All articles tagged with #womens rights
Justus Kelley, Miss Virginia USA 2026, was crowned Miss USA 2026, becoming the pageant’s first mother and first married winner in its 75-year history. When asked what her year would say about American women, she said that women no longer have to choose between ambitious careers, families and dreams. Kelley is a foster mom of two, a children’s book author, and founder of Foster Footprints, highlighting a message of empowerment and balance for women.
A BBC World Service investigation offers a rare look at life under the Taliban in Afghanistan, centering on a young woman's divorce case and interviews with former fighters-turned-officials to show continued restrictions on women's education, work and mobility, the use of Sharia in governance, a smartphone ban for officials, and widespread poverty five years after the Taliban returned, with limited Western influence.
Five years after the Taliban seized Kabul, Western influence in Afghanistan remains limited and uneven; despite ongoing international dialogue and UN-led processes, the regime’s bans on women’s rights persist amid a deep humanitarian crisis, while aid and sanctions shape leverage. The consensus among officials is to favor engagement over isolation, using structured diplomacy to maintain humanitarian access and inch toward reform, with real change likely to come from within Afghanistan even as the world stays engaged.
Five years after the Taliban seized control, Afghan women describe eroded freedoms—restricted education, limited work, travel restrictions, and public punishments—driving many to focus on daily survival, while some remain hopeful and seek small acts of empowerment.
The United Nations welcomed Japan’s passage of a bill revising the Imperial House Law to help ensure a larger pool of imperial family members, describing it as a step toward advancing women’s rights and gender equality. It marks the first substantive change to the law since 1947 and follows a 2024 UN recommendation to amend for equality. However, the reform preserves male-line succession to the throne, a point of ongoing contention, with the Japanese government arguing that throne succession touches the state’s foundations.
The United Nations says at least one person was killed in a crackdown on protests in Herat over the arrests of women, while urging Afghan authorities to uphold rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and security. Afghan officials denied widespread arrests and defended hijab enforcement, but UN officials stressed the detention of women carries stigma and violat es international human rights obligations.
Taliban security forces opened fire on protesters in Afghanistan who were demonstrating against arrests of women for dress-code violations, highlighting ongoing restrictions on women’s rights under the regime and drawing international attention.
Former Oregon Republican Sen. Bob Packwood, a powerful lawmaker who resigned in 1995 amid a sexual misconduct scandal and destruction of evidence, died at 93 in Rancho Mirage, California.
Myanmar's military expands its ban on distributing sanitary products, accusing rebels of using them for medical aid; activists warn the policy worsens gender-based harm, raises prices, and exacerbates health risks in a country with a collapsing health system and widespread displacement.
People around the world marked International Women's Day with protests and events urging equal pay, reproductive rights, education and leadership, while highlighting gender-based violence; observances ranged from Berlin to Santiago and Peru, reflecting a global push for progress under the UN-recognized day, with the 2026 theme 'Give to Gain' emphasizing fundraising and peer-to-peer advocacy.
Afghanistan’s decree-based penal code imposes longer punishment for animal fighting than for domestic violence against women, formalizes gender and social class discrimination by granting husbands authority over wives and varying punishments by status, and has drawn criticism from UN rights officials who urge reversal for violating international obligations and restricting women’s rights.
The UN’s human rights chief warned that a Taliban decree expands the death penalty, authorises corporal punishment, and criminalises dissent, deepening repression and rights abuses—especially against women—and called for its reversal and a moratorium on executions.
Violet Zulu, a 26-year-old in Zambia, was sentenced to seven years in 2024 for procuring her own abortion after clinics refused legal care and she couldn't afford private services; she delivered the fetus in a toilet, pleaded guilty after representing herself in court, and was later freed on appeal thanks to intervention by international rights groups. Her case highlights barriers to legal abortion, stigma, and lack of information, underscoring the need for better access and education amid Africa's high rate of unsafe abortions.
The Gambia's supreme court is hearing a case to overturn the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), amid protests from religious leaders and some MPs who argue it infringes on cultural and religious freedoms. Despite FGM being criminalized in 2015 and associated health risks, efforts to decriminalize it continue, reflecting a broader global regression in women's rights and ongoing cultural debates.
Queen Camilla publicly shared her personal experience of being assaulted on a train in the 1960s to highlight the issue of domestic violence and advocate for awareness and change.