Gender
All topics-
Iran protests
Iranian women filmmakers fight oppression
Well-educated and politically aware, they are the epitome of the empowered woman. Instead, Iranian women filmmakers have been fighting violence and oppression for decades. By Julia Hitz
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Libya's first female de-miners
Dealing with more than bombs
The first women to clear dangerous explosives in Libya are part of an international trend towards gender equality in the job. Cathrin Schaer and Islam Alatrash report
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Iraqi YouTube star's murder
How to end domestic violence in Iraq?
In Iraq, the murder of another young woman by a family member has led to renewed calls for the country's government to finally enact a law on domestic violence, one that has been stuck in parliamentary limbo for years. Cathrin Schaer reports
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Hussein Mohammadi's novella "Scheherazade's heirs"
Keep writing! Literature from Afghanistan
The "Weiter Schreiben" (Keep Writing) project promotes literature from war-torn and crisis-stricken regions and has, most recently, shone its spotlight on Afghanistan. Afghan author Hussein Mohammadi's debut novella is an outstanding work that crosses frontiers. Gerrit Wustmann read the book
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Rentier system and security policy
Jordan’s profound economic crisis
Excessive reliance on rentier economics and foreign aid is bringing Jordan to its knees, argues Marwan Muasher
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Iranian film "Holy Spider"
Killing women in the name of Allah
Ali Abbasi’s film "Holy Spider" tells the true story of a serial killer in the Iranian pilgrimage city of Mashhad. The fact that it gets bogged down at the end does not make it any less interesting. By Andreas Kilb
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Sabah Sanhouri's "Paradise"
The last resort
Sabah Sanhouri is a fresh, new literary voice from Sudan. Her novel "Paradise" revolves around an agency of the same name, an organisation that assists desperate people in ending their lives. By Volker Kaminski
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Women's voices
Iranian literature in times of uprising
Young women are driving forward the protests against the Iranian regime, which have been going on for months. Literature provides clues as to why that should be, and why the current situation was unavoidable. By Gerrit Wustmann
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Eye-witness on Iran protests
Exiled artist Forouhar: 'A country in turmoil'
Visiting the country of her parents, murdered by the Iranian regime in 1998, German-Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar finds a changed society: hopeful, strong and courageous, despite all the repression
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Women's rights in Egypt
We need to talk about abortion
Abortions are illegal in Egypt unless they are necessary to save a married woman's life. But that doesn't stop local women from having one. Egyptian society needs to acknowledge this, activists say. By Diana Hodali
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Palestinian writer Asmaa al-Atawna
"No stereotypical views of Arab women"
Asmaa al-Atawna's debut novel "Missing Picture" has been published in German translation (Keine Luft zum Atmen – Mein Weg in die Freiheit). In it, she describes life in Gaza from the perspective of a rebellious girl who is struggling to fit in at school and home. After fleeing to Europe, she also has to fight for her self-determination there too. Claudia Mende spoke to the author
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Middle East and North Africa
The next Arab Spring will come
Where are the measures to deal with the looming challenges facing the Arab world? In this commentary, Marwan Muasher warns that the region is in grave danger of falling behind when it comes to human development