Women

Any analysis of the women’s movement in Iran is a very complicated task and requires time and space. This very brief article is meant to provide much needed basic information for the general public and to provide a coherent picture of what has been happening over the last two centuries.

The Lahore High Court in Pakistan has ruled that the marriage of a couple who had been accused of adultery is lawful and valid.

Humaira Khokar and her husband, Mahmud Butt, were arrested at Karachi airport last month when they tried to leave the country for the United States.

TV marriage - Pakistani style

Traditional, arranged marriages are a cornerstone of Pakistan's conservative society.

However, in the cities, the assertive sons and daughters of an educated middle-class are finding new ways of meeting that elusive match.

The Women of Athens
Compared to the women of Sparta, the status of an Athenian woman in Greek society was minimal. By comparison to present day standards, Athenian women were only a small step above slaves by the 5th century BC.

"Happy colors became sinful, joy became a crime, and death was worshipped." That's how Reza Mahmoodshahi, writing last December in The Cornell Review, describes what happened in 1979 when Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile and assumed his post as Iran's supreme spiritual leader.

As yet another taboo in the Islamic Republic quietly crumbles, thousands of Iranian women are signing up for free motorcycle riding classes.

Erasing individuals or groups by stereotyping them is not a new phenomenon. It is difficult to imagine a society or a period of history completely devoid of this particularly cruel method of robbing people of their humanity; to imagine an individual who could live an entire life without being a victim or villain in the process of stereotyping. Can anyone honestly claim they have never said things like: "Arabs are devious," "Jews are stingy, " "Blondes are dumb (or have more fun)," "Redheads are hot tempered," or any of the countless words and phrases that pretend knowledge where there is only blind assumptions

A NEW female militancy is growing in the Arab world, with angry cries of revenge being directed at Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, and burgeoning support for female Palestinian suicide bombers.