Iran

The article I found about Iran was an interesting one. Apparently the current president of Iran thinks that Iran still has a long way to go in regards to women's rights. He says that women should have the same opportunities, legal protection, and social rights that men do. In addition, he said that there's nothing in Islam that states that men have to be stronger and women weaker. However, the Supreme Leader of Iran disagrees with him, saying that women should have justice but not necessarily equality.

It should be noted that from what I understand, Islam itself isn't any more sexist than Christianity. Still, it's an issue of interpretation, and many Islamic countries follow interpretations that deny certain rights to women. It's an issue that comes up a lot, and so I figured that this article was relevant in that regard.

Brazil

This article is about how the armed forces have been sent into one of Rio's favelas for peacekeeping reasons. I remember the textbook talking about places like this, and how they tend to have lots of problems with crime. The text seemed fairly cynical, talking about how authorities don't care much about the people living there, and how attempts to deal with crime tend to be violent, messy, and ultimately unsuccessful.

The article mentions that some critics are saying that the only reason the government wants this area cleaned up is because of the tourism that the World Cup will bring. However, responses by residents are mixed. Some people are upset, but others are just glad they're not hearing gunshots every night.