News

2/6/2010

Israel: SIS condemns Israeli attack on Humanitarian boats & calls for end to Gaza Siege

Sisters In Islam is shocked and saddened with the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla on a humanitarian mission to Gaza. SIS condemns the attack on the humanitarian boats and calls for the immediate implementation of U.N resolution 1860 which calls for the unimpeded provision and distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza’s more than 1.5 million people.

1/6/2010

Pakistan: Women Intensify Push to Pass Law Against Acid Attacks

Almost seven years after Naila Farhat, 20, became another victim of an acid throwing attack by a spurned suitor, she is finally seeing more vigorous efforts toward the passage of a law seeking to amend existing legislation to reinforce protection of women against violent assaults. Farhat is the first to admit, though, that beneath her physical scars is a smoldering anger that refuses to be pacified until she has exacted vengeance against her violators.

1/6/2010

Iran: Hijab Crackdown Intensifies as Election Anniversary Nears

It might be hard to imagine that a woman's attendance at a university would be contingent upon the way she dresses. But during Friday Prayers at Tehran University on May 21, Ayatollah Jannati, an influential member of Iran's Guardian Council, suggested just that, demanding that a strict version of the Hijab Islamic covering be a requirement for female students. "The university and students are both under your control and you can select the students based on this condition," he told officials. "If not, let the Disciplinary Committee enter the action. A student needs his [sic] grade, he has no choice, he will do as you order him."

1/6/2010

UPDATE: Israel: UNSC Calls for Impartial, Credible Investigation of Boat Raid

The UN Security Council Calls for Impartial, Credible Investigation of Israeli Boat Raid. The raid in international waters, on the aid convoy headed to Gaza left at least 16 civilians dead. After an emergency session wrapped up in the early hours this morning, the council agreed to language condemning the acts that resulted in the deaths and injuries aboard the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmaraand the European Campaign’s vessel Spendoni. Update on Israel: Outlaws of the Mediterranean

1/6/2010

Israel: Outlaws of the Mediterranean

At 4 am Eastern Mediterranean time on May 31, elite Israeli commandos rappelled from helicopters onto the deck of the Turkish-registered shipMavi Marmara, part of an international “Freedom Flotilla” that had met in Cyprus and then set sail to deliver humanitarian relief supplies to the besieged Gaza Strip. The Mavi Marmara, the largest of the relief vessels, was carrying some 600 activists, mainly Turks but also others of diverse nationalities. The commandos fired live ammunition at some of the passengers, who Israel claims were lightly armed with metal rods or knives, and may have resisted the raid. Some reports say that other ships were also boarded and/or fired upon. The lowest reported death toll among the activists is nine, and the lowest number of wounded is 34.

30/5/2010

Pakistan: Ahmadi minority fearful after militants kill at least 80 members

A brutal assault on Pakistan’s Ahmadi community on 28 May has left them feeling more vulnerable than ever before. Armed assailants laid siege to two mosques in Lahore, capital of Punjab Province, where Ahmadis were praying and killed at least 80 people. The attack has been described by community leaders, who put the death toll at 93 with 100 injured, as the worst ever faced in the group’s 121-year history. Dozens of victims still lie injured in Lahore hospitals, some in a critical state. “Some are very badly injured, but we will not give in and we have not lost strength,” Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a spokesperson for the Ahmadi community in Lahore, told IRIN.

28/5/2010

UPDATE: United States: AAP withdraws statement on FGM

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'. Update on United States: AAP Policy Statement on FGM 'ill-advised'

28/5/2010

Iran: Report on Women Prisoners Detained Illegally

Confirmed reports from Evin Prison suggest that a number of female political prisoners have been held illegally for months, and face unsubstantiated charges which can lead to heavy verdicts. According to the Kalame website, one such prisoner is Maryam Akbari-Monfared, who was arrested on December 31, 2009, following the Ashura events, and is currently held in Evin.

27/5/2010

Canada: Queers Against Israeli Apartheid demand Pride Toronto reverse ban

On May 21st, 2010, Pride Toronto Inc. decided to prohibit signs that bear the words “Israeli apartheid” from all 2010 Pride events, effectively banning the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from participating in the Pride Day parade.

27/5/2010

Aceh: Regulation banning women from wearing revealing clothing takes effect

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.