Afghan elections: Record number of women stand for parliament - August 24, 2010

Election posters line a street in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan Photograph: Rahmat Gul/AP

A record number of women are running in Afghanistan's critical parliamentary elections next month despite many being inundated with threatening phone calls, including death threats from insurgents...read more

Controversial 'Family Bill' Returns To Iranian Parliament's Agenda - August 24, 2010

Iran's parliament is preparing to discuss a bill this week that would allow men to marry additional wives without the consent of their first wife, and would tax dowries...read more

UN confirms reported gang rape of women by rebels in DRC Congo

23 August 2010 – A United Nations human rights team has confirmed that members of two armed groups in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) raped more than 150 women during an attack on a village in North Kivu province last month, a UN spokesperson said today...read more

Burqa can't be forced: High Court -Aaugust 23, 2010

The court also ordered relevant officials to explain why forcing girls to wear burqa (veil) and keeping them out of sports and cultural activities were illegal.

Dhaka, Aug 22 (bdnews24.com)—The High Court has ruled that no women can be forced to wear burqa at work and educational institutions...read more

'Rise in female genital mutilation' in London - August 22, 2010

The number of cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) reported in London has risen and some procedures are taking place in the city, a doctor has said.

Dr Comfort Momah, who runs a clinic in Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, said she sees 350 women and children a year...read more

Words and Deeds: Holding Governments Accountable in the Beijing +15 Review Process - August 2010

At the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, 189 governments pledged in the Beijing Platform for Action to “revoke any remaining laws that discriminate on the basis of sex.” In 2000, the UN General Assembly established a target date of 2005 for revocation of all sex-discriminatory laws. Fifteen years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, and five years past the set target date, numerous laws that explicitly discriminate against women are still in force...read more

India Tries Using Cash Bonuses to Slow Birthrates - August 21, 2010

SATARA, India — Sunita Laxman Jadhav is a door-to-door saleswoman who sells waiting. She sweeps along muddy village lanes in her nurse’s white sari, calling on newly married couples with an unblushing proposition: Wait two years before getting pregnant, and the government will thank you...read more

Brutality Against Women Stirs Fear In Afghanistan - August 20, 2010

Women walk at an outdoor market in downtown Kabul. The resurgent Taliban and several recent executions in accordance with an extreme interpretation of Shariah law have human-rights activists worried, particularly for women.

The Taliban has denied that its militants tortured, hanged and shot a widow in Afghanistan's western Baghdis province for adultery...read more

Afghanistan: SKSW/WLUML Statement: Stop stoning and other forms of cruel punishments by the Taliban - August 18, 2010

The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women and the Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) International Solidarity Network condemn the recent incidents of violent punishments by the Taliban in Afghanistan....read more

Africa: New Book On Child Protection to Be Launched - August 17, 2010

A new book outlining how military training programme works to protect the rights of children in conflict prone areas will be launched in Nairobi on August 20th, 2010....read more

Rapes of Christian Girls in Pakistan Reflect Hidden Trend

Sexual assault by Muslim extremists is commonplace but rarely reported.

FAROOQABAD, Pakistan, August 16 (CDN) — The vulnerability of Christian girls to sexual assault in Pakistani society emerged again last month as a Muslim landowner allegedly targeted a 16-year-old and a gang of madrassa (Islamic school) students allegedly abused a 12-year-old in Punjab Province.... read more

India probes tribal woman 'forced to walk naked' - August 11, 2010

The Women's Commission in the Indian state of West Bengal has announced an inquiry into allegations that a tribal woman was forced to parade naked.

Officials say she was forced to walk without her clothes for nearly 10km (6 miles) through three villages and was filmed on a mobile phone...read more

Clinton tells Iran to halt executions - August 11, 2010

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has appealed to Iran to stop executing people.

Ms Clinton has added her plea to the growing chorus of civil rights groups which have condemned the country for an expansion in the list of capital crimes...read more

UPDATE: Iran: Mohammad Mostafaie seeks asylum in Norway and his wife is released from Evin prison - August 9, 2010

Since our last update on the case of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, and her former attorney Mohammad Mostafaei, there have been a few important developments: Mostafaei, who had fled to Turkey after the arrest of his wife and brother in-law in Tehran, was arrested by the Turkish authorities and placed in a detention centre. He has been released, and is now in Norway seeking asylum. Although the brother in-law was released shortly after his arrest, Mostafaei’s wife, Fereshteh Halimi, continued to be held at Evin prison. However, on Saturday 7 August, Halimi was also released from prison. Mostafaei hopes that his wife and young daughter will be able to join him shortly in Norway...read more

Police: Taliban Execute Pregnant Afghan Woman In Public - August 9, 2010

Police in northwestern Afghanistan say Taliban fighters publicly executed a pregnant Afghan woman after accusing her of committing adultery...read more

Nigerian passport rules are stacked against women - August 8, 2010

Last week, the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, told a Nigerian woman she cannot apply for her children without a letter from the children’s father, and kindly offered to issue the documents as soon as the paternal endorsement is received...read more

UN Special Representative Decries ‘Overlooked’ Rape During Conflict

6 August 2010 – Rape is one of the world’s greatest peace and security challenges, a senior United Nations official said today, adding that rape in times of conflict remains one of the least-condemned war crimes, leading to impunity for perpetrators....read more

Yerima to face prosecution - August 4, 2010

Ahmed Sanni Yerima may soon be arraigned in court for alleged child abuse and marriage to a minor. The former governor, who is now a senator, may be prosecuted over his marriage to an Egyptian minor, a 14-year old school girl, Eladly Maryam Maged Saleh....read more

18-year-old girl sues CROSIEC over August 28 council polls - August 5, 2010

An 18-year-old girl has filed a fresh suit against the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) to stop it from conducting local government elections in the state on August 28...read more

Woman sentenced to stoning, her attorney seeking asylum await fates - August 4, 2010

(CNN) -- An Iranian court may render the final verdict Thursday in the case of Sakineh Mohammedie Ashtiani, sentenced to death by stoning in Iran for allegedly committing adultery...read more

Stopping Violence Against Women Worldwide - August 3, 2010

Violence against women is a worldwide crisis, and a bill scheduled to come before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, the International Violence against Women Act, would improve the way US foreign assistance is provided to address such violence. The US Violence against Women Act and several reauthorizations created critical funding, strategies, and structures to prevent violence against women and girls and to support survivors. While this law has been immensely helpful in the United States, foreign assistance to combat violence against women in other countries has been patchy, meager, and uncoordinated...read more

African leaders agree to expand maternal health campaign as AU Summit concludes - August 2, 2010

African leaders participating in the 15th African Union (AU) Summit, which concluded on Tuesday, agreed to expand a campaign aimed at curbing maternal mortality on the continent and adopted other "key actions" in an effort to reduce infant and maternal mortality, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports....read more

Teenage pregnancies worry Abia officials - August 1, 2010

Increasing rate of teenage pregnancies in Abia State has become a source of worry for officials of the state Women Affairs ministry, leading them to call on mothers and community leaders to help curtail the tide as it was capable of reducing the contribution of women to the development of the state....read more

Women standing for council seats in Malawi, against the odds

It's expensive trying to run an election campaigns in Malawi because most potential voters expect contestants to distribute handouts, such as T-Shirts, clothes, food and even money as a sign of 'compassion' to their constituents. If they don't, they're deemed 'stingy leaders' and voters shun them...read more

Senate to confirm Kagan as court's 4th-ever woman - July 30, 2010

WASHINGTON – Her confirmation assured, Elena Kagan is on the brink of becoming the fourth woman ever to serve as a Supreme Court justice....read more

PAKISTAN - WOMEN COPE WITH CRISIS OF MASSIVE FLOODS & DISPLACEMENT - July 30, 2010

Massive flooding in Pakistan has killed at least 430 people as monsoon rains continue to bloat rivers, submerge villages and trigger landslides, according to rescue and government officials...read more

