International: "Foul Ball: Muslim Women Banned from Sports Participation"14/08/2008
In this essay, Rochelle Terman considers the role of Muslim women in sports on the global scene, especially in light of the current Olympic Games. (WLUML Networkers)
"Mehboba Ahdyar, a 19-year-old sprinter from Kabul, has been an inspiration and role model to many Muslim women with a passion for sports. As the only woman representing her team from Afghanistan in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Ahdyar was considered by many to be the poster-child for everything the Olympics stood for. Not only did she symbolize the hope and resurgence of a country devastated by war, but her presence was meant to demonstrate a new, post-Taliban gender equality.
But just three weeks before the Games, Mehboba Ahdyar fled from an Italian training camp, giving up her dream to compete in Beijing to apply for asylum in Europe. She said she was too scared of reprisals from those disapproving of her sports career, and feared for her life....Read More
Malaysia: Statement from Sisters in Islam :: 11/08/2008
SIS statement against the disruption of Bar Council Forum on "Conversion to Islam : Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution: Subashini and Shamala Revisited" held on 9 August 2008. (Sisters in Islam)
"Sisters in Islam (SIS) strongly protests the extreme actions by Muslim NGOs and political parties in halting the Bar Council Forum on "Conversion to Islam : Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution: Subashini and Shamala Revisited" held on 9 August 2008.
SIS also strongly condemns the violent actions of throwing Molotov cocktails at the former residence of the President of the Bar Council, now the residence of Dato' Seri Shahrizat Jalil's family, and for the planting of two kerosene bombs in front of the Bar Council office.
Such violent acts only give a bad image of Muslims and Malaysian society surely does not tolerate these extremist or terrorist actions......Read More
What's not to like about the UN's new rights commissioner?
BARBARA CROSSETTE
Special to Globe and Mail Update
July 31, 2008 at 2:36 AM EDT
The world has a new United Nations high commissioner for human rights, a job that comes with built-in controversy. Right at the start, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's choice for the post, Navanethem Pillay, a South African judge now sitting on the International Criminal Court, seems to have caught a lot of people off-guard and provoked some unexpected reactions.
Judge Pillay, 67, is something of a star among international legal experts but was not widely known outside her home country, the UN and the war-crimes tribunals and courts. Beholden to no major human-rights organizations, she was criticized by some in the field for not being "accessible" to that community or not being a more outspoken rights advocate. (She says that was not her role as a judge.) In Washington , where George W. Bush's administration seems to have been prodded into a last-minute scramble to try to derail the appointment, it was discovered that she was — gasp! — a feminist.
That Mr. Ban held firm to his choice in the face of U.S. anxiety, if not actual opposition, is both interesting and important. By one measure, his ability to proceed with this appointment after nearly a week's delay may reflect a diminution of Washington 's clout within the always politicized UN system, especially in the area of human rights. Mr. Bush's administration not only refused to join the recently created Human Rights Council, but also worked actively to undermine the International Criminal Court, even removing the United States from the list of signers of the treaty that created it. And then there is Guantanamo , a target of criticism by Canadian Louise Arbour, who was Judge Pillay's predecessor as human-rights commissioner.
Mr. Ban's steadfastness may also indicate that at this moment of multiple crises on that continent, Africa — not just South Africa but also the larger African Union — cannot be trifled with. Africa, which strongly supported Mr. Ban's own election, may have trumped U.S. concerns. That's something of a watershed. Will Mr. Ban, thought by many diplomats to be too close to Washington , be emboldened to open a little more distance?
Various reports have indicated that Washington 's concern was that Judge Pillay was the candidate of South African President Thabo Mbeki, and as such, she might share his unwillingness to take a strong position against renegades such as Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Omar al-Bashir of Sudan . That seems unlikely, given her track record for independence. But the real snag in the White House may have been the campaign waged by the anti-abortion lobby, with the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute at the forefront. Somewhere along the line, the anti-abortionists appear to have "discovered" that Judge Pillay was a co-founder of Equality Now, a New York-based nongovernmental organization that helps women around the world learn about and fight for their rights. The organization has played a leading role in supporting African women's campaigns against female genital mutilation and has battled successfully to stop sex tourism in New York , among other projects. It is not known as a pro-abortion lobby.
