justice

Sadr dedicates her Award to imprisoned women’s rights activist Shiva Nazar Ahari

Your Excellency Mrs. Clinton, Respected Members of the Jury, Ladies and Gentlemen, (cont...)

Please, sign the petition below by February 28, 2010, by sending an email message to info@stopdhunes.org that says:

I sign the Petition in Support of the Victims of Violence against Women and Women’s Rights Defenders in Albania.

Please, provide the following information in your message: first and last name, organization, country, and email address.  Thank you for your support!

TO:

Directors of public and private TV and radio stations in Albania

Editors-in-Chief of daily newspapers and weekly magazines in Albania

The Albanian National Commission on Radio and Television

Dear Madams/Sirs:

We would like to bring to your attention recent regrettable cases of incorrect and unfair media reporting on cases of violence against women and the work of the organizations that provide support and shelter to the victims of this violence in Albania. The most recent case was a report by the program “Fiks Fare” in Top Channel related to the case of a woman victim of extreme domestic violence that has included severe and repeated physical violence. Inexplicably, “Fiks Fare” sided with the perpetrator, who exploits the victim’s children to stop his wife from divorcing him after years of severe domestic violence. This perpetrator, other than repeatedly abusing his wife, has over the last four years threatened and intimidated several women’s rights defenders who provided assistance to her.

By Nicole Nepton [Cybersolidaires]

The Minister of State responsible for Women's Helena Guergis has made several announcements in recent weeks for small grants to various organizations here and there in Canada, including those that promote and coordinate educational projects to support women entrepreneurs in the spirit of the new slogan of Status of Women Canada, "The strength of women is the strength of Canada." By cons, no announcement has talked about funding the initiative Sisters in Spirit of the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC). "We have not said anything," says the director of Sisters in Spirit, Kate Rexe. "The government remains silent on the issue."

Sisters in Spirit held an initial grant of $ 5 million in five years compiling a database of more than 520 women have disappeared or been murdered over the past 40 years. The organization has prepared kits for use by families and police when a woman disappears and developed policies and programs aimed at breaking the cycle of violence.

NWAC is ready to implement policies and community programs focused on three priority areas: the judiciary, the welfare of children and poverty. But these initiatives remain unresolved because Ottawa refuses to say whether he intends to continue to fund this work. "It's incredibly frustrating. We have all the knowledge and dynamism. We can initiate change now, but we can not even know if we can continue this planning. "

9 February 2010 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s newly appointed Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict promised today a more coherent and effective battle against the scourge, citing recent mass rapes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and calling her new task “mission irresistible.”

“Sexual violence against women is not cultural, it’s criminal. It’s not a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue. It’s for both men and women to make sure that women have the right to their body,” Margot Wallström, a Swedish politician with a long history in defending women’s rights, told a news briefing in New York, citing the need to end impunity as a priority area. “Women carry half the sky, so they have to be valued that way.”

Ms. Wallström was introduced by Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro who said the new appointment was “a major step” towards protecting civilians subjected to sexual violence not only in conflict but also in post-conflict situations.

New York, 2 February 2010 – A report by the Secretary-General proposing details for a new gender entity was issued on 6 January. The Secretary-General will present the paper to Member States this Thursday, 4 February, in the first meeting of informal consultations in the plenary on System-wide Coherence.

The report, “Comprehensive proposal for the composite gender equality entity,” was requested by the General Assembly in Resolution 63/311 of September 2009, when the GA agreed to establish the entity.

The four other issues of System-wide Coherence currently under consideration in the GA (Delivering as One, Business Practices, development funding, and development governance) are addressed in an additional paper, issued by the Secretary-General on 22 December 2009. That paper also is expected to be presented on 4 February.

Below is a summary of the Secretary-General’s comprehensive proposal on the gender entity.

