North Africa and Middle East

KOLEA, Algeria: A string of white pearls around her neck, her hair tied in a bun, Louisa Hanoune, the only woman running for Algeria’s presidency, holds out her palms and declares: “I have clean hands.”

The remark triggers an outburst of celebratory ululations and chants of “Louisa! Louisa!” among supporters of the 60-year-old leftist candidate, who is widely popular in Algeria, even among conservatives hostile to feminism.

“I have clean hands,” she declares in a husky voice. “I have not held back, I have not sold off any businesses, I have not oppressed women.”

A year ago, Egyptian politician and women's rights activist Mervat Tallawy defied the Muslim Brotherhood to spearhead the adoption of a U.N. blueprint to combat violence against women. Now she's back campaigning against conservatives to ensure that equality for women remains at the top of the U.N. agenda.

Two thirds of Tunisians support women's participation in political life, according to the results of a survey presented Saturday in Tunis.

"The support for women's participation in politics is however less pronounced in the case women are members of respondents' families," noted the survey, since only 52% of respondents encourage women from their family circle to be involved in politics.

A quick look at the rights of women across Arab countries today. The article offers a snapshot of how women are fairing in different Arab countries.

We invite our users to read the complete article published March 8 2014

A new effort is under way in Egypt to engage more women in political life, to try to prepare them for future electoral contests.

There have been longstanding complaints about the lack of female representation in Egypt's parliament and cabinet.

We invite our users to read the complete article published March 8 2014