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22/3/2014
EGYPT - LAUNCH OF FIRST PROSECUTION FOR FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION AFTER GIRL DIES

 

File 2516

Sohair al-Bata'a, a 13-year-old Egyptian girl who died after being subjected to female genital mutilation. Human rights groups forced the government to reopen the case

22/3/2014
UK DOCTOR IS FIRST PERSON IN BRITAIN CHARGED WITH PERFORMING FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

The first ever prosecutions under the Female Genital Mutilation Act have been announced by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Dr Dhanuson Dharmasena, 31, from the Whittington Hospital in North London and another man Hasan Mohamed, 40, are to be charged in connection with an incident following a birth at the hospital in 2012.

21/3/2014
MEET A DEFENDER: DR ISATOU TOURAY

An unwavering commitment to ‘drop the knife’ in The Gambia

WHRDIC supports many women human rights defenders who fight for women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive rights, including the right to be free from female genital mutilation (FGM).

Despite being banned by the United Nations, this harmful practice continues to affect over 100 million women worldwide.

With almost four out of every five women in The Gambia experiencing FGM, it is a brave woman indeed who would campaign against such an established practice.

Dr. Isatou Touray, co-founder and executive director of Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP), is committed to ‘knife-dropping’, or ending the brutal custom of FGM in her country.

20/3/2014
Tougher Action Urged on Kazakstan "Bride-Theft"
Lawmaker says tougher methods needed to deal with “traditional” abductions.
 
 
20 Feb 14 - A proposal to toughen legislation on the practice of “bride stealing” in Kazakstan has reignited debate on a practice that has proved difficult to tackle. Svetlana Romanovskaya, a member of parliament from the ruling Nur Otan party, wants to see stricter measures to criminalise abductions that lead to forced marriages.

In a typical case, a woman is grabbed off the street by male relatives of the would-be groom – who might be a complete stranger – taken by force to his home, and held there against her will until she agrees to marry him. Fear of being shamed will often lead her own family to come to terms with the forced marriage.

19/3/2014
Iran says woman sentenced to stoning given "leave" from prison

DUBAI, March 18 (Reuters) - An Iranian woman sentenced to die by stoning for adultery and later given a 10-year jail term instead has been allowed to leave prison, the judiciary said, in a new twist to a case that has triggered years of criticism of Iran's rights record.

A judiciary spokesman told Reuters that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani had been given "a leave" from prison several weeks ago for good behaviour. He said, without elaborating, that the decision was a sign of "our religion's leniency towards women".

18/3/2014
Pakistani laws prohibiting underage marriage un-Islamic: CII

ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) concluded its 191th meeting, here Tuesday with the ruling that the laws related to minimum age of marriage were un-Islamic and that children of any age could get married if they attain puberty.

18/3/2014
Family planning program in Senegal drawn into conflict with religious leaders

IN MERETO, SENEGAL — From the corner of his family’s bustling courtyard, El Hadji Fally Diallo looked out approvingly at his large extended family. Several women with babies on their hips prepared the massive midday meal, and children studying the Koran mumbled verses to themselves.

14/3/2014
Women of Bangsamoro stand up for inclusion
MAR 2014
Women at a recent summit in Mindanao, Southern Philippines, called on the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) to include their views in the drafting of the Basic Law for the new Bangsamoro region. This self-governing entity has emerged following a peace agreement after decades of armed conflict.
13/3/2014
Fed up with Iran's draconian dress code, women flout the rules - report

Friday 7th March 2014, Emma Batha - LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - After Iranian film actress Marzieh Vafamehr appeared with her head uncovered in My Tehran for Sale, an Australian film critical of her home country, she was sentenced to three months in jail and a hefty fine.

When Iran banned lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh from flying to Italy to receive a human rights prize, she sent a video-taped acceptance speech and was promptly fined for not wearing a hijab in the recording.

The actress and lawyer are among hundreds of thousands of girls and women who have fallen foul of Iran’s strict dress code. More than 30,000 have been arrested over the last decade for violating the law, according to a report published on Friday which calls for an end to forced hijab. Some of those detained were as young as 12 years old.

6/3/2014
Bahrain: Family violence law articles approved

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI ,  Posted on » Tuesday, March 04, 2014

BAHRAIN's top legal authority has recommended that husbands who force their wives to have sex should not be prosecuted.

It has also suggested husbands and guardians who "reasonably" discipline their wives and daughters should be above the law.

The Supreme Judicial Council made the recommendations to ensure new legislation on domestic disputes does not contradict Sharia (Islamic) principles.