Faith and motherhoodMANILA, Philippines--“Central to fundamentalisms is the control of women, with women seen as ‘markers’ that define membership in or exclusion from their societies or groups,”.... Source:
Inquirer.net
Efforts to Restrict Abortion Rights gain Momentum On December 17, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly lent its
considerable weight to campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty by
passing a resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions.. Source:
AWID friday files
Did God plan the tsunami?The Canadian missionary I am interviewing has just raised that interesting, if somewhat unusual possibility. Rob Griffioen is with the Menonite Brethern.. Source:
CBC
Out of the Closet and Onto the ScreenHOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT a comfortable, much less a popular, topic among Muslims. Broach the subject in the Middle East, and you’re likely to hear a response like the one Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave US audiences last year: “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals, like in your country.” . Source:
Egypt Today
Practising what they preachThey attack companies that promote a 'homosexual agenda' and hunt out 'cultural polluters'. They are pro-life, pro-family and pro-armaments. Proinsias O'Mahony looks at the growth of 'biblically responsible investment'. Source:
The Guardian
Stifled, Egypt’s Young Turn to Islamic FervorCAIRO — The concrete steps leading from Ahmed Muhammad Sayyid’s first-floor apartment sag in the middle, worn down over time, like Mr. Sayyid himself. Once, Mr. Sayyid had a decent job and a chance to marry. But his fiancée’s family canceled the engagement because after two years, he could not raise enough money to buy an apartment and furniture.. Source:
The New York Times
Anglican church split over gays widens in CanadaVANCOUVER, British Columbia - An Anglican Church of Canada official expressed dismay on Thursday after a major congregation voted to split from the national church over the issue of homosexuality.. Source:
Reuters
Honour Killing OutcrySix years ago, Hataw fled to a women’s shelter to escape her brother’s rage when she refused to marry the man he chose for her. Just a few weeks later, her brother ambushed her and her mother near the shelter, opening fire with an automatic weapon.. Source:
IWPR
Segregated Israeli buses driving critics to court: Religious rules keep women in back seatsJERUSALEM - On six public bus lines in this city, the sexes are separated. Women board at the rear door and sit in the back. Men get on and sit in the front.. Source:
Chicago Tribune
A question of honour: Police say 17,000 women are victims every yearMinisters are stepping up the fight against so-called 'honour' crime and forced marriages. Detectives say official statistics are 'merely the tip of the iceberg' of this phenomenon. Brian Brady investigates. Source:
The Indypendent
Indian City Opens Doorway to Female Hindu PriestsWhile women are barred from Hindu temples in some other parts of India, women in the city of Pune are studying the priesthood at two schools and conducting ceremonies. Eighth in a series on the changing role of women in India.. Source:
Women eNews
A DRAFT ANTI-PORNOGRAPHY BILL DIVIDES INDONESIAIndonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population, is caught up in a growing national debate around pornography which is about to enter a new phase.. Source:
CSBR
New Legal Momentum Publication Exposes How Abstinence-Only Programs Harm Women and GirlsLegal Momentum, the nation's oldest legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women and girls, announces the publication of Sex, Lies, and Stereotypes: How Abstinence-Only Programs Harm Women and Girls, a new report exposing the deceitful and sexist messages of abstinence-only programs and highlighting the harm to our youth, and women and girls in particular, of this government- funded mis-education.. Source:
Fox Business
Church Vs. State: Militant Catholics Try to Sway Spanish ElectionsArchbishop Antonio María Rouco performed two miracles. On a bright winter’s day, Madrid’s cardinal convened a million people in Plaza Colón to defend the Christian family. They stood in a sea of colored balloons, with children and babies in tow, as he delivered the second: Pope Benedict XVI live by video link-up from the Vatican.. Source:
The Indypendent
Afghanistan says it appreciates efforts to save student journalistAmid international outrage over a student journalist sentenced to death for blaspheming Islam, the Afghan government Saturday said it was "fully aware of the gravity of the case.". Source:
CNN
UN body calls for Saudis to end male guardianshipGENEVA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A United Nations human rights body called on Saudi Arabia on Friday to immediately end its system of male guardianship which it said severely limits the basic freedoms of women in the kingdom.. Source:
Reuters
