Discrimination
Iranian women forced to wash corpses for refusing to wear veil
The punishments highlight a widening crackdown on women and girls, as Iranian MPs vote to review, behind closed doors, new laws that would enshrine penalties.
- by Lucy Cormack
Latest
‘Hedonism and perversion’: Coldplay gets cold shoulder of Malaysia’s Muslim party
The rise of the hardline Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party has coincided with controversies like the cancelling of a music festival after a British singer kissed his male bandmate on stage.
- by Chris Barrett
Opinion
Culture wars
Left’s identity crisis means Dutton can be a champion for equality
Working people increasingly find that left-wing parties no longer speak to them, but Peter Dutton’s plain-spoken appeal can cut through.
- by George Brandis
I should never have married, but my Sydney church left me few options
I’d dreamed of marriage because of the esteemed position it had in my Christian worldview, but my abiding memory of that day is of gritting my teeth.
- by Steph Lentz
Sexually harassed Ambulance Victoria staff to receive compensation and apology
A new scheme will be set up to offer former and current employees of the state ambulance service an apology, compensation and restorative sessions with leaders.
- by Henrietta Cook and Aisha Dow
Taliban orders Afghan beauty salons to close
Women in Afghanistan now have even fewer places to gather in public after the Taliban ordered the closure of beauty salons.
Opinion
Racism
‘White guys can’t get jobs any more!’ A case of US justice turning blind to reality
I grew up in America. I heard all the false claims against affirmative action, but now the US Supreme Court has given succour to racists.
- by Bill Wyman
In biggest ruling since abortion, US Supreme Court guts affirmative action at universities
Elite colleges and universities will no longer be able to consider race in student admissions after the nation’s top court ended the decades-old policy.
- by Farrah Tomazin
‘Highly unusual’: Dark-skinned Jesus featured in 150-year-old stained-glass window
The 3.7-metre tall, 1½-metre wide window depicts two biblical passages in which women, also painted with dark skin, appear as equals to Christ.
- by Mark Pratt
Joe Biden is owning his age like a boss
The US president says he was a senator for 270 years and “Jimmy” Madison was a pal. Why is he so eager to poke fun at himself?
- by Seung Min Kim
Scotch College rejects Presbyterian Church’s stance on gay and sexually active students
The high-fee Presbyterian boys’ school has distanced itself from the church’s view that sexually active heterosexual or LGBTIQ+ students should not be school captains.
- by Madeleine Heffernan