In any case, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters that the charges levelled against Judge Pillay had been checked out. "We didn't find substance to the allegations," he said July 23, as Mr. Ban made the South African's appointment official.
Mr. Khalilzad's attitude throughout the mini-crisis was noteworthy. >From the start, he insisted that the choice of a human-rights commissioner was the Secretary General's to make, and he seemed unwilling to join the Bushites who go on the offensive whenever women's reproductive rights come up at the UN. These are some of the same people who have backed a boycott of U.S. contributions to the UN Population Fund since 2002 and who side with the Vatican and conservative Muslim countries on international women's issues in the Economic and Social Council.
Washington had its own slate of candidates for high commissioner — assembled hastily, by most accounts. One of them, an Asian woman, has told a human-rights activist in New York that in an interview with U.S. officials she was asked about her views on abortion, which she refused to denounce. She never heard back. None of the American candidates made the UN short list. Runners up to Judge Pillay were Juan Mendez of Argentina , a human-rights lawyer who has been the secretary-general's special adviser on the prevention of genocide, and Hina Jilani, a Pakistani lawyer who, with her sister, is a leader in fighting for women's rights and civil liberties.
What is strange is that the qualifications Judge Pillay brings to the high commissioner's office were not applauded by the Bush team, which prides itself on having leaned on the Security Council in June to pass a resolution reiterating the doctrine now enshrined in law that rape and other forms of sexual abuse are recognized crimes of war. Before and during her time as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , Judge Pillay was among those who pushed to press such charges because rape had figured horrifically in the Rwanda genocide of 1994. In September, 1998, the Rwanda tribunal became the first of the war-crimes courts to punish sexual violence in conflict. It convicted a local government official, Jean-Paul Akayesu, of rape as an act of genocide. Is a jurist's view on abortion to be given a higher priority than this?
Navanethem Pillay is a woman for the era in other ways too. Born into an ethnic Tamil family in Durban , she grew up in a minority community no less victimized by apartheid than black South Africans. The daughter of a bus driver and an unschooled mother, she rose through the education system in South Africa to a place at HarvardLawSchool , where she took two degrees before returning to Durban and becoming the first woman to open a law firm in the province of Natal . She was known for her defence of political prisoners.
After Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa , she became the first non-white female justice appointed to the South African Supreme Court. A quiet, steady and focused lawyer and judge, she epitomizes the concept, so often honoured in the breach at the UN, that the talents of women are key to development. With the right tools, including better education and more reproductive health services, women can reduce poverty and slow the spread of HIV-AIDS across the global South. But women, especially in Africa and Asia , need to know their rights and find ways to raise their status in society. Judge Pillay, who understands this, will be there to support them.
Barbara Crossette, former foreign correspondent for The New York Times, was South Asia bureau chief from 1988 to 1991 and UN bureau chief from 1994 to 2001.
The United Nations General Assembly has confirmed the appointment of Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, of South Africa, to succeed Louise Arbour as High Commissioner for Human Rights -- the leading UN human rights official.
At a special meeting in New York on 28 July 2008, the Secretary-General's nominee was confirmed by consensus. Ms. Pillay's four-year term will start on 1 September 2008.
As a member of a non-white minority in apartheid South Africa, and as a front-line, grassroots lawyer who acted as a defense attorney for many anti-apartheid campaigners and trades unionists, Ms. Pillay has direct personal experience of many of the issues that a High Commissioner for Human Rights covers under her mandate. She has also been very active in supporting women's rights, and was one of the co-founders of the international NGO Equality Now, which campaigns for women's rights. She has also been involved with a number of other organizations working on issues relating to children, detainees, victims of torture, and of domestic violence as well as a range of other economic, social and cultural rights.