PALESTINE - HAMAS BANS WOMEN'S UNDERWEAR FROM SHOP WINDOWS - July 29, 2010

Prohibition aims to “restore Palestinian morals."
The Hamas Islamic movement that controls the Gaza Strip has banned shops from displaying women’s underwear in their windows, saying it offends public morality....read more

NORTHERN THAILAND - CHILD TRAFFICKING & SEXUAL EXPLOITATION - GIRLS

At an age when we would regard them as still being children, thousands of young children from Northern Thailand have and continue to be, lured, forced or coerced into prostitution. Girls as young as 10 years old have been sold into the brothels of Bangkok and other cities in the region and even overseas. In some areas as many as 90% of girls have left their village to work...read more

INTERPOL investigates Yerima marriage - July 29, 2010

The International Criminal Police Organization [INTERPOL] has asked the National Central Bureau (NCB) in Lagos, for relevant information concerning the marriage of Ahmed Yerima, the former Zamfara State governor to an Egyptian minor....read more

Expelling unwed mothers banned in Philippines - July 29, 2010

In an effort to promote women’s human rights in the Philippines, it is now illegal to ban unmarried single mothers from enrolling in schools...read more

CONGO - Where so many children die bearing children - July 28, 2010

The Congo is a difficult place to be born, or borne. Dangerous for the baby, dangerous for the mother and dangerous for the first five years of life — a dismal mortality rate shared with many nations in sub-Saharan Africa...read more

‘Women most affected during crisis' - July 23, 2010

Women, who do not necessarily partake in conflict situations or the processes that lead to them, are usually the most affected by the several ethno-religious crisis that have hit Nigeria in recent times...read more

Women in northern Afghanistan face Taliban revival - July 22, 2010

Women living in Afghanistan's safest region are retreating behind the veil amid fears they are being stalked by a resurgent Taliban determined to trample their rights....read more

Honour killings are cold blooded murder: NHRC chief - July 21, 2010

NEW DELHI: Former CJI and National Human Rights Commission chief K G Balakrishnan on Tuesday described honour killings as "cold blooded murder", adding that more than a new law, awareness was needed in society against such inhuman acts. The statement comes at a time when the National Commission for Women and prominent women rights activists have been demanding a separate legislation to define honour crimes...read more

Burqa ban backfire? - July 20, 2010

Last week, French lawmakers approved a ban on burqas that cover the face, asserting that they “don't square with the French ideal of women's equality or its secular tradition.” Although not yet law (the proposal will be voted on in September in the French Senate), the overwhelming support for it in the National Assembly (335 yes votes, one no vote, and 221 abstentions) signals that the bill is likely to pass. (It’s also likely to be challenged in the European Court of Human Rights, but that’s another story.).. read more

Syria Bans Full Islamic Veils At Universities - July 19, 2010

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria has forbidden the country's students and teachers from wearing the niqab – the full Islamic veil that reveals only a woman's eyes – taking aim at a garment many see as political.... read more

Now girls say 'I won't do' - July 17, 2010

There is no denying that child marriage still exists in this modern world, but more and more girls have started resisting early matrimony in favour of further studies. Binay Singh reports....read more

Protect victims of abuse - July 16, 2010

It was nighttime in Parc Marie Vincent when the five men grabbed her, Gentile told Human Rights Watch researchers. A few short weeks after losing her home in the earthquake, she was in a packed camp for the quake survivors when she was kidnapped, raped, beaten and forced to perform oral sex.... read more

Lack of housing forces victims of domestic violence in Latin America to stay with abusers - July 16, 2010

An investigative study on domestic violence and housing in Latin America released today reveals that likely hundreds of thousands of women remain in homes where they are subjected to violence simply because they have no alternative place to go...read more

India - Lure of cash aids India's efforts to reduce number of women dying in childbirth - July 15, 2010

Urmila Rawat gave birth to her first two children in her thatched-roof home, as Indian village women have always done. Now eight months pregnant, Rawat assumed she would deliver her third baby at home as well...read more

Women's, Children's Groups Warn of Negative Consequences of Child Marriage - July 15, 2010

U.S. lawmakers convened a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday to discuss the issue of child marriage and its effect on girls and society. Non-governmental organizations estimate issue affects 60 million girls worldwide... read more

France - National Assembly Lower House Votes Overwhelmingly for Burqa Ban - Senate yet to Vote - July 14, 2010

French parliament on Tuesday voted in favor of a bill to totally ban the wearing of full face-covering veils in public spaces...read more

Latin America & Caribean - Labour Inequality for Women - UN Report - July 13,2010

Women in Latin America and the Caribbean are still discriminated against in the labour market and receive lower wages than men for the same work, according to a new United Nations report which also points to women in the region spending more time on unpaid domestic or care work...read more

Iran's Assault On Civil Society - July 12, 2010

The government of Iran has turned its back on a rich tradition of civil society, perpetrating human rights abuses against many activists and ordinary citizens who just wanted the right to be heard...read more

Malaysia - Islamic Courts Appoints First Female Judges - July 8, 2010

Malaysia's Islamic Shariah courts have appointed their first female judges — a move praised by women's rights activists Thursday as a boost for a judicial system often accused of favoring men....read more

Home Births - Benefits & Risks - Review of Research - More Needed - July 8, 2010

Babies are three times more likely to die after planned home births than after hospital deliveries, a new review of the research says. Many of the deaths are probably related to breathing difficulties and failed attempts at resuscitation, say researchers. However, the overall risk of death is still very low...read more

Too Young to Wed?

Malaysia: There was an increase in marriages involving underage Muslims in the Federal Territory last year. This goes against the assumption that child marriages are now on the decline due to changing cultural trends... read more

The Millennium Development....Guys? - July 7, 2010

Consider these truths:

Men don't get pregnant.

Completely preventable complications of pregnancy, labor, unsafe abortion and AIDS-related illnesses remain the leading causes of death and disability among women in countries throughout the world due to lack of political will, lack of funding, and the politicization of sexual and reproductive health by fundamentalist religious and political actors...read more

Oshiomhole decries neglect of public education - July 7, 2010

Nigeria: Classrooms blocks built by the Niger Delta Development Commission and Education Trust Fund in Edo State are already cracking and not up to standard, Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, said yesterday...read more

African Women Fight Female Genital Mutilation - July 7, 2010

Vienna (Women's Feature Service) - Waris Dirie, an Austrian of Somalian origin, is an inspiration to the many victims of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), especially in Africa. Born into a family of Somalian nomads, Dirie's genitals were mutilated when she was three years old. She was sold in marriage at 13 years after which she fled Africa. From the heart of the desert to the West, where she became one of the highest paid models, Dirie has come a long way. She has been chosen as the United Nations spokesperson against FGM and is a fierce crusader against the ritual of FGM, calling it one of the biggest challenges facing Somalian women... read more

No hope for information bill - July 7, 2010

It is becoming increasingly clear that the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill will not be passed by the present National Assembly....read more

Groups campaign for Rights Bill - July 6, 2010

In a bid to promote and protect the human rights of women, especially with regard to their participation in governance, a group of nongovernmental organisations under the umbrella of the National Coalition on Affirmative Action (NCAA), have proposed the passing of the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill in Lagos State....read more

54th Session on the UN Commission on the Status of Women Progress but Huge Political Challenges Ahead - July 5, 2010

2010 is a significant year for the global women's movement. It marks the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPA), the 30th anniversary of Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations Against Women (CEDAW), known as the "Bill of Rights of Women and Girls, " and 10 years since the Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs) were drawn up. It is a time to reflect, measure the progress, and work on the challenges, failings, and future prospects...read more

Pressure on parliament: Passage of the Gender Based Violece (GBV) Bill in Lagos,Nigeria. - July 2, 2010

On the 30th June 2010, the Gender Based Violece (GBV) Bill titled Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Bill 2010 went through its first reading at the House of Representatives. To view the draft copy of the GBV Bill click here

Note that desired amendments to the Bill (either inclusion or exlusion) should be forwarded to the LACVAW Secretariat for collation that will be taken on by the delegated House Committee when it gets to the Committee stage. LACVAW Secretariat can be reached on wraparhvprj@yahoo.com; lacvawthematicworkinggroup@wrapanigeria.com OR +234-8038996298; +234-8035670173; +234-8033144905.

