An appeal, due to begin in northern Nigeria for Amina Lawal, a Muslim woman convicted of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning, has been postponed because the judges failed to turn up.
Although all countries are unique,
Iran may have claim to more surprising political changes in the past century
than any other country existing continuously during that period. Among these
changes have been notable alterations in women’s roles and status. The birth of
urban mass politics during the constitutional revolution of 1906-11 saw women’s
first political activism, which continued after World War 1, though that
independence was eventually much diminished under the new Pahlavi dynasty of
Reza Shah (1921-41) (Afary, 1996; Bayat, 1978; Paidar, 1995; Sanasarian, 1982).
The innumerable bans imposed by
Taliban renders everyday life a veritable punishment.
The latest orders for
regulating the life of Afghans came into force yesterday. Their severity reveals
the determination of the Taliban, out to capture the parts of the country that
have so far evaded them.
In Kabul, life has become a
never-ending punishment. Since the enforcement of law on "the commandment of the
good and interdiction of the evil", whose latest measures are applicable as of
yesterday, everything is forbidden. For the Taliban government, gaiety is
suspect.
One of the crucial issues affecting women in South Asia
today has been the growth of state sponsored religious fundamentalism. This is
occurring in the context of increasing evidence of violence against women -
dowry murders, sexual harassment, rape often by the police and army, and the
throwing of acid on women in the streets. (1) As a result of campaigns and
agitations by women's movements, these incidents have been highlighted and the
governments have passed some preventive laws, albeit with many loopholes and
limitations.
