A special report from Future TV covered International Women's Day and gave background information on how it has become a global day to celebrate women and their importance in society and in the world: "On March 8, 1908, thousands of female textile workers protested on the streets of New York under the slogan 'bread and roses.' They carried dry bread and roses, demanding shorter work hours, voting rights and an end to child labor. This demonstration marked the start of the women's movement in the United States, especially after middle-class women joined the wave of demand for equality and justice. They adopted slogans demanding political rights, and particularly voting rights."

In 1977, the United Nations proclaimed March 8th as International Women's Day. The event was a socio-political movement that blended into the cultures of the United States, Europe and Russia. But for a lot of people, International Women's Day is linked to the illusion of celebrating a woman for being a woman. Lebanese journalist Joumana Hadad belives that International Women's Day is "a reminder of all the women, and even men, who fought for a better world for women, a more equal world. And for those who are still struggling today, it is a day to commend those people. It is the day of the woman to believe in her power, and take action."

The women of the Middle East commemorated International Women's Day by drawing attention to their struggles.  Their rights are infringed due to a spectrum of different forces, but they are still standing strong and fighting to win their battles in the face of oppression.

Women in Afghanistan are still fighting for their right to receive an education, especially in the southern provinces of the country.  Aljazeera reported on the city of Kandahar, "girls risk their lives to secure their future in an attempt to change the reality of women living in southern Afghanistan." The Taliban and foreign troops are not the only elements that as an obstacle and threaten for women, but also because of the dangerous security situation and the social norms of the country.

For years, women in Palestine have played a key role in the fight for freedom. Al Jazeera reported, "yesterday Palestinian women held a demonstration in solidarity with female prisoner Hana al-Shalabi, who is on her 24th day of an open-ended hunger strike, protesting her administrative detention in Israeli prison. Despite her deteriorating health condition, al-Shalabi remains firm to continue her hunger strike to fight the racism of the occupation forces' policies against Palestinians. The women protestors raised slogans to end the Israeli occupation and settlement construction."

In Egypt, women marched in the streets of Cairo to bring attention to their case especially after last year's attacks on women in demonstrations and also demanded that females be included in the political arena, which is currently male dominated. The female protestors chanted against the military that used excessive force against women in protests at the end of last year and even sexually assaulted them.

Photo: Women shout slogans against the Egyptian military council before marching with other women to mark International Women's Day in Cairo March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

There are currently over 300 Palestinians in administrative detention. This means that prisoners are being held with no charge and without being tried. Hana al-Shalabi, a 29 year old from a village near Jenin enters her 15th consecutive day of hunger strike, protesting her administrative detention in the Hasharon Israeli prison. Hana took on the same method to peacefully protest her unjustified detention; similar to Khader Adnan, who successfully drew international attention to his case, and the case of many other Palestinian administrative prisoners. Adnan recently ended his hunger strike, which lasted for 66 days, after Israel agreed to release him on April 17th. 

Although she was previously arrested in 2009, with no charge or trial and was freed in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange in 2011, after 30 months in captivity, she was not exempt from being rearrested. She is currently sentenced to six months in prison, and her sentence can be renewed indefinitely.

Many former female detainees gathered outside the Red Cross in Tulkarm this week to stand in solidarity with Hana and other administrative detainees, inside Israeli prisons. Solidarity campaigns and sit-ins in front of the Red Cross are continuing amid warnings of her deteriorating health condition, and the escalating situations inside the occupation prisons. 

Israeli court officials say that Hana is a threat to Israeli security and they claim that she participated in planning actions after her release. The defense called for Hana's prompt release and held Israel accountable for her health.

On Thursday Hana al-Shalabi said that she will continue her hunger strike and that she will remain patient and steadfast despite her detention in the cold, her fatigue and weakness. Hana maintains high spirits and thanked people who support her and she assured that her hunger strike is open until her demands are met.

Photo: Badeeah Shalabi holds a placard depicting her daughter, Palestinian detainee Hana Shalabi, in the West Bank village of Birqin, near Jenin February 27, 2012. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini

In the week leading up to the one year anniversary of Bahrain's February 14 Revolution, many journalists have been denied visas to the country. Journalists from the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, Associated Foreign Press, and Al-Jazeera English were all denied visas because of what the government is calling a "high volume of requests."

"This refusal to allow access for such prestigious media organizations is another ominous signal from the Bahrain government about what might happen this coming week,” said Brian Dooley of Human Rights First. "The days approaching the anniversary are tense and rife with rumor. Bahrain's refusal to admit human rights and media organizations only fuels suspicions that the government wants to hide the truth about its ongoing abuses."

It is unclear how many journalists are allowed to enter the country for the February 14 anniversary, but the Information Affairs Agency maintains they are allowing many foreign media outlets to cover the events.

As part of the 2011 "Arab Spring" uprising, the protests in Bahrain were initially aimed at achieving greater political reforms and equality for the predominantly Shia population. However, following a bloody night raid on February 17, 2011 against peaceful protestors staging sit-ins at Pear Roundabout in Manama, the protestors raised their demands and called for an end to the centuries-long authoritarian rule of the Khalifa dynasty. On March 14, Hundreds of Saudi troops entered Bahrain to help protect government facilities amid escalating protests against the Sunni-led government.

