Empowerment

Egypt: Holocaust survivor sparks fast for human rights in Gaza

Hedy Epstein, 85-year-old Holocaust survivor, has stolen our hearts. At four feet-ten, she is a giant. Her gentle smile lights up every room that she enters, and yet if you saw her on the street, you might not immediately sense her power. Unless you paid close attention, you would just see a sweet little old lady. When she came to Cairo, Hedy decided to undertake a fast in support of the people of Gaza, a particularly apt form of protest given the inadequacy of both the supply and type of food the people there have access to. Malnutrition is endemic in Gaza, and children's growth is stunted; people frequently go hungry.

Bahrain: Advocacy for Divorced Women's Rights

A CAMPAIGN is being stepped up to ensure that women in Bahrain emerge from divorce with alimony, rightful custody of their children and a roof over their heads. A Bahrain society is calling for law reforms and practical strategies to ensure divorced women their rights, without agonising court battles. Bahrain Women's Association for Human Development wants legislation and society to reflect the Quranic concept of divorce, which states a wife either be returned to her husband or "released (divorced) in kindness".

Arab world: Next GCC secretary general should be a woman, activist says

Naming a woman as the next secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will solve the standoff between Qatar and the other GCC states over the name of the next official for the top post, a Saudi activist and columnist has said. “Since there seems to be a crisis that is likely to prolong over the name of the top official, the possible solution I see is to choose a female secretary-general with a high academic and diplomatic profile. I do not think that selecting a qualified woman will cause opposition since there are many women who have recently held high political positions,” Hatoon Al Fassi, an expert on women’s rights and a columnist with a Saudi newspaper, wrote.

Iran: Broken Taboos in Post-Election Iran

The on-camera martyrdom of Neda Agha-Soltan, the 26-year old philosophy student shot dead during the protests after the fraudulent presidential election in Iran in June, caught the imagination of the world. But the post-election crackdown has two other victims whose fates better capture the radical shift in the country’s political culture.

Sahara-Occidental: Aminatou Haidar est repartie pour Laâyoune

La militante saharaouie Aminatou Haidar, en grève de la faim depuis 32 jours, a quitté les Canaries jeudi soir à bord d'un avion médicalisé pour Laâyoune, chef-lieu du Sahara occidental, a constaté un journaliste de l'AFP. Elle était sortie peu avant de l'hôpital pour se rendre à l'aéroport de Lanzarote, une des îles de l'archipel des Canaries. Plusieurs centaines de ses sympathisants ont applaudi le départ vers 22H15 (heure locale et GMT) de l'avion dont le vol vers Laâyoune, son lieu de résidence, devrait prendre moins de deux heures.

Western Sahara: Expelled hunger-striking activist Haidar allowed home

A Western Sahara activist expelled by Morocco has been allowed to return from Spain after maintaining a hunger strike for 32 days. Aminatou Haidar, 42, left Lanzarote airport in the Canary Islands on a small, private plane after a deal was reached, details of which are unclear. She said her fast would continue until she was safely home with her children. Living on only sweetened water, she has developed health problems, and left hospital in Lanzarote in an ambulance."This is a triumph for international law, for human rights, for international justice and for the cause" of the Western Sahara, she told reporters as she left.

Afghanistan: Women lead protest against government corruption

In an unusual display of female political activism, several hundred demonstrators demand that President Hamid Karzai purge those connected to corruption, war crimes or the Taliban. Several hundred women, many holding aloft pictures of relatives killed by drug lords or Taliban militants, held a loud but nonviolent street protest today, demanding that President Hamid Karzai purge from his government anyone connected to corruption, war crimes or the Taliban. "These women are being very brave," said the protest leader, her face hidden by a burka. "To be a woman in Afghanistan and an activist can mean death. We want justice for our loved ones!

Mali: The wedding dress with attitude

Malians do a good line in combining fashion and public relations for the causes they care about. Fatoumata and Moussa didn’t just decide to get married under Mali’s new family code, they got married in it – literally. The bride, groom and wedding guests at the September ceremony in Bamako all wore colourful traditional Malian boubous and pagnes, printed in browns and greens with key words from the new Code about mutual love, support and fidelity: “affection mutuelle”, “soutien mutuel”, “fidélité mutuelle”, proclaimed the wedding dress.

France: NPNS en hommage à Kavinda et en soutien à Lubna Al Hussein

Le Mouvement Ni Putes Ni Soumises organise ses Universités Populaires les 11 et 12 décembre prochains à Sciences Po (Paris). Dans un contexte de crispation autour du débat sur l’identité national, la burqa et les minarets, le Mouvement Ni Putes Ni Soumises réaffirme très clairement sa position sur la laïcité et sur le droit universel des femmes.

International: Formation of an International Bureau for Laicite

Considering that:- The so-called theory of ‘clash of civilisations’ between a ‘Christian West’ on the one hand, and a ‘Muslim Orient’ on the other, is gaining ground, in total disregard of all people the world over, who have been fighting in favour of a political model founded on principles of secularism.