- The Saudi Arabian Department of Civil Affairs will begin issuing ID cards for women that do not require male guardianship.
- In Pakistan, the family of a woman murdered by her husband’s family is seeking justice at the national level. May Allah give the victim and her family peace and justice.
- The Media Line asks whether Iraq’s women miss Saddam Hussein.
- Imam Zaid Shakir writes about the “ethics of chivalry” at emel magazine.
- U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan have been accused of digging bullets out of the dead bodies of three Afghan women in an attempted cover-up of a bungled raid.
- The Cairo-based Al Nour Wal Amal orchestra, comprised of 38 visually-challenged female musicians, will tour India.
- Dalia Mogahed evaluates women’s freedom in the Middle East after the release of Freedom House’s report on women’s rights in the region.
- At The American Prospect, Monica Potts points out the sexism in coverage of male vs. female suicide bombers. Great example: Salon’s piece about female suicide bombers. Or another piece by the Christian Science Monitor.
- In Egypt, clinics that offer baby gender selection have caused a stir with conservative Islamic groups.
- Indian tennis star Sania Mirza has announced her engagement to Pakistani Shoaib Malik.
- Women’s rights activist Shadi Sadr has won the top prize at the Movies That Matter Film Festival in connection with her central role in the documentary Women in Shroud (Zanan dar Kafan).
- In Belgium, a man who strangled his wife to death in 2007 has been sentenced to 24 years in jail. May Allah give her peace and justice.
- At Religion Dispatches, Hussein Rashid argues against the separation of men and women in Mecca.
- Burqa Ban link dump! Salon, Bitch magazine, Racialicious, The Daily Beast, The Toronto Star, and the Canadian Herald. You can visit a website devoted to stopping the Quebec ban of the niqab for ways to get involved.
- Also, Canadian police forces in different parts of the country say charges will be laid against anyone who refuses to remove religious face-coverings such as Muslim niqabs when being booked after an arrest.
- A women’s bill in India is currently stalled because a request to include Muslim women in the bill is seen negatively.
- The Daily Star argues that an Arab woman should head a coalition of gender groups at the U.N.
- A Turkish television series has outraged some female Palestinian prisoners, who believe they have been portrayed poorly in the serial.
- A 13-year-old Yemeni girl who had been forced into marriage died five days after her wedding when she suffered a rupture in her sex organs and hemorrhaging, a local human right’s organization said. May Allah give her peace and justice. In light of this, Feministe examines the issues surrounding child marriages.
- The New York Times gets around to discussing the Egyptian State Council ban on female judges.
- In Australia, a woman died when her headscarf became entangled in a go-kart. May Allah give her and her family peace.
- FIFA will not allow hijab, which has caused a serious problem for the Iranian Women’s team. More from Fars News Agency, The Washington Post, The Sydney Morning Herald, ESPN, and USA Today.
- Hürriyet Daily News debunks some myths about women, sexuality, and Islam.
- The Guardian writes about the struggle for gender equality in Egypt. More from Common Ground News.
- The National profiles Amal Al Maliki, a Qatari academic who aims to draw more woman into academia.
- TwoCircles.net discusses the differences between a generation in Indian Muslim women’s education.
- Shaista Gohir, a founding member of the U.K.’s National Muslim Women’s Advisory Group, has resigned and called the group a “political fad.”
- The Vancouver Sun reports on Canada’s upcoming anti-polygamy law.
- Diva Emma Shah has been blasted for singing Hebrew at a Kuwaiti function.
- elan discusses the Community episode I blasted a few weeks ago.
- Feministing reports that French designers sent veiled models down the runway to protest the burqa ban.
