Newsletter: Qantara.de – "Celebrating the audacity of Saudi women" – 02.02.2024

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  Women's rights in Saudi Arabia

  Aisha al-Mana – the first woman to drive a car in Riyadh

  When people talk about feminism in the Middle East, they usually mean women in Cairo, Beirut or Damascus. Saudi-Arabia, on the other hand, rarely gets a mention. Local activist Aisha al-Mana proved a trailblazer for women in the region

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  Germany's position on the Gaza war

  Far from the straight and narrow

  The German government's barely audible criticism of Israeli's handling of the war in Gaza is inflicting substantial damage on its foreign and security policy, weakening democracy not only in Germany, but worldwide. A change of course is urgently needed

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  Egypt, Jordan and the Gaza war

  The pressure is growing

  Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has effectively put Jordan and Egypt on the frontline of any escalation. If the situation continues to deteriorate, masses of Palestinians could end up fleeing across their borders. A report from Amman and Cairo

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  Migrant destination Europe

  EU gatekeeper Morocco leverages its own interests

  Morocco is intensifying its gatekeeper role in EU migration, stopping 87,000 migrants in 2023. Key to the deal is European acceptance of Morocco's claim to disputed Western Sahara

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  Gaza and a world order in ruins

  Stop the descent into the abyss!

  The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has dealt a crushing blow to our multilateral security system and threatens to alienate the entire Arab and Muslim world

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  Israel and the ICJ

  UN court ruling on Gaza 'hard to ignore'

  All eyes were on The Hague as the UN's International Court of Justice ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza but failed to demand a ceasefire. The decision puts Israel's allies in a difficult spot

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  Turkish literature in translation

  Hakan Bicakci's disintegrating self

  At the heart of Hakan Bicakci's novel "Schlaftrunken" – literally 'half-asleep' – lies an Istanbul torn apart by the gentrifying diggers and a protagonist plagued by sleeplessness and nightmares, watching his life slip through his fingers