27 Articles
👁 A wide view of the room shows Secretary-General António Guterres on a screen at left in the background, with curved rows of desks facing the screen in the photo's foreground.
What the Latest Session of the Commission on the Status of Women Reveals About Global Rights
CSW emphasized that women are at the forefront of combating global backsliding, and preserving their rights remains central to protecting rule of law and global stability.
Mar. 31, 2026
Beth Van Schaack, Jessica Anania and 1 more
👁 Two Afghan women wearing, from left to right, a light blue and a darker blue burqa sit on the ground with baskets in front of them and what appears to be a more formal market stall behind them, in Mazar-i-Sharif on October 2, 2025. At the left of the photo next to the women is a wheelbarrow turned against a wall. (Photo by ATIF ARYAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Walls of Silence, Crumbling Futures: Why the World Must Act on Afghanistan
The credibility of the U.N.'s human rights framework depends on whether it can confront a systematic experiment in gender oppression with more than statements of alarm.
Nov. 12, 2025
Hanifa Girowal
👁 A Guatemalan woman touches a map of the United States
In Immigration Decision K-E-S-G-, a Break with Precedent Turns Back the Clock on Women’s Rights
A recent Board of Immigration Appeals ruling could seriously undermine protection for women fleeing fundamental human rights violations.
Sep. 12, 2025
Karen Musalo
👁 Police officers and medical team members gather at a cemetery in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on July 28, 2025, as they begin the exhumation of a girl's grave. Authorities order the exhumation to conduct a post-mortem examination and establish the cause of death following allegations that the girl was killed under orders from a jirga, an informal tribal court. Suspects are brought to the site for identification as part of the investigation. The incident has sparked public outcry and renewed scrutiny over the role of illegal jirgas, which continue to operate outside the formal legal system in parts of Pakistan. Human rights activists condemn the extrajudicial process and call for legal reforms and stronger protections for women. The case underscores the ongoing challenges of enforcing state law in rural and semi-urban areas where customary practices still hold sway. (Photo by RAJA IMRAN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
When Law Fails Women: Jirgas, Gender Violence, and the Collapse of International Accountability
When women are walked to their deaths with the world watching, international law must offer more than words. It must deliver protection with power.
Sep. 3, 2025
Mahwish Moazzam
👁 In this picture taken on March 5, 2025, Afghan niqab-clad women walk along a street on the outskirts of Kabul. Since the Taliban came back to power in Kabul in August 2021, they have imposed broad restrictions on women based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Women have been squeezed out of public life in what the United Nations has labelled "gender apartheid." (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Gender Apartheid Should Be an International Crime
All States should ensure the inclusion of gender apartheid in international law, including in the draft crimes against humanity treaty.
Jul. 14, 2025
Heather Barr, Macarena Saez and 1 more
👁 Taliban security personnel keep watch after the Eid al-Adha prayers at a checkpoint in Kabul on June 7, 2025. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)
The Taliban’s Slow Dismantling of Afghan Media
The slow death of Afghan media is a tragedy not just for the many brave Afghan journalists, but for the country as a whole.
Jul. 10, 2025
Olof Blomqvist
👁 Posters are displayed on the ground during a rally in support of the Iranian people and the Women Life Freedom movement
Open-Source Information Provides Powerful Evidence of Gender Crimes in Iran and Beyond
Digital open source data can be ethically deployed to strengthen investigations and prosecutions on gender crimes in Iran and elsewhere.
Jun. 18, 2025
Andrea Richardson and Alexa Koenig
👁 A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran shows an Iranian police officer (C) raising a baton to disperse demonstrators during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran on September 19, 2022. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
A Roadmap for Justice in Iran: An Update from the UN’s Fact-Finding Mission
Leaders of the U.N. Independent Fact-Finding Mission in Iran provide a path for accountability, reparations, and steps for the international community to provide support.
Jun. 11, 2025
Sara Hossain, Viviana Krsticevic and 1 more
👁 People take part in a protest in Trafalgar Square after marching through London ahead of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, on September 13, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Safeguarding Evidence: The Coalition that Preserved Content from Iran’s “Women, Life, Freedom” Protests
Woman, Life, Freedom victims and survivors have been asking the world for help. It is time to amplify their calls and turn these cries for justice into reality.
Jun. 11, 2025
Jessica Peake, Nushin Sarkarati and 1 more
👁 Afghan burqa-clad women walk past a Taliban security personnel along a street in Jalalabad
Suing the Taliban at the ICJ Over Abuses of Afghan Women Isn’t a Panacea. Countries Must Do More Now.
Beyond suing the Taliban and awaiting a potential ICJ case, the international community should meaningfully act on women's rights now.
Jan. 3, 2025
Jayne Huckerby
👁 General Assembly Hall of United Nations
Progress on Gender Justice Continues as States Consider Next Steps on Draft Crimes Against Humanity Treaty
This fall, a number of States expressed support for the inclusion of various gender justice proposals in a potential future treaty.
Nov. 18, 2024
Kelly Adams
👁 The photo shows the worker with something that looks like a broom in the shadows of a covered, exterior corridor.
Adding Gender to Apartheid in International Law: But Where?
Could discussions about the revival of the Apartheid Convention provide a basis for rethinking the approach to the codification of gender apartheid?
Sep. 6, 2024
Shadi Sadr