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

Latest items for RCDW-PRACTICE-1

Jan. 21, 2024, 10:39 a.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1, IIP-PRACTICE-2

"Four decades of brutal policing have also given unofficial permission to ordinary citizens whose religious and political ideologies align with the regime to take matters into their own hands. Long before the death of Mahsa Amini ignited the current uprising, a woman could be harassed for her appearances by any passerby merely because the government justifies policing women’s bodies. Videos of citizens arguing or physically confronting each other circulate on social media almost daily" (para 16).
Dec. 21, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Such treatment mirrors the tragic case of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old who was arrested last month for not wearing a hijab according to government standards and subsequently died in a Tehran hospital, having reportedly been beaten by police" (para 13). "Khodayari, who suffered from bipolar disorder, was spotted by security guards trying to attend an Asian Champions League match in March 2019 and was charged with ‘committing a sinful act by appearing in public without a hijab’, as well as ‘insulting officials'" (para 24). "'The women and men are separated so attending with your family is still a dream,' says Sepidah, who now lives overseas and requested her surname was...more
Dec. 20, 2023, 11:14 a.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"The dress code for women became an ideological pillar of the ruling clerical establishment, and is central to its identity. Iranian women have been challenging the dress code since its inception, embracing colorful robes, barely covering their hair in loose wraps and, in some cases, letting their head scarves drop onto their shoulders. The enforcement of the code has always been uneven and arbitrary, ranging from warnings, to fines and to arrests"(para 20-21).
Nov. 22, 2023, 5:13 p.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"[I]n Muslim majority areas [,] Muslim girls are required to wear long-sleeve shirts and long skirts, along with a jilbab... [T]he existence of the regulation adds to the pressure on girls and their families to wear one" (7). "In East Java, Pamekasan regency on Madura Island declared a Sharia regulation, mandating that Muslim women and girls wear the jilbab in public" (26). “The 2006 regulation has made the hijab longer and more restrictive for movement" (62). "Women are not allowed to show their aurat [a woman’s entire body except for the hands, feet, and face]" (73-74). "Ninety percent of female lecturers at her campus wear a jilbab. In her department,...more
Nov. 22, 2023, 4:58 p.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"We were all required to wear the jilbab. It was not a uniform, but every female student is supposed to wear a jilbab. It is not a regulation but is displayed on the billboards" (64).
Nov. 22, 2023, 4:53 p.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Human Rights Watch interviewed nine other Christian students in Solok and Padang, West Sumatra. They all said that they must wear the jilbab despite the 2014 national regulation ensuring religious freedom" (51). "[N]on-Muslim girls must wear a jilbab... [A]ll female students, Muslims and non-Muslims, were required to wear jilbabs" (53). "In government offices in urban areas in Tasikmalaya, female civil servants are still allowed to wear pants with the jilbab, but in rural areas they are required to wear a long skirt instead" (60-61). "[A]pproximately 10 to 20 percent of the female workforce at the ministry, including doctors and nurses, did not wear a hijab before the decree, but that...more
Nov. 22, 2023, 4:52 p.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Muslim girls were now required to wear the jilbab a long-sleeve shirt, and a long skirt, and non-Muslim girls were required to wear a long skirt [to school]" (28). "[Illustrations in the appendices show] the 'Muslim girl' (Muslimah) uniform, which is the long-skirt and long-sleeve shirt option with the addition of a jilbab" (30). "Many schools regulate headscarves to the tiniest detail, specifying that the fabric should not be transparent, no hair should show, and girls cannot have a hair-bun. Some schools use measures that stigmatize girls, damage their clothing, and even threaten them with expulsion for not wearing the jilbab to enforce its wearing. Yet, many girls deliberately wear...more
Nov. 22, 2023, 4:51 p.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"In 2001, three regencies in West Java and West Sumatra began requiring the jilbab in schools. Other regencies, mostly on Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi islands, began to issue similar ordinances, making female teachers and students wear a jilbab" (4). "Sharia-inspired regulation of female dress in other domains remains limited to the provincial or local level" (5). "[N]early all state school children, from grade 1 to grade 12, regularly wear the officially mandated Pramuka clothes to school at least once a week. Regardless of whether girls choose to participate in extracurricular scouting activities, they are required to wear the uniform and, accordingly, jilbabs" (6). "Christian girls are sometimes compelled to wear...more
Nov. 22, 2023, 4:50 p.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Muslim provinces, such as Yogyakarta, have adopted similar regulations but have not made them mandatory, instead 'calling on' or 'advising' Muslim girls and women to wear the jilbab" (8). "75 percent of Muslim women in Indonesia, or approximately 80 million women and girls, were wearing the hijab. It is unclear how many do so voluntarily and how many do so under legal, social, or familial pressure or compulsion" (8).
Nov. 22, 2023, 4:50 p.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Dozens of non-Muslim girls, mostly Christians, who said that they were forced to wear the jilbab uniform even though they did not want to wear it on faith grounds" (36). "In Padang, a 19-year-old student told Human Rights Watch that she had tried to refuse to wear a jilbab, but her school had compelled her through threats and intimidation. She said, 'I actually refused, but what else could I do? Many of my classmates do not like to wear jilbabs. When they are out of school, they take off their jilbabs'" (41).
Nov. 22, 2023, 4:48 p.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"A Cianjur civil servant, who wears a jilbab, complained that she now faces pressure to wear gamis —a long dress to cover not only her hips but her feet—combined with a big hijab that covers her chest—restricting her when she rides a motorcycle” (62).
Nov. 22, 2023, 3:56 p.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"A lecturer at a public university in Jakarta who wishes to remain anonymous told Human Rights Watch that she was under pressure to wear a jilbab despite the absence of any campus regulation. She pointed to a huge billboard reminding all female visitors on campus to wear 'Islamic attire'... The constant pressures finally prompted her to resign in March 2020. She took a new job at a private university where she says she is not judged for teaching without a jilbab" (2).
Nov. 22, 2023, 12:31 p.m.
Countries: Syria
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1, IIP-PRACTICE-1

