From the mother sentenced to death by stoning to the lawyer arrested for defending opposition activists, women are prominent symbols of Iran's struggle for democracy.
When Shahrzad Kariman finally saw her imprisoned daughter Shiva Nazar Ahari earlier this month, it was for a brief moment outside the Tehran courtroom where the 26-year-old human rights campaigner had been brought.
"We could see her for a few minutes," Kariman told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran last week. "Just enough to hug her. But we couldn't ask her how the court session went… We didn't know what the charges were prior to the court session."
The charges against Nazar Ahari are among the most serious that can be levelled in Iran: muharebeh (enmity against God), a crime, in theory punishable by death, originally intended to be used against armed gangs and pirates, not dissidents.
Skiing down a grassy mountain in the middle of summer is not the only unusual thing about Marjan Kalhor. She is also an Olympic competitor -- a rare thing for a woman in a male-dominated sport in Iran.
Two hours' drive from Tehran, Dizin's hotel and many flashy chalets cater for skiers and the many winter visitors who want to escape the bustle and pollution of the capital.
But in summer, when temperatures in the city are often well above 40 C (104 F), it remains a training ground for people, like Kalhor, who have devoted much of their lives to the sport.
It is also the home town of the 22-year-old who this year became the first woman skier to represent Iran in a Winter Olympics.
Long gone is the kohl, the henna paint and the white wedding dress she wore at her wedding. A life of hard work and early labour has caught up with Badria.
Married at 14, she had her first child at 16 and then five more in quick succession, including three miscarriages. Now in her forties her body is succumbing.
“I was responsible for the children and working on our farm,” said Badria.
Since her first pregnancy Badria has suffered from “bone ache”, a condition for which the doctors gave her drugs, but were never able to diagnose or cure.
For 11 years she has suffered from a slipped disc after having to collect wood, fetch water, work in the field and have children from a young age.
AP today reports that Rwandan and Congolese rebels gang-raped nearly 200 women and some young boys over four days within miles of a U.N. peacekeepers' base in an eastern Congo mining district, an American aid worker and a Congolese doctor said Monday.
Here’s a CBS synopsis from a couple of years ago since when the situation has worsened:
From the mother sentenced to death by stoning to the lawyer arrested for defending opposition activists, women are prominent symbols of Iran's struggle for democracy.
Skiing down a grassy mountain in the middle of summer is not the only unusual thing about Marjan Kalhor. She is also an Olympic competitor -- a rare thing for a woman in a male-dominated sport in Iran.
In Oman, a traditionally male-dominated society, women are beginning to make their mark in the workforce.
Long gone is the kohl, the henna paint and the white wedding dress she wore at her wedding. A life of hard work and early labour has caught up with Badria.