In historic move, UN creates single entity to promote women’s empowerment - July 2, 2010

In a bid to accelerate the empowerment of women, the General Assembly today voted unanimously to create a dynamic new entity merging four United Nations offices focusing on gender equality, a move hailed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other senior officials...read more

UN releases practical toolkit on how to deter sexual violence in war - June 30, 2010

From peacekeepers in Darfur escorting women and girls to prevent “firewood rapes” to blue helmets in Kosovo setting up an emergency hotline for at-risk communities and lone women, the United Nations launched today its first compilation of the best practices of its staff to prevent, deter and respond to the use of rape as a war tactic...read more

Malaysia: Too young to wed? - June 30, 2010

There was an increase in marriages involving underage Muslims in the Federal Territory last year.

This goes against the assumption that child marriages are now on the decline due to changing cultural trends...read more

UN Women Born! Civil Society Celebrates Creation of Gender Equality Entity After Four Years of Advocacy - June 30, 2010

The Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign celebrates the United Nations General Assembly resolution, agreed to on 30 June and to be formally adopted by the General Assembly on Friday, 2 July, to establish “UN Women”—the new gender equality entity at the UN. This move has been sought by women’s organizations and other civil society organizations around the world since the UN established a System-Wide Coherence Panel for UN Reform...read more

USA - WAL-MART Women Employees File Largest Class Action Lawsuit - June 29, 2010

More than one million current and former Wal-Mart female employees alleging gender discrimination stand to be certified this summer as the largest civil rights class action in history...read more

Education is a key step in changing the supply and demand equation of human trafficking - June 28, 2010

“Postcards? Book on Pol Pot? Bracelet?” In the ruins of Angkor Wat, two young Cambodian girls hawked their wares with entrepreneurialism beyond their years.

Their questions were calibrated to win over American tourists: “What if we can tell you the name of the American President and the population of Cambodia? Then will you buy something?”....read more

Female discrimination and the bar association - June 27, 2010

That there is no female candidate running for president in the upcoming 2010 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national elections should come as no surprise, a foremost female lawyer has said....read more

Girls have a right to know

The Human Rights Council at its annual full day discussion on Women’s Human Rights in Geneva has been told that progress on gender equality in education is so slow it is unlikely to be achieved before 2040. This year’s discussion, “Empowering Women through Education” heard from a number of experts who talked of some progress but in totality described a situation where millions of girls continue to experience disadvantage and discrimination that prevents an effective education... read more

INDIA - Fruit Trees Village Project saves Girls' Lives

"This is our way of meeting the challenges of dowry, global warming and female foeticide. There has not been a single incident yet of female foeticide or dowry death in our village," Singh says... read more

Australia gets first woman PM - June 24, 2010

(Reuters) - Australia appointed its first woman prime minister, Julia Gillard, who vowed on Thursday to end division over a controversial mining tax, resurrect a carbon trade scheme and call elections within months.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd made an emotional and ignominious exit, quitting just before the center-left Labor Party was to dump him in an internal ballot and less than three years after a stunning election victory in 2007...read more

Government approves procurement of HIV test kits - June 24, 2010

The federal government, as part of its effort to sustain the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, yesterday approved the procurement of Anti retroviral drugs and HIV test kits to replace the old stock

This was done following the deliberation of a memo submitted by the minister of health, Onyebuchi Chukwu that the HIV kits will be exhausted by the middle of July 2010. The minister of information, Dora Akunyili said the scarcity “will pose a great threat to the successful management of the HIV and AIDS in country.”.....read more

SAUDI ARABIA: Women threaten to breastfeed drivers if they aren't allowed to drive - June 22, 2010

Many were stunned when Saudi cleric Sheik Abdel Mohsen Obeikan recently issued a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, calling on women to give breast milk to their male colleagues or men they come into regular contact with so as to avoid illicit mixing between the sexes...read more

Kyrgyzstan: Security Forces Abuse Civilians - 21 June 2010

The wife of 58-year-old Sharabiddin Dosmatov mourns her dead husband before preparing his body for burial at their home in the predominantly ethnic Uzbek village of Nariman, south Kyrgyzstan. Dosmatov died hours after being severely beaten by local Kyrgyz police during an early morning security operation in the village. © 2010 Moises Saman for Human Rights Watch.

(Osh) - Kyrgyz troops wounded at least 20 people, two of whom died, during a security operation on June 21, 2010, in the predominantly Uzbek village of Nariman in southern Kyrgyzstan, Human Rights Watch said today. The operation followed the removal of barricades erected by the residents to protect the village...read more

How Kenya welcomes refugees - 17 June 2010

Kenya: Abuse and Neglect of Somali Refugees
Shot at and raped. Arrested and beaten. Detained and deported. Extorted and robbed. Threatened and insulted. Ignored and shunned. The treatment of hardened criminals in some far-flung police state? The fate of political opponents by a repressive regime? Not quite. For Somali refugees - 80% of them women and children - this is their welcome to Kenya...read more

Afghanistan - Female Suicide On Rise in Herat

Officials report 50 per cent rise in self-immolation and poisoning over last year.

7 Jun 10 - Mahjabin, 23, weeps as she describes the events that led her to attempt suicide by swallowing rat poison. Speaking slowly and with difficulty from her bed in Herat hospital, she said that five years ago, after she returned from living in Iran, her father and brothers prevented her from studying and then forced her into marriage...read more

RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH TO PREVENTING MATERNAL DEATH & INJURY

According to the latest UN official figures, more than 500,000 women die every year from pregnancy-related causes. This means one death every minute. Meanwhile approximately 10 million women annually suffer pregnancy-related injuries and disabilities.
A study by the United Nations Human Rights Office states unequivocally that maternal mortality and morbidity is a matter of human rights, and that a human rights-based approach is essential to addressing this serious global problem...read more

IRAQ: Human Rights Watch slams high rates of female genital excision in Iraqi Kurdistan - June 16, 2010

“I still feel the fear,” Runak recalled as she told her story of undergoing genital excision at age 7.

The 26-year-old recounted her experience to Gola Ahmad Mohammad, an activist for the Assn. for Crisis Assistance and Development Cooperation (WADI). “When they tried to circumcise me, I ran away from one village to another to avoid the process. But they found me and brought me back home. I heard my mom when they were cutting a piece of my genitals say to me, ‘This will make you pure and the water of your hands become halal [permissible],” indicating she would otherwise consider her impure...read more

Taiwan experiencing gender imbalance

(11-06-10) Taipei - a dropping birth rate is not the only population problem challenging Taiwan, as the gender ratio of newborns recorded 109 males for every 100 females in 2009, the Bureau of Health Promotion (BHP) said Friday.

The natural ratio of its kind should be 105 males per 100 females, said BHP Director-General Chiou Shu-ti. Based on this ratio, the higher number of male births means that "around 4,000 baby girls disappeared last year," according to Chiou... read more

Civil Society Pushes for Action Ahead of MDG Review

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 15, 2010 (IPS) - As a major high-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals approaches at U.N. headquarters in September, anti- poverty and human rights activists are stepping up efforts to have their voices heard.

Informal hearings are taking place Monday and Tuesday among the U.N. General Assembly, civil society organisations and the private sector, in hopes of gaining many different perspectives for the September plenary meeting, which will review progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)....read more

Independent candidacy will boost women's chances in politics - 15 June 2010

Independent candidacy is a major way for more women to be elected into political offices, a former minister has said.

