Archive for December, 2008
Last July, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) mandated that some candidate lists must be composed of half female and half male candidates in order to qualify for the November 23rd regional and local elections. What was the significance of this, and what was the role of gender and women’s issues in the elections? Venezuelanalysis.com spoke [...]
Women’s reproductive rights groups and their allies are fighting what they call a last-minute attempt by the Bush administration to roll back women’s health protections and restrict access to birth control. At the center of the controversy is a proposed rule that would require health care institutions that receive federal funds to certify in writing [...]
The largest women’s network in Kosovo has suspended cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), after the agency prevented the group’s leader from publicly criticizing a controversial UN plan to grant Serbia control of Serb enclaves in Kosovo. The incident occurred last week as Igballe Rogova, Executive Director of the Kosova Women’s Network (KWN), [...]
The widespread raping of women and girls in eastern Congo is condoned by both the country’s army and its rebel groups and has been used as a weapon of war, a leading human rights group said last week. Amnesty International said much of the sexual violence committed by all sides has been directed at ethnic [...]
United Nations climate change talks should do more to incorporate women’s concerns into negotiations on a new global pact, environmental and women’s groups said last week. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said poor women in developing countries would be affected most by climate change because of its impact on agriculture, food security [...]
Hundreds of thousands of women are the victims of domestic violence in Bangladesh each year, say activists, although most cases go unreported At least 60 percent of all women in Sri Lanka have experienced domestic violence, according to the Gender-Based Violence Forum Domestic Violence Management Board has been established To Enforce Domestic Violence Act in [...]
Czech Republic Proposes Bill to Extend Abortion Services to EU Citizens Taking Stock of Abortion Laws Across Europe Abortion to remain a crime in Uruguay after Congress vote 1000 Brazilian women to be denounced for abortions
Efforts to improve agriculture in Kenya often miss the mark by targeting men instead of women As many as 20% of displaced families in DRC may be headed by single mothers
Oman, which recently set up a Human Rights Commission, has reiterated its commitment to curbing trafficking in humans and sexual exploitation of children Ugandan Parliament set to enact trafficking bill
Hitmen charge $100 a victim as Basra honour killings rise France Strikes Down Court Ruling on Virginity Fatwa against ‘tomboys’ in Malaysia
More Help is Needed for Women and Girls in North Kivu as Sexual Violence Escalates in Congo Human rights organisation Amnesty International is calling on the Haitian government to do more to tackle the widespread rape of girls which is often by gangs of armed men The growing phenomenon of stalking should be made a [...]
Participants at the International Congress on Islamic Feminism emphasized different obstacles to their work for women’s rights, including a rise in political Islam and fundamentalism, along with U.S. foreign policies. At one point during the third gathering of the International Congress on Islamic Feminism, Arifa Mazhar grew tired of talking about religion. “Instead of debating [...]
Americans and northern Europeans visiting Italy often comment on the sheer quantity of exposed female flesh in advertising and on TV shows. That exposure is inversely proportional to the presence of women in the labor force, in management and in politics. Feminists place a lot of the blame for the commercial use of the female [...]
Egypt’s long time president vowed last month to increase the number of women serving in parliament, saying women must have a more active voice in the country’s male-dominated government. Women currently hold only nine seats in parliament’s 454-member lower house — the lawmaking chamber — including five that are appointed by the president. The other [...]
ANC gender backwardness is a fallout of post-Polokwane power struggles, says Anele Mda* The dawn of democracy in 1994 saw South African women emerge from centuries of gender bondage to reclaim their rights as free citizens of this land. The 1996 constitution guaranteed them equal rights, including protection from violence and abuse. To give organisational [...]
From the south of Auckland to the southern Highlands of PNG, women of the Pacific claimed a historic moment at the opening of the 11th AWID International Forum at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in South Africa last month. It was the first time they have gathered in numbers at any global forum since [...]
Women’s rights activists are to intensify their efforts to ensure women in Bahrain get a better deal in society. They will start by co-ordinating their efforts with concerned non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and building a strategy to tackle women’s rights issues, said Awal Women’s Society member and former president Dr Sabika Al Najjar. “We should monitor [...]
Speech by Vice-President Wallström to National Women’s Council Ireland last month. Yes, there are indeed some gentlemen here: and I’m glad, because I believe in equal opportunities! So thank you for coming. It’s certainly a pleasure for me to be here at this meeting of the National Women’s Council. I’m very impressed by how much [...]
• Nordic countries close over 80% of equality gaps between men and women • World makes progress on economic, political and education gaps; loses ground on health gaps • The financial crisis underscores need for gender equality • The Report contains detailed profiles of 130 global economies Norway (1) leads the world in closing the [...]
Recent postings- Towards a Future without Fundamentalisms: New Report Analyzes Religious Fundamentalist Strategies and Feminist Responses
- Statement on the Murder of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, women’s human rights defender of Ciudad Juarez
- Sudan police arrest women protesting at flogging video
- UN Chief Leaves Women out of Year-End Summing Up
- Sex education is expelled from Egyptian schools
- Kurdish Parliament Turns Blind Eye to Prostitution
- Sexual harassment cases in Israel’s civil service rose 40% in 2010
- Women in south Sudan have been targeted in a string of abusive attacks by police cracking down on Western clothes
- Women and girls living in Haiti’s makeshift camps face an increasing risk of rape and sexual violence says Amnesty International new report
- Stand up against hatred and threats against LGBT in Malaysia
- new on womensgrid
- Tower Hamlets Residents Solidarity Campaign – Solidarity with women involved in prostitution in east London
- East London Fawcett: Free Gallery Tour ~ 12 May & Pay Gap Talk ~ 23rd May 2012
- The Light Bulb Moment and future of feminism Book launch and panel – Bristol ~ 15th May 2012
- Hollaback! Portsmouth launch event – Tuesday 22nd May 2012
- Run for Congo Women – Deadline extended to 25th May 2012!
- Fast fall in number of male-only FTSE 100 boards
- Why has the UK got so few women scientists?
- The Haven Wolverhampton E Bulletin May 2012
- 2 vacancies – Shakti Women’s Aid (Edinburgh) ~ 28th May 2012
- Volunteering for Dorset Rape Crisis Centre
- new on women in london
- Information added in March 2012
- Information added in February 2012
- Information added in January 2012
- Pro-Choice Public Meeting – Abortion Rights ~16th May 2012
- Fawcett on Queen’s speech: flexible parental leave / red tape challenge
- Policy and Campaigns Internship – Power and Agency campaign – Fawcett ~ 22nd May 2012
- Administration and Finance Worker – Women in Prison ~ 18th May 2012
- A Women’s Agenda for the Local Elections May 2012 – Survey Results
- Friends of the Women’s Library update on the future of the Library
- Women in Black, vigils and Facebook page
Against the polygamy law in Kurdistan Iraq
19 December 2008 in Family Marriage Partnership, Government, Middle East, Opinion Comment, Women's Group
On 27 October 2008, the Kurdistan Parliament brought the new Personal Status Law (PSL) in affect which did not ban polygamous marriage laws as hoped for. The new law continues to perpetuate the history of polygamy which is tied directly to the subjugation of women. Over the last 17 years of Kurdish self-rule some of [...]