International

Update: International: Challenges of Change Symposium Considers Religion, Secularism and Rights

A glance at any day's headlines makes it clear that cultures and religions worldwide are and have always been in constant flux. A day-long Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) symposium on September 21 in Washington DC sparked debate, laughter, and cheers as participants vowed new commitment to steering that change toward broader human rights for women.

International: SKSW Statement on Human Rights and Traditional Values

The traditional values underpinning international human rights: How can they contribute to promotion and protection? (Room XXI, Palais des Nations, Geneva, 4 October 2010) Thank you, honourable members of the panel, friends and colleagues in the international human rights community, good afternoon. On behalf of the Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women, we welcome the opportunity to participate in the discussion on the relationship between human rights and traditional values.

دولي: إنشاء آلية جديدة تابعة للأمم المتحدة تركز على القضاء على التمييز ضد المرأة في مجال القانون

جنيف –في 1 أكتوبر/تشرين الأول 2010، في الدورة الخامسة عشرة لمجلس حقوق الإنسان، إعتمدت الدول الأعضاء بتوافق الآراء قرارا بإنشاء آلية جديدة للتعجيل بالقضاء على التمييز ضد المرأة في القوانين وفي الممارسة العملية. وتقول فايزة جاما محمد، مديرة مكتب المساواة الآن في نيروبي إن "هذا تتويج للعمل الشاق الذي قام به الكثيرون في الحكومات والمجتمع المدني". وقد أدت منظمة المساواة الآن الدولية المعنية بحقوق الإنسان دورا رائدا في الدراسة المنهجية لمدى إنتشار القوانين التي تميز على أساس الجنس في أنحاء العالم، وإقترحت في عام 2001 ضرورة إيجاد إجراء خاص جديد داخل إطار الأمم المتحدة مكرس للقضاء على التمييز ضد المرأة في القوانين.

Mondiale: Création historique d’un nouveau mécanisme des nations unies sur l'élimination de la discrimination a l’égard des femmes

Le 1^er octobre 2010, lors de la 15^ème session du Conseil des droits de l’Homme (CDH), les États membres ont adopté par consensus une résolution pour la création d’un nouveau mécanisme destiné à accélérer l'élimination des discriminations à l’égard des femmes, en droit et en pratique. « Cette résolution marque l’apogée de l’effort intensif et de longue durée accompli par tant de personnes, aussi bien au niveau des États et des organisations internationales que de la société civile », a expliqué Faiza Jama Mohamed, Directrice du Bureau d’Egalité Maintenant à Nairobi.

International: Equality Now Hails Historic Creation of New UN Mechanism that will Focus on Eliminating Discrimination Against Women in Law and Practice

"On 1 October 2010 at the 15th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), member states adopted by consensus a resolution to create a new mechanism to accelerate the elimination of discrimination against women in law and practice. “This is the culmination of the hard work of so many in government and civil society,” said Faiza Jama Mohamed, Nairobi Office Director of Equality Now. International human rights organization Equality Now has taken a leading role in systematically studying the pervasiveness of sex discriminatory laws across the globe and in 2005 it proposed the need for a new special procedure within the UN dedicated to eliminating discrimination against women in law.

“It has not been easy to achieve this new mechanism, but the adoption by consensus of the resolution by the Human Rights Council has given us confidence that governments around the world are taking the issue of women’s equality seriously. Through the course of this journey it was heart-warming to witness the support of so many nations from all regions of the world and the strong backing of a large coalition of non-governmental organizations. The groundswell of support has underscored both the universality of the problem of discrimination against women and a firm global resolve to prioritize a systematic end to it,” said Ms. Mohamed.

دولي: من شبكة نسوية شابة الي شبكة نسوية متنوعة الاعمار

تعرفت علي شبكة نساء يعشن في ظل قوانين المسلمين في عام 2007 ، في معهد تدريب المتطوعات في ماليزيا

UN: SKSW welcomes appointment of Michelle Bachelet at UN Women

The Global campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women (SKSW Campaign) welcomes the appointment of Michelle Bachelet as the first Under-Secretary-General for the new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). In her first interview with UN radio, Ms. Bachelet noted that ‘women do not have the same opportunities as men regarding the most essential human rights. Women are discriminated [against]. Their rights are violated. There are still some places where women are mutilated. There are places where women can receive terrible punishments.”[1]

International: Music that makes dictators tremble & fundamentalists angry

“This is a collection of songs from artists around the world who have faced censorship or had their music banned. These artists and other like them in the different corners of the world must have the right to exist and freely express their feelings and opinions through their art. We can not allow our freedom of expression to be compromised. Music must not be silenced” - Deeyah. Listen to the Banned is a unique collection of contemporary songs by artists who have been censored, persecuted, taken to court, imprisoned and even tortured for a very simple reason – their music.

International: WLUML networker blogs about culture and women’s rights

Each year the UC Berkeley-based Human Rights Center awards summer fellowships to students from University of California campuses, to enable them to work with human-rights organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Several current Human Rights Fellows, including political-science student Rochelle Terman, have agreed to share their experiences this summer, with regular updates from the field to be published on the NewsCenter:http://berkeley.edu/news/students/2010/terman/index_post2.shtml

International: Islamic Fundamentalism's War Against Women, 1993

As the influence of Islamic fundamentalism spreads, more and more women are fleeing its repressive laws - compelling Western nations to deal with such cruel traditions as forced marriages, honor killings, and female circumcision.In April 1991, a 22-year-old Saudi student arrived at Montreal's Mirabel Airport and requested asylum on the unprecedented grounds of gender persecution. The woman, who has asked that she be identified only as Nada, told authorities that if Canada forced her to return to Saudi Arabia her life would be in danger. Her crime, she said, was walking outside her home without being fully veiled - that is, enveloped from head to toe in a black chador.