"[W]omen and girls over 9 years of age wear a black or dark brown jalabiya, a wide-cut, loose-fitting garment, when venturing outdoors. They may not wear dresses with bright colors, must cover their hair, and cannot wear makeup" (111).
Nov. 22, 2023, 12:28 p.m.
Countries: Syria
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"[B]etween September 2012 and November 2013, members of Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State (ISIS) required that women follow a strict dress code that mandated the abaya and jilbab and prohibited jeans, close-fitting clothing, and makeup" (110).
Nov. 22, 2023, 12:27 p.m.
Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"A single form of the loose black abaya became common attire for Saudi women until now" (109).
Nov. 22, 2023, 11:53 a.m.
Countries: Russia
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Chechen authorities prohibited women from working in the public sector and entering governmental buildings if they do not wear hijabs. Education authorities required female students to wear hijabs in schools and universities" (103).
Oct. 10, 2023, 2:40 p.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"A video purporting to show Tuesday's 'Go Skateboarding Day' event on Chamran Boulevard in Shiraz went viral in Iran on social media, prompting anger among conservative religious authorities in a country where the wearing of a Muslim hijab is mandatory for all women and teenage girls" (para 4)."A march is due to take place in Shiraz on July 15 after Friday prayers entitled 'Supporters of the sanctity of modesty, zeal and hijab' "(para 11)."But many have pushed the boundaries over the past two decades by allowing their head coverings to slide back and reveal more hair, especially in Tehran and other major cities"(para 15). "Iranian media on Sunday reported that...more
Sept. 6, 2023, 5:35 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Shocking footage shows female Afghan students being whipped by a Taliban official after they were barred from entering their university campus because they were not wearing burkas. The women, students at Badakhshan University in northeastern Afghanistan, said they were beaten by Taliban officials from the Ministry of Virtue and Vice for wearing hijabs - headscarves - instead of burkas. In a video posted on social media..., one of the Taliban government's guards can be seen chasing after the students with a whip and lashing them to disperse them. The footage shows dozens of women standing outside the university gates holding books and other school supplies as men are able to...more
June 19, 2023, 1:46 p.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"The story of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was killed by Iran's morality police for improperly wearing her hijab, has gone global. No one could have predicted when she left her home in Iran's northern Kurdistan province earlier this month to visit relatives in Tehran that her death would lead to national protests, rocking the Islamic Republic to its core while generating massive international media coverage" (para.1). "Men who publicly opposed the compulsory hijab were prosecuted. In January 2019, Reza Khandan and Farhad Meysami, two human rights activists, were given six-year prison sentences for expressing solidarity with hijab protesters" (para.13). "The intensified crackdown on women defying the hijab law set off...more
May 27, 2023, 2:02 a.m.
Countries: Egypt
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"On hijabi lifestyle social media groups, BBC News Arabic found what appears to be a growing trend, with women accusing numerous venues of refusing them entry if they are wearing a hijab" (Para.6). "BBC News Arabic tried to make a reservation at 15 upmarket venues across Cairo that had been accused online of discriminating against hijab-wearing women.Most of the venues asked for the social media profiles of all guests and 11 venues stated that head coverings were not allowed" (Para.9-10). "BBC News Arabic presented the evidence to Adel El Masry, chairman of the Chamber of Tourism Establishments and Restaurants. 'Never in any era of the ministry of tourism has a...more
May 22, 2023, 2:59 p.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1, SEGI-PRACTICE-2

