On the move

Ahead of March 8, a day dedicated to the connection between women’s rights, the media, and democracy was organized in the imposing building of the Palais d'Iéna, headquarters of the ESEC in Paris. Entitled “Meetings for Equality,” this stimulating initiative aimed to resist the obscurantism and backlash that threaten gender equality all around the world.

Sarah Ragab, a restorer of historic buildings from Egypt, has come up with an innovation that converts plastic waste into material that can be used to pave and restore roads, helping reduce costs and promote sustainability.

While terms like war, rearmament, and nuclear umbrella have been dominating the headlines since Donald Trump’s inauguration for his second term as president of the United States on January 20, 2025, Medfeminiswiya has chosen to take a step in the opposite direction and talk about ecofeminism this March 8, for International Women’s Day.

Nabila Hamza is a sociologist, gender expert, and feminist activist. She is the co-founder of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) and a member of the advisory board of the international organization Equality Now. She is the winner of the 2019 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe for her defense of migrant rights and the protection of women’s rights in Tunisia. Hamza has published a wide range of articles relating to issues of feminism, public policy, and social development. In this interview, she discusses the plurality of Tunisian feminism.

The Syrian Women's Political Movement held its first press conference in Damascus on January 8, 2025. For the first time, the movement’s members spoke about their political project and vision for the future. Women from inside Syria and from countries of asylum were participating.

Even as of early 2025, women are facing new challenges in different parts of the world, especially the Middle East, a region whose crises never end—from Syria to Lebanon and Palestine, all the way to Yemen, Iraq, and Sudan.

As the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah approaches its second month, Lebanese men and women continue to grapple with their losses—mourning the dead and rebuilding their lives. Amidst this turmoil, a new struggle has emerged: homes destroyed and livelihoods shattered, placing a fresh burden on Lebanese women as they devise simple, practical solutions to make their homes liveable once more.

During the fall of the Assad regime, Syrian journalist Rahada Abdoush was attending a press conference in Jordan. As soon as the crossing was opened, Abdoush insisted on returning to Syria to celebrate the fall of one of the bloodiest regimes of modern times. She tells us the details of her journey from Jordan to Syria and describes the celebrations she witnessed upon her arrival.

Our WhatsApp group, MedFem News, woke up on Sunday, December 8 to the incredible news: “Bashar al-Assad has fled Syria! Damascus has been liberated!” The euphoria was contagious, but the hope expressed by the members of the group was not without worry.

She was 19 years old when she was thrown into one of Assad’s prisons. Now out of prison, she is 34 and has four children. She does not know who the father is. This is the story of one of the female prisoners who have just been released from Syria’s dungeons.