King Abdullah swore in Saudi Arabia's first female members of the Shura Council on Tuesday. One fifth of the new Shura Council is comprised of women, with a total of 30 female members.  The Council is remodeling its ...

A group of Saudi women and children were arrested last weekend after publicly demanding the release of relatives that have been held by the state for years without access to a lawyer.  The women were arrested because protests are illegal in ...

Libya's  General National Congress voted Wednesday to directly elect the 60  members to the Constitutional Commission. A  previous National Transitional Council declaration stipulated that the members would be appointed, but disagreements over the makeup of the body's membership ...

A 28-year-old protester died early Monday morning after allegedly being tortured to death, an Egypt opposition party charges. Mohammed el Gindy was protesting in Tahrir Square last month on the second anniversary of the country's revolution  before going missing ...

A new brief published by the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center details the grim prospects for women's rights under the country's constitution, adopted by public referendum in December.  The author, Moushira Khattab, a former Egyptian ambassador ...

Monday marked two years since protests began in Tunisia and sparked uprisings across the Middle East. Thousands of secular Tunisians protested the Islamist government on the revolution's anniversary, expressing frustration with unemployment, rising prices, and religious violence. Although analyses ...

In a letter released today to President Obama, Foreign Policy Initiative, the Project on Middle East Democracy, Freedom House, and Reporters Without Borders expressed their concern over apparent stalled progress and regression in "crucial areas." The letter ...

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia executed Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan maid convicted of killing the infant she was caring for in 2005. Nafeek was 17 when the incident occurred, and she was tried and sentenced. She spoke no Arabic but ...

United Arab Emirates police are questioning a group of women over their alleged membership in a women's branch of an organization accused of attempting to overthrow the government. The interrogations come just days after UAE authorities arrested 10 ...

Omanis abroad began voting earlier this week in Oman's first municipal council elections, which will conclude with the official voting day of December 22. Omanis have a choice of 1,475 candidates, including 46 women, to fill ...

Interior Minister Sayyid Hamoud bin Faisal al-Busaidi of Oman announced today that elections for Municipal Councils will be held on December 22. Roughly 1,636 candidates, including 49 women, will compete for a total of 192 seats in ...

The trial of ex-Qahafi Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi began on November 12, but was adjourned until December 10 to allow the defense and prosecution additional time to review case documents. Mahmoudi has been charged with embezzlement and corruption, in addition ...

According to Finance Minister Mumtaz al-Said, the Egyptian government expects to sign a memorandum of understanding with the International Monetary Fund for a $4.8 billion loan. Reuters says, "The government wants the $4.8 billion IMF loan to help ...

The trial of 43 NGO employees in Egypt, the proceedings of which have been denounced by U.S. officials, has been postponed until December 2. The employees were charged with “leading unregistered organizations and receiving illegal foreign funding.” However, ...

The European Union awarded its Sakharov Prize for Human Rights and Freedom of Thought to two Iranian activists on October 26. Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi, both currently imprisoned by the Iranian regime, were awarded the ...