An estimated 65 per cent of more than 1,700 female inmates in Jordan’s prisons are held under the 60-year-old law, according to the Sisterhood Is Global Institute (SIGI), a women’s rights charity. In a secret shelter in the Jordanian capital Amman, 52-year-old Fatima runs a hand over the scar that has shaped her life. Almost 30 years ago, her father shot her and her sister to “cleanse the family’s honour” after her younger sibling got pregnant out of wedlock and he deemed it necessary for both daughters should pay the price. “When they shot my sister she died,” said Fatima, who declined to give her real name for fear of reprisals. “When they started on me, our neighbours informed the police… I remained in the hospital for six to seven months, then the police came and put me in prison.” Fatima remained in prison for 22 years under a law…

The upcoming 3-day Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad, likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been tagged “a big event”, with the presence of US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump. Business leaders from across the globe, along with entrepreneurs and investors, will be in attendance. India and the US will co-host the three-day event. The American delegation will be led by Ivanka. A US official confirmed that the event slated for November 28 will have “high-level” participation from the Government of India. The Prime minister is likely to be in attendance following his tweet on the subject. “Look forward to Ivanka Trump’s presence at GES 2017 Hyderabad as the leader of the US delegation,” Modi said in a tweet last week. He said the event is aimed to bring together entrepreneurs of the two countries. The leader of the United States delegation Ivanka Trump also said…

By: Amanda Gouws, Stellenbosch University South Africa celebrated Women’s Day on August 9th to mark the day in 1956 when 20,000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to insist on their rights. Women’s Day provides an opportune moment to reflect on what it would mean for South Africa to be governed by a woman president after the 2019 elections. Three women from the governing African National Congress are running as candidates – Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Baleka Mbete and Lindiwe Sisulu. Because voters vote for a party, the President is elected by the members of parliament. The ANC holds the majority vote, which means that the president will most likely be an ANC candidate. All three women are ANC stalwarts who can be considered as part of the exile generation. They were all active in the liberation struggle, and all have contributed to the country since the…

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently has brought three women into the government, one day after being criticized on social media for submitting an all-male list of cabinet members to parliament for approval. Massoumeh Ebtekar, head of Iran’s Department of Environment in Rouhani’s first term, was appointed vice president for women and family affairs. Laya Joneidi was named vice president for legal affairs while Shahindokht Molaverdi was made the president’s assistant for civil rights. Rouhani had mentioned the importance of women’s rights in campaign speeches before the presidential election in May when he was re-elected. The appointments are likely to tamp down some of the criticism that Rouhani faced from supporters on Tuesday when he failed to announce any female ministers in his cabinet. One widely-circulated post on social media showed Rouhani with his new all-male cabinet cast in a photo in front of a government building – with a huge…