"The decree was signed on 15 August, a month after the 12 July national 'Hijab and Chastity Day', which sparked countrywide protests by women who posted videos of themselves on social media with their heads uncovered on streets and on buses and trains. In recent weeks, the Iranian authorities have responded with a spate of arrests, detentions and forced confessions on television."(Para.3).
May 12, 2023, 11:31 a.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"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 the streets and cyberspace." (Para.8).
May 12, 2023, 11:26 a.m.
Countries: Albania
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Drande says his choice to become a burrnesha gave him more acceptance in society. Wherever I went, I received special respect and it felt good. I was respected as a man and not as a woman... I felt more free this way,' he says." (Para.58-59).
March 4, 2023, 8:13 a.m.
Countries: Canada
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Éloÿse Paquet Poisson wasn’t intending to make a political statement when she stripped off her shirt on a recent hot, sunny day. Like so many of the men around her in the Quebec City park, she was just trying to cool down. But what happened next, described in a Facebook post that has since gone viral, nevertheless underscores the extent to which women’s bodies remain a battleground — politically, culturally and socially. As she sat topless on a blanket, doing macramé and smoking a cigarette, a lone police officer approached Paquet Poisson and asked her to cover up. She said no and he left. But he soon returned with reinforcements....more
Feb. 18, 2023, 9:46 a.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"A seller of all-enveloping burqas in Kabul told Reuters in the days after the announcement sellers had lifted prices around 30%, but they had since come back to around 1,300 Afghanis ($15) as there was no increased demand.'Most women prefer to buy a hijab (a headscarf), not a burqa. A burqa is good according to the Taliban, but it is the women's last choice,' he said" (Para.9-10). "Reuters spoke to two female doctors and a teacher - the few formal jobs still available to women - who said that covering faces and wearing loose garments would interfere with their work" (Para.11). "A university student in northern Afghanistan said university officials...more
Feb. 14, 2023, 6:11 p.m.
Countries: Turkmenistan
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Husbands can be fined if their wives receive certain beauty or cosmetic treatments" (para 2). "Since April, police have detained dozens of women in the street for wearing false nails and eyelashes, or other beauty accessories. Police also hunt for women who they believe might have had lip fillers and other cosmetic adjustments" (para 5). "Such treatments as cutting or dyeing hair, eyelash extensions, manicures, or beauty injections or surgery have become taboo. The authorities are reported to have carried out raids on salons in the autocratic state. Some women are detained for appearing 'too promiscuous'. Now women are pressured to wear traditional Turkmen dress, and a ban has been...more
Feb. 2, 2023, 1:11 p.m.
Countries: Austria
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1, RCDW-LAW-1, SRACE-LAW-1

"Furthermore, the Committee is concerned about the following: (a) The decision taken by the State party to ban 'ideologically or religiously influenced clothing' in schools and that it may have a discriminatory impact on migrant girls...It also urges the State party: (a) To mandate the conduct of a comprehensive study to determine the impact of the Education in School Law, which entered into force in June 2019, banning the wearing of 'ideologically or religiously influenced clothing' for girls under 10 years of age in primary schools, on the right to education of girls and their inclusion in all facets of Austrian society as full members of the community and indicate...more
Jan. 18, 2023, 11:20 p.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Amini was visiting Tehran with her family on 13 September when she was arrested by morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict hijab law" (para 8).
Jan. 16, 2023, 9:44 a.m.
Countries: United States
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Instead, we are confined to what I call an 'invisible corset': a set of culturally-inherited beliefs that make women as uncomfortable, unhappy, and restricted as whalebone corsets once did. (Notably, Kim Kardashian sells a corset of her own, rebranded as a 'waist trainer.')" (para 8). "Even fashion trends hurt women. High heels cause all sorts of back, knee, and foot problems for women who wear them regularly. Arthritis, injuries, bunions, and shortened tendons in the calves, leading to life-long pain, are all side-effects of wearing heels long-term. During the Covid lockdowns, high heel sales dropped 71%, suggesting that women are, in fact, not wearing these shoes for their own enjoyment...more
Jan. 7, 2023, 11:15 a.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: RCDW-PRACTICE-1

"Zainab says Taliban authorities have informally allowed her to run [a tutoring] center, provided the girls obey strict dress codes. And they do: The teenagers filter in wearing black robes, headscarves and face masks" (para 25).