The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
women in the world.

Latest items for IIP-LAW-1

Jan. 22, 2024, 6:37 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"The Taliban has banned men and women from sitting together in restaurants and ordered that public parks are open for each sex on different days" (para 1). "Women have stopped being issued driver's licenses and are ordered to cover their whole bodies in western city Herat, Afghanistan's third largest" (para 2). "A Taliban official at the local Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice confirmed today that authorities have 'instructed that men and women be segregated in restaurants'. Riazullah Seerat told AFP business owners had been verbally warned that the rule applies 'even if they are husband and wife'" (para 9-10). "Seerat added his office has issued a...more
Jan. 21, 2024, 10:43 a.m.
Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"M.B.S. indeed abolished the ban on women driving, which had always stood out as an outlandish source of international scorn...He also removed some of the legal enforcements of the dreaded guardianship system, which consigned every Saudi woman to the near total control of a male family member" (para 6). "The recent reforms mean that if a woman has been born or married into a clan of freethinking men willing to let her do things, the state will not interfere. But for the many Saudi women who lack a benevolent male guardian, there is no remedy. If, for example, a woman’s husband or father doesn’t think she should get her driving...more
Dec. 21, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"The ban on women going to football games was not inscribed in law and, having advertised her previous trips to games involving Persopolis or Iran on social media, she assumed she was safe from harm and incarceration"(para 3). "Iranian women were originally prohibited from entering stadiums after the revolution, with clerical rulers giving various reasons over the years for the decision, including the corrupting influence it would supposedly have on both male fans and the women themselves. Though it became fairly commonplace for women to sneak into stadiums in disguise, the ban survived without serious challenge until the horrific case of Sahar Khodayari, a 29-year-old fan of Esteghlal, another club...more
Dec. 20, 2023, 11:14 a.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"For his part, Mr. Montazeri said on Saturday that the judiciary would still enforce restrictions on 'social behavior.' Days earlier, he said that the authorities were reviewing the law requiring women to cover their bodies in long, loose clothing and their hair with a head scarf or hijab, and would issue a decision within 15 days. But it was not clear whether the authorities were planning to relax the law"(para 7).
Nov. 6, 2023, 11:49 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"Gender equality is a basic State policy of China, according to which women enjoy equality with men when it comes to their rights to conclude contracts and administer property, access to legal procedures, freedom of movement and freedom to choose residence and domicile" (28).
Nov. 3, 2023, 4:52 p.m.
Countries: South Korea
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"In June of this year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport allowed taxi ride-sharing services for the first time after the practice was prohibited in 1982. However, except for van-type cabs which accommodate five passengers and more, ride-sharing is limited only between people of the same sex" (para 9).
Oct. 10, 2023, 2:40 p.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"Under Iranian law, only non-Muslim citizens are permitted to consume alcohol for religious purposes, while dancing with the opposite sex is forbidden"(para 16).
Sept. 8, 2023, 3:10 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: IIP-PRACTICE-1, IIP-LAW-1

"In November, women were banned from parks, gyms and public baths in the capital" (para 26). "Prior to Tuesday's announcement [banning women from attending university], universities had already been operating under discriminatory rules for women since the Taliban takeover in 2021. There were gender segregated entrances and classrooms, and female students could only be taught by women professors or old men" (para 31-32).
July 30, 2023, 5:25 a.m.
Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"M.B.S. indeed abolished the ban on women driving, which had always stood out as an outlandish source of international scorn...He also removed some of the legal enforcements of the dreaded guardianship system, which consigned every Saudi woman to the near total control of a male family member" (Parag. 6) "The recent reforms [of 2022] mean that if a woman has been born or married into a clan of freethinking men willing to let her do things, the state will not interfere. But for the many Saudi women who lack a benevolent male guardian, there is no remedy. If, for example, a woman’s husband or father doesn’t think she should get...more
July 12, 2023, 10:28 p.m.
Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"M.B.S. indeed abolished the ban on women driving, which had always stood out as an outlandish source of international scorn...He also removed some of the legal enforcements of the dreaded guardianship system, which consigned every Saudi woman to the near total control of a male family member" (Parag. 6) "The recent reforms [of 2022] mean that if a woman has been born or married into a clan of freethinking men willing to let her do things, the state will not interfere. But for the many Saudi women who lack a benevolent male guardian, there is no remedy. If, for example, a woman’s husband or father doesn’t think she should get...more
June 19, 2023, 1:46 p.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: IIP-LAW-1, SRACE-LAW-1

