Isobel Coleman shows how Muslim women and men are fighting back with progressive interpretations of Islam to support women's rights in a growing movement of Islamic feminism.

It is time for multinational corporations to come to the same realization -- funding education and training female business leaders is good for business.

In a Room for Debate blog post for the New York Times, Isobel Coleman discusses Hillary Clinton's legacy as former secretary of state

Outside of a humanitarian crisis—such as a famine or a natural disaster—it is hard to make the case that any country deserves another's economic support. To paraphrase Britain's Lord Palmerston, countries do not have permanent friends, only permanent interests.

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The recent announcement of a BRICS development bank raised many questions. Isobel Coleman writes about the potential structure and purpose of the BRICS development bank and its implications for international development and the global economy.

A preview of world events in the coming week from CFR.org: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits South Korea, Japan and China; President Obama submits a budget to Congress; and the re-trial of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak begins in Cairo.

Isobel Coleman writes that while it is widely recognized that food and fuel subsidies in Egypt are expensive and inefficient, Egyptian leaders do not want to touch the political third rail of subsidy reform. But they also realize that the country's fiscal situation is untenable without it. Sooner or later, serious subsidy reform is inevitable, and a well-planned process is preferable to the alternative.

In response to systemic sexual assaults on women in Egypt, activists have initiated well-organized campaigns to protect women's right to participate in the political sphere and to move in public spaces without fear for their personal safety. Isobel Coleman warns that politically motivated violence against women has still not crested.

Isobel Coleman writes that increasingly, women's rights activists in some of the most religiously conservative communities recognize that they ignore religion at their peril and that they are using religious arguments to generate support – among men and women – for an expansion of female educational, social, economic, and political opportunities.

Isobel Coleman says that while President Obama's State of the Union address focused on domestic policies, unpredictable events in the rest of the world are unlikely to allow his second administration to stay above the fray in its foreign policy.

A brutal New Delhi gang rape has triggered outrage across India. CFR's Isobel Coleman highlights three things to know about the case, and discusses the larger issue of violence against women in the country.

Women in the Arab world have certainly played a prominent role in their countries' transition, writes Isobel Coleman, but cannot take for granted that their activism will translate into political influence or legal gains in the emerging systems.

Isobel Coleman writes that despite persistent challenges to security and unity, Libya has weathered the year since Qaddafi's death better than many expected.

With the presidential candidates squaring off for a final debate, four CFR fellows weigh in on questions that should arise on major on foreign policy issues facing the nation.

Freida Pinto and Isobel Coleman say that efforts like International Day of the Girl have helped girls make significant progress in recent years, but more resources, leadership and long-term commitments are still needed to close persistent gender gaps and improve the rights and well-being of millions of girls around the world.

Isobel Coleman writes about the mixed record that quotas for women's political participation in the Middle East have had, but notes that at least quotas ensure that women's perspectives are represented in government.

Isobel Coleman says the actions of Egypt's president Mohammed Morsi may help shape the outcome of the crisis in the region.

The attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and the killing of the U.S. ambassador may be "the first salvo" of a civil war in the country, says CFR's Isobel Coleman.

Isobel Coleman argues that the rise of Islamist groups in North Africa may threaten women's rights, but women's participation in the economy and in political movements has set them down a path that will be difficult to reverse.

Climatic conditions across the U.S. farm belt are triggering a rise in global food prices that threatens to fuel political unrest in developing countries, says CFR's Isobel Coleman.

Isobel Coleman and Ashley Harden discuss the impact of mobile telecommunications technology on the developing world and its access to financial services.

This weekend's successful nationwide elections are a major first step in a long process of building new political and civic institutions, says CFR's Isobel Coleman.