Yes, the new atheists have rejected their traditional role of keeping silent in the face of religious oppression.… Read the rest

Girls, like boys, feel fully human, but culture tells them that they are not.… Read the rest

The judge told them: “Your concern about being shamed in your community was greater than the love of your child.”… Read the rest

“Those who injure the souls of believers with scorn and derision must be put in their place and in some cases also punished,” he said.… Read the rest

Will Romney continue to espouse one-factor explanations for multicausal problems, and fail to understand history and the modern world? Probably.… Read the rest

Her parents had taken the girl to the pir ‘to evict djinns who had possessed her’.  Her skin was burnt with a hot iron rod and she was suffocated.… Read the rest

“Maybe we can save the witty jabs for our real enemies like Sylvia Browne, homeopathy, and Power Balance Bracelets.”… Read the rest

“We are a real mass medium, and we have a real effect on the culture. We have to take a step beyond this idea that nothing we could possibly do could hurt people.”… Read the rest

He could always be counted on for a spur-of-the-moment aphorism, putdown or sharply worded critique of American foreign policy.… Read the rest

The hardline Islamists on Sunday placed an unmarried couple in holes in the ground and stoned them to death in front of about 200 people.… Read the rest

Witnesses said the couple were buried up to their necks, then pelted with stones until they died.… Read the rest

Renewed debate over abortion rights in Turkey has women wondering whether gender equality is being left behind.… Read the rest

The International Judo Federation said Wojdan Shaherkani must fight without the hijab for safety reasons, so the Saudis threatened to withdraw her.… Read the rest

So what you’re saying is that men are socialised to feel bad if they don’t participate in a culture that hurts and objectifies women?… Read the rest

They pleaded not guilty to the official charges of hooliganism driven by “religious hatred” for performing a punk prayer in Moscow’s main cathedral.… Read the rest

Taslima Nasreen on the festival of Raksha Bandhan or the bond of protection. Sisters pray for brothers; brothers promise to protect sisters.… Read the rest

The rejection letter said the school is private and thus exempt from “excessive government interference in matters of religion.”  It will get $60,000+ from feds this year.… Read the rest

“One non-trivial way in which the status quo replicates and reinforces itself is through conferences and edited volumes that have only male, invited keynote-speakers.”… Read the rest

An organisation which earns millions isn’t going to become less sexist or “edgy” when there’s no profit in doing so.… Read the rest

The link between endorsing conspiracy theories and rejecting climate science facts suggests that the libertarian instinct to reject the mainstream is key.… Read the rest