Victories for Marijuana Legalisation, Same-Sex Marriage at U.S. Polls

In addition to the victories of the Democratic Party in retaining the presidency and the U.S. Senate, and of the Republican Party in retaining the U.S. House, there were major issue-related victories in Tuesday's election whose common threads are personal liberty and human rights.

Parents Worry After Malala Attack

Young schoolgirls seemed undeterred by the attempt to kill Malala Yousafzai, but parents in northern Pakistan are becoming increasingly concerned over their children going to school.

Migrants in Poland Find a Voice At Last

It took hunger strikes and a case like Layla Naimi’s to push authorities in Poland to amend laws dealing with irregular migrants.

Egypt’s Women Rebel Against Harassment

Egyptian bullies who sexually harass women in the streets, often taking advantage of mob situations and the anonymity these provide, are getting a taste of their own medicine - and they don’t like it.

Egypt Revolution Makes It Worse for Women

During the uprising that toppled Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak women stood shoulder to shoulder with men in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, pressing the revolution’s demands for freedom, justice and dignity. But those who hoped the revolution would make them equal partners in Egypt’s future claim they may be worse off now than under Mubarak’s authoritarian rule.

‘Malala’s Cause Is Our Cause’

Less than two weeks after being left for dead by the Taliban, Malala Yousafzai is standing up on her own two feet.

Girls Determined to Fight Guns With Books

Shazia Begum, one of three girls injured in the attack on the Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai says the Taliban had sought to silence a very influential schoolgirl.

Q&A: Tracing Hate Crimes to the Fear of the “Outsider”

Donald P. Green is a U.S. professor of political science who turns theories about hate crime upside down with his research.

Murder Tops Crimes by Women in Afghanistan

The number of Afghan women being jailed for murder has been increasing every year, officials say. More than a quarter of the 700 women in prison are serving murder sentences.

Israeli Women Fight Orthodox Curbs

After filing the first-ever class-action lawsuit on the issue of gender segregation in Israel, a local religious women’s rights group says it hopes to protect the rights of women in the public sphere of Israeli society.

Criticism of Uganda’s Government Leads to Harassment of NGOs

In the face of rising public criticism over a range of controversial political manoeuvres, the Ugandan government has become increasingly hostile to the work of non-governmental organisations, particularly those advocating for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch.

U.S.: Police Treat Condoms as Contraband, Rights Group Says

How many condoms is it legal to carry around in your pocket? That’s the question sex workers in the United States are asking after being routinely targeted by police for having prophylactics – not in itself a crime.

67 Minutes of Shame on African Icon Nelson Mandela’s Birthday

Wendy Hlophe* is still visibly grieving for her long-term friend, 28-year-old Sanna Supa, who was shot and killed outside her home in Braamficherville, a South African township, two weeks ago.

Archaic Laws Stymie HIV/AIDS Work in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has long enjoyed a low 0.1 percent HIV prevalence but, as the number of fresh infections rises steadily, experts are calling for a change in the country's archaic laws that make sex work illegal and criminalises homosexual activity. 

FILM: Murder and Threats Can’t Stop Fight for Gay Rights in Uganda

In Uganda, like in many sub-Saharan African countries, same-sex relationships are illegal and punishable by incarceration in prison for up to 14 years, legislation that is supported by a majority of Ugandans and influenced by the lobbying efforts of U.S. evangelical churches.

Treatment of Gays No Better in South Africa

When Junior Mayema boarded a plane to South Africa from his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010, he cried tears of joy because he was finally heading to a country where he could live openly as a gay man.

Trans Community Makes Slow Progress in Vietnam

The restaurant Thuy Linh sits by one of Saigon’s black, soupy canals at the edge of District Three. Though operating in an area already full of restaurants and cafes it doesn’t struggle for business.

CARIBBEAN: Gay Rights Slowly Coming Out of the Closet

Over the past six months, governments in two influential Caribbean trade bloc member states – Jamaica and Guyana - have floated political test balloons on the question of whether colonial-era laws criminalising homosexuality should be amended in keeping with trends in most Western states.

Battle Rages to Stretch the Legal Concept of Family in Nicaragua

A bill under discussion in the Nicaraguan parliament has unleashed a nationwide debate on the concept of family.

South Africa’s ‘Traditional Courts Bill’ Impairs Rights of 12 Million Rural Women

The Traditional Courts Bill currently under discussion in South Africa’s parliament and due to be enacted by the end of 2012 could undermine the basic rights of some of the country’s most vulnerable inhabitants: the 12 million women living in remote rural communities across the country.

Q&A: How Sex Education Programs Can Shape a Better Future

In Latin American countries and in the Caribbean, where income disparities are among the greatest in the world, too many people often lack access to comprehensive health services and information needed to live healthy lives.