"Women have continually been barred from sporting events, part of a long-running government obsession 'to go to great lengths to enforce their discriminatory and cruel ban on women attending football stadiums,' as Tara Sepehri Far of Human Rights Watch said. The chief prosecutor in Isfahan announced in 2019 that it was illegal and 'un-Islamic' for women to ride bicycles in public. Male hairdressers have been banned from serving female clients. Even women's Zumba aerobic classes have been prohibited, with the head of public sports in Iran banning the Colombian dance-inspired fitness craze 'and any harmonious movement or body shaking instruction.' " (para.11).
May 22, 2023, 2:59 p.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"Rashno is not the first person to suffer violent repression as a result of going viral on the internet. In 2014, six Iranians – three men and three women – were sentenced to one year in prison and 91 lashes after a video of them dancing in Tehran to Pharrell Williams’s song Happy had more than 150,000 views" (Para.7). "Since 2015, the Iranian government has been phasing in biometric identity cards, which include a chip that stores data such as iris scans, fingerprints and facial images. Researchers worry that this information will now be used with facial recognition technology to identify people who violate the mandated dress code, both in...more
April 1, 2023, 9:26 p.m.
Countries: Uzbekistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"[I]n 2017, the legislation adopted included:...the Natural and Legal Persons’ Petitions Act (new version) of 11 September 2017..." (3)(NF - CODER COMMENT - The law stipulates that women should not be rejected from voicing their concers. This also prohibits government officials from refusing to provide hotlines, conferences, or other forms of communication to citizens).
March 4, 2023, 12:20 a.m.
Countries: Turkmenistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"But there has been no official announcement of any new laws, even though the new restrictions are being enforced by law enforcement officers and managers and directors at state companies" (Para. 19).
Feb. 18, 2023, 9:46 a.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"Outside the capital there were some signs that Saturday's announcement was fuelling stricter oversight of women's dress. A doctor in southeastern Afghanistan said Taliban officials had told her not to treat female patients who did not have a male chaperone and were not fully covered" (Para.13-14).
Feb. 18, 2023, 9:36 a.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"Few places in Afghanistan are run by women. Public life and business are male-dominated and, since the Taliban’s takeover, even more women have vanished from view. While some say they are stuck in conservative societal structures that rarely let them take control, others fear draconian new rules, the travel and education bans" (Para.1). " 'We actually had a few men working here before the Taliban took over, but since this is mostly a maternity hospital, they kicked them out. Today it’s women working for women,' Jagona Faizli, a gynaecologist, tells the Guardian" (Para.4). "Faizli, 31, says her position at the hospital has given her the opportunity to talk openly and...more
Feb. 13, 2023, 10:57 a.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

