Global Issues News Headlines for “Women’s Rights”

In Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan, One Woman Refuses a Life of Dependence

2026-08-07T17:13:14-07:00

KABUL, August 7 (IPS) - The Taliban’s rise to power robbed Mehrmaa of her husband, her job and her chance to live freely.

Read the full story, “In Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan, One Woman Refuses a Life of Dependence”, on globalissues.org →

Burkina Faso’s Cancelled Democracy

2026-08-07T05:58:03-07:00

LONDON, August 7 (IPS) - Burkina Faso’s charismatic young military leader, army captain Ibrahim Traoré, has stopped pretending. In April, he declared that people should ‘forget about the question of democracy’ because ‘democracy isn’t for us’. When Traoré seized power in September 2022, ousting a leader who’d staged a coup earlier that year, he promised elections by June 2024. The junta broke that pledge, pushing any transition back to 2029. Now Traoré has confirmed he has no intention of restoring democracy. Instead, Burkina Faso’s military junta is tightening its repression, while working with neighbouring states to internationalise its dangerously undemocratic model.

Read the full story, “Burkina Faso’s Cancelled Democracy”, on globalissues.org →

CHINA: ‘The Ethnic Unity Law Means There Is One Acceptable Way to Be Chinese’

2026-08-05T17:21:45-07:00

CIVICUS speaks about China’s recently implemented Ethnic Unity Law with Gulchehra Hoja, a correspondent for Reporters Without Borders and a Uyghur activist and journalist known for her reporting on human rights abuses against Uyghur people in China.

Read the full story, “CHINA: ‘The Ethnic Unity Law Means There Is One Acceptable Way to Be Chinese’”, on globalissues.org →

Climate Change Makes Sacred Ice Vanish in Kashmir, Locals Fear Loss of Livelihoods

2026-08-04T07:51:03-07:00

SRINAGAR, India, August 4 (IPS) - Every summer, before dawn breaks over the Himalayas, Bashir Ahmad leads his horses onto the narrow mountain trail that winds toward the Amarnath cave shrine. For decades, the annual Hindu pilgrimage has been the most important season of the year for his family. The money earned over two months pays for food, school fees, winter supplies, and the upkeep of his animals through the long snowbound months.

Read the full story, “Climate Change Makes Sacred Ice Vanish in Kashmir, Locals Fear Loss of Livelihoods”, on globalissues.org →

Female Genital Mutilation: Winning the Argument, Losing the Funding

2026-08-03T11:23:15-07:00

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, August 3 (IPS) - Last August, a one-month-old girl in The Gambia bled to death after being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice that had been illegal in the country since 2015. FGM is a human rights violation, whatever the appeals to faith or tradition made in its defence, but now the Gambian Supreme Court is being asked to strike the country’s ban down. This is the second attempt in two years to make FGM legal again.

Read the full story, “Female Genital Mutilation: Winning the Argument, Losing the Funding”, on globalissues.org →

ARMENIA: ‘Anti-LGBTQI+ Discourse Is Increasingly Tied to Anti-democratic Narratives’

2026-07-31T07:34:30-07:00

CIVICUS discusses disinformation campaigns targeting the LGBTQI+ community in Armenia with Hripsime Kizogyan, Executive Director of Pink Armenia, a community-based organisation that defends the human rights of LGBTQI+ people and advocates for policy change.

Read the full story, “ARMENIA: ‘Anti-LGBTQI+ Discourse Is Increasingly Tied to Anti-democratic Narratives’”, on globalissues.org →

From the Foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, Magnolia Athletics Camp Is Helping Girls Stay in School, Pursue Athletics and Escape the Pressures of Harmful Traditional Practices

2026-07-30T09:29:21-07:00

OLOITOKTOK, Kenya, July 30 (IPS) - Before sunrise each morning, 19-year-old Josephine Sembeyo joins dozens of teenage runners leaving Magnolia Athletics Camp for training beneath the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Read the full story, “From the Foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, Magnolia Athletics Camp Is Helping Girls Stay in School, Pursue Athletics and Escape the Pressures of Harmful Traditional Practices”, on globalissues.org →

Sudan’s War Economy: Funded By Gum Arabic And Gold

2026-07-27T17:04:43-07:00

UNITED NATIONS, July 27 (IPS) - In the three years since the outbreak of the Sudanese Civil War, the humanitarian crisis has deteriorated significantly, with the United Nations underscoring a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law among warring parties. This includes the deliberate targeting of civilians in residential areas, widespread sexual violence, and attacks on critical infrastructure that have hindered aid efforts and pushed communities to the brink of collapse. To manage rising military expenses, the warring parties have increasingly relied on the exploitation of trade routes and territories, prompting humanitarian experts to express concern about a persistent, self-sustaining “war economy.”

Read the full story, “Sudan’s War Economy: Funded By Gum Arabic And Gold”, on globalissues.org →

In El Obeid, Sudanese women face drones by day, rape by night, to reach water

2026-07-24T05:00:00-07:00

In El Obeid, women and girls now face an impossible choice over something as basic as a bucket of water: risk a drone strike by collecting it in daylight, or risk rape by waiting until dark.

Read the full story, “In El Obeid, Sudanese women face drones by day, rape by night, to reach water”, on globalissues.org →

Health response brings lifesaving care closer to thousands in Yemen

2026-07-20T05:00:00-07:00

Thousands of people in some of Yemen's most conflict-affected communities are receiving lifesaving health care closer to home, thanks to funding from the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) through the Yemen Humanitarian Fund.

Read the full story, “Health response brings lifesaving care closer to thousands in Yemen”, on globalissues.org →