· February, 2008

Stories about Women & Gender from February, 2008

Saudi Diplomacy

  27 February 2008

Saudi blogger Saudi Jeans discusses a talk by Saudi King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies head Prince Turki Al Faisal on Saudi diplomacy.

India: Changing names

  25 February 2008

A range of gender issues at Mumbai Girl – from changing names once married to the idea of skimpy clothes being provocative.

Armenia: Women March for Ter-Petrossian

  24 February 2008

The Armenian Patchwork posts photographs of yesterday's march by female supporters of former president Levon Ter-Petrossian following last week's disputed presidential election in Armenia. Meanwhile, reporting on the same rally, my Armenia Election Monitor 2008 revisits the Babe Theory of Democratic Movements.

Kuwait: Power and No Style

  23 February 2008

Thouq from Kuwait posts the pictures of three gulf politicians, two from Kuwait and one from Bahrain, comments: “With all respect to all our brave women working in politics: you certainly have power, but not style!”

Morocco: Hijab as a Choice

  22 February 2008

Much has been said about "the veil," or hijab. Perhaps too much - mention it, and suddenly everyone - Muslim or not - is an expert. In Morocco, hijab is certainly a choice. Young and old alike don the headscarf, and in big cities, seeing it is as common as not seeing it. Although in rural areas it is more prevalent, all women have (legal) freedom of choice whether or not to wear it.

Barbados: Hair Them Out

  22 February 2008

“Why should these young men be barred from finishing their studies and leading productive lives because they made a hairstyle choice?”: Cheese-on-bread! blogs about the latest controversy in Barbados – students being banned from classes because of how they choose to wear their hair.

Ethiopia: On Afar women

  19 February 2008

Zenobia review an article by The Telegraph about female genital mutilation in Ethiopia: “The Telegraph did an article about Afar women , female genital cutting (FMC) and their “life of drudgery” as they called it, but neglected to mention how successive Ethiopian regimes have done little to develop their desperately...

Uganda: Bloggers tangle with mainstream media

  19 February 2008

The blogren had their collective eye on Uganda's mainstream media this week. One blogger "treads where the brave dare not go" by posting photos from a tragedy near the capital, while another criticizes the government paper for its seeming support of rapists.

Saudi Arabia: No Coffee for Women

  18 February 2008

From Saudi Arabia, Lalla Mona posts two pictures of signs: one from 1931 America which says “Public Swimming Pool: Whites Only” and the second from modern day Saudi Arabia which says “Following the directives of The Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, offering coffee to women in...

Sudanese Blogosphere Reaches New Milestone

  17 February 2008

The Sudanese blogosphere is starting to build momentum. Blogs written in English are quite active now, showing the genuine, diverse and raw face of Sudan to the world. On the other hand, blogs written in Arabic have mushroomed at another corner of this vast online space.