More recently, Ms. Pillay has served as a judge on two of the most important international criminal courts in the modern era, spending eight years with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, including four years as its President, and then the past five years on the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Both of these courts deal with the extreme end of the human rights spectrum -- war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and are at the cutting edge of the development of international law in these areas.
Judge Pillay will be the fifth UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to be appointed since the office was founded 15 years ago. She will head an organization that now has just under 1,000 staff working in 50 countries with a total annual budget of some US$ 150 million.
Biography
Born: 1941
Place of Birth and Nationality: South Africa
Education: University of Natal (BA & LLB); HarvardUniversity (Masters and Doctorate in human rights and international law )
Career
2003-2008 -- Appeals Division Judge, International Criminal Court in the Hague
1999-2003 -- President, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
1995-1999 -- Judge, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 1995 -- Acting Judge, Supreme Court of South Africa
1995 -- Vice-President, University of Durban Westville
1985 -- Co-founded international women's rights group Equality Now
1980 -- Lecturer, University of KwaZulu-Natal
1967-1995 – Attorney and Conveyancer, High Court of South Africa
1967 -- First woman to start a law practice in Natal Province, South Africa. Defense attorney for many anti-apartheid activists.
SAfrican lawyer nominated as UN human rights chief
Thu Jul 24, 7:44 PM ET
UNITED NATIONS - One of South Africa's leading female jurists who won acclaim defending apartheid opponents was nominated Thursday to serve as the next United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
Navanethem Pillay was formally put forward for the job by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who cited her "outstanding credentials in human rights and justice." Pillay, who holds a HarvardLawSchool degree, serves as an appeals chamber judge with the Dutch-based International Criminal Court, where she has been since 2003. Pillay, who is in her mid-60s, is of Tamil descent.
Her selection now goes to the General Assembly for consideration where she is likely to be approved at a plenary meeting next Monday, U.N. officials and diplomats said. The world body previously elected Pillay as a judge to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 1995. She became that court's president in 1999.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador, said Pillay will occupy a very important position.
"She has to be the voice for human rights, focus on the violations of human rights, speak clearly and focus world attention on the egregious violations of human rights that unfortunately still take place in many places around the world," he said. "We look forward to working with her."
In 1967, Pillay became the first woman to establish a law practice in South Africa's NatalProvince, where she defended apartheid opponents. She also became the first woman of color to serve on her country's High Court, whose divisions hear both civil and criminal cases.
She also co-founded Equality Now, a New York-based international women's rights organization.
During the selection process some nations, including the United States, had expressed reservations about Pillay, including her support for women's access to abortion, contraception and other reproductive freedoms, and how she might handle next year's follow up to the 2001 U.N. World Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa, which drew controversy due to anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli stands.
If confirmed to the job, Pillay will take over the fast-growing U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, based in Geneva, Switzerland. During the coming year, the office will have almost 1,000 employees and budget approaching $120 million.
She would succeed Louise Arbour, a former Supreme Court judge in Canada, who stepped down at the end of June. Pillay won out over two other finalists for the job, Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist Hila Jilani and Argentine human rights lawyer Juan Mendez.
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Forty-first session
30 June-18 July 2008
Working paper on reservations in the context of individual communications
1. At its fortieth session, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women requested information on the practice of other human rights treaty bodies in relation to communications concerning any provisions of their relevant treaties which are subject to reservations. The present report is in response to that request.
2. The Human Rights Committee, the Committee against Torture and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination have the competence to receive and consider individual communications from individuals or groups of individuals alleging violations of the respective treaties by States parties which have accepted that competence.
3. To date, only the Human Rights Committee had to pronounce itself on the legal effect of reservations in the context of individual communications.1 In the landmark case of Kennedy.....more
BRIEF REPORT ON THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR A BILL FOR AN ACT TO PUNISH AND PROHIBIT PUBLIC NUDITY, SEXUAL INTIMIDATION AND OTHER RELATED OFFENCES IN NIGERIA 2008 SPONSORED BY SENATOR EME UFOT EKAETTE AND A BILL FOR AN ACT TO PUNISH AND PROHIBIT SEXUAL OFFENCES AND OTHER RELATED MATTERS 2008 SPONSORED BY SENATOR CHRIS ANYANWU.
