Law reform

أفغانستان: الرئيس قرضاي يعترض على مشروع قانون يحمي مرتكبي العنف الأسري

أشادت منظمة العفو الدولية بقرار الرئيس الأفغاني حامد قرضاي بعدم التصديق على مشروع قانون الإجراءات الجنائية، الذي كان من شأنه أن يحول دون تحقيق العدالة لضحايا الاغتصاب والعنف الأسري والزواج القسري والزواج دون السن القانونية.

UN human rights experts urge Kenya to repeal discriminatory sections in Matrimonial Property Act

GENEVA (17 February 2014) – A group of United Nations human rights experts today urged Kenya to repeal sections of the Marriage and Property Act which effectively deny women the right to marital property upon divorce or death of their spouse, unless they can prove they made a contribution to the acquisition of the property during their marriage.

“It is expected that very few women will be able to demonstrate such a contribution under the new provisions, since few Kenyan women have land title deeds in their own names and even less hold deeds jointly with men,” warned independent expert Frances Raday, who currently heads the UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice.

Family Law in Bahrain

This report from Bahrain Center for Human Rights covers the state of family law and its implications for women in Bahrain.

SIGN THE PETITION: President Hamid Karzai: We call on you not to sign the new Law on Criminal Procedures

The law would prohibit the justice system to question relatives of criminal defendants. It will deprive Afghan women and girls access to justice against relatives who commit domestic violence, forced them to marry or even sell them. Only the President can stop this law that has already been passed by the Parliament from being enforced, and he is due to sign it in the coming days.

Justice Through Equality: Building Religious Knowledge for Legal Reform in Muslim Family Laws

Introduction

Compare these two statements:

"The fundamentals of the Shari‘a are rooted in wisdom and promotion of the welfare of human beings in this life and the hereafter.

Morocco to change rape marriage law

24th January 2014

The Moroccan government has said it plans to change a law that allows rapists to avoid charges if they marry their victims.

The move comes nearly a year after 16-year-old girl committed suicide after being forced to marry her alleged rapist.

Women's rights activists on Tuesday welcomed Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid's announcement, but said it was only a first step in reforming a penal code that does not do enough to stop violence against women in this North African kingdom.

A paragraph in Article 475 of the penal code allows those convicted of "corruption" or "kidnapping" of a minor to go free if they marry their victim and the practice has been encouraged by judges to spare family shame.

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The suicicde of a teenager forced to marry her alleged rapist triggered protests and calls for legal reform [AP]

After advocacy by women's movement, Morocco makes major reform to rape law

January 9th, 2014

Following significant advocacy by WLP Morocco/ADFM and other Moroccan women’s rights organizations, on January 8, 2014, the Moroccan Parliament finally adopted the draft law to amend article 475 of the Criminal /penal Code, which allowed rapists to escape prosecution if they married their victim. This article has mainly been used to justify the traditional practice of pressuring the victim to marry her rapist in the name of “preserving the honor of the girl’s family.” This new amendment removes the second paragraph of the article, lifting the immunity of the rapist and preventing him from marrying his victim.

المغرب: قانون التحرش – كسب للمرأة أم إسكات للحقوقيين؟

تحت ضغط المنظمات الحقوقية والعديد من النساء في المغرب هاهي الحكومة تعتزم سن قانون جديد يهدف للحد من ظاهرة التحرش الجنسي. وإن رحب العديد من المغاربة بهذه الخطوة، إلا أنهم اعتبروه غير كاف إذا لم يرتبط بتغييرات في المجتمع

السياسة الانتخابية: وضع كوتا ناجحة للمرأة

Nigeria: The #ChildNotBride Debacle

During Ramadan, a great uproar took place in Nigeria over actions by the government that were interpreted as trying to legalise child marriage. During a constitutional review, Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima argued that a subsection of Nigeria’s 1999 constitution should not be removed as it affects the rights of Muslim women. Section 29 of the Nigerian constitution allows Nigerian citizens aged 18 and above to give up their citizenship.