[fund] promotion and application of religious laws

Bahrain: Women Victims of Political Agenda and Propaganda

The Bahraini Authorities stepped up the political propaganda built on the exploitation of women for promotional purposes, without a real evolution of women’s legal, civil, political, economical, social or cultural rights. While authorities are promoting the involvement of women in the political scene and presenting the program as a proof of progress and reforms, in reality, the program is limited in practice by employing a limited number of women in high positions selected on the basis of political and sectarian affiliation, and not on sound career qualifications, a process which discriminates against thousands of qualified women due to their gender, sectarian and tribal affiliation.

Saudi Arabia: Travel ban against blogger for criticising religious police

On 6 December 2009, blogger and human rights defender, Mr Ra’if Badawi, was stopped at Jeddah airport and prevented from travelling to Beirut. No official explanation was given for the travel ban or its time limit; however, it is believed that it is related to charges brought against Ra’if Badawi in relation to a website he set up, in which he has criticized the religious police for violations of human rights.

السودان: جلد قاصر بسبب ملابسها

تلقت فتاة سودانية في السادسة عشرة خمسين جلدة لارتدائها ثوبا "غير محتشم"، بحسب ما افاد محامي عائلتها الذي يعارض هذا التطبيق المتشدد للشريعة الاسلامية. وقال محامي فتاة من جنوب السودان وعائلتها ان الفتاة جلدت 50 مرة لانها ارتدت تنورة رأى قاض أنها خليعة وذلك في احدث قضية تسلط الضوء على تطبيق الشريعة الاسلامية في السودان. وقالت جنتي دورو والدة الفتاة سليفا كاشف والتي تبلغ من العمر 16 عاما لرويترز يوم الجمعة انها تنوي مقاضاة الشرطة التي اعتقلت ابنتها والقاضي الذي أصدر الحكم. وأضافت أن ابنتها قاصر ومسيحية. وستؤجج القضية نقاشا حاميا حول قوانين الاحتشام في السودان بعد حكم نال اهتماما كبيرا بادانة لبنى حسين المسؤولة السودانية في الامم المتحدة لارتدائها سروالا وسجنها لفترة قصيرة.

Sudan: Girl lashed 50 times for "indecent" skirt

A 16-year-old south Sudanese girl was lashed 50 times after a judge ruled her knee-length skirt was indecent, her lawyer and family said in the latest case to push Sudan's Islamic law into the spotlight. The mother of teenager Silva Kashif told Reuters on Friday [Nov 27] she was planning to sue the police who made the arrest and the judge who imposed the sentence, as her daughter was underage and a Christian. The case will add fuel to a debate already raging over Sudan's decency laws after this year's high-profile conviction of Sudanese U.N. official Lubna Hussein, who was briefly jailed for wearing trousers in public.

ASEAN Region: APMM Statement on the growth of politicized Islam

Southeast Asia Muslim human rights advocates express concerns on the growth of politicized Islam in the ASEAN region and makes recommendations to ASEAN leaders at the 15th ASEAN Summit. A regional meeting of Southeast Asian human rights advocates was held in Jakarta on 16-17 October 2009 to examine how certain interpretations of Sharia laws are affecting the rights of the women in Muslim contexts in the region and undermining secularism and democratic institutions in such countries as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

Somalia: Somali woman stoned to death for adultery

A 20-year-old woman divorcee accused of committing adultery in Somalia has been stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of about 200 people. A judge working for the militant group al-Shabab said she had had an affair with an unmarried 29-year-old man.He said she gave birth to a still-born baby and was found guilty of adultery. Her boyfriend was given 100 lashes.

Malaysia: Progressive ulama arrested

The arrest of a progressive ulama has plunged many Malaysians into further despair that this country is hurtling towards an implosion but it may prove a blessing in disguise.

Somalia: Pregnant women to be stoned to death

Islamists in southern Somalia have stoned a man to death for adultery but spared his pregnant girlfriend until she gives birth. Abas Hussein Abdirahman, 33, was killed in front of a crowd of some 300 people in the port town of Merka. An official from the al-Shabab group said the woman would be killed after she has had her baby. Islamist groups run much of southern Somalia, while the UN-backed government only control parts of the capital. This is the third time Islamists have stoned a person to death for adultery in the past year.

International: Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms

The Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms (RCRF) team is currently documenting a broad spectrum of feminist strategies to counter fundamentalist politics.

Iran: Generation Tehran

Generation Tehran is a documentary short that disccuses Iran, its people, and its future. As one of the youngest populations in the world (70% are under 30 years of age), Iran's youth are helping to build a new country. In this documentary, Iran's urban and upper middle class youth speak out about life in Iran, their freedoms, and their collective culutural identity crisis.