fashion Magazines Rush to Mold China's Sense of Style

Howard W. French October 4, 2005
China has come a long way from the privations of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Today's Chinese have more economic freedom and money than ever before, and they are using those resources to enjoy the bourgeois tastes of Western fashion and lifestyle. Western magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and FHM offer Chinese consumers advice on everything from shopping to sex....

A Place Where Women Rule

Emily Wax July 9, 2005
The small community of Umoja, Kenya, is a unique experiment in social progress and gender equality. The town serves as a refuge for women and does not admit men, much to the chagrin of the latter. Umoja represents a new awareness among African women about AIDS, rape, spousal abuse, and the gaps in legal codes that allow such violations to go unpunished. Women are increasingly banding together and...

A Muslim Woman, a Story of Sex

Alan Riding June 22, 2005
The Almond, the first novel of North African writer Nedjma, has attracted media and critical attention ever since its publication in France last year. The novel is a study of sex – a topic very much off-limits to authors in traditional Arab societies, let alone the women who live within the conservative-leaning social structures. Nedjma, herself a female and a product of Muslim society, has...

In the Gulf, Women Are Not Women’s Best Friends

N. Janardhan June 20, 2005
Following in the steps of Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar, Kuwait recently granted women the right to vote and hold public office. The country, however, still faces important challenges in achieving the full and equal integration of women into society. Although women in the Gulf are becoming increasingly visible in businesses, their political rights continue to be restrained by a combination of...