“Talaq” is the Arabic word for divorce, which when expressed three times in a row by a Muslim husband to his wife in India is all that’s needed to constitute an instant, unilateral and legal divorce. Well, this has been the case until now. On Tuesday 22 August 2017, thanks to a continued two-year effort on behalf of the Muslim organization, Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), and the testimonies of five “divorced” women, India's Supreme Court banned the controversial practice of instant … [Read more...]
UN Women, First Regular Session 2017 – FEB 14
January 31, 2017 by
Documents for the first regular session of the UN-Women Executive Board, on 14 February 2017. Advance copies of session documents are posted here and on the PaperSmart portal in the original language, and are replaced by official documents once available. AGENDA In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization’s … [Read more...]
Giving Girls in Uganda an Equal Chance
January 10, 2017 by
“I want to be a nurse.” This comment was made in response to my age old question of, “What would you like to be when you grow up?” I’ve asked this question to children in the United States, but this time I was in Uganda, speaking with a 14-year-old girl, Malacondia, who attends St. Luke’s Primary School in the northern part of Uganda, near the border with South Sudan. The school educates children from Uganda as well as refugees from South Sudan, displaced by the horrific unrest there. Not … [Read more...]
International Day of Prayer Against Human Trafficking, Feb. 8
January 28, 2015 by
Pontifical Council Announces International Day of Prayer Against Trafficking Will Be Celebrated Feb. 8, Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita Josephine Margaret Bakhita, F.D.C.C., was a Sudanese-born former slave who became a Canossian Religious Sister in Italy, living and working there for 45 years. In 2000 she was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. She was born in about 1869 in the western Sudanese region of Darfur; in the village of Olgossa, west of Nyala and close to Mount … [Read more...]
Child Rights for 25 years, ‘better or worse’ today?
November 22, 2014 by
Kurdish refugee children from the Syrian town of Kobani in a makeshift classroom at a refugee camp in the border town of Suruc on November 18, 2014. OSMAN ORSAL/REUTERS Twenty-five years since the United Nations ratified its Convention on the Rights of the Child, have the lives of the world’s children improved? A new report tried to answer that question and found some gains among ongoing and long-standing challenges. Examining the quality of life for children in 190 countries, the report … [Read more...]
Forced to marry her rapist — days until the big vote
January 10, 2014 by
16 year-old Amina Filali, raped, beaten and forced to wed her rapist, killed herself — the only way she saw to escape the trap set for her by her rapist and Moroccan law. We’ve joined Moroccan activists, campaigning for years to repeal this provision, and now victory is within reach. This week, one last vote could make it happen. Article 475 in Morocco’s penal code allows a rapist to avoid prosecution and a long prison sentence by marrying his victim if she is a minor. It’s any rape … [Read more...]
London conference against child marriage – Nov 23 (UK)
October 31, 2013 by
Nigerian Women organize November London conference against child marriage NIGERIAN women in the UK have convened a special conference to debate the debilitating effects of child marriage among African children in response to recent moves by the Senate to approve underage wedlock. In July, the Nigerian senate approved a bill that would recognise child brides as adults and which would legalise marriages to minors. There has been an national and international outrage at the development with … [Read more...]
1993 Vienna Declaration was the Real Turning Point
June 7, 2013 by
Violence against women – the most pervasive expression of gender-based violence: Pillay "Violence against women is the most pervasive expression of gender-based discrimination", UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay told the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday during its annual full-day discussion on women's rights. Ms. Pillay said that before the 1990's, violence against women was still largely considered a private matter and not a human rights issue of concern to the … [Read more...]
Bishnu Maya Pariyar – WOMAN of ACTION™
May 10, 2013 by
A Celebration of Women™ is elated to Celebrate the Life of this brave woman, one born into extreme poverty, and treated as an outcast in her own society. Housing a strong spirit, this powerhouse forged her way through education, walking four hours per day to attend and complete her secondary education, being the first girl in her community to achieve such success. She further achieved more education in the USA, and returned home to work with her local women through an organization … [Read more...]
Celebrate Abolishing Sang Chatti (compensation marriage): Pakistan
February 13, 2013 by
Abolishing Sang Chatti: Pakistan works to prevent compensation marriage and other forms of Violence Against Women Seven-year-old Izzo Bibi* lives in a small village in the province of Sindh in southern Pakistan. Her father cannot afford to send her to school but her mother has taught her traditional Sindhi embroidery. Izzo’s older cousin Sheeno* used to help her learn new embroidery motifs. When Izzo’s paternal uncle murdered his neighbour, the faislo (also called Jirga, the … [Read more...]
Kyrgyzstan toughens penalties for bride kidnapping, Taking Action
February 8, 2013 by
Kyrgyzstan (/kɜrɡɪˈstɑːn/ kur-gi-stahn; Kyrgyz: Кыргызстан (IPA: [qɯrʁɯsˈstɑn]); Russian: Киргизия), officially the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyz: Кыргыз Республикасы; Russian: Киргизская Республика), is a country located in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek. “Women should be beaten every day,” says Kamilla,* repeating the … [Read more...]
Dr. Sharifa Sharif – ‘A Small Story’ + HBO Documentary Dates
March 29, 2012 by
Imprisoned of Love In Afghanistan the Islamic laws deny women the right to have sex before marriage. Conventional punishment for sex outside marriage is stoning to death. You may recall the brutal and graphic images of a few cases which have caught the media attention. In Afghanistan, this religious regulation has extended its implication to social and cultural norms where free socialization of boys and girls is considered immoral. Although nowadays, women and men work together in … [Read more...]