Olufunke Adedoyin, a former minister of state on Youth Development, said this in a paper she delivered at the Annual Press Week organised by the Ogun State Chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, in Abeokuta on Monday... read more

Thousands flee ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan - 15 June 2010

Osh, Kyrgyzstan (CNN) -- Smoke rose over the streets of Osh and sporadic gunfire could be heard Monday as ethnic groups continued to battle in the strategically important Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan.

An estimated 80,000 ethnic Uzbeks have fled the ongoing clashes against ethnic Kyrgyz, causing one aid official to describe the situation as a "humanitarian catastrophe," according to the International Committee of the Red Cross....read more

Italy - Moroccan Father on Trial for Daughter's Honour Killing - 14 June 2010

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.

El Ketaoui Dafani, a cook, allegedly became enraged after discovering his daughter Sanaa had a love affair with a 32-year-old Italian man... read more

Lead clean-up in Nigerian village is life-or-death race against time - 14 June 2010

Dareta, Nigeria (CNN) -- In remote northern Nigeria, it is now a race against time to prevent a catastrophe in the world's worst-ever recorded outbreak of lead poisoning.

Officially 163 people have already died in Zamfara state -- 111 of them children. But no one knows the true figures...read more

AFGHANISTAN - SCHOOLGIRLS HOSPITALIZED - SUSPECTED POISONING - 13 June 2010

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. Most suffered minor reactions, ministry spokesman Sakhi Kargan told CNN.

It's at least the third suspected poisoning of girls attending schools in Afghanistan this week...read more

Former child slave fights to end trafficking in Ghana

Sankor, Ghana (CNN)(20 May 2010)-- A former child slave is rescuing victims of child trafficking in Ghana and has built a school to help give them a better future.

Once a child slave himself, James Kofi Annan is turning what would be a crippling experience for many into a drive to stamp out child trafficking.... read more

Nobel Laureate Defamed on Iranian TV, Colleague Arrested
Fresh Wave of Attacks against Human Rights Defenders - 11 June 2010

(11 June 2010) An Iranian state television program defamed human rights lawyer and Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi in a heavily edited program on 10 June, and an associate and spokesperson for Ebadi’s organization was detained, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today...read more

Ondo removes Akure Oba - 10 June 2010

The embattled Deji of Akure, Oba Oluwadare Adesina Adepoju has been deposed by the Ondo state government.

After five years of controversial rule as the paramount ruler of Akure Kingdom, the Deji of Akure, Oluwadare Adesina Adepoju, Osupa III was yesterday deposed by the Ondo State government for beating up his estranged wife, Bolanle, in the street....read more

Congo Police Move to Combat Violence Against Women 9 June 2010

New police unit seeks to protect young women and girls in Katanga province, but cultural ideas need to change, too.
By Héritier Maila - International Justice - ICC
ACR Issue 260

There are signs of positive action to counter the culture of gender-based violence in Katanga province in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.

Perhaps the most significant step taken in recent months has been the creation of a new police unit to protect young women and girls, which was officially inaugurated in the provincial capital Lubumbashi on April 21...read more

What About the Women? - 8 June 2010

Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court has just ruled against an archaic interpretation of law allowing only fathers to apply for their children’s passports. While clearly a victory for women’s rights — granting mothers equal parental authority in securing travel documents — the basis of the ruling was that the previous practice infringed upon the child’s freedom of movement.

Welcome Baby by Agnes Nyanhongo, Zimbabwe (cc) richmanwisco

In Nigeria, the marriage of Senator Sani Ahmed Yerima to a 13-year old Egyptian girl has also raised controversy, pitting those prioritizing Yarima’s right to privacy and to practice his religion (notwithstanding the debate as to whether his religion actually allows for such a marriage) against advocates for women’s and children’s rights. UN officials commenting on the case spoke out against the marriage, noting that it was “in contradiction to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”...read more

Door to Political Office Opens for Senegalese Women 7 June 2010

DAKAR, Jun 7, 2010 (IPS) - A law on gender parity in electoral lists, approved by a large majority in Senegal's National Assembly, has been welcomed by women from diverse walks of life.

For legislator Ndèye Fatou Touré, the law will give a considerable boost to women. "Parity is a lifting of obstacles, an open door. This law will allow women equal access to decision-making," she told IPS...read more

President's wife wants more women in politics - June 4 2010

Patience Jonathan, the wife of Nigeria's president, yesterday advocated the participation of more women in politics, saying the involvement of women in the country's politics is unimpressive... read more.

Trafficking one of the fastest growing criminal activities in the world - 3 June 2010

GENEVA (2 June 2010) – “Trafficking in persons -one of the most appalling forms of human rights’ violations- remains one of the fastest growing criminal activities in the world, and the role of regional organizations fighting against it cannot be underestimated,” UN Special Rapporteur Joy Ngozi Ezeilo said on Wednesday, before presenting her annual report* on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, to the Human Rights Council.... read more

Rethinking the law on sexual assault - 3 June 2010

The Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2010, being proposed to bring about changes in the criminal laws with respect to protections against sexual assault, has been a subject of discussion and popular misinterpretation in the recent past. While the move by the government to re-examine the law on sexual assault is long overdue and the opening up of this subject a welcome step, it is necessary to underscore the concerns raised by rights advocates across the country....read more

Sterilized: against our will - 2 June 2010

This week three cases of forced and coerced sterilization of HIV positive women will be heard before the High Court in Namibia to seek compensatory damages for harm done to the individual women.  The women are each suing the Ministry of Health and Social Transformation and are amongst the first cases in Africa in which women are seeking compensation.  As a demonstration of support protestors will convene at Namibian embassies and High Commissions in Zambia, Swaziland, South Africa and the United States, to demand justice.....read more

Oba assaults wife - 1 June 2010

Oluwadare Adepoju Adesina the Deji of Akure land, on Sunday evening physically assaulted one of his wives in a free for all in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Oba Adesina, accompanied by his latest wife, Remi Adesina, descended on Olori Bolanle Adesina and inflicted injuries on her...read more

Child Brides Escape Marriage, but Not Lashes - 30, May 2010

KABUL, Afghanistan — The two Afghan girls had every reason to expect the law would be on their side when a policeman at a checkpoint stopped the bus they were in. Disguised in boys’ clothes, the girls, ages 13 and 14, had been fleeing for two days along rutted roads and over mountain passes to escape their illegal, forced marriages to much older men, and now they had made it to relatively liberal Herat Province...read more

EQUALITY NOW welcomes decision by American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to withdraw its 2010 policy statement on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) that endorsed pediatricans ’ “NICKING” of girls’ genitalia - 27 May 2010

New York - International human rights organization Equality Now welcomes the AAP’s decision to withdraw its ill-conceived revised policy statement on female genital mutilation (FGM) issued on April 26, 2010. The new policy statement essentially promoted Type IV FGM, as categorized by the World Health Organization (WHO), and suggested that federal and state laws might be more effective if they “enabled pediatricians to reach out to families by offering a ‘ritual nick’.” In a release issued today, the AAP stated that it has “retired” its 2010 revised statement on FGM, is opposed to “all forms of female genital cutting” and “does not endorse the practice of offering a 'clitoral nick.'” ...read more

Aceh: Regulation banning women from wearing revealing clothing takes effect - 27 May 2010

Authorities in a devoutly Islamic district of Indonesia's Aceh province have distributed 20,000 long skirts and prohibited shops from selling tight dresses as a regulation banning Muslim women from wearing revealing clothing took effect Thursday. The long skirts are to be given to Muslim women caught violating the dress code during a two-month campaign to enforce the regulation, said Ramli Mansur, head of West Aceh district. Islamic police will determine whether a woman's clothing violates the dress code, he said....read more

Women empowerment is Govt commitment - 27 May, 2010

Islamabad—Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has reiterated the commitment for social, political and economic empowerment of women to ensure their active participation in the national development process.

