Empowerment

AWID and the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition reviewed a broad range of urgent responses available to women human rights defenders Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) at risk around the world. This report describes the types of resources and strategies available to respond to urgent situations of violence against WHRDs as well as some of the organizations that offer them.

Karima Bennoune, member of WLUML’s Council and a law professor at Rutgers School of Law - Newark, served as a human rights observer at a series of pro-democracy demonstrations in Algeria in February. These demonstrations included significant numbers of women, and women human rights defenders (WHRDs) from a new coalition, the Observatoire Nationale sur la violence faites aux femmes (National Observatory on Violence against Women). Bennoune documented the treatment of the protestors, in particular of the women activists involved, as they faced police beatings, arrest and harassment. Prominent women’s rights advocateCherifa Kheddar, was arrested and briefly detained. Many of the Algerian women Bennoune met expressed tremendous enthusiasm about the presence of an international observer.

Au Sénégal, les femmes et les fillettes en situation de handicap sont, tous les jours, confrontées à des violences physiques et sexuelles (sévices physiques, viols, mariages précoces et forcés, rejet ou viol par le conjoint,…) et des abus psychologiques (préjugés, mépris, insultes, rejet,…). Leur handicap les expose quotidiennement à des préjugés culturels qui prennent diverses formes, tout au long de leur vie. 

Since the start of the wave of uprisings that have swept the Arab world, "establishment" figures, especially women, have been celebrated as the "icons" of the revolution – symbols of its homegrown, indigenous nature. Tawakkol Karman in Yemen, and Saida Saadouni in Tunisia are examples of this fierce matriarchy. They are of the tradition, and respected more so because of it. Hijab-clad, religiously conservative and socially conventional, they reserve their rebellion for the political arena, rendering them relatively immune to accusations of immorality or harsh personal attacks.

This report is part of a WLUML three-part series on women’s rights in the context of the ‘Arab uprisings’. Next week: Syria: Debates on women’s bodily autonomy and sexual violence.

 

In the wake of the 25 January Revolution in Egypt, and throughout ongoing political developments, women’s and human rights organization in Egypt have been fully aware of what they have to gain – or lose. Seeking to build on women’s participation in the revolution and capitalize on a moment of immense hope and possibility, different groups have joined forces to demand greater representation for women in parliament and on national councils and committees. Their main concerns are the need both to expand women’s roles in a new, democratic Egypt and to safeguard hard-earned gains in women’s rights achieved over the past few decades.

واجهت الناشطة العراقية هناء أدور رئيس الحكومة العراقية نوري المالكي وممثل الامم المتحدة في العراق اد ميلكرت بحقيقة الانتهاكات التي يمارسها المالكي ضد حقوق الانسان في العراق.
جاء ذلك خلال ندوة عقدت بحضور المالكي والقى فيها إد ميلكرت كلمة اثارت اعتراض منظمات المجتمع المدني ورابطة الحقوقيين العراقيين. وصرخت ادوار في وجه المالكي والمجتمعين وهم يتجنبون الحديث عن اعتقال المتظاهرين والاشارة الى الانتهاكات التي يتعرض لها الانسان في العراق في ظل حكومة المالكي . 

الأحد, 05 حزيران - يونيو 2011 

Dear High Representative Ashton, We are leading Saudi Women’s rights activists and we write this open letter - endorsed by citizens throughout the EU - to express our deep concern over the EU's public silence on the issue of Saudi women's right to drive. [You can sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/catherine-ashton-publicly-support-saudi-womens-right-to-drive]

We the women from the Arab region who came together for three days to share our success in our revolutions, and to celebrate and confirm our demands to sustain what we have gained through years of struggle, hereby acknowledge:

The Global Campaign, Violence is not Our Culture (VNC) has published Strategising Online Activism: A Toolkit. The toolkit is available for free download and distribution. Through this toolkit VNC hopes that campaigners will acquire the following skills: An understanding of why and how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be appropriated by women's rights and human rights groups in their advocacy skills through their use of online tools, including networking and mobile tools for advocacy and campaigning; The ability to develop an advocacy / communication strategy; Knowing what social neworking is and the various spaces and tools they could use in their online activism; An understanding of online privacy and security issues relevant to building their online activism.

Zainah Anwar, Sisters in Islam (SIS) founder answers ... What are your thoughts on the French government's ban on Muslim women from wearing the burqa in public? Susila B, Johor. Z.A. I believe the state has no role to play in deciding whether a woman should cover or uncover her hair. In Iran or Saudi Arabia, you cannot leave home without the hijab but in Turkey you cannot be in any public school or university or government building with the hijab. I wish the state would leave women's heads alone. However, when it comes to the burqaor niqab (face covering), I find myself conflicted about the role of the state in this. 

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