Asia

Security forces used brute force to break up a peaceful demonstration by women in front of Nepal's parliament building on Tuesday and arrested nearly two dozen women, including the who's who of women's rights defenders, as the republic's communist-Maoist ruling alliance began following in the footsteps of the hated regime of deposed King Gyanendra.

The abuse and exploitation of unskilled migrants from South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka has long been considered one of the darker sides of the Middle East.

In recent years, several cases of such abuse have made world headlines, with human rights organisations claiming that Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and Dubai are not doing enough to protect foreign workers from their employers.

Women of Muslim countries should join hands to explore avenues for their empowerment and welfare, said Pakistan's Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Sunday.

“It's encouraging to see Saudi women engaged in economic activities and decision making, while observing the Islamic tenets and values,” she said while addressing a meeting at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).

Nothing is more telling about a society than its views of itself especially those of its youth who carry the burden of the nation's immediate future.

During informal interviews with Iranian teenage girls in and around schoolyards, one can learn many things about the character, bravery, thoughts, and worldliness of these young ladies, including their current place in society as opposed to what they would like it to be.

With just four days left before a potential constitutional meltdown, Nepal's communist-Maoist government Tuesday clamped prohibitions near the parliament building, banning all protests and rallies within a 50m radius.

Pakistani Christians have expressed concerns about renewed kidnappings and abuse of women and girls by Muslims in a country still reeling from the recent assassination of a Christian government minister.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said that Iran's Islamic system has made great efforts to elevate the status of women and allow them to regain their rightful position in society, but there is still much more to do.

One woman is leading the fight against the scourge of child sexual slavery, writes Courtney Trenwith.

Every day some 50 girls are pulled off buses at the Nepal-India border and saved – at the last minute – from a life of the worst kind of slavery.

At least twice as many more are not.

Taken over the border, they become trapped as victims in the heinous sex trafficking industry.

She is a keeper of healing secrets. Every now and then Nurun Nahar would gently squeeze a woman's hand and whisper, "It will hurt; you might not recognise your face, but if I can get through, so will you."

Millions of unemployed youth facing grim economic prospects have fueled the revolutions. Not surprisingly, women have played a prominent role too; across the region, they experience higher levels of unemployment than men, yet have rising economic expectations.