He was inaugurating three-day women convention on the Role of women Parliamentarians in peace, security and reconciliation here Tuesday organised by Women Parliamentarians Caucus....read more

German's legalized prostitution brought more exploitation than emancipation to women - 26 May 2010

German chief police reported yesterday sex trafficking is on the rise in the country. The chief officer also said that sex trafficking has increased 11 percent from last year and 70% over five year period. While many advocates for legalized prostitution argued that legalization should improve the rights of prostitutes and eliminate discrimination, the case in Germany shows otherwise. Rather, the sex industry in Germany became a magnet for sex traffickers from Eastern Europe and African countries. Further, it became a source of exploitation of German as well as other foreign women rather than their emancipation to support their right to sell their bodies...read more

Committee on Rights of Child examines report of Nigeria - 26 May 2010

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the combined third and fourth periodic report of Nigeria on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Introducing the report, Iyom Josephine Anenih, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development of Nigeria, said that Nigeria had mainstreamed the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child into national legislation and practice with a 2003 law, the Child’s Rights Act. Thirty six states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria had adopted the law as well, and efforts were being stepped up to ensure the remaining 12 states adopted the law so that all Nigerian children could enjoy the rights guaranteed in the Convention.....read more

Marriage: Female senators petition against Yerima - 20 May 2010

ABUJA—THE Senate will, next Wednesday, begin an investigation into the alleged marriage of Senator Sani Yerima, ANPP, Zamfara, to a 13-year-old Egyptian girl.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges, Senator Omar Hambagda, who disclosed this in an interview, yesterday, said the committee had received petitions from three serving female senators over the issue...read more

Yerima: Arrested! Detained By NAPTIP - 19 May 2010

The Nigerian Feminist Forum (NFF) sincerely appreciates the efforts of NAPTIP who it is understood arrested and detained Senator Ahmend Sani Yerima for roughly three hours today before being released on bail after he had produced in his own hand writing a statement on his alleged marriage to a 14 year old Egyptian girl named as Mariam Maged M. Eladly. The marriage took place at the National Mosque in Abuja. Mariam apparently is the daughter of Senator Yerima’s driver in Cairo. The sum of $100,000 was allegedly paid as bride price to the girls parents....read more

My Daddy Hit Her Again - 13 May 2010

HAVANA TIMES, May 13 – I was waiting with my sister in the medical office where cases of mental health are examined following a consultation with a psychologist.  It was here that I saw a woman arrive who was 25 years old, according to her report, though she looked more like 35 or 40....read more

Clinton: ex-Taliban must respect women's rights - 13 May 2010

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is ruling out any political reconciliation with Taliban militants who refuse to recognize the rights of women.....read more

Trafficking of women & girls has become an industry - 11 May 2010

A joint research conducted between two independent organizations in Iran, the Center for Cooperative Women’s Affairs and the Committee for the Defense of Victims of Violence indicates the skyrocketing trend of kidnapping and trafficking Iranian women and girls as slaves, to neighboring countries such as the UAE, Pakistan, Afghanistan, as well as Europe and Asian countries...read more

Mali Imam living in fear after backing women's rights - 10 May 2010

An Imam in Mali is living in fear after backing a new family law which no longer obliges wives to obey their husbands, angering Muslim groups.....read more

General election 2010: first female Muslim MPs elected - 7 May 2010

As election votes around the country continue to be counted this morning, the historic announcement came that the country has voted for Britain's first female Muslim MPs........read more

Young girls face trafficking as lack of rain drives worsening rural poverty - 7 May 2010

The rescue of 17-year-old Nitumoni (name changed) from a brothel in Shillong city recently points to a new danger as climate change takes hold in Northeast India - trafficking of vulnerable women.

Nitumoni's widowed mother, from Madhupur village, used to work as a daily wage labourer at rice fields in her village, near the Bhutan border....read more

Saudi king's photo brings women's rights into focus - 6 May 2010

King Abdullah, centre left, and Crown Prince Sultan pose for a picture with a group of women at a seminar on health and the community. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is not normally associated with radical moves but the 85-year-old monarch is making waves with signals encouraging greater tolerance of women's rights....read more

Saudi women get in the driver's seat - 5 May 2010

With changes under way within the kingdom, it looks likely that female motorists will finally return to the roads

The issue of women driving in Saudi Arabia resurfaced recently with a headline in the Saudi-run Elaph website predicting they will be allowed to drive within two months. Such predictions have appeared in the past without being fulfilled – much to the dismay of many women who would like to drive their own cars. But with recent progressive changes in the kingdom, the prospect of women driving seems more plausible now than before....read more

Why are US doctors allowing genital mutilation? - 1 May 2010

Paediatricians have erred by suggesting that 'nicking' female genitalia should be allowed as a cultural compromise.....read more

Child bride backlash - 30 April 2010

The sad case of Elham Assi, a 13-year old Yemeni girl who died from internal hemorrhaging after being raped by her 23-year-old husband, has certainly sparked conversation in Yemen over the longstanding practice of child marriage. But the conversations -- taking place everywhere from Sanaa kitchens to the parliament building -- aren't exactly what you'd expect....read more

Lift barriers on jobs for women: UN rights chief- 24 April 2010

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay yesterday criticised restrictions on women’s employment in some Gulf countries and called for those barriers to be lifted...read more

Muslim woman fined for driving veiled in France - 23 April 2010

'Vision of a motorcycle rider wearing a helmet is more restricted'

NANTES - The lawyer for a French Muslim woman fined for driving while wearing a full-face veil accused police on Friday of abusing her human rights, as the government pushes to ban the garment...read more

The Gender Evaluation Methodology for Internet and ICTs (GEM) - 22 May 2010

GEM is a guide to integrating a gender analysis into evaluations of initiatives that use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for social change.

GEM provides a means for determining whether ICTs are really improving women's lives and gender relations as well as promoting positive change at the individual, institutional, community and broader social levels....read more

Thousands at risk of forced sterilization in China - 22 April 2010

Authorities in southern China must not violate human rights in carrying out their reported plans to sterilize thousands of people this month in a drive to meet family planning targets, Amnesty International said on Thursday.

According to Chinese media reports, officials in Puning City, Guangdong Province aim to sterilize 9,559 people, some against their will, by 26 April...read more

ARGENTINA - TWO JUDICIAL DECISIONS REGARDING
ABORTION IN THE CASE OF RAPE

The Supreme Court of Chubut argued that Section 86.2 of the NCC decriminalises abortion in case of rape of any woman.

In March 2010, the Supreme Court of Chubut and a panel of the Court of Appeals of the same province decided two cases regarding abortion in case of rape...read more

ZESA Four finally released - 20 April 2010

WOZA members arrest themselves in solidarity outside ZESA headquarters in Harare

The four WOZA members arrested on Thursday outside ZESA headquarters, Jenni Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu, Clara Manjengwa and Celina Madukani, have finally been released from police custody after spending five nights in cells...read more

Iran - A senior Iranian cleric says women who wear immodest clothing and behave promiscuously affect earthquakes - 20 April 2010

In this file photo,two conservatively-dressed Iranian women walk past shops selling women's clothing in the holy city of Qom , in Iran . Senior Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted by Iranian media as saying Friday, April 16, 2010 that women who wear "immodest" clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes, with the cleric's unusual explanation following a prediction by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a quake is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million inhabitants should relocate. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

A senior Iranian cleric says women who wear immodest clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes.
Iran is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and the cleric's unusual explanation for why the earth shakes follows a prediction by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a quake is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million inhabitants should relocate... read more

click here to view a few feedback comments from BAOBAB’s circulation of the article to its mailing list

