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Violence against women

Africa: Women and Urbanization

Countries across Africa are experiencing unprecedented urban growth, presenting women with greater economic and social opportunities as well as greater risks to their safety and welfare. According to UN-HABITAT, “notable gender gaps in labour and employment, decent work, pay, tenure rights, access to and accumulation of assets, personal security and safety, and representation in formal structures of urban governance show that women are often the last to benefit from the prosperity of cities.”

Indonesia: Child Protection a Low Priority

Last year, 12-year-old Riri was sent from her village in Central Java to live with her uncle and aunt two provinces away, in Jakarta, the capital. Over a period of four months, she was repeatedly raped by her uncle, who threatened to kill her and possess her with evil spirits if she reported the abuse. He then forced her to become a sex worker.

WLUML: Petition to the United Nations Secretary General & the OHCHR: End Stoning Now

Stoning is not simply a relic of the past. In fourteen countries around the world, this brutal punishment and form of torture continues to exist in the here and now. Please join the campaign against stoning – give us your support and urge the UN to take action on stoning by signing.

Somalia: Somali women's rights reporter shot dead in Mogadishu

A 21-year-old woman has become the latest victim of a series of deadly attacks against journalists in Somalia.

Rahma Abdulkadir, whose work focused on women's rights, was murdered on Sunday night as she was travelling to her home in the Yaaqshiid neighbourhood of the capital, Mogadishu, colleagues and friends confirmed.

Egypt: "They want to marry us at nine years old. Are these really the kind of men we want to run our country? Paedophiles?"

Women who stood shoulder to shoulder with men during the 2011 Tahrir Square protests that brought down Hosni Mubarak found their position in society undermined almost immediately. The parliamentary quota for women was removed without debate and a promised female vice-president failed to materialise, amid what political commentator Moushira Khattab called a "radical anti-feminist sentiment". Morsi threatened but stopped short of decriminalising Egypt's practice of female genital mutilation, carried out on almost three-quarters of Egyptian girls, making it clear he would not tackle an issue he called "a family matter".

Sudanese WHRDs at The Frontlines: Arry Report on the Situation of WHRDs in Sudan

This report reflects the situation of Sudanese Women Human Rights Defenders during the period from 2009-2012. It highlights the main challenges facing WHRDs in Sudan, and documents the escalating violations against them by state and non-state actors. The work of Sudanese WHRDs in the period covered in this report is the most risky and affected by the fundamental changes which took place during the last 3 years.

Egypt: Rise in Egypt Sex Assaults Sets Off Clash Over Blame

“Sometimes,” said Adel Abdel Maqsoud Afifi, a police general, lawmaker and ultraconservative Islamist, “a girl contributes 100 percent to her own raping when she puts herself in these conditions.”

Indonesia: WLUML Welcomes the Removal of Stoning Sentence from Aceh Bylaws

Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)  welcome news that the government in Aceh, Indonesia has recently removed a provision calling for adulterers to be stoned to death from its draft set of criminal bylaws (Qanun Jinayat).

IRAQ: Decade of Occupation for Iraqi Women

A decade after the US invasion of Iraq, only one of the straw-man arguments for going to war remains standing: “We did it for democracy and women’s rights."

Iran: Za’feran Mohamaadi Murdered by her Family Members, Witnessed by Bystanders

On March 8th, Za’feran Mohamaadi, from a Marivan County Village, Kurdistan Province of Iran, was executed by her father in  public and in front of the villagers.  Although honor killing in itself is not an all-together rare occurrence, her killing on this symbolic day  is highly controvertible.  

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