The UN warned on Thursday that women and girls in Sudan are facing a “gender emergency” as the North Darfur state capital of El Fasher remains under siege, facing starvation, violence and a cholera outbreak. The UN Women representative in Sudan, Salvator Nkurunziza, warned that this leaves women and girls more vulnerable to abuse and [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday upheld an Oklahoma law that bans gender-affirming care for minors. The court affirmed the lower court’s ruling in favor of the law, finding no evidence that the bill was enacted with discriminatory intent towards transgender minors or their families. The court applied the “deeply [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called for the release of two imprisoned activists, Can Thi Theu and Le Dinh Luong, who are suffering from serious medical issues. According to HRW, Can Thi Theu and Le Dinh Luong have not received sufficient medical assistance in prison. Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at HRW, declared that [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday upheld a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) policy prohibiting settlement defendants from publicly denying enforcement allegations. The court found that the SEC rule is constitutionally permissible despite free speech concerns. The court applied the “voluntary waiver” framework established in the 1987 Supreme Court ruling, [...]

Amnesty International on Thursday demanded the release of those arrested at Istanbul’s banned Pride march in July.  The statement came ahead of their scheduled trial on Friday for violating a ban on Pride events issued by the governor of the city. In total, 53 individuals and three activists remain in detention after being arrested during [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Tuesday urged Iraqi authorities to reopen Al-Baghdadia TV’s satellite channel and to free its director and presenter, Ali Al-Dhabhawi. CPJ’s Levant Program Coordinator Doja Daoud blasted the concurrent enforcement actions, stating: The closure of Al-Baghdadia TV and the imprisonment of its director mark a deeply alarming escalation in [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Wednesday condemned  a recent surge in deadly attacks against civilians by M23 fighters and other armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The attacks come in spite of a June 27 ceasefire agreement between the DRC government and Rwanda, which backs the M23 [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called for the immediate and unconditional release of a former Macao lawmaker following his arrest on “national security” charges. The arrest marked the first time Macao, a Special Administrative Region of China, has invoked its sweeping Law on Safeguarding National Security.  Maya Wang, associate China director at HRW, said, [...]

The Taliban’s systematic use of Afghanistan’s legal and judicial system to target women and girls amounts to “crimes against humanity,” a United Nations human rights expert said in a report circulated Wednesday. Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, told the General Assembly that the Taliban have “weaponized” [...]

Government agency Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) reported Thursday that entrenched gender segregation in Australia’s labor market is holding back productivity and worsening long-term income inequality, particularly for First Nations and migrant women. The report, “New Perspectives on Old Problems: Gendered Jobs, Work and Pay,” is the first release in JSA’s Gender Economic Equality Study. [...]