When the Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD) Regional Coalition for Middle East and North Africa met last month in Beirut, one seat was noticeably empty.

Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system remains the most significant impediment to women’s rights in the country despite limited reforms over the last decade, Human Rights Watch said in a report released last month. Adult women must obtain permission from a male guardian to travel abroad, marry, or be released from prison, and may be required to provide guardian consent to work or get health care.

Turkey’s performance in implementing the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was reviewed by a United Nations committee on July 13, as a Turkish delegation provided official figures and answered the committee’s questions on a wide range of women’s issues in the country. 

The Centre for Egyptian Women's Legal Assistance (CEWLA) has slammed MP Ahmed al-Tahawy, member of the parliamentary health committee, for saying that it is not appropriate to halt the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), which he describes as an Islamic issue rather than a medical one.

"Fiction can be an engaging, non-confrontational way to set the scene for constructive conversations, even on the most serious issues. We hope that Be 100 Ragl II can help enlighten men and women on how to build a more just and equal society together." - Antonella Notari Vischer, Executive Director, Womanity Foundation