VENUE: National Assembly Complex, Senate Hearing Room One, FCT- Abuja
REPORT:
A Public Hearing was conducted for A Bill for an Act to Punish and Prohibit Public Nudity, Sexual Intimidation and Other Related Offences in Nigeria 2008 sponsored by Senator Eme Ufot Ekaette and A Bill for an Act to Punish and Prohibit Sexual Offences and Other related matters 2008 sponsored by Senator Chris Anyanwu. The public hearing witnessed a huge turn up of about three hundred members of the civil society organizations with a large crowd of women from different coalitions and networks. Championing the opposition protest were members of the women’s human rights community, representative of the academic staff union of university, the Nigeria bar association, religious leaders, rural women etc. The massive media presence was one of the highlight of the public hearing.....MORE
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights' POSITION ON THE BILL FOR AN ACT TO PROHIBIT AND PUNISH PUBLIC NUDITY, SEXUAL INTIMIDATION AND OTHER RELATED OFFENCES IN NIGERIA 2007
BACKGROUND
Over the years, women have suffered untold hardship and disadvantages due to a lack of commitment of government and quality representation in bringing to the fore critical issues affecting them. In appreciating the concerns affecting women in Nigeria, such as the high maternal and infant mortality rate, food and water crisis, poor political representation, harmful traditional practices, domestic violence and unfriendly policies relating to their socio-economic and reproductive functions in the society, the proposed bill trivializes women’s demand for a just society founded on gender equality.
OBSERVATIONS
In light of the proposed bill, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights (BAOBAB) has observed with great concern the following:
The wide discretionary power given to the Police authority under this bill.
The disproportionate level of discrimination the bill will promote to the disadvantage of women.
With the rising trend of violence in the society, human insecurity and domestic violence, the bill will create a road map leading to more violations of women’s rights.
The bill will impose a subjective moral code in Nigeria, a society that is not homogenous in its values and beliefs.
A continuing emphasis placed on presumed public nudity in this bill will lead to justification of criminal behaviours towards women from both state and non-state actors.
Considering the socio-economic classification of women based on education, religion, and status, the bill will indiscriminately affect the least empowered.
From a technical perspective, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights (BAOBAB) also observed the following:
The ambiguity of certain terms in the bill such as “private part”, “reasonable suspicion”, “sexually seduce”, “indecent dressing” and “public nudity” among others are open to subjective interpretation.
The provision on the presumption of guilt as opposed to the presumption of innocence is contrary to natural justice.
The fine imposition is devoid of an economic consideration of the financial hardship faced by Nigerians, especially the most susceptible targets of the bill.
The issues of presumed public nudity and sexual intimidation are separate and distinct and should not be encompassed within the same bill.
Surprisingly, this bill unconstitutional in nature and seeking to legislate on morality has successfully passed the first and the second hearing on the floor of the Senate. At this point we plead with the distinguished Senators to consider the underlying detrimental effect of this bill and stop its final passage in to law.
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights expresses its deep concern about the moral and human rights insensibilities of the proposed bill, its unconstitutionalities and the uneconomical channelling of legislative efforts to less important issues in the face of pressing national development and human rights concerns.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Senate should out rightly resist any attempt in compelling Senators to legislate on morality and imposition of a national law on dress code for Nigerians.
Legislate with a sense of urgency on thriving national development and human rights issues in relation to alleviating the plight of the masses and vulnerable in the society.
Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the national constitution, international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Nigeria, such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
Recalling, that Nigeria is the incumbent Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Councils, the country must set a standard in its obligatory role in the promotion of human rights commencing with the human rights situation of its citizens.
