West Asia / Middle East

Within West Asia/Middle East, PeaceWomen is currently monitoring 6 countries including: Iraq, Iran, Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Kurdistan and Georgia. This section can be navigated by country.

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April 26, 2012 (Jordan News Agency)
JORDAN: French Embassy, UN Women Sign Agreement to Protect Women's Physical Integrity The French Embassy and the UNWOMEN Arab States Sub-Regional Office signed on Wednesday an agreement to combat violence against women and enhance their human rights.
April 25, 2012 (Foreign Policy )
ARAB SPRING: 'Why Do They Hate Us' In "Distant View of a Minaret," the late and much-neglected Egyptian writer Alifa Rifaat begins her short story with a woman so unmoved by sex with her husband that as he focuses solely on his pleasure, she notices a spider web she must sweep off the ceiling and has time to ruminate on her husband's repeated refusal to prolong intercourse until she too climaxes, "as though purposely to deprive her."
April 24, 2012 (Open Democracy)
OPINION: Hatred and Misogyny in the Middle East, A Response to Mona El Tahawy A veritable twitter storm has sprung up around an article by Mona el Tahawy in the latest issue of Foreign Policy, entitled Why Do They Hate Us ↑ ? In the article, El Tahawy documents and condemns the abuses meted out upon women throughout the Middle East. So far, so uncontroversial, you might think.
April 22, 2012 (Al Arabiya)
IRAN: Will Change in Iran Empower Arab Women? The impact of Iranian doctrines in the region is apparent throughout history. At one time Iran had a constitutional monarchy, which affected the entire region. Then it had a campaign for modernization during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi (1925-1941), the effects of which were felt throughout the region, once again. Nationalization of the oil industry in the 1950s also brought nationalism to the entire region.
April 18, 2012 (JewSchool)
ISRAEL: OPINION: What's Going On With Women in Israel? Today, a full-page advertisement supporting the New Israel Fund will appear in the New York Times. Paid for by a generous donor who is launching a matching-gift campaign, the ad features a news photo of an actual billboard in Jerusalem, with a poster of a woman's face that has been clawed and defaced by ultra-Orthodox extremists.