News and Views
Canada: Aqsa Parvez’s father and son have both been given life sentences for her murder
For years, Muhammad Parvez had been in absolute control of his family: he set the rules, he made the decisions and he told his eight children, including the adult ones, exactly how to live their lives.
Al-Jazeera is under scrutiny as female TV presenters quit
Al-Jazeera has, since its 1996 launch as an Arab-based international TV news network, been the subject of controversy. Much of the criticism has been the result of prejudice.
Egypt: Beneath the galabiya: Intersex operations in Assiut
Assiut--In the realm of sexual taboos in Egypt, the issue of "intersex individuals"--or those born with "ambiguous genitalia"--is certainly somewhere near the top of the list. While medical professionals take an impartial approach to treatment and surgical operations, social and cultural factors pose a challenge for affected individuals and their families.
UAE: Two Emirati women tap Twitter to try to delete the stereotypes
ABU DHABI// Frustrated by the presumptions people made about them because of their nationality, two Emirati women are using social media to break down stereotypes.
UK: Bristol women protest against genital mutilation
Women opposed to female genital mutilation have marched through Bristol in a protest against the practice.
Turkey and USA: American therapist calls solidarity of Turkish women ‘remarkable’
“The idea of namus may not, strictly speaking, be a Muslim idea. Usually translated as ‘honor,’ the word namus is actually a word with no direct translation in English.
Iran: SKSW/WLUML Statement on planned stoning to death of young mother in East Azerbaijan Province
The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women and the International Solidarity Network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws urge all concerned to immediately contact the Iranian officials to express their concern over the planned stoning to death of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani.
Italy: Moroccan Father on Trial for Daughter's Honour Killing
Pordenone, 14 June (AKI) – The fast-track trial of a Moroccan immigrant accused of stabbing his 18-year-old daughter to death last year in an ‘honour’ killing opened in the northeastern Italian town of Pordenone on Monday.
Afghanistan: School girls hospitalized - Suspect poisoning
Kabul, Afghanistan -- About 60 schoolgirls in Afghanistan's Balkh province appear to have been poisoned and required hospitalization, the Ministry of Health said Sunday. The victims ranged in age from 9 to 14.
Pakistan: The Human Rights Crisis in Northwest Pakistan
Millions of Pakistanis in the northwest tribal areas live in a human rights free zone where they have no legal protection by the government and are subject to abuses by the Taleban, Amnesty International said in a major report released on Thursday.
"Nearly 4 million people are effectively living under the Taleban in northwest Pakistan without rule of law and effectively abandoned by the Pakistani government," said Claudio Cordone, Amnesty International's interim Secretary General.
India: Women Advocate Against Honour Killings & For Free Choice Marriages
New Delhi - Honour killings in north India are making the headlines with sickening regularity. The unexplained death of Nirupama Pathak in her Jharkhand home is just one incident.
Lebanon: The adventures of Salwa: a comic to combat sexual harrasment in Lebanon
Salwa is the image of the first campaign against sexual harassment in Lebanon. The League of Independent Activists – IndyACT has launched this campaign with the aim of combating ‘all forms of sexual harassment, physical and verbal abuse against children, girls, and women’. This is in particular a response to a drastic increase in such incidence in universities, schools, streets, workplaces and on public transport.
Iran: Crisis Deepening One Year After Disputed Elections
(New York, June 10, 2010) – Iran’s government is tightening its grip, harassing, imprisoning, and using violence against its own people one year after the disputed 2009 presidential election and the start of its brutal crackdown, Human Rights Watch said today. The anniversary of the June 12, 2009 election falls two days after a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, during which Iran defied criticisms of its human rights record.
A Birthday in Evin Prison – an opportunity to remember Iran’s prisoners
By Ann Harrison, East Gulf researcher for Amnesty International
To coincide with the 12 June anniversary of the disputed election last year in Iran, Amnesty International has prepared a campaign to highlight the situation of political prisoners, many of whom are prisoners of conscience, who are still held in Iran.
Iran: The brutal crackdowns only make Iran's women stronger
By: Shirin Ebadi:
The protest movement is now a year old – but the feminists at its helm can look back on decades of courageous activism.
Iran: Marking a Year of Struggle
UK: Report Examines Implementation of Forced Marriage Law
The government of the United Kingdom recently published a report regarding the effects of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act that took effect in late 2008.
Syria: Syrian Women Reflect on Rare Political Victory
Jailed activist writer Sarah Shourd filed this story in July, shortly before she was seized by Iranian border forces during a hiking trip in Iraqi Kurdistan. With the assistance of her mother, who reached out to Women's eNews, we are able to post the piece with staff updates.
Malaysia: Muslim law terrorizes Malay women
The caning sentence given to a Muslim woman last year for drinking beer was a sign of the slow ‘talibanization’ of Malay society, says an Islamic expert.