[C]leric Jalilullah Akhundzada, head of the Dar al-Uloom seminary in the western Afghan city of Herat, who issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, in support of girls' education in March. Akhunzada was not available to speak to NPR, but his son, known as Mualana Muhibullah, said his father's fatwa was an 'expression of truth and reality which needed to be told,'he said. 'Girls and women should have the right to educate and be educated, but by preserving the conditions needed for a Muslim girl,' he said, referring to strict gender segregation and conservative clothes. 'If a woman is educated, she can raise better children and build a better society.' (Para.7-9).more
Jan. 13, 2023, 3:34 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"The Taliban have banned women from entering Kabul’s parks and gyms, accusing them of breaking Islamic laws in the capital. A spokesman from the vice and virtue ministry said that Afghans managing the city’s parks, gyms and fairgrounds had been ordered to turn women away, including those with male chaperones. The Taliban had been enforcing gender segregation rules that gave women access to parks on three days a week — Sunday, Monday and Tuesday — while men were allowed to visit on the remaining four days." (para 1 - 3). "The ban is the latest draconian restriction on women’s rights and freedoms, including preventing women from travelling long distances without...more
Jan. 7, 2023, 10:02 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"[W]omen are barred from long-distance travel without a male 'guardian' to escort them" (para 2)."Officially, any woman travelling more than 75km (46 miles) or leaving the country needs a mahram" (para 8).
Jan. 2, 2023, 2:15 a.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"[G]uidance was issued that prohibits women from traveling outside of the country without a male escort (a mahram); expanding on earlier decrees stating that when traveling within Afghanistan and farther than 75 km from their home, they must be accompanied by a mahram and only in cases of necessity" (para 2).
Dec. 26, 2022, 5:35 p.m.
Countries: Qatar
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"Women have to obtain men's permission (usually their father's or brother's) to…travel" (para 3).
Dec. 19, 2022, 12:12 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"[T]he Taliban had imposed mahram, the requirement placed on women to be escorted by a male in public" (para 11).
Aug. 18, 2022, 10:34 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"Footage taken by an undercover camera crew inside Herat’s central jail found all the women interviewed had been incarcerated for minor infringements of strict Islamic law." (3) "Maryam said her friends had been arrested for taking a taxi without a male relative. When she went to the police to help she was arrested." (15) "Women should also stay at home if there is no important work to do outside, it adds. Khalid Hanafi, acting minister for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which replaced the previous women’s ministry, said: ‘We want our sisters to live with dignity and safety." (23)
March 19, 2022, 9:01 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: RCDW-LAW-1, IIP-LAW-1

"Their fears are grounded in the horrors unfolding across the country. In many districts captured by the Taliban, new rules have already been imposed, including restrictions on women’s movement. Women are not allowed to leave the house unless in the company of a male guardian and fully covered in the traditional burqa" (para 11).
Jan. 6, 2022, 12:09 p.m.
Countries: Somalia
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"There are no laws restricting on women intermingling with men in public or moving about in public society. Women are free to mingle with men in public spaces" (1).
Nov. 30, 2021, 2:34 p.m.
Countries: Palestine
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"Authorities generally prohibited public mixing of the sexes" (96).
Nov. 30, 2021, 2:33 p.m.
Countries: Israel
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"[T]he decision on entering municipal parks, which are a shared public space, cannot be made on the basis of religion, nationality, country of origin, gender, sexual orientation, or any other inherent characteristic" (46).
Oct. 15, 2021, 9:09 a.m.
Countries: Qatar
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"Women interviewed for the report described how their guardians denied them permission to drive, travel, study, work or marry someone of their own choosing. Some spoke of how this had affected their mental health, contributing to self-harm, depression, stress and suicidal thoughts" (para 5). "Even where they led 'privileged' lives, guardianship rules leave women treated 'as children', said 'Lolwa', 44, whose father agreed to let her drive when she was 33. 'When I am working in my job, I’m the one signing contracts. I am treated like an adult on one side but on the other side, I’m not an adult'" (para 13). "When Maadeed went public about her escape,...more
Aug. 3, 2021, 11:58 a.m.
Countries: Egypt
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"The proposed law also reportedly stipulates that a single mother who has guardianship over her children from a previous marriage must receive written permission from her ex-husband if she wishes to travel"(para 20).
July 30, 2021, 1:49 p.m.
Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: IIP-LAW-1

"The women are among more than a dozen activists, including men, arrested in the weeks before a ban on women driving cars in the conservative kingdom was lifted" (para 7).