The Fight Against Gender Crimes

Special focus 7 publications
The Taliban in Afghanistan and the Islamic regime in Iran have introduced laws and practices depriving women of fundamental rights, which many say amounts to “gender apartheid”. Some countries, notably in Africa and the Middle East, criminalize LGBTQ+ people [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and more] and those who support them. While gender apartheid is not yet recognized as a crime in international law, gender persecution is recognized, but has rarely been prosecuted. In this special focus, Justice Info looks at gender-based crimes and at the ongoing push to put them in the spotlight of international justice.
Illustration: © Maran Hrachyan for Justice Info
Fighting gender-based crimes - Illustration: a crime scene (police banner and numbered exhibits) where the silhouette of a character marked on the ground is filled in with the colors of the LGBTQ+ community's rainbow flag.
Women and children in Sudan
Sexual Violence in Sudan
3 April 2025 by Asymmetrical Haircuts
Sudan’s civil has devastated the country. An estimated 10,000 people were killed and more than six million displaced. There has also been widespread sexual violence. “It’s beyond dire situations,” says Hala Al-Karib.
Women rights in Afghanistan - Veiled women leave a beauty salon in Kabul, Afghanistan Gender apartheid at the forefront of international justice
12 November 2024 by Asymmetrical Haircuts
Gender apartheid is a new frontline of international justice, as Justice Info recently highlighted. The guest in this new episode of our Asymmetrical Haircuts partners, Karima Bennoune, is currently campaigning for this alleged cr [...]
Russia: persecution of LGBT people - Photo: artistic creation by Inna Mosina showing an almost naked woman lying in the middle of a pile of old televisions that have been turned off or whose images are blurred. LGBT people in Russia: searching for an internal enemy
30 September 2024 by Maria Koroleva
On September 12, a Moscow court sentenced two young men, Timur A. and Daniil R., to prison for standing near the window of their apartment without clothes. The case is one of hundreds in Russia, launched under the law to protect “ [...]
Persecution of LGBTQ people: a crime against humanity? Photo: in Uganda, a gay activist wears a mask on which he has stuck a rainbow flag. Persecution of LGBTQ, a crime against humanity?
17 September 2024 by Julia Crawford
More than 60 countries, notably in Africa and the Middle East, criminalize LGBT people. These laws are used to harass, arrest, imprison and attack people. Some countries have de-penalized in recent times, but some have seen a back [...]
Newsletter
All Justice Info publications delivered to your inbox every week
I register for free
Interview with Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize winner and lawyer in Iran. Photo: portrait of Ebadi.
16 September 2024 by Anahita Davari
Shirin Ebadi: “Gender apartheid means you are discriminating against half of society” Two years ago, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian student, died after she was arrested by morality police for allegedly not wearing hijab properly. Her death triggered large-scale protests in Iran which were met with brutal repres [...]
Gender apartheid in Afghanistan - Photo: in Kabul, women demonstrate for their rights in front of a beauty salon threatened with closure.
26 August 2024 by Nilofar Ayoubi
The Taliban’s rule is gender apartheid “In Afghanistan, half the population is deprived of fundamental human rights just because they are women,” says Afghan entrepreneur and activist Nilofar Ayoubi, who was forced to flee her country when the Taliban took it over a se [...]
Gender apartheid for women in Iran and women in Afghanistan - Photo: a woman wearing a hijab walks down a street, closely followed by a Taliban patrol.
20 June 2024 by Julia Crawford
Crimes against Afghan women drive push to recognize “gender apartheid” Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, told the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday that violations against women and girls in that country were “so severe and extensive” that “they may amount to crimes against huma [...]