Utah's Feticide Law Puts Miscarriage on Trial - 20 April 2010

Under a new Utah law, women who miscarry under certain conditions are open to murder charges and life sentences. Feticide laws in other states focus on abusive boyfriends and husbands, but this one targets the woman herself...read more

E-Disscussion - Women’s Political Participation in 21st Century: Using Communication Technologies - 19 - 30 April 2010

Women and men around the world have been using different technology platforms during their political campaigns and to continue dialogue with their constituencies as elected representatives...read more

Pregnancy of girl age 10 fuels abortion debate - April 19, 2010

A pregnant 10-year-old, allegedly raped by her stepfather, has become the latest lightning rod in the country's heated abortion debate...read more

Tajik Girls Lose Out on Schooling - 15 April 2010

Financial pressures add to commonly-held view that girls need education less than boys. By Nafisa Pisaredjeva in Dushanbe

Khosiat Najmiddinova’s two younger daughters may never finish school, as she sees education as a priority only for her sons...read more

Good News! Teenage Rape Survivor Gets Legal Abortion in Argentina - 15 April 2010

A 15-year-old girl from the southern Argentinean province of Chubut was given a legal abortion on 20 March. She was pregnant after being raped by her step-father. An appeal judge ruled that the abortion could go ahead after she had previously been denied the abortion by a family court judge...read more

Police arrest and detain WOZA members - 15 April 2010

On 15 April 2010, at about 12:30hours, police officers from Harare Central Police Station arrested 70 members of WOZA who were participating in a peaceful procession in Harare.

Four hours later at least 66 members of WOZA - including 4 men and a child - were released without any charges being levelled against them. The other members, namely Jenni Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu, Clara Manjengwa and Selina Madukani, were detained at Harare Central Police Station...read more

Sudanese polls begin with women voter turnout very high - 11 April 2010

Khartoum, Sudan - Voting in Sudan's first polls in 25 years and the six th since independence in 1952 kicked off peacefully here Sunday despite initial fears of potential voter apathy after 13 parties pulled out, alleging massive irregularities... read more

Yemeni child bride dies of internal bleeding - 9 April 2010

A 12-year-old Yemeni bride died of internal bleeding following intercourse three days after she was married off to an older man, the United Nations Children's Fund said... read more

UPDATE: Malaysia: Kartika’s caning sentence commuted to community service - 9 April 2010

In a Press Statement issued by Sisters in Islam (SIS), the Malaysian women's group, one of the most well-known nongovernment groups in this Muslim-majority country, registered their happiness with the decision by Sultan of Pahang, Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, to commute Kartika’s caning sentence to community service... read more

Girl 'raped, buried alive' digs herself out - 8 April 2010

A Jamaican taxi driver has been accused of raping a 12-year-old girl and then burying her alive after he thought he had strangled her to death, authorities said on Wednesday...read more

A new danger for sex workers in Bangladesh - 5 April 2010

I'm walking along a brightly painted corridor when a couple of young girls catch first my eye, and then my arm. They smile at me, and giggle; they look about the same ages as my elder daughters, 17 and 15...read more

Domestic Violence Finally Debated in Armenia - 2 April 2010

Politicians act as beaten and abused women at last begin to break their silence. By Gayane Abrahamyan in Yerevan

Domestic violence is rife in Armenia, with a third of women saying they have been abused at home - but at least it is now being talked about...read more

Nigeria: Sharia Court orders immediate suspension of all debates on amputation - 31 March 2010

A Sharia Court sitting in Kaduna has ordered the immediate suspension of all debates on the amputation of Bello Buba Jangebe on online sites - Facebook and Twitter. In 2000, Jangebe made history as the first person in Nigeria to have an amputation carried out under Islamic law after being found guilty of stealing a cow. The judge had a few weeks ago issued a restraining order in favour of the applicants to prevent a non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Civil Rights Congress (CRC) (defendants), from discussing Jangebe’s case in a forum opened by the group on Facebook and Twitter... read more

Gender Equality Law Adopted in Georgia - 29 March 2010

Tbilisi — The Parliament of Georgia passed a Gender Equality Law on 27 March. The legislation provides for the establishment of a national women’s machinery, the enhancement of women’s security, equality in the labour market and the strengthening of women’s political participation. The law also introduces gender-responsive planning and budgeting on the part of the government.

Female suicide bombers kill dozens on Moscow subway - 29 March 2010

Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up on the Moscow subway during the morning rush hour today, killing at least 35 people and injuring 51, Russian officials said. Yuri Luzhkov, the mayor of Moscow, told reporters the suicide bombers were believed to have set off their explosives as trains approached Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations. "The first data that the FSB [Federal Security Service] has given us is that there were two female suicide bombers," he told reporters at Park Kultury... read more

YEMEN: Child bride gets  divorce - 28 March 2010

SANAA, 28 March 2010 (IRIN) - Throngs of journalists pushed forward to get a picture of 12-year-old Sally al-Sabahi as she signed her divorce papers in the Yemeni capital on 27 March. As she dipped her thumb in dark ink and pressed it next to her name on an official document, she became Yemen ’s fourth child bride divorcee.

Yeriman Bakura Marries 13-year-old Egyptian Girl - 26 March 2010

Former Zamfara State governor, Ahmed Sani, Yeriman Bakura, has married a thirteen-year- old Egyptian girl. LEADERSHIP WEEKEND learnt that the marriage took place at the national mosque, Abuja , two weekends ago. The former governor, now a senator, paid a bride price of $100,000, the equivalent of roughly N15m. He also divorced one of his wives to facilitate the marriage. In Islam a man is only permitted to have four wives. Yeriman, who popularised the Shariah code of Islam in Nigeria , could not have the wedding in Egypt ; the Egyptian authorities would not put up with such a marriage as their laws forbid that sort of union. Yariman Bakura is well into his 60s and the laws in Egypt consider his bride a minor... read more

Rape must never be minimized as part of cultural traditions, UN envoy says - 25 March 2010

Sexual violence during conflicts is all too often downplayed and treated as part of local cultural traditions instead of being viewed as a war crime, a senior United Nations official has warned as she called for much greater international action to defeat the scourge... read more

Where are the women in Haiti’s Reconstruction? - 25 March 2010

Women and gender issues were glaring in their absence from the March 31st Haiti International Donors’ Conference held in New York when billions of dollars were pledged to finance Haiti’s reconstruction.  Haiti’s National Plan of Action, the blueprint guiding reconstruction efforts and resource allocation, was based on a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA). The PDNA resulted from a two month process led by the Government of Haiti and involving more than 250 people from the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Union and the Inter-American Development Bank. Despite this large scale effort, the resulting PDNA failed to address gender dimensions of Haiti’s proposed strategies for reconstructing macroeconomic, social, environmental policies, as well as infrastructure and governance...read more

Water quality, a matter of children’s rights, say UN experts on World Water Day - 22 March 2010

Statement by a group UN human rights experts to mark World Water Day, 22 March 2010

GENEVA – “With an estimated 884 million people relying on unimproved drinking water sources, access to safe drinking water is clearly a human rights issue, with serious implications for children’s health, education and even personal security,” says the UN Independent Expert on water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque.

Islamic clerics in Yemen oppose child bride ban -22 March 2010

Yemeni women hold up the Quran and Arabic placard reading "yes to the legal rights of the Muslim woman" as they take part in a protest outside the parliament in San'a, Sunday, March 21, 2010.