Mohammed al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, says his team has documented 60 deaths since February 14, 2011 and that the police's aggressive approach in countering activists has stiffened in the past two months. Meanwhile, hundreds of activists have been detained, injured, and tortured in the past year.

After almost a year, violence is still rife in Bahrain as the revolutionary youths remain resolute in their demands and Saudi-backed forces are increasingly brutal in their crackdowns. This week the February 14 Youth Coalition issued a "charter" saying the government crackdowns had gone too far. "The aim of this revolution has become to bring down the regime and decide our own fate after it became clear that trying to live with it and reform it has become impossible," it said.

As next week's anniversary approaches, many people are uncertain about how the events will unfold and worry of increased violence, chaos, and deaths. Emile Hokayen, Mideast Analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, tweeted, "Here in Bahrain, lots of uncertainty abt next week. Rumors galore, concern in some quarters, fatigue in others, real frustration among opp."

Photo: A girl flashes the victory sign with her fingers amid fellow anti-government protestors waving Bahraini flags during a rally held by Al-Wefaq, Bahrain's main Shiite opposition, in Sanabis, west of Manama January 12, 2012. Thousands of anti-government protesters participated in the rally shouting anti-government slogans demanding the downfall of the ruling family. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

The events of January 25, 2011 sparked a movement that changed the course of history in Egypt and the entire region. Exactly one year later, thousands of Egyptians who participated in the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak filled Cairo's Tahrir Square. While some gathered in celebration, many others rallied in defiance of what they believe is an unfinished revolution. "I think anyone who intends to go and celebrate on January 25 needs to go and reconsider this choice because we still have a long way to go," recounts one protestor.

As revolutionaries reflect on the January 25 anniversary, for many, today is a grim reminder that despite the fall of Mubarak, not much has changed in Egypt. One journalist who has been covering events in Egypt all year described the revolution as "young and intoxicating…Mubarak was gone, and Egypt overflowed with hope and the invincibility of youth." But today, "one year later, the romanticism of the revolution has faded."

Photo: A demonstrator carries an Egyptian flag near Tahrir Square where demonstrators are gathering to mark the first anniversary of Egypt's uprising, January 25, 2012.  REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

An Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in Tehran today after a motorcyclist attached a magnetic bomb to his car. Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran. Varying opinions are quickly emerging over who is to blame for the attack. Iran blames the US and Israel for the attack. "Does anyone doubt that some combination of the two nations completely obsessed with Iran's nuclear program...are responsible?" asks Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com. Micah Zenko of the Council on Foreign Relations, however, is of a different opinion. He asks, "But is it in US national interest to bomb Iran to defend the principle of full cooperation with the IAEA? I would say no." 

Roshan's death comes amid mounting tension between the US and Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Earlier this week, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran had begun enriching uranium at 20 percent at the Fordow plant near the city of Qom. The plant is buried deep underground a military site and is said to be far more resistant to military strikes than existing plants. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton responded to the news with a harsh tone."This step once again demonstrates the Iranian regime's blatant disregard for its responsibilities and that the country's growing isolation is self-inflicted," she said in a statement.

Since November 2011, the US and EU have taken significant steps to cut Iran out of the international financial network after IAEA published a report stating that Iran was involved in activities relevant to the development of nuclear weapons. Iran immediately slammed the report as politically motivated and a fabrication by the US. Tehran claims its uranium enrichment program is for nuclear research and peaceful energy purposes. "No one has a full sense of the Iranian production plan there," said one diplomat who has studied the few details released by Iran about the Fordow plant. "And I think that’s the point." Meanwhile, former US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolten, says the Iranians are "testing Western powers' resolve to stop their advance towards developing a bomb."

Iran's releationship with the West has steadily declined in recent weeks as the US enacted sanctions on Iran's central bank on January 1, and the EU is expected to impose an embargo on Iranian oil by the end of the month. Western sanctions seek to undercut the Iranian government by halting the country's largest source of revenue: oil sales. The Iranian Economic Minister, Shamseddin Hosseini, likened the sanctions to "an economic war." On December 27, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned that if the West followed through with its threats, Tehran would shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a 30-mile strategic waterway through which nearly one fourth of the world's oil passes every day. In the back-and-forth war of words, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta responded to the threat by saying that closing the strategic waterway would be a "red line" for the US.

Meanwhile, while Iran concluded a massive ten-day naval exercise last week stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden, some observers remain skeptical that US-Iran relations will escalate into a full-blown conflict. Iran analyst Michael Connel says the most likely outcome is "more bluster." Afshon Ostovar of Foreign Policy Magazine says that initiating a conflict with the US would be "a last-ditch, kamikaze act by the Iranians." However, he added, "as opportunities for compromise evaporate, and as relations continue to sour, the likelihood of war is steadily increasing."