In The Media

Women and girls across the country can face "intense and constant" pressure to wear the hijab, said Human Rights Watch Indonesia researcher Andreas Harsono.

Reuters

Many Ahmadi Muslims are threatened with deportation from Germany. But other countries have recognized the need for the protection of a minority often persecuted in Pakistan.

Deutsche Welle

The Evangelical Alliance, which represents 3,500 evangelical churches in the UK, has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging him not to ban so-called conversion therapy.

ITV

A Jehovah's Witness congregation was responsible for the rape of a young woman because of the power male "elders" wielded over "sheep-like" members, the Court of Appeal ruled.

The Times*

The Scottish Government has incorporated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scots law.

The Edinburgh Reporter

Councillors who were told they could not challenge a school's controversial relationships and sex education policy have spoken out about their concerns.

Hereford Times

A school that had threatened the Muslim parents of a schoolgirl with legal action after she wore a skirt that was deemed "too long" has dropped its legal challenge and apologised.

The Guardian

A Bill aimed at outlawing abortions being carried out in cases of non-fatal disabilities has passed its second stage in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Central Fife Times

Some British firms could be complicit in the use of forced labour of Uighur Muslims in China's Xinjiang region, an MPs' report says.

BBC

A district court in Japan has in a landmark decision ruled that the country's failure to recognise same-sex marriage is "unconstitutional".

BBC

As religious freedom emerges as a major theme at the Supreme Court this year, some court watchers are predicting a series of recent opinions involving COVID-19 restrictions have put that issue on a collision course with gay rights.

USA Today

The religious garments have triggered bitter fights between Christians and Muslims. One such fight is unfolding in the western Nigerian state of Kwara, forcing a temporary closure of at least 10 Christian schools.

Religion News Service

The Vatican's orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response to a question about whether Catholic clergy have the authority to bless gay unions. The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was "negative."

AP News

In a legal challenge the uncle of the boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had insisted the Bolton home was not able to meet the strict Orthodox conditions of their upbringing, including access to kosher food and Sabbath observance.

This is Lancashire

A move by the Education Minister to grant integrated status to a Catholic primary school for the first time could open the way for similar decisions in the future, campaigners hope.

Belfast Telegraph

The scandal has all but destroyed the reputation of a man who just weeks ago received the Israel Prize, the country's highest civilian honor, for his lifetime achievements. It also has shined a light on the scourge of sexual abuse in the insular world of Israel's ultra-Orthodox community.

Daily Mail

Relationships and sex education in schools in Northern Ireland is "inconsistent and insufficient", according to an expert advisory panel on a gender equality strategy.

BBC

Herefordshire councillors have been told they have no power to intervene or challenge a school's relationships and sex education policy.

Ledbury Reporter

Speaking to reporters on a trip to Scotland, equalities minister Liz Truss said: "We'll shortly be bringing forward plans to ban conversion therapy, which is an abhorrent practice."

ITV

The Scottish Conservatives have unveiled a manifesto pledge for May's Holyrood election to repeal the Hate Crime Bill.

The National

Although the Domestic Abuse Bill - which is expected to be passed next month - does not specifically refer to the denial of a get (Jewish divorce document), it is to be included in follow-up statutory guidance.

The Jewish Chronicle

The codes of conduct will reportedly be developed in consultation with organisations like the Runnymede Trust.

Politics Home

Party president Mary Lou McDonald accused the DUP and Ulster Unionists of blocking the change – two years after legislation was passed at Westminster.

The Irish Times

Iranian authorities have arrested multiple music producers connected to a California-based Iranian pop singer in Tehran's latest effort to halt what it deems 'decadent Western behaviour'.

Hereford Times

Sri Lanka has announced plans to ban the wearing of burqas and said it would close more than 1,000 Islamic schools known as madrassas, citing national security.

The Guardian

A Christian satire website has been given charity status by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission following a months-long legal battle over the whether the work of the charity could be considered to be 'advancing the Christian faith'.

Eternity

At an intense pace, lawmakers in Republican-governed states are considering an array of tough anti-abortion restrictions they hope might reach the Supreme Court and win approval from its conservative majority.

ABC News

A controversial new anti-conversion law that criminalises interfaith love has put Hindu-Muslim couples on edge. Now, they face the wrath of not just their families, but also the Indian state.

BBC

Controversial hate crime legislation has passed its final hurdle in Holyrood despite concerns over freedom of speech.

The Herald*

Abhorrent" so-called conversion therapy will be banned under a Labour government, leader Sir Keir Starmer has said, adding his party is "100% against it".

ITV

Nicola Sturgeon gave a speech alongside an Iranian cleric who compared gay marriage to bestiality.

The Jewish Chronicle

The St John Henry Newman Catholic Primary School will be the first Catholic school in England to open in almost ten years.

The Tablet*

The animated video – a modern reworking of the parable of the Good Samaritan – depicts a strip club and shows a young girl being hit in the head by a bottle and punched in the face

iNews

The European Parliament has declared that the whole of the European Union is an "LGBTIQ Freedom Zone".

BBC

Schoolchildren in Poland are being awarded extra credit for creating anti-abortion artwork and stories, in what pro-choice activists say is a chilling indication of how extreme the debate over abortion in the staunchly Catholic country has become.

Vice

A Texas lawmaker has filed a bill that would abolish and criminalize abortions, leaving women and physicians who perform the procedure to face criminal charges that could carry the death penalty.

The Texas Tribune

Two women have faced court over allegedly planning the female genital mutilation of a two-week-old baby.

ABC News

Rightwing Hindu vigilante groups in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have forced the cancellation of an annual theatre festival, after threatening violence over satirical plays they accused of being "anti-national".

The Guardian

Muslim clerics have slammed mandatory teaching of Hindu epics in autonomous seminaries and educational institutions as a move to "Hinduize" India. Murali Krishnan reports.

Deutsche Welle

EasyJet has paid compensation to a British-Israeli woman who was asked to change seats on a flight from Tel Aviv after ultra-Orthodox Jewish men objected to sitting next to her.

The Guardian

A furious debate over proposed hate crime legislation had MSPs at loggerheads for more than four hours over freedom of speech provisions and whether sex should be added to ensure women were protected under the law.

The Scotsman*

A judicial review on the Scottish Government's coronavirus evidence that closed places of worship across Scotland will be heard after 28 faith leaders, from a variety of churches, united to take their case to court.

The Scotsman*

Nearly 20 LGBT+ organisations and campaigners have written to the equalities minister to express their "deep concern" at her response to calls to ban so-called conversion therapy.

BBC

Rapid growth in Britain's Charedi population could create tensions with other Jewish groups, a think-tank has warned in a study of how communal life has been affected by the pandemic.

Jewish News

Three pagans have lost a High Court challenge to convictions for entering the stone circle at Stonehenge to sing, chant, and charge their crystals as part of their religious beliefs.

Evening Standard