SAN’A, YEMEN — Some of Yemen's most influential Islamic leaders, including one the U.S. says mentored Osama bin Laden, have declared supporters of a ban on child brides to be apostates.... read more

WOMEN'S LAND RIGHTS CAN HELP BATTLE HUNGER IN AFRICA - 19 March 2010

I pass a poster on my way to work in London every morning that never fails to surprise me. It's large, colorful, and cheerfully exhorts us to throw away less food. Apparently, even in the current economic climate, we waste so much food every year that we need a government-led campaign, complete with website and handy food-storage tips, to remind and encourage us to waste less.. read more

Day Camp Provides Young Haitians with Respite from the Boredom of Displacement - 19 March 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Every day for the past week, Emanuel Eliacin has led an operation that seems like Mission Impossible: Select a thousand 11- to 16-year-olds from camps for the displaced population, put them on 20 buses, and drive them to a day camp...read more

Eradicating arms trafficking will further peace in Central Africa, say UN officials - 19 March 2010

The efforts of Central African nations to consolidate peace and further development are being thwarted by weapons trafficking, top United Nations officials warned today, calling on Member States to do all they can to eradicate this scourge... read more

Deputy UN chief calls for more resources to help poor States meet development goals - 18 March 2010

The second-ranking official at the United Nations today called on richer countries to implement their commitments on providing finance for development to help poorer nations reach the social and economic targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).... read more

MALAYSIA - RELIGION MINISTER REJECTS CHILD MARRIAGE REFORM - 17 March 2010

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia's religion minister on Tuesday defended Islamic laws that allow girls under 16 to marry, amid a controversy over two youngsters who were married off to middle-aged men.

The issue has flared in Malaysia after reports that two girls aged 10 and 11 were wed in the conservative northern state of Kelantan last month. They have now been removed from their husbands....read more

Thousands evacuated as cyclone hits Fiji - 15 March 2010

A powerful cyclone packing sustained winds of 175 kilometres an hour smashed into Fiji on Monday, damaging homes and crops and forcing thousands of people to flee to evacuation centres.

Cyclone Tomas was classified as a category-four cyclone - the second-most destructive on a five-point scale - the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) said, with gusts that wreaked havoc across the north of the country... read more

Uproar in India Over Female Lawmaker Quota - 9 March 2010

NEW DELHI — The upper house of India’s Parliament passed a bill Tuesday that would amend the Constitution to reserve one-third of the seats in India’s national and state legislatures for women, after the measure stirred two days of political chaos that could whittle the governing coalition’s majority to a dangerously thin margin....read more

International: Negotiating Bliss in Muslim Marriage Contracts - 9 March 2010

The bliss of an egalitarian and just relationship between spouses cannot be achieved through a sheet of paper. But Cassandra Balchin writes that in Muslim contexts efforts to take a fresh look at marriage contracts is certainly a step towards this goal: Many have heard about Afghanistan’s Shia Personal Status Law which last year looked like granting husbands total obedience from their wives, in effect even permitting marital rape. Yet few have heard about the bold new Muslim marriage contract endorsed by the country’s Supreme Court. A contract that means Afghanistan’s women can demand far more than the right not to have to give their husbands sex...read more

International: Negotiating Bliss in Muslim Marriage Contracts - 9th March 2010

The bliss of an egalitarian and just relationship between spouses cannot be achieved through a sheet of paper. But Cassandra Balchin writes that in Muslim contexts efforts to take a fresh look at marriage contracts is certainly a step towards this goal: Many have heard about Afghanistan’s Shia Personal Status Law which last year looked like granting husbands total obedience from their wives, in effect even permitting marital rape. Yet few have heard about the bold new Muslim marriage contract endorsed by the country’s Supreme Court. A contract that means Afghanistan’s women can demand far more than the right not to have to give their husbands sex...read more

Women's Rights Are Human Rights - 8th March, 2010

WASHINGTON - March 8 - Monday, March 8th marks International Women's Day, and the 15th anniversary of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing. 189 countries signed on to a Beijing Platform for Action, pledging to work towards the advancement of women and the achievement of gender equality. ...read more

New report: Asia-Pacific has one of the world's worst gender gaps - 8th March, 2010

New Delhi ― While Asia and the Pacific can take pride in the region’s vibrant economic transformation in recent decades, this has not translated into progress on gender equality.... read more

Appeals for calm after Nigeria sectarian slaughter - 8th March, 2010

AFP – A woman reflects as women and children, killed during religious clashes in central Nigeria, are buried …

JOS, Nigeria (AFP) – Nigerian troops were patrolling villages near the northern city of Jos Tuesday after the massacre of more than 500 Christians there that sparked international shock and outrage.

But survivors of the latest wave of inter-ethnic violence, in which women and children were hacked to death or burned alive in their homes, denounced the authorities for having failed to intervene in time...read more

63 die, dozens injured in Indian temple stampede - 4th March 2010

KUNDA, India – A stampede among thousands of poor villagers scrambling for free food and clothes at a commemorative event killed 63 people Thursday at a Hindu temple in northern India and injured dozens of others.

Nearly all the victims were women and children. The stampede was so intense it knocked down a gate at the compound surrounding the temple in the small town of Kunda, on the northern plains of Uttar Pradesh state.

"How could this happen in such a holy place?" cried Phool Chand Saroj, a 48-year-old farmer whose wife, daughter and grandmother were killed in the stampede. "If they had been more careful about letting in the crowds this would not have happened." ..read more

OHCHR-NEPAL withdrawal questioned: Deteriorating human rights situation is not conducive for withdrawal - 4th MArch, 2010

New Delhi. The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) today in a new report, The Withdrawal of OHCHR-NEPAL:Agreeing an Alibi for Violation?,  expressed deep concern over the motives behind government moves to end the mandate of the UN human rights field mission to Nepal (OHCHR-NEPAL). ACHR warned that ending the mandate risked the peace process, would contribute to an already deteriorating human rights situation and presented real threats to the protection of civil society. 

“The killing of two journalists, Arun Singhanyia on 1 March 2010 and Jamim Shah on 7 February 2010 underline that human rights situation have been measurably deteriorating in Nepal, following the improvement brought about by the end of the conflict. The central cause remains a failure to address impunity.” - stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights....read more

Women’s empowerment lifts obstacles to achieving development goals, Ban says - 3rd March 2010

More than a decade after world leaders agreed to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, their empowerment remains a necessary element in attaining development targets, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

“Until women and girls are liberated from poverty and injustice, all our goals – peace, security, sustainable development – stand in jeopardy,” Mr. Ban said to the Commission on the Status of Women today, as the United Nations marked International Women’s Day, which is observed annually on 8 March...read more

UN warns HIV/Aids leading cause of death in women - 3rd March 2010

HIV has become the leading cause of death and disease among women of reproductive age worldwide, the UN programme on HIV/Aids says.

At the start of a 10-day conference in New York, UNAids launched a five-year action plan addressing the gender issues which put women at risk.

One of the key issues, it says, is that up to 70% of women worldwide have been forced to have unprotected sex.... read more

Canada - Mail-Order Brides a Booming Business - March 02, 2010

Three to six months worth of e-mails, a 14-day visit to Russia, and a new wife.

That's the promise of Mark Scrivener, a Martensville, Sask., man who on Jan. 1 this year opened a Canadian branch of the Volga Girls mail-order bride service.

Though available for 10 years via the Kentucky-based head office, Scrivener is providing Canada-specific services to men looking for a wife who is a little bit more "out of the box." ..read more

Date-rape drugs' are on the rise, UN warns - 24th February 2010

So-called date-rape drugs are on the rise, according to the United Nations drug control agency's annual report.

The International Narcotics Control Board says tough measures against the best-known drug, Rohypnol, have worked.

But sexual abusers are turning to alternative substances subject to less stringent international controls. .. read more

Statement to the 54th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women New York, USA - (SKSW Campaign) - 23rd February 2010

The Beijing Conference on Women was an extraordinary moment in the history of transnational women’s movements. Its outcome document, the Platform for Action, has become a watershed in the lives of countless women and girls all over the world for the past 15 years. The document is infused with a strong sense of optimism and remains a significant resource, placing women’s empowerment at the centre stage of global agendas towards gender equality. The adoption and implementation of the various elements of the Platform for Action continue to stand as essential reference points for ensuring more democratic, egalitarian and free societies in the future, with
gender equality and rights-based women’s empowerment as requisites for the empowerment and advancement of humanity in general. ..read more

New law will end male dominance in Saudi courts - 21st February 2010

Saudi Arabia's justice minister says his department is drafting a law that would allow female lawyers to argue legal cases in court for the first time.

