Women

Double Vision

By Atlantic Council

In Season 1, Episode 3 of empowerME Conversations podcast, host Amjad Ahmad interviews eyewa Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Anass Boumediene and Mehdi Oudghiri about the mindset that will create more entrepreneurs in the Middle East, policy changes that will lead to more unicorns, the acceleration of online payments and e-commerce, and new technologies that will soon replace in-person fitting rooms and eye tests.

Understanding “rape culture” in Bangladesh, India, & Pakistan

By Rudabeh Shahid, Kaveri Sarkar, and Azeem Khan

Countless examples of gender-based violence (GBV) in South Asia from last year raise significant concerns about so-called “progress” made in improving women’s standing and fighting rape culture in the region. Political discourse in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh is deeply misguided regarding such issues, often leading to systematic victim-blaming which—knowingly or unknowingly—helps the perpetrators.

It’s a mumz world

By Atlantic Council

In Season 1, Episode 2 of empowerME Conversations podcast, host Amjad Ahmad interviews Mumzworld Founder and CEO Mona Ataya about what it takes to be an entrepreneur, how the Middle East’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is radically changing, her company’s biggest policy pain points, and the future of customer personalization to the power of one.

Event recap: “Women’s gains in Afghanistan: Supporting economic opportunities for Afghan women as a driver of peace and security”

By Atlantic Council

On Thursday January 7, 2021, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center partnered with the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council (USAWC) and the American Council on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) to host an event on women’s gains in Afghanistan, the critical role of Afghan women in Afghanistan’s peace and security, and the role of US actors in partnering with and empowering Afghan women.

Taliban 2.0. – Have the Taliban really changed and learnt their lesson?

By Tamim Asey

With negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban under way, many in the West and Afghanistan are banking on the fact that the Taliban movement has changed and that, having failed to defeat them militarily, it is time to embrace them. Although the latter is indeed true - that we have failed to defeat the Taliban militarily - the former deserves more scrutiny.

Reimagining a just society pt. 2 | The end of an era

By Carol Dumaine

This blog post series will explore the meaning of a “just society” through multiple lenses and in the context of today’s challenges, including but not limited to the coronavirus pandemic. With contributions from multiple authors, it aims to stimulate thinking and questions that distill the prerequisites and responsibilities for “just societies” in our times. COVID-19 spotlights […]

The issue Ukraine’s first lady should champion vocally

By Laryssa Horodysky and Melinda Haring

A recent report by Amnesty International has highlighted the growing domestic violence crisis in war-torn eastern Ukraine. Coronavirus lockdown conditions are expected to add to the problem.

Gender equality can accelerate Latin America’s post-COVID-19 recovery: Men and boys must take part

By Valentina Sader, Cristina Guevara

In Latin America and the Caribbean, this year's Human Rights Day marks a grim trend as COVID-19 sets back decades of progress for women and girls. And without enlisting everyone, including men, in the fight for women’s empowerment, society’s ability to achieve gender equality is limited.

Middle East business leaders provide perspective on the economic impact of the upcoming US presidential election

In an empowerME survey conducted in the last thirty days, thirty-two Middle East business leaders shared their views on the possible economic impact of the 2020 US Presidential election. Atlantic Council experts Kirsten Fontenrose, Amjad Ahmad, Mohsin Khan, and Jean-Francois Seznec analyzed the data and provided the following key takeaways.

Afghan First Lady Rula Ghani: Women’s rights cannot be ‘the cost of peace’

By David A. Wemer

The progress Afghan women have made in the years since the fall of the Taliban regime could be at risk, Ghani said, should the Taliban be given too much power as part of a peace settlement.