Tehran police will no longer arrest women for failing to observe Islamic dress code
For nearly 40 years, women in Iran have been forced to cover their hair and wear long, loose garments.
Women's rights & well-being
This archive covers documented progress on women’s rights and well-being worldwide — from legal reforms and health advances to economic gains and shifts in policy. Stories here focus on what’s working, who’s driving change, and where meaningful progress is taking hold.
Tunisia’s president appoints woman as prime minister in first for Arab world
Tunisian President Kais Saied has appointed Najla Bouden Romdhan as the first female prime minister in Tunisia and the Arab world.
San Marino votes overwhelmingly to legalize abortion
Around 77.30% of voters in the tiny European nation approved the measure which would make abortion legal in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
France makes birth control free for everyone under 25
The free contraceptives offered include the pill, IUDs, contraceptive patches, and other methods composed of steroid hormones. Doctor’s visits for birth control prescriptions will also be free.
U.S. federal judge throws out Trump-era rule facilitating development of streams, marshes, and wetlands
District Judge Rosemary Marquez’s decision applies nationwide, according to the Washington Post, and will protect drinking water and wildlife habitat for millions of Americans and billions of animals.
Mexico’s top court decriminalizes abortion in ‘watershed moment’
The decision in the world’s second-biggest Roman Catholic country means that courts can no longer prosecute abortion cases, and follows the historic legalization of the right in Argentina earlier this year.
Indonesian army ends ‘two-finger’ virginity tests on female recruits
The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) conducted investigations into the practice in 2014, 2015 and 2017, with experts labeling the tests abusive, unscientific and discriminatory.
Ayesha A. Malik to become Pakistan’s first woman Supreme Court justice
In a first in the country’s judicial history, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) is going to elevate a woman judge to the Supreme Court when it meets on Sept 9.
Tanzania to offer alternative education for school dropouts including pregnant girls
Secondary school drop-outs in Tanzania will be offered the opportunity to resume studies in alternative colleges, part of a shift away from a disputed policy under which pregnant girls were expelled from school.
Sudan to ban female genital mutilation and allow non-Muslims to drink alcohol
Sudan will permit non-Muslims to consume alcohol and strengthen women’s rights, including banning female genital mutilation, in a reversal of almost four decades of hardline Islamist policies.