Anti-Abortion Groups Urge Bush to Veto New AIDS PlanWASHINGTON | Religious anti-abortion groups are angry over proposed changes in the Bush administration's global AIDS relief program, which has reportedly provided lifesaving medicine to 1.4 million people worldwide.. Source:
The Ledger
Christian Leaders Call on the Government of Uganda to Protect the Rights of Gays and Lesbians(New York, February 15, 2008) -- A coalition of 120 Christian leaders has called on the government of Uganda to protect the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) citizens in the East African nation.. Source:
Global Justice
A Million Signatures for EqualityIt is over one year since Iranian women's rights activists began a campaign
to get at least one million people to sign a petition for the reform of
discriminatory laws. Today, we review the campaign. . Source:
Recourse Net
There is Nothing Godly about Enforced MotherhoodOn January 21, 2008, 20 directly affected women filed
a case in the Court of Appeals to invalidate Executive Order No. 003, a policy banning "artificial contraceptives" in all of Manila's public health
facilities, engineered in February 2000 by then-mayor Jose "Lito" Atienza, Jr.. Source:
Business World
Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rightsA young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic court for downloading a report from the internet. The sentence is then upheld by the country's rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times but six years after "liberation" and under the democratic rule of the West's ally Hamid Karzai.. Source:
The Indypendent
Headscarf dominates agenda once againThe never-ending debates over whether Turkey should ease restrictions on women wearing the Muslim headscarf have been rekindled by a recent vow made by the prime minister to lift the strict ban through consensus and without delay.. Source:
Today's Zaman
Gender Bar Removal: Adhaalath Say Against Shari'ahThe religious conservative Adhaalath party has said it condemns the move to allow women to be elected as Maldives' President.. Source:
Minivan News
Dress Code for Chechen WomenThe authorities in Chechnya are engaged in a drive to revive and institutionalise Chechen national values, but some argue they are going about it the wrong way, with instructions issued from on high telling women what they should and shouldn’t wear.
. Source:
institute for war and peace reporting (IWPR)
Kuwait: Repressive Dress-Code Law Encourages Police AbuseAuthorities should immediately release more than a dozen persons jailed under Kuwait’s new dress-code law, Human Rights Watch said today. The law, approved by the National Assembly on December 10, 2007, criminalizes people who “imitate the appearance of the opposite sex.”. Source:
Human Rights Watch
'We want to offer sharia law to Britain'Islamic courts meet every week in the UK to rule on divorces and financial disputes. Clare Dwyer Hogg and Jonathan Wynne-Jones report on demands by senior Muslims that sharia be given legal authority. Source:
Telegraph
Arab World Forum Shares Gender Field NotesGender research in the Arab region drew conference participants from across the Middle East and North Africa this week. While challenges and restrictions are abundant at women's studies centers, degrees and programs are growing.. Source:
Women's enews
Boys will be boys - or elseKuwaitis who defy very narrowly defined gender stereotypes now face prison or a hefty fine. Source:
Guardian Unlimited
A tragedy born of military despotism and anarchyEven those of us sharply critical of Benazir Bhutto's behaviour and policies - both while she was in office and more recently - are stunned and angered by her death. Indignation and fear stalk the country once again.. Source:
Guardian Unlimited
Abused Muslim Women in U.S. Gain AdvocatesCHICAGO — After enduring seven years of beatings from her husband, a young Yemeni-American woman recently fled to a local shelter, only to find that the heavy black head scarf she wore as an observant Muslim provoked disapproval.. Source:
The New York Times
Iran: End Widespread Crackdown on Civil SocietyThe Iranian government is relying on its broadly worded "security laws" to suppress virtually any public expression of dissent, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. It uses these laws to subject those arrested to prolonged incommunicado detention without charge, solitary confinement, and denial of access to counsel.. Source:
Reuters AlertNet
Changing abortion's pronounSAN FRANCISCO -- Jason Baier talks often to the little boy he calls Jamie. He imagines this boy -- his son -- with blond hair and green eyes, chubby cheeks, a sweet smile.
. Source:
Los Angeles Times
Egypt: Torture and Coerced Confessions Used in High-Profile Terrorism Investigation Counterterrorism Case Hinged on Abusive MethodsA high-profile terrorism case announced by the Egyptian authorities in 2006 was likely based on torture and false confessions, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.. Source:
Human Rights Watch
