Laws

Taliban Enacts Strict Modesty Laws Affecting Afghan Women’s Public Appearance and Behavior

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KABUL, Afghanistan — In a significant escalation of its restrictive measures on women, the Taliban has mandated the covering of faces in public as part of a broader legislative framework intended to “combat vice and promote virtue.” This directive was ratified by the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and is part of a suite of rules aimed at enforcing strict adherence to the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law. Following their return to power in 2021, twenty years after their initial ousting, the Taliban established the Ministry for Vice and Virtue. The exclusive responsibility of this … Read more

Decades After Apartheid, South African Woman Battles to Reclaim Family Home Lost Due to Gender-Biased Property Laws

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Johannesburg, South Africa – At age 74, Johanna Motlhamme finds herself battling a decades-long struggle to reclaim her family home in Soweto, after a legal oversight linked to apartheid-era laws allowed her ex-husband to sell the property, stripping her and her four children of their inheritance. This plight underscores a systemic issue faced by numerous Black families amid South Africa’s complex history of racially skewed property laws. During apartheid, harsh laws barred Black individuals from owning land, a restriction that lingered symbolically into the dawn of democracy. Although the post-apartheid era brought about reform aimed … Read more

Air Rights or Air Wrongs? How Western Land Laws Are Puzzling Hunters and Property Owners Alike

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Cheyenne, Wyo. – A peculiar conflict is intensifying in the open ranges and vast terrains of the Western United States, as modern airspace laws collide with traditional ground-based land rights. This friction casts a spotlight on an unusual question: Can hunters really trespass while airborne? Flying beneath the radar of many Americans are the controversial “aerial trespassing” laws that some Western states, including Wyoming and Kansas, have enacted. These laws challenge the federal standards dictating that property rights extend only 500 feet above ground. They fundamentally alter the definition of property ownership, giving unprecedented rise … Read more

Colorado Lawmaker Proposes Expansion of ‘Red Flag’ Laws After Mentally Unfit Suspect Re-Offends with Returned Firearms

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Denver, CO — In the wake of a disturbing shooting incident in Aurora, Colorado last June, where three individuals were wounded, State Rep. Judy Amabile is advocating for an expansion of state measures that could prevent dangerous individuals from accessing firearms. This proposal follows revelations surrounding the shooter, who had previously been deemed mentally unfit to stand trial for a similar offense in 2018, yet was able to reclaim his firearms which were later used in the Aurora shooting. The proposed legislative changes would enhance Colorado’s “red flag” law, which was enacted in 2020. Currently, … Read more