[state] state, gender, identity

Bahrain: Harassment of women’s human rights defender, Ghada Jamsheer

Front Line reported, on 17 January 2009, that Ghada Jamsheer, a woman human rights defender in Bahrain, had become the target of a harassment campaign. Ghada Jamsheer and her family have received threats, including many threatening text messages, and have been followed in a car.

UPDATE: Nigeria: Islamic authorities order cancellation of protest by divorced women

The head of the Sharia police, or Hisbah, said the planned protest was an "embarrassment", and is "un-Islamic". The organisers have agreed to postpone their protest scheduled for 29 January.

Maghreb: Sophie Bessis: Statuts des femmes au Maghreb

Enjeux de société et fractures politiques

Algérie: Nourrédine Saadi: Identités prescrites dans le droit algérien

Hypothèses sur le féminin en islam (2005).

France/Maroc: Debats Laïques: « Certificat de coutume » et Charia Franco-Marocaine

En effet, ce certificat est généralement fourni par un consulat marocain en France. Les consulats le donnaient assez facilement, même si les employés faisaient parfois la gueule en voyant qu’une musulmane (ou supposée telle !) allait épouser un « kafir ».

China: Uighar woman avoids forced abortion

An ethnic Uyghur woman in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region who was scheduled to undergo a second-term abortion against her will—and whose case drew international attention—has been released to her family and allowed to continue her pregnancy.

Cambodia: Foreign Marriage Ban Lifted

A ban on marriages between Cambodians and foreigners aimed at curbing human trafficking has been lifted, officials said Wednesday, adding that new regulations will seek to prevent internet websites from featuring mail-order Cambodian brides.

Iran: Shirin Ebadi criticizes new penal code

Nobel Peace Laureate Shrin Ebadi on Wednesday criticised Iran's new Islamic penal code, saying it remains unfair to women and uses an "incorrect" interpretation of Islam.

Malawi: Divorce in Matrilineal Customary Law Marriage in Malawi: A Comparative Analysis With the Patrilineal Customary Law Marriage in South Africa

A comparative research paper by Lea Mwambene.

Israel / Palestine: "Married but without rights"

Some 15,000 Palestinians who married Israeli citizens in the past decade are illegal or temporary residents. Their lives and those of their families have become "unstable," according to non-governmental organisations.