Religious views do not stand in opposition to women's rights in the Arab world, says a survey of men and women from across the Middle East. The survey, conducted by the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, shows that no correlation exists between people's attitudes towards Shariah law and their level of support for women's rights.

The results show that other factors impact women more.

Unlike her Muslim compatriots, Tarulata Rani is unable to inherit anything from her family, cannot divorce and cannot claim maintenance from her absent husband -- all because she is a Bangladeshi Hindu.

Unlike Bangladeshi Muslims or Hindus in neighboring India and Nepal, Bangladeshi Hindu women can't divorce as the legal provisions do not exist and their marriages have not been allowed to be officially registered.

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There are no court houses in Kalonge health district, a region home to more than 130,000 people, high in the hills above Lake Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Those seeking justice in Kalonge face a journey of at least 30 miles along poorly maintained roads that turn to muddy rivers during the rainy season.

It's good to have heroes. One of mine is Sakena Yacoobi, the founder of a terrific organization called the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) that provides education and health services to women across Afghanistan. I first met Sakena nearly a decade ago, and have followed her work closely since then.

The top United Nations envoy in Libya today stressed the importance of the equal participation of women in rebuilding the country, as he commended the number of women who have registered to vote and to stand for election in the upcoming legislative polls.

Some 2.7 million people in the North African nation have registered to vote for members of a new National Congress, which will be tasked with drafting a new constitution for Libya.

Egypt's first ever democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, will make history in another way: by appointing a woman as vice president, his policy adviser told CNN.

He will also choose another vice president who is Christian, Ahmed Deif said.

On Monday, a victim recounted to International Criminal Court (ICC) judges how she was sexually assaulted in front of her young daughter by soldiers belonging to the group led by war crimes accused Jean-Pierre Bemba.

At least 43 vulnerable women in Ndera Sector, Gasabo District have successfully completed a nine month training course in tailoring and basket weaving.

The course was sponsored by a local NGO, Volunteers Initiative for Sustainable Development and Anti-Poverty Campaign (VISDAPOC).

Women are discriminated against in most societies. But Roma women are often even worse off, since they are faced both with the strong patriarchal culture within the Roma community and the sometimes blatant racism from institutions as well as individuals.