[empower] women’s activism

In Gaza, an unspoken rule bans women from riding bicycles after they have hit puberty. But last Saturday, one young Palestinian woman decided to defy the taboo, sparking smiles - and a few threats - from fellow Gaza residents. In a spur of the moment decision, 28-year-old Palestinian journalist Asmaa Alghoul decided to join three of her friends, two Italian human rights workers and an American, on a tour of Gaza by bicycle. On a warm summer's day, the two men and two women set off from the Egyptian border town of Rafah and headed north to Gaza city, along 30km of coastal road. But to Asmaa, the ride was more than a sunny day trip: women on bicycles are frowned upon in most Muslim societies, and the young woman had not ridden a bike since she was 14 years old.

Open letter to President of Afghanistan: H.E. President of Afghanistan, The last decade in the history of our country, despite all the shortcomings, was full of hope for the women of Afghanistan. In the first few years of the decade, we witnessed positive developments toward freedom of women from yokes of captivity, fanaticism and fundamentalism. These hopes opened a new page in history for women and we may dare say that the newly founded democratic government of Afghanistan became a bastion of ideals of gender equality and justice for women who were tired of the rule of fanaticism and misogynism. Those developments revived the lost dignity of Afghanistan at the international level. Alas, those hopes and achievements have been subjected to disruption and regression in recent years leading to human catastrophes such as assassinations, stoning and gender discrimination. 

In a demonstration on 9 August, women activists in Iraq bravely take a stand against the injustices, absence of basic human rights and broken promises suffered by the women of Iraq. Since the regime of Saddam Hussein (1979-2003) to the present day, women rights in Iraq have been ignored.  However, in this empowering video clip, the women of Iraq – many of whom live without electricity or housing – take a stand and demand a government which caters, understands and feels the miseries of all its people – regardless of gender, race of religion.

Comme chaque année, nous célébrons avec fierté la promulgation du Code du statut personnel qui, en son temps, le 13 août 1956, a représenté une conquête de la raison moderne et constitué un des éléments clés de l’émancipation féminine. C’est pourquoi aujourd’hui, comme chaque année, nous le célébrerons à notre manière, contre les dénis de l’histoire et l’amnésie générale des mémoires en rendant d’abord hommage au peuple qui en a rendu possible l’esprit et la lettre. Cet hommage nous l’exprimons sans complaisance ni esprit d’exclusive, à tous ceux et celles qui, à titre collectif ou individuel, femmes et hommes, ont posé les jalons de l’émancipation et de la dignité des Tunisiennes.