In the word of Martin Ihoeghian, President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, “the Council's main purpose is to uphold the dignity of the human person through the promotion and protection of human rights…failure to advance the aims and objectives of the Human Rights Council collectively by all nations, all peoples and all institutions will be a colossal failure of humanity to protect its own dignity and rights under the rule of law.”
The World is watching, Africa is expecting and Nigerians are appealing!
URGENT APPEAL - BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights
Proposed Bill on Public Nudity/ Legislating on Morality/ Gender Discrimination
Nigeria
June 24, 2008
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, Lagos, Nigeria requests your urgent intervention for the on-coming Public Hearing on the “Bill for an Act to Prohibit and Punish Public Nudity, Sexual Intimidation and Other Related Offences in Nigeria” on July 02, 2008.
This Bill unconstitutional in nature and seeking to legislate on morality has successfully passed the first and the second hearing on the floor of the Senate, a ccording to the information received, on June 06, 2008. This is an attempt to set a subjective standard to determine personal dressing and to criminize and penalize offenders.
A critical analysis of the bill depicted gross unconstitutionality of its provisions and clearly discriminatory against women disregarding the universally recognized principles of the presumption of innocence. In addition to legislating on morality which is distinct from law, it provides an expansive definition of public nudity beyond its ordinary meaning, overlooking the diverse cultural and belief systems in Nigeria.
The Bill is contrary to constitutionally and internationally guaranteed rights which prohibit discrimination on basis of gender. It also gives wide powers to police officers who have access to limited resources to fight crime to have reasons to harass people and invade their personal life.
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights expresses its deep concern about the ongoing insensibilities of the Nigerian Parliament on legislating on unconstitutionalities and channelling legislative efforts to trivialities in the face of pressing national development issues and human rights situations particularly women’s rights. BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights will also immediately alert the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Women’s human rights and the Special Rapporteur of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) on Women’s Human Rights in Africa.
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights further recalls that Nigeria as the incumbent President of the United Nations Human Rights Councils has to set a standard in its obligatory role in the promotion of human rights commencing with the human rights situation of its citizens.
Background information:
On January 14, 2008, Senator Ufot Eme Ekaette, Senate Committee Chairperson on Women and Youth informed the members of the public through the medium of the News Agency of Nigeria on her desire to ensure that the moral attitudes, cultural and traditional norms of the Nigerian Society are preserved. This according to her, is in a bid to address indecency and immorality. In February, the Senators truly began to legislate on this Bill and this Bill that has generated a lot of controversy from the public has passed its first and second hearing at the moment.
Actions required:
Please write to the authorities of the National Assembly urging them to:
Conform to the constitution and all international and human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a signatory.
Resist the move by Senator Ufot Eme Ekaette, Senate Committee Chairperson on Women and Youth, in compelling legislators to legislate on morality and imposition of a national law on dress code for the Nigeria citizens.
Reconsider their position and reject the enactment of such a complicated moral issues into law for the benefit of females and Nigeria as a whole.
Realize that Nigeria is a secular state and not founded on any religious affiliation as imposition of dress code connotes a strong affiliation to religious tenets and principles as a result compelling Nigerians to be bound by tenets favouring religious sects.
Legislate with the sense of urgency on thriving national development and human rights issues in relation to alleviating the plight of the masses and vulnerable in the society.
Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the national constitution, international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Nigeria
Addresses:
General Contact information for the Senate
National Assembly Complex
Three Arms Zone
P.M.B 141 Abuja
Nigeria
Please also write to the embassies of Nigeria in your respective country.
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken with regards to this appeal in your reply.
To contact us, write to or call:
BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights
76, Ogudu Road, Ojota.
P.O. Box 73630, Victoria Island Lagos.
Tel: +234 - 8980834, 4962302, 4747931, 08023330981 http://baobabwomen.blogspot.com/
UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND INDECENT: A LEGAL OPINION ON THE INDECENT DRESSING BILLby Alliances for Africa
This legal opinion is a reaction to a bill sponsored by Senator Eme Ufot Ekaette (MFR), Committee Chairperson on Women and Youth of the Nigerian Senate proposing that the National Assembly (The Nigerian Federal Legislative body) pass a Law prohibiting and punishing public nudity, sexual intimidation and other related offences in Nigeria.
