Asia
URGENT: PAKISTAN: Shirkat Gah Appeals for Support in Relief Work
URGENT Action: Shirkat Gah Appeals for Support in Relief Work
Pakistan is facing yet another emergency situation due to severe flooding caused by heavy rainfall. According to the Pakistani government, this has affected twenty million people so far. After visiting the flood stricken areas, a visibly upset UN General Secretary, Ban Ki Moon, said “This has been a heart-wrenching day for me. In the past, I have visited many natural disasters, but I have never seen anything like this.”
Shirkat Gah - Women’s Resource Centre (SG), Pakistan, is actively engaged in providing relief to those affected and coordinating efforts across Pakistan through its partner community based organizations in synchronization with all three Shirkat Gah offices in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. We would like to appeal to all to help us in raising funds. Your contribution will be highly appreciated and will be used to set up medical camps and purchase goods necessary for immediate relief such as food items and non-food items including medicines, cooking utensils, clothing and shoes (the latter two items can also be donated through the Shirkat Gah Offices). The funds will later be used for the particular needs of communities based on a reassessment of the situation.
You can either drop off or mail us clothing and shoes donations at any of our 3 offices – please see the end of the document for postal details.
Iran and Turkey: Mohammad Mostafaei Arrested in Istanbul, Family Detained
The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women (SKSW Campaign) and Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) are seriously concerned about the reported arrest of the wife and brother-in-law of human rights lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei. They were arrested on 24 July 2010 and are being held in the infamous Evin Prison in Tehran. His wife, Fereshteh Halimi, called her parents to confirm her arrest and detention.
Her brother, Farhad Halimi, is also believed to be detained there. There are strong indications that their arrest is intended to pressure Mohammad Mostafaei to turn himself in. Mohammad Mostafaei is a leading human rights lawyer who defended Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was sentenced to death by stoning, and a number of other detainees in Iran.
PLEASE TAKE ACTION
Pakistan: Outrage at Kala Dhaka Jirga's rajm "judgement"
Outrage at Kala Dhaka Jirga's Rajm “Judgement”
8 July 2010 – Khawateen Mahaz-e-Amal (Women’s Action Forum – National) is outraged at reports of yet another “judgement” (sic) of Rajm (stoning to death) for “illicit relations” (sic), pronounced by a self-styled Jirga in Kala Dhaka, on an accusation that a man and a woman were seen walking together in a field in Madakhail.
WAF strongly condemns the Jirga and its verdict; as also the fact that while the accused man, Zarkat, escaped on hearing the Jirga’s “verdict” of Rajm, the accused woman was “captured” by the Jirga members and reportedly is being held at a secret place in Manjakot, pending the Rajm punishment. As usual, it is the woman who is made to bear the brunt of such atrocious barbarism, injustice, and inhuman, unIslamic “sentences”.
West Aceh, Indonesia: New regulation forbidding the wearing of 'tight clothing’ by women may be open to abuse
The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women and the International Solidarity Network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) are jointly concerned about the issuance of a new regulation in the district of West Aceh, Indonesia, which strictly forbids Muslims, especially women, to wear tight clothes.
MALAYSIA: Silencing Freedom of Expression
The ASEAN Progressive Muslim Movement (APMM) is a civil society’s group that was formed as an outcome of a regional meeting of Southeast Asian human rights advocated held in Jakarta on 16-17 October 2009. The meeting was organized by conducted to examine how certain interpretations of Sharia laws are affecting the rights of the women in Muslim contexts in the region and undermining democratic institutions and processes in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, the Mindanao region in the Philippines and Thailand. APMM has members or 30 person from 21 organization in ASEAN countries including some organization that are based in Jakarta such as Aceh Human’s Rights NGO Coalition, PEKKA, Solidaritas Perempuan, and SCN-CREST.
We, the APMM, have noted from various media reports that on February 25th 2010, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) has lodged a police report against Sisters in Islam (SIS) because of SIS’ press statement on the caning of three Muslim women that was announced to have taken place on February 9th 2010. This report by MAIS is one of six lodged against SIS and also against P. Gunasegaram, Managing Editor of the Malaysian newspaper, The Star for his article ‘Persuasion not Compulsion’ on February 19th 2010.
PAKISTAN: A Hindu girl has been abducted by a landlord and forcibly converted to Islam; the authorities have refused to intervene.
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-047-2010
18 April 2010
SRI LANKA: An Appeal to the women’s movement against inhuman treatment of a young woman on religious grounds
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
SRI LANKA: An Appeal to the women’s movement against inhuman treatment of a young woman on religious grounds
This is a narrative of the husband of the victim, a 17 year old woman with a two month old child, who was subjected to the horrible experience of being beaten about 100 times with the hard centre stem from a coconut frond in the presence of the committee members of the mosque situated in Gokarella in the district of Kurunagalle. This woman had given a birth to a child as a result of an extra marital relationship. She has since married and has been living peacefully.
One day the husband of the woman was asked to come to the mosque with his wife by the committee members. He was forced by them to sign a document consenting to the punishment of his wife. The man did not agree and argued against the punishment. He also pointed out that his wife was sick. Regardless, she was beaten in the presence of other men of the village in front of the mosque.
Sri Lanka has been a multi cultural, multi linguistic secular society for a thousand years. Emerging social trends shows the tendencies of more extreme forms of horrible social practices which are threatening the inherent civil political rights and individual liberties. Many societies in Asia and Africa struggle with these most horrible forms of extreme practices of human suffering in the name of religion like the adoption of Sharia law or implementation of the decisions of Jirgas. The following story is an eye opener to what is happen is happening in Sri Lankan society.
Afghan Women's Movements Deserve More From the West
Time magazine's moving portrayal of the plight of Afghanistan's women is a tribute to their heroism and silent suffering. However, the poignant images and story fail to reflect the determined achievements of a women's movement that has battled cultural and Islamist misogyny. They deserve more from the West.
Ironically, women in Afghanistan had greater opportunities for education and employment under colonial rule, including that of the Soviets. Tribal traditions and a male-dominated reading of Islam have produced a deeply rooted ideology of women as temptresses, who must be kept under control to avoid "fitna" or social strife, thereby safeguarding the "peace of Islam." In this patriarchal society, a man's honor, bound by the behavior of his female relatives, may be defended with violence. Girls are traded to settle family