Stigmatization and the Role of Associations in the Fight against HIV in Middle East and North Africa

FRIDAY FILE: At a recent international conference in Tunis[1] on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Arab Countries, AWID met Jocelyn DeJong, professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at American University in Beirut and coordinator of the Reproductive Health Working Group[2], to learn more about their research on the role of associations in fighting HIV stigmatization.

By Mégane Ghorbani

Vienna +20: Some Progress in MENA but Relativity of Rights and Backlash Persist

FRIDAY FILE - In this latest interview forming part of AWID’s commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, AWID speaks to Mahnaz Afkhami, Director of Women’s Learning Partnership about some of the advances and challenges for women’s rights and women’s rights organizing in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region over the last 20 years

By Susan Tolmay

Breaking Through the Iron Ceiling: Iran’s New Government and the Hopes of the Iranian Women’s Movements

FRIDAY FILE: Iranian women’s rights activist, Sussan Tahmasebi, shares her insights with AWID about Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani, and what this could mean for Iranian women.

By Rochelle Jones

Women in Arts: Activism and Censorship

by Gabby De Cicco

FRIDAY FILE - AWID spoke to Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour about how she addresses political issues in her art, the link between art and activism and why it is important to address censorship head on.

Women’s Movement Building: Lessons From Transitions to Democracy

FRIDAY FILE – AWID and Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) recently launched two initiatives that aim to share and build knowledge and awareness about countries in transition to democracy; and the need to ensure that all citizens, including women, are enabled to participate in these processes is essential to guaranteeing rights for all.

By Angelika Arutyunova

Her Yer Taksim! Feminist and LGBTQI Engagement in the Gezi Park Protests

FRIDAY FILE - News of the lower court decision[1] at the beginning of July that a construction project in Istanbul’s Gezi Park be halted was overshadowed by the police crackdown on what had started as a small demonstration against the park’s destruction.

Women Organising to Survive: Syria’s Civil War and Beyond

FRIDAY FILE - AWID interviewed Rajaa Altalli, co-founder and Public Relations Director from the Center for Civil Society and Democracy in Syria (CCSDS) about the impacts of Syria’s humanitarian crisis on women, their priority shift from revolution to survival, and how, amongst all the bloodshed, some Syrian women are organizing for their role in a transitional process.

By Rochelle Jones

A convoluted war

A Women’s Perspective on the Violent and Oppressive Bahraini Regime

FRIDAY FILE - AWID interviewed pro-democracy activist and lecturer Dr Ala’a Shehabi* about the current violence and persecution against Bahraini citizens and how women are contributing to the fight for democracy and rights.

By Rochelle Jones

Contemporary Bahrain’s simmering unrest

Egyptian Women Continue To Strategize, Protest And Mobilize For A Fair And Equal Egypt

FRIDAY FILE - AWID Interviews three Egyptian women’s rights activists, Yara Sallam, Shahinaz El Hennawi and Dina* about their hopes and concerns since Egypt’s first free elections this year.

By Rochelle Jones

As clear as mud

Challenges for Young Women Human Rights Defenders in Pakistan

FRIDAY FILE - Gulalai Ismail, a 25-year-old woman human rights defender (WHRD) and Chairperson of Aware Girls[1], has been working from an early age to improve conditions for young women in Pakistan.

Gulalai shares with AWID her experiences as a young WHRD living in a context of oppression and discrimination in the name of culture and religion.

By Katherine Ronderos