Resources

A report by Dr Chris Allen and his team at the University of Birmingham based on data from Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Hate).

The report discusses the disproportionate targetting of women in Anti-Muslim abuse and concludes that women showing 'visible identifiers' of 'Muslimness' - i.e. headscarves - suffer such abuse at higher levels.

The read the full report, click here or download the pdf.

ABSTRACT

This study examines how austerity measures may have adversely affected children and women in a sample of 128 developing countries in 2012. It relies on International Monetary Fund (IMF) fiscal projections and IMF country reports to gauge how social assistance and other public spending decisions have evolved since the start of the global economic crisis. The study finds that most developing countries boosted total expenditures during the first phase of the crisis (2008–09); but beginning in 2010, budget contraction became widespread, with ninety-one governments cutting overall spending in 2012. Moreover, the data suggest that nearly one-quarter of developing countries underwent excessive fiscal contraction, defined as cutting expenditures below pre-crisis levels. Governments considered four main options to achieve fiscal consolidation – wage bill cuts/caps, phasing out subsidies, further targeting social safety nets, and reforming old-age pensions – each of which would be likely to have a disproportionately negative impact on children and women.

It is commonly assumed that Muslim women are frustrated in their pursuit of property rights because those rights are limited under the Islamic legal system, they lack agency in the face of oppressive family and social structures and have an absence of conviction in their articulation of gender rights.

As Libya transitions out of the 42-year autocratic rule of the Muammar Qaddafi regime, an urgent theme has emerged: the need to safeguard women’s participation as Libya codifies human rights in national legislation and establishes government institutions and services. 

Major decisions are being made that will impact Libya’s future as a democratic State. For instance, women are actively seeking participation in the drafting process of the new constitution and in the formation of government policies across all sectors to advance their concerns. Currently, there is no provision for gender parity or the inclusion of women in the 60-member Constitutional Committee being formed. This omission is concerning, as a gender parity provision was included in the 2012 electoral law.

Following the revolution, many women and girls had restrictions imposed on their movement by family, due in part to growing concerns regarding the security of women and girls throughout the country. These restrictions are tightening as stories of violence against women circulate and uncertainty of centralized authority for the military and police continues to exist. As a result, women and girls are often confined to their homes, especially in the evenings.