Women & Gender

Makaa or charcoal is often used in cooking methods in Kenya and other countries in Africa.

The push to end harmful cooking methods worldwide

Energy

A third of the world’s population cooks with fuels that produce harmful fumes when burned. Breathing in the fine particles produced by cooking with wood, charcoal, coal, animal dung and agricultural waste can penetrate the lungs and cause multiple respiratory and cardiovascular problems, including cancer and strokes. Women and children are most at risk. Fifty countries gathered in Paris on Tuesday to raise funds to replace dangerous cooking with clean ones. Marco Werman speaks with Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of the Clean Cooking Alliance.

In Mexico, Mother’s Day is a sad reminder for the mothers of the disappeared

Violence

Women voters expected to play significant role in India’s general election

Politics
A view of Paris, France, with the iconic Eiffel Tower in the distance.

20 years after France’s hijab ban, the issue remains divisive

Women & Gender
Wafaa Mustafa was married to American ISIS fighter Russell Dennison.

‘We have no future’: A Syrian woman speaks about her life with an American ISIS member

Shadow of ISIS
Children stand outside tents at Roj detention camp in northern Syria.

‘Guantanamo on an epic scale’: Life inside ISIS detention camps in Syria

Shadow of ISIS

ISIS still conducts large-scale attacks like the one in Russia last month that killed about 130 people. In Syria, where the group originated, it continues to be active. One strategy to contain ISIS has been to hold thousands of people in detention camps in northeastern Syria.

The sun rises over a Mosque on the Persian Gulf in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 9, 1990.

Saudi Arabia’s conservative clerics have a new relationship with the government under Mohammed bin Salman

Lifestyle & Belief

Social change in Saudi Arabia has long been deemed impossible due to the influence of the conservative clerical establishment. But as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman supports new cultural attractions, experts are wondering whether the power of these clerics has diminished. Raihan Ismail, professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University, spoke to The World’s host Carolyn Beeler about what role the clerics play in Saudi society today.

competitive camel racers pose for a picture with their camels

Women’s camel racing team takes an ancient sport back to the future

Sports

Camel racing is an ancient sport. There are records of races on the Arabian Peninsula that date back to the 7th century. These days, it’s still hugely popular, with robot jockeys and cash prizes. But a new team is taking camel racing back to its roots — with a twist.

Nathalie Vilgrain, sixth from left, is the head of Marijàn, a feminist organization in Port-Au-Prince that is sheltering about 150 women who have been displaced by sexual violence.

In Haiti, sexual violence is devastating women and girls

Sexual violence

Gender-based violence has become a systematic problem in Haiti, with rape incidents on the rise. Activists say the documented cases are just the tip of the iceberg.

Brett Griffin Young with his partner and three children.

Surrogacy advocates fear pope’s position will create stigma

Reproductive rights

Commercial surrogacy is banned in many European countries. In the US, the laws vary from state to state. The pope wants to see the practice outlawed worldwide.