As the COVID-19 pandemic draws to a close, it will leave the vulnerable, especially countless LGBTQIA+ persons, desperate for deliverance and justice. In this regard, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) has become more significant than ever. It calls us to seek those who are scared and traumatized, and lift them from the rubbles.

Digital Rights Foundation, in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, conducted a series of focus group discussions with researchers from across the globe in order to deconstruct ‘gendered disinformation’, understand existing work on the subject and identify areas for future interventions. Employing feminist methodology on drawing from lived experiences, the resulting series of policy papers take these experiences to build to definitions, theories and policy recommendations from the ground-up.

In an excerpt from his essay “I, ,the fag'”, Syrian author Raeef al-Shalabi reflects on an inner struggle that helped to position himself as a gay man and ultimately to think about human rights in a new way.

More reports about rapes by the Russian army against the Ukrainian girls and women who are arriving in Slovakia have been exposed. In the meantime, the Slovak parliament is discussing proposals on banning abortion for women without permanent residency. This cynical targeting of Ukrainian girls and women is disturbing, says Denisa Nešťáková.

From Hong Kong to Chile to Uganda, three separate young women are fighting for a better tomorrow. The movie ‘Dear Future Children’ by young filmmakers is not only an inspiring documentary about young activism but also a call to action for those who are older – to remember their idealism in youth and to listen to the current younger generation wanting to be heard.  

In an excerpt from his essay “I, ,the fag'”, Syrian author Raeef al-Shalabi reflects on an inner struggle that helped to position himself as a gay man and ultimately to think about human rights in a new way.

The unexpected ban of secondary school education of girls on 23 March 2022 by the Taliban authority was condemned by the international community. Professor Michael Daxner, who has been actively involved in the higher education sector in Afghanistan for the last several years, gives an overview of challenges currently faced.