Women's rights and gender equality

‘Why are you doing this to me?’: how one woman survived two years of slavery on a Spanish farm

by The Guardian | Jul 30, 2026 | Europe, Forced labour, Global development, Human rights, Human trafficking, Migration and development, Modern slavery, Spain, The Guardian, Women, Women's rights and gender equality, World News | 0 |

Fatima left her family behind in Morocco for seasonal work in Spain. But the dreams of a better life quickly turned into exploitation, squalid conditions and violenceAt the farm in the northwestern Spanish region of Castile and...

‘When she turns eight they will take her’: rising number of Afghan girls being sold into child marriage

by The Guardian | Jul 15, 2026 | Afghanistan, Child marriage, Global development, Poverty, Society, South and Central Asia, Taliban, The Guardian, Women under the Taliban, Women's rights and gender equality | 0 |

Afghanistan is seeing a resurgence in underage brides and mothers as desperate families sell their children in order to eatSima* is 18, but has already given birth four times. Her youngest is a newborn, the eldest is four....

The Taliban’s war on education: ‘Nobody talks about what is happening to the boys’

by The Guardian | Jul 13, 2026 | Afghanistan, Education, Global development, Global education, Higher education, Human rights, Islam, Journalism education, Media, South and Central Asia, Student experience, Taliban, The Guardian, Universities, Women under the Taliban, Women's rights and gender equality, World News | 0 |

Five years after the ultra-conservative Islamists retook Afghanistan, students describe male pupils being beaten for minor rule breaches and inexperienced teachers struggling to deliver lessonsBefore he leaves for Kabul...

Overseas education project for women and girls axed by UK after two years

by The Guardian | Jul 4, 2026 | Africa, Child marriage, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Education, Foreign policy, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Global development, Global education, Higher education, Politics, South Sudan, The Guardian, UK news, Universities, Women's rights and gender equality, World News, Yvette Cooper | 0 |

The programme, aimed at keeping 1m girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, withdrawn after aid cutsA leading higher education programme, aimed at keeping 1 million girls in school across Africa, Asia and the...

Overseas education project for women and girls axed by UK after two years

by The Guardian | Jul 4, 2026 | Africa, Child marriage, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Education, Foreign policy, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Global development, Global education, Higher education, Politics, South Sudan, The Guardian, UK news, Universities, Women's rights and gender equality, World News, Yvette Cooper | 0 |

The programme, aimed at keeping 1m girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, withdrawn after aid cutsA leading higher education programme, aimed at keeping 1 million girls in school across Africa, Asia and the...

‘I don’t know how to save my daughter from her husband’: the brutal reality of the Taliban’s new marriage law

by The Guardian | Jun 23, 2026 | Afghanistan, Child marriage, Human rights, Sexual violence, South and Central Asia, Taliban, The Guardian, Women's rights and gender equality, World News | 0 |

The latest decree from Afghanistan’s rulers makes it impossible for women and girls to leave unwanted or abusive relationships, even with family supportWhen Fatima arrived at a district court in northern Afghanistan in late 2025...

‘Have you ever been around someone you just know is evil?’ Melinda French Gates on meeting Jeffrey Epstein, giving away billions, and her post-divorce peace

by The Guardian | Jun 13, 2026 | Bill Gates, Computing, Global development, Jeffrey Epstein, Melinda French Gates, Microsoft, Philanthropy, Society, Technology, The Guardian, Women's health, Women's rights and gender equality | 0 |

The philanthropist always saw Epstein for who he really was – despite his meetings with her then husband Bill Gates. Now carving out a life on her own terms, she explains why she’s focused on the fight for women’s healthMelinda...

‘My 15-year-old relative was killed for refusing to marry her cousin. My family celebrated by dancing in the street’

by The Guardian | Jun 1, 2026 | Child marriage, Forced marriage, Middle East and North Africa, The Guardian, Violence against women and girls, Women's rights and gender equality, World News | 0 |

Horrified by the recent murder of Kawthar al-Husayjawi, one of her female relatives describes what happened – and her fears for other women and girls forced into early marriage in IraqThe men of my tribe [extended family]threw...

One year on: how Scotland’s landmark ruling on single-sex spaces has changed lives

by The Guardian | Apr 15, 2026 | Equality Act 2010, Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Human rights, Law, LGBTQ+ rights, Society, The Guardian, Transgender, UK news, UK supreme court, Women, Women's rights and gender equality | 0 |

Some campaigners are frustrated at slow pace of change, while those impacted are trying to work out what it means day-to-dayA year ago, the supreme court made its landmark judgment on single-sex spaces. In a long-running case...

‘We want to give them their names back’: the team identifying Europe’s forgotten female murder victims

by The Guardian | Mar 9, 2026 | Interpol, Society, The Guardian, Violence against women and girls, Women's rights and gender equality, World News | 0 |

Interpol’s DNA unit is helping bring closure to families of murder victims, whose names may be unknown for decadesIn the shadow of Antwerp’s main arena, close to the city’s docklands, runs the Groot Schijn River. It was here...

The secret Afghan women’s book club defying the Taliban to read Orwell

by The Guardian | Feb 19, 2026 | Afghanistan, Global development, South and Central Asia, Taliban, The Guardian, Women under the Taliban, Women's rights and gender equality, World News | 0 |

Banned from education, a clandestine reading circle meets every week to pour over novels by Abbas Maroufi, Zoya Pirzad and Ernest HemingwayFour young women sit together, waiting for the phone to ring. When the call finally...

‘It’s not the 90s any more’: the all-women team reinventing abortion advice for the TikTok age

by The Guardian | Jan 13, 2026 | Abortion, Americas, Colombia, Global development, Reproductive rights, The Guardian, Women's rights and gender equality, World News | 0 |

The irreverent approach of the Colombian hotline Jacarandas has made it the most-followed abortion account on social media in the Spanish-speaking worldWhat do a purple cartoon cat and abortion have in common? Nothing – and that...

Category: Women’s rights and gender equality