Saudi Arabia is expected to appoint 30 women on the Shoura Council before the consultative body begins its next annual session.
“The expectations are that up to 30 women will be appointed to the Shoura,” sources close to the council told Al-Sharq Arabic daily.
Egypt’s Islamist president Mohammed Morsi on Monday named a team of 21 advisers and aides that includes three women and two Christians and a large number of Islamist-leaning figures, backing off campaign promises to appoint a Christian and a woman as vice presidents.
Thousands of Tunisians rallied on Monday to protest against what they see as a push by the Islamist-led government for constitutional changes that would degrade women's status in one of the Arab world's most liberal nations.
Following the Libyan revolution, in which women played a crucial part, and the participation of large numbers of female citizens in the July 2012 elections, Libyan women are now looking forward to a partnership and full equality with their male counterparts.
More than 75% of assisted Syrian refugees are women and children. The targeting of civilians is well documented. But sexual violence against women and girls receives little attention. Cultural norms often prevent survivors from reporting sexual assault.
Tunisian women are rising up against a proposed article in the new constitution seen by many as an Islamist ploy to reverse the principle of gender equality that made Tunisia a beacon of modernity in the Arab world when it was introduced six decades ago.
A civil society group criticized the Cabinet’s approval of a new electoral law Wednesday, calling the draft legislation a “show” and warning of protests if the proposal moves forward in its current form.
The president of the ruling MPLA party José Eduardo dos Santos Tuesday in Luanda considered the Angolan women an example of love and perseverance and assured greater support for them.
When Bothaina Kamel began gathering signatures for her campaign to be not only Egypt’s first democratically elected president, but also its first female leader in centuries, just about everyone knew the campaign wouldn’t succeed.