Algerian activists who had gathered to mark International Women’s Day recently were forced to disperse and arrested by large swathes of police as they demonstrated. Activists from the Tharwa Fadhma N’Soumer and Djazairouna associations had gathered near the Grande Poste in Algiers to denounce inequality in Algerian society and pay tribute to the women who died during the black decade of Algeria’s 1990’s civil war. “The police told us that they were there not for our little gathering but for something else and that we were in the wrong place at the wrong time” one activist who was present, Djamel-Eddine Oulmane, explained. “We must constantly reiterate that we are here to ensure that women acquire more rights and full citizenship in relation to men,” Oulmane continued. “It must not be forgotten that women had the right to vote in Algeria, while some countries did not have it in 1962.” According…

By Flora Charner, CNN Brazilian President Michel Temer has sparked a wave of anger following a speech to mark International Women’s Day, with his references to women’s domestic roles drawing accusations of sexism on social media. Wednesday’s speech began cordially enough, with compliments to female representatives of the Senate and Lower House, who were present at the event at the Planato presidential palace. He highlighted the importance of women’s struggles in Brazil, from gaining equal voting rights to fighting femicide. He also compared the country’s successes to others who still treat women as “second class citizens,” and praised his wife Marcela and other women in his life for everything they do “in the house, in the home and for their children.” While these comments may have led to some tepid applause and barely noticeable eye rolls, it was his praise of women’s “economic contributions” that left both men and women…