Last week, a group of twenty-five women who were demonstrating for peace and democracy in Baghdad's Tahrir Square were violently attacked. Gathering as they had every week, the women were greeted this time greeted by a mob of armed men who were reportedly bused in specifically to target the demonstrators.

The head of Egypt's military intelligence has promised Amnesty International that the army will no longer carry out forced ‘virginity tests' after defending their use, during a meeting with the organisation in Cairo on Sunday.

As many as 68 per cent of women in the Middle East and North Africa feel that they are treated equally to men at work, a report claims.

The survey by the Middle Eastern job site Bayt.com, and research specialists, YouGov, also revealed that 57 per cent of the women felt that the system of appreciating, recognising or rewarding employees is based on performance alone and not on gender.

MANAGUA, Jun 21 (IPS) - After a series of hunger strikes and vigils, Fátima Hernández had managed to become an exception, as one of the few rape victims in Nicaragua to obtain justice. But now her fight has started all over again and the hope that her case offered to others might become a mirage.

On Monday, she began a new hunger strike outside the Supreme Court building.

The women's movement of a recently assassinated Colombian displaced leader said Tuesday that the leader's death will likely force the government to change its response to risks faced by women.

An Iranian photojournalist and women's rights activist who campaigned for female football fans to be allowed to enter stadiums has disappeared.

Maryam Majd, 25, is feared to have been held by security officials before boarding a flight from Tehran to Düsseldorf, Germany, where she intended to cover the Fifa Women's World Cup.

What do Asma Mahfouz, Munira Fakhro and Tawakul Karman all have in common? They are all strong, capable women defying the popular Western image of the oppressed, repressed, suppressed Muslim woman hidden behind a black chador or blue burqa, helplessly waiting for Western liberation.

Much has been written about the women who have protested, organized, blogged and conducted hunger strikes throughout the Arab Spring.

In an annual survey known as the Rule of Law Index, issued by the World Justice Project, Iran ranks last out of 66 nations for the protection of fundamental rights. The survey notes that Iranian law enforcement authorities perpetrate abuses against citizens, and Iran's courts are infected by corruption and political interference.

Recent news from Iran demonstrates the depths of the Iranian government's contempt for the rule of law.

New charges that Muammer Gaddafi has ordered mass rapes of women in Libya are just the latest in an ongoing and unprecedented global assault on women, one that shows no signs of abating.