The proposed bill is an attempt to set a subjective standard to determine personal dressing and to criminalise and penalise people who do not comply with the dress code. The bill by its nature is contradictory and invasive on the following grounds:
▪ It discriminates against women;
▪ It disregards the universally recognised presumption of innocence;
▪ It interferes with the constitutional privilege against self-incrimination;
▪ It will overburden the courts’ case load with frivolous allegations;
▪ It attempts to impose a highly unusual and clearly unjustifiable dimension to law-making in a constitutional democracy;
▪ It wrongly assumes that any enactment would have jurisdiction across the federation of Nigeria since as a criminal bill it can only be within the legislative powers of the States’ Houses of Assembly;
▪ It infringes on the fundamental rights protected in Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
▪ It expands the definition of public nudity beyond its ordinary meaning;
▪ It legislates on morality which is distinct from law;
▪ It does not take into cognisance Nigeria’s diverse cultures and beliefs;
▪ The provisions on sexual intimidation are worded in such a way that can lead to blackmail and abuse;
▪ It appears to usurp the power of the Attorney General as provided for under the Constitution by stating that a fiat of the Attorney General is automatically granted to the Police on his behalf;
▪ It creates confusion by giving both the Magistrate Court and the High Court concurrent jurisdiction to hear and determine cases.
▪ It reaffirms the roles of religious bodies, the ministries of information and the National Orientation Agency which only makes it the more obvious that a law criminalising dressing or indecency is unnecessary.....more
UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO TABLE NEW RESOLUTION ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE
June 18, 2008
Mavic Cabrera Balleza - IWTC
1. NEW UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE 2. ARRIA FORMULA MEETING ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT-AFFECTED COUNTRIES 3. OPEN DEBATE/ MINISTERIAL MEETING ON THE NEW SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE 4. NGO WORKING GROUP ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY RESPONSE TO THE RESOLUTION 5. WOMEN'S NGOS FROM AROUND THE WORLD OFFER MIXED RESPONSES
1. NEW UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE
A new UN Security Council resolution on sexual violence is currently being discussed by NGOs, UN member states, and UN agencies. This new resolution, which is expected to be debated and voted on by the Security Council on June 19, 2008, would require the Council to analyze and address the occurrence of sexual violence in all conflict-affected situations on its agenda. The Security Council has been the subject of criticism - especially from women's rights advocates - for failing to respond to the issue of sexual violence in a consistent and systematic manner. It was only recently that it issued strong statements on the appalling levels of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Cote d'Ivoire....more
Report of a Two-Day Workshop organized for Secondary Schools in Lagos State by Action Health Incorporated from June 9th – 10th, 2008
BAOBAB For Women’s Human Rights participated in a two day workshop organised for Secondary Schools in Lagos State by Action Health Incorporated. The workshop was part of the preparation for the Teenage Festival of Life that will be held in November, 2008. The topic of the workshop was Ensuring our Rights: Addressing Harmful Sexual Health Practices. The workshop was organised to expose young people to harmful sexual health practices and to enlighten them on their sexual and reproductive health and rights. The workshop was also aimed at equipping the students on how they can use creative art for advocacy against harmful sexual and reproductive health practices. It was also meant to deconstruct gender stereotypes and improve parent-child communication. The students were expected to use the knowledge gained at the workshop to produce poetry, music and drama to be presented at the Teenage Festival of Life in November. The two-day workshop was divided into 12 sessions, 6 sessions per day because of the large population of students from different schools across the state. Josephine Effa-Chukwuma, Executive Director of Project Alert made the first presentation on Harmful Sexual Health Practices. She spoke extensively on harmful sexual health practices and the consequence of such practices.....more
WOMEN DEMAND ACTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY NOW!
