Sexual/reproductive rights & health

In a matter of one week in the U.S. and Iran, authorities have made decisions that restrain women's right to control their bodies. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court voted in favor of permitting family companies to deny employees insurance coverage for contraception in the name of religious freedom. Whereas, Iranian MPs ratified a bill last week which in case of becoming a law criminalizes any act that promotes or employs birth control tools and methods.

May 27 2014

On May 28, women’s rights defenders and activists from all over the world are mobilizing to observe May 28th International Day of Action for Women’s Health. Various activities will be organized by sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) organizations and women’s advocacy groups to call on governments and the international community to ensure a holistic, inclusive, and human rights-based approach to women’s SRHR in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

“Si nous oublions ces filles, cela signifie que nous oublions nos propres sœurs, notre propre peuple” Malala Yousafzai[1]

WLUML est en rage devant l’enlèvement de plus de deux cents filles à Chibok, dans l’État du Bornou, au nord-est du Nigeria, dont le sort n’est toujours pas clair. Nous partageons la peine de leurs familles et soutenons leur appel à les faire revenir saines et sauves. Nous pressons urgemment le gouvernement nigérian de faire tout ce qui est en son pouvoir pour les ramener à leurs familles et s’assurer ensuite qu’elles reçoivent un soutien médical et psychologique et l’assistance de la communauté internationale. Nous témoignons notre solidarité au peuple et aux organisations de la société civile au Nigeria qui font opposition et résistance à la montée des forces politiques islamistes armées qui manipulent et font un usage abusif du nom de l’islam pour justifier leur stratagème terroriste brutal.

A child-bride, Wasila Umar, accused of killing her husband, three of his friends and injuring many others after serving them poisoned food in Kano, has said that she regrets her action.

On Monday April 7th, the first day of the 47th Session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD47), YCSRR member Nur Hidayati Handayani presented the following oral statement on behalf of members of the Sexual and Reproductive Rights Youth Caucus at CPD47.

BY WAJAHAT S. KHAN AND HENRY AUSTIN

 

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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

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.

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.

Executive Summary
 
The year 2014 was meant to be the year that ended the Program of Action adopted by the Cairo Conference for Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994. The document was a paradigm shift in understanding and framing reproductive health and rights and prioritizing individuals’ rights to choose and make decisions with regards to their own bodies. Now that the General Assembly extended the PoA indefinitely, and will review country progress at its 2014 session, it is the right moment to evaluate the extent to which different countries in the region implemented the PoA and how this has changed the realities lived by women and youth regarding their sexual and reproductive health and rights. In the MENA region, acknowledging reproductive rights in a UN consensus document has greatly contributed in enhancing the countries’ policies especially in maternity care, family planning services and HIV/AIDS. Yet, cultural and religious discourses still play a major role in holding back sexual rights especially for young people. Women’s autonomy over their bodies is still a highly debated issue because of the deeply embedded patriarchal culture, which is also reflected in an unprecedented increase in the level of sexual violence against women. 

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