Studying in a Saudi Arabian state school as a child in the late 1990s, I encountered the strangest things. While we were encouraged to visit the library to read, the books in my school library were unlike anything one would suggest for a little girl. The one that I will always remember was a book…
When my organization, Empower Women Media, surveyed over 7,000 people across the Middle East, North Africa, Nigeria, and Pakistan, more than 95 percent agreed that women deserve protection from religious persecution. But for countless women, this consensus has yet to translate into reality. In many parts of the world, religion is wielded as a weapon…
As the US withdraws much of its government funding for foreign aid work, advocates are anxiously asking: who will fill the aid gap? Meanwhile, there are no signs that other democratic countries will step in. These questions have never been more pressing. The gap left by retreating aid agencies dangerously allows space for China, Islamists,…