We, women's groups (including women living with and affected by HIV/AIDS and young women) present here at the High Level Meeting on AIDS, urge national governments and the UN system to keep their promises to women and girls who continue to be at an alarming risk of HIV infection and of receiving inadequate prevention, treatment, care and support as a result of persisting social, cultural and economic subordination, structural inequalities, as well as pervasive violence in their homes, communities, schools, workplaces, streets, markets, police stations hospitals, and situations of institutional confinement. We welcome the progress noted in the Secretary General’s Report relevant to women and girls such as the fact that, in 2007, “ More than 80 per cent of countries, including 85 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, have policies in place to ensure the equal access of women and girls to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support”. However, the same report states that “only 53 per cent provide budgeted support for women-focused programmes”, a situation which we strongly denounce. It is time to move beyond the mere promulgation of laws and policies to their full and immediate implementation....more
We, the undersigned, representing international women's and human rights organizations, express our solidarity with Iranian women, on 12 June 2008. This is the day identified by women's rights activists in Iran as their national day of solidarity in objecting to laws that discriminate against women.
Four years ago, on this day, women's rights activists organized an unprecedented protest in front of Tehran University, demanding that laws which discriminate against women be revised. They pledged to keep up their activities until their demands were met by authorities. On 12 June 2006, Iranian women's rights activists took to the streets again and planned a similar protest in Haft-e Tir Square, in Tehran, with similar objectives and demands. The protest was violently broken up and over 70 persons arrested. This was the first major crackdown against peaceful women's activism in Iran.
Since then, scores of women's rights activists in Iran have been summoned, charged, arrested and sentenced in relation to their peaceful activism and their demands for equality. Last year, because of security pressures, women's rights activists celebrated their day of solidarity in their private homes. But as witnessed in the continued summonses to court and persecution of activists involved in the One Million Signatures Campaign, the security forces won't even tolerate the convening of meetings by activists in their private homes.
On this day, we the undersigned thus want to express our solidarity with women's rights activists in Iran and send them and their government the message that the international community is watching. We are watching closely their struggle for equality and admire their creativity, persistence and determination under difficult circumstances.
We urge the Iranian government to stop its harassment of equal rights defenders, to drop all charges against activists who have peacefully advocated for the human rights of women, especially those involved in the One Million Signatures Campaign, to allow women's rights activists to use civil means to address their concerns about discriminatory Iranian laws, and to raise awareness about their concerns among the public.
Lastly, we urge the Iranian authorities to take concrete steps to bring laws governing the lives of women in line with international human rights standards, and in line with Iran's own international commitments. We urge them to recognize that, while Iranian women have achieved a great deal socially, laws lag far behind the realities of women's lives in Iran.
And in closing, we urge the Iranian government to allow women to celebrate their day of solidarity unimpeded.
Ask ASEAN to Help the People of Myanmar
In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, tens of thousands of people have died and up to 2.5 million people have been severely affected and made homeless without essential food, shelter or healthcare. The survivors are not receiving the necessary assistance. Ask the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to urge the government of Myanmar to provide humanitarian aid throughout the areas affected by Cyclone Nargis. Please send an appeal to current ASEAN Chair Singapore through its ambassador to the United States.. .. More
Help Guatemalan Defenders Uncover the Past
On May 19 Fredy Peccerelli received an email that said that he would be killed and his wife would be raped, murdered, and sent to him in pieces. Peccerelli is a renowned forensic anthropologist who leads exhumations of mass graves. The scientific evidence he and his team uncover could enable the prosecution of those responsible for hundreds of massacres committed during Guatemala's armed conflict.Days earlier Judge Eduardo Cojulun also received death threats. He had just sent a report to the government stating that there was sufficient evidence for these crimes to be prosecuted in Guatemala.The Guatemalan government must now act to stop the intimidation of human rights defenders seeking accountability for past mass atrocities. Please send a letter to the Guatemalan government ....More
Bangladesh: Sharp rise in extrajudicial killings and rapes, NGO reports
In its monthly human rights report, Odhikar, a FORUM-ASIA member in Bangladesh, has expressed concern about the increase in the number of extrajudicial killings during April, in which the death toll was more than double that of the previous month. The NGO also reported alarming increases in incidences of violence against women, with 52 women and girls victims of rape. Odhikar has called on the government to put an immediate end to the extrajudicial killings and attacks on women, as well as ensure proper support and compensation for victims......
