- Saudi Arabia is planning to bring in a new law to allow female lawyers to argue cases in court for the first time. There are mixed reactions. More here.
- The USA Today profiles Iran’s first female Olympic skier, who says she is happy with her performance at the Winter Olympics. Islam Online and The Calgary Herald feature her, as well.
- Muslim women in Washington, D.C., lead a protest to remove gender partitions in the mosque on Embassy Row. More here.
- Jezebel highlights how a German ad that aims to eradicate female genital cutting misses the mark.
- Gulf News interviews the woman who helped ensure that the U.A.E. women’s national football team is now taking part in the West Asian Zone Championship.
- The Women’s Media Center examines Benazir Bhutto through the film Bhutto.
- Kenowna.com interviews author Sheema Khan about life as a Canadian Muslim.
- The Christian Science Monitor reports on Pakistan Fashion Week.
- In Malaysia, the Malaysian Chinese Association has expressed concern over the caning meted out on three Muslim women. The New Straits Times offers a similar concern, while AsiaOne says that citizens should be educated better on Shariah law. Either way, everyone’s paying attention for a long time to come.
- Shelina Zahra Janmohamed writes about the fact that, when it comes to women, we are still living in an age of Jahiliyyah.
- An exhibition filled with self-reflections of women from the U.A.E. made its debut at the UN Headquarters in New York.
- Various Arab-Bedouin women’s groups filed a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice against the National Insurance Institute claiming it disregards the reality of Bedouin women’s lives in determining the eligibility of abandoned women for income support payments.
- The National discusses the difficulties and necessities surrounding discussions of sexual assault in the media and the judiciary.
- Police in Bangalore, India, will pursue deportation of two Iranian women booked for offenses, including assaulting a policeman, if they are found guilty.
- The first meeting of the Arab Women Commission for International Humanitarian Law opened this week in Tunisia.
- The Christian Science Monitor reports on Indonesia’s morality police.
- A Jordanian man who murdered his sister and was sentenced to death has been given a reduced sentence of ten years.
- The Lancet publishes a brief outline of a new study that shows that exposure to political violence begets domestic violence.
- Iranian authorities have canceled a traditional music concert in the western city of Tabriz because two members of the band are women.
- If you’re an American Muslim, participate in this study about Islamic divorce in the U.S.
- Hijab Style interviews the three Malaysian women behind a new clothing brand named Zyra.
- Gulf News reports on how the Dubai Shopping Festival has established itself as an incubator for Emirati women entrepreneurs bidding to support their families and, in the process, contribute to the national economy.
- The Atlantic highlights the continuation of Afghan Model.
- According to local lingerie shops, the lingerie boycott in Saudi Arabia had no effect on their business.
- The body of Faiza Ashraf has been found in Solli, Sweden. May Allah give her peace and justice.
- The National profiles Oman’s only licensed female biker.
- Ayesha Nasir writes for Slate about the troubling fact that she–and many other Muslim women–do not read their marriage contracts.
- A prominent Saudi cleric has issued an edict calling for opponents of the kingdom’s strict segregation of men and women to be put to death if they refuse to abandon their ideas. Everyone is understandably wondering what the hell he’s thinking.
- The Telegraph reports that a council-run swimming pool has caused controversy after closing the pool to the public while it hosts Muslim women-only sessions.
- The Arab Times higlights how Kuwaiti women are increasing in number in the country’s police force.
- The Los Angeles Times profiles the Pakistani dupatta.
- In Oregon, beginning in the 2011-12 school year, teachers would be permitted to cover their heads or wear other dress that expresses a “sincerely held” religious belief.
- Controversy rages on about raising the marriage age minimum in Saudi Arabia.