Equality Across America Midwest Regional Conference
Unite and Fight: Strategizing for LGBTQ Civil Rights and Equality
March 12-14, 2010 @ Columbia College, Chicago

Featuring::
* Staceyann Chin, performance poet and LGBTQ civil rights activist
* Dan Choi, infantry officer in the US Army discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
* Adam Bouska, photographer and creator of the "NO H8" campaign

* To propose a workshop for the conference please go here: http://tinyurl.com/unitefightworkshops

Over a month ago a group of Iranian women’s activists called for all defenders of women’s rights, women’s organizations and networks to take action in support of the women’s and civil rights movements in Iran, and to prepare measures of support and protest under the banner of “freedom and gender equality in Iran”.  They requested, in case of repression in Iran, that these organizations act as the voices across the world of their sisters in Iran, and in that way demonstrate solidarity with them.  Thus far many women’s and human rights organizations have responded to this appeal and some of them are planning events for March. Now the women of the world are calling to everyone to show solidarity with the people of Iran.  Please join us.  The names of individuals and organizations supporting the appeal and holding events will be announced as confirmed.

Show Your Support by Siging Our Statement Below

February 2, 2010 (Ottawa) Canada is ignoring the basic human rights of the poorest and most vulnerable Canadian women, says the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) in a new report issued today.  No Action: No Progress assesses Canada’s response to priority recommendations that were made by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women after its review of Canada in 2008.  At that time, the Committee identified two areas in which human rights violations were so pressing that they required immediate action:

• persistent failure to provide adequate social assistance to women and girls living in poverty;
• endemic violence against Aboriginal women and girls.

“Canada is the home of serious violations of the human rights of Aboriginal women and girls,” said Sharon McIvor. “The disappearances and murders of 520 Aboriginal women and girls have now been documented by the Native Women’s Association of Canada.  About half of these disappearances and murders have occurred since 2000.  But the Government of Canada has not taken effective steps to address the failures of both police and governments to protect Aboriginal women and girls from violence and to investigate that violence promptly and effectively when it occurs.  The many calls from the Native Women’s Association of Canada, Amnesty International, the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action, and many other non-governmental organizations, for a national investigation or inquiry to correct the systemic failures in law enforcement, and a national action plan to deal with the shockingly poor social and economic conditions of Aboriginal women and girls have fallen on deaf ears.  The Government of Canada says that it is talking – there are two intergovernmental working groups.  But, so far, there is no action.”

The Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) international solidarity network and the Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women! (SKSW Campaign) join their allies in Indonesia in continuing to call for the repeal of a law (or 'qanun') passed by the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRD) on Monday 14 September 2009, that expands the range of violent punishments for alleged moral and sexual transgressions, including stoning to death for “adultery” and 100 lashes for homosexuality.

Such cruel punishments can never be justified in the name of ‘religion’, ‘culture’ or ‘tradition’. For the first time, stoning to death would be codified in the Indonesian legal system and Islamic jurisdiction would be expanded into criminal law. We welcome the news that the Governor of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam has expressly stated that he would not sign the Qanun Jinayah, and that he has returned it to the Aceh legislature. The governor is also reported to be providing an opportunity for Aceh’s civil society groups to propose an improved set of laws in the place of Qanun Jinayah.

The Bent Bars Project is a new letter-writing project for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, gender-variant, intersex, and queer prisoners in Britain.  The project aims to develop stronger connections and build solidarity between LGBTQ communities outside and inside prison walls.

Although many overtly homophobic and transphobic laws have been recently overturned in Britain, the criminal (in)justice system continues to target and criminalize queer, trans and gender non-conforming people.  We don’t know exactly how many LGBTQ people are currently behind bars, but we do know queer, trans and gender non-conforming people, particularly those from poor backgrounds and communities of colour, are disproportionately funneled into the prison system as a result of systemic discrimination, inequality and social exclusion.   We also know that queer, trans and gender non-conforming people are subject to increased isolation, harassment, violence and assault when in prison.