Mohammed Al-Eissa told reporters on Saturday the bill will be issued in the coming days as part of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah's “plan to develop the justice system.” ... read more

Iranians Protest Bill on Rights of Women - 17th February 2010

In what appeared to be the first burst of activism in months not related to the disputed presidential election, about 1,200 Iranians signed a statement against a bill that would further curb women's rights, the feminist Web site Change for Gender Equality reported

The statement, issued Wednesday, calls for other groups to protest the bill, which would give men the right to take additional wives without having to tell the current wives under certain conditions and would impose restrictions on alimony for women. The bill was approved last month by Parliament's legal committee.... read more

Women judges barred from influential Egypt court - 15th February 2010

CAIRO (AFP) – Judges voted on Monday to bar women from ruling in an influential court which advises Egypt's government, official media reported, in a move slammed by human rights activists .

The Council of State's association voted by an overwhelming majority against appointing women as judges in the council, Egypt 's MENA news agency said... read more

Outrage as vicar urges women to submit to husbands - 13th February 2010

A vicar has caused outrage among his congregation after urging women to "be silent" and "submit" to their husbands.

Angus MacLeay, rector of St Nicholas Church in Sevenoaks, Kent, made the comments, which some parishioners thought were more in keeping with a sermon from the dark ages than the modern Church of England, in a leaflet entitled "The Role of Women in the Local Church" ....read more

Forced recruitment of child soldiers in GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - 12th February 2010

As the world celebrates the International Day against the use of Child Soldiers, UNICEF calls for the release of all children forcedly recruited into armed forces and groups in DRC, especially of young girls, where they are forced to be combatants, labor and sex slaves, suffering from violence and rape for months and sometimes years. Young girls are rarely released by armed forces and groups.. read more

Costa Rica elects 1st woman president in landslide - 8th Feb 2010

AP – Laura Chinchilla, New President of Costa Rica

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Costa Ricans have elected their first woman president as the ruling party candidate won in a landslide after campaigning to continue free market policies in Central America's most stable nation...Read

Turkey - Girl buried alive in honour killing - 5th Feb 2010

A 16-year-old girl was buried alive by relatives in southeast Turkey in a gruesome honour killing just because she reportedly befriended boys, the Anatolia news agency reported today.

The hole where Medine Memi was buried alive by relatives in the courtyard of their house in Adiyaman, southeastern Turkey. Picture: Reuters Source: Reuters

Acting on a tip-off, police discovered Medine Memi's body in a sitting position with her hands tied, in a two-metre-deep hole in a chicken pen outside her house in Kahta town, Adiyaman province, 40 days after she went missing, the agency said........Read

Indonesia: Anti-Pornography Law Raises Fears for Minorities 2nd Febraury 2010

The recent arrest of six people in Indonesia over a nightclub show is raising concerns among minority groups and secularists about a new anti-pornography law. In late 2008, Indonesia's parliament passed a broad law aimed at stamping out what many politicians saw as an epidemic of pornography. Pushed by Islamic conservatives, the law outlawed anything - from books to paintings to some bodily movements - considered capable of raising feelings of lust... Read

Nigeria 2011: Sharia Council Rules Out Woman Gov - 27th Jan 2010

Members of the Kwara State branch of the Supreme Council for Shariah yesterday kicked against the purported move by the highly placed politicians in the state to impose a female as governor of the state come 2011.

In a statement issued in Ilorin by the council and signed by its state coordinator, Alhaji Tijani Edun and made available to newsmen, the council said such alleged move was against the principle of Islamic law that forbids  female leadership in Islam...read more

Women's movement mourns death of 3 Haitian leaders - 25th Jan 2010

(CNN) -- One returned to her Haitian roots, to give voice to women, honor their stories and shape their futures.
Another urged women to pack a courtroom in Haiti, where she succeeded in getting a guilty verdict against a man who battered his wife.

A third joined the others and helped change the law to make rape, long a political weapon in Haiti, a punishable crime. Myriam Merlet, Magalie Marcelin and Anne Marie Coriolan, founders of three of the country's most important advocacy organizations working on behalf of women and girls, are confirmed dead -- victims of last week's 7.0 earthquake....... read more on CNN

Homosexuality punishable by death - 13th Jan 2010

A proposed bill storming through Uganda 's parliament is one of the most severe pieces of anti-homosexuality legislation in the entire world! If passed, it would establish an alarming precedent that would virtually annihilate the human rights of Uganda 's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population...... read more

WLUML Statement on charges against Imrana Jalal - 12th Jan 2010

The international solidarity network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML), condemns the politically-motivated charges brought against human rights lawyer, Imrana Jalal, by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) on 1 January 2010. FICAC, as with most significant government bodies since the coup, is headed by a military officer. FICAC was established to investigate and prosecute corruption, but instead has been used to also persecute persons not supportive of the military regime... read more

Sharia police arrested for ‘rape' - 12th Jan 2010

A serious blow to the credibility and morality of Sharia police in Aceh province, has occurred after several members were detained for an alleged gang rape in Langsa regency.  

Police in the regency said Tuesday they had arrested two Sharia police officers, or Wilayatul Hisbah, for reportedly raping a female detainee at the Langsa Sharia Police Station.

The Langsa Police are also hunting down another suspect who is currently on the run...... read more

IRAN - Mass Arrest of Women Activists &Journalists Continues - January 5, 2010

The wave of arrests following the protests and violence taking place on Ashura (December 27, 2009) has included over sixteen women journalists, women’s movement and civil society activists, according to The Feminist School and Change for Equality.

Among the women, activists and journalists who have been detained are Mansoureh Shojaee and Noushin Ebadi, Bahareh Hedayat and Maryam Zia, Mothers for Peace Mahin Fahimi and Zohreh Tanekaboni, Badarolssadat Mofid, Leyla Tavassoli, Nasrin Vaziri, Nilofar Hashemi Azar, Atiyeh Yousefi, Nafiseh Asghari, Mahsa Hekmat, Parisa Kakayi, Forough Mirzayie, Sara Tavsoli, and numerous others.... read more

VOLUNTEER ADVERT

Do you wish to volunteer with the BAOBAB team?

BAOBAB for Women’s human rights (BAOBAB) is a non-governmental, non profit-making, women’s human rights organisation with a mandate to promote and protect the human rights of women under customary, statutory, and religious laws in Nigeria. For full details of  BAOBAB’s vision, mission, strategies and activities, please visit our website www.baobabwomen.org.

As a mentoring as well as a learning organisation, BAOBAB encourages volunteers who will contribute their skills, talents and time FREE OF CHARGE towards achieving BAOBAB’s vision. Details of logistics including time frame and work hours etc will be discussed and negotiated with respective volunteers prior to resumption.

We specifically seek volunteers with skills in any of the following - research, analytical report writing, networking and communication with substantive information and communication technology (ICT) skills, community mobilization, advocacy, and resource mobilization. If you are interested, kindly send us your resume and a brief cover note specifying your area of expertise and why you want to volunteer for BAOBAB.

What do I stand to gain as a BAOBAB volunteer?

Chibogu Obinwa
Senior Programme Officer
BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights
# 76 Ogudu Road, Ogudu GRA
Ojota, Lagos
Nigeria
Web site: www.baobabwomen.org
Blog: http://baobabwomen.blogspot.com/
Tel: +234-1-4747 931 OR +234-1-898-0834
Tel/Fax: +234-1-496-2302. Mobile -+234-803-300-7724
"It is not wrong to be different, But, it is wrong to be treated differently if you are." (UNHCHR)