Four women's rights activists, Nasrin Afzali, Nahid Jafari, Zeinab Peighambar-zadeh, and Minou Mortazi, have been given suspended sentences of whipping (10 lashes) and six months imprisonment.
Four women's rights activists, Nasrin Afzali, Nahid Jafari, Zeinab Peighambar-zadeh, and Minou Mortazi, have been given suspended sentences of whipping (10 lashes) and six months imprisonment. They have been given this harsh sentence for having been part of a small group of people who gathered outside the Revolutionary Court in March, 2007 to register their objections to the trial of five other women activists earlier charged for taking part in a peaceful demonstration in 2006 to demand the removal of laws discriminating against women.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
You can contact to the Iranian authorities and the embassy of Iran in your home country via letter, email, fax and/or telephone.....More
Overview /Simplification of the Protection Against Domestic Violence Law 2007 by BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights.
The Protection Against Domestic Violence Law 2007, prohibits any person from committing any act of domestic violence (DV) against any person in Lagos State. A complainant under the law can apply for a protection order where an act of DV or a criminal offence that contains an element of domestic violence is committed against him or her. The complaint can be lodged with any of the following persons who, only after obtaining the consent of the complainant, may apply on his/her behalf:
Counselors;
Health Service Provider;
Social Worker;
Organizations;
Teachers; and
Police Officers.
There are instances where consent is not required such as when the complainant is a minor (a child or persons under 18 years) lunatic, unconscious, and persons incapable of giving consent or the court satisfied that the complaint is unable to provide the required consent....More
The WMD's DemocracyNews :: Electronic Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy
Special Issue - March 2008
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: "Defending Civil Society" Report Available in Six Languages
The World Movement's Website (www.wmd.org) now features the "Defending Civil Society" report in six different languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
As announced in the February issue of DemocracyNews, the report, co-authored by the World Movement Secretariat at NED and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), articulates long established principles, rooted in international law, that have served to protect civil society but have been increasingly violated by various governments that seek to restrict the space in which civil society groups-particularly democracy and human rights groups-carry out their work. the Report is being endorsed by a group of internationally-recognized civil society leaders, thus far by Vaclav Havel ( Czech Republic), Saad Eddin Ibrahim ( Egypt), and Anwar Ibrahim ( Malaysia).
BAOBAB For Women’s Human Rights, a non-profit, non-governmental women’s human rights organization, which focuses on women’s legal rights issues under religious, customary and statutory laws in Nigeria , requires the services of a suitable candidate for the position of an Accounts Officer.
The ideal candidate must have experience in office administration with not less than four (4) years cognate experience. The right candidate must possess minimum of BSC in Management and Accounting.
Suitable candidate should forward their application and detailed Curriculum Vitae and a writing sample on a women’s rights issue within two weeks of this publication to:
We, women's groups (including women living with and affected by HIV/AIDS and young women) present here at the High Level Meeting on AIDS, urge national governments and the UN system to keep their promises to women and girls who continue to be at an alarming risk of HIV infection and of receiving inadequate prevention, treatment, care and support as a result of persisting social, cultural and economic subordination, structural inequalities, as well as pervasive violence in their homes, communities, schools, workplaces, streets, markets, police stations hospitals, and situations of institutional confinement. We welcome the progress noted in the Secretary General’s Report relevant to women and girls such as the fact that, in 2007, “ More than 80 per cent of countries, including 85 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, have policies in place to ensure the equal access of women and girls to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support”. However, the same report states that “only 53 per cent provide budgeted support for women-focused programmes”, a situation which we strongly denounce. It is time to move beyond the mere promulgation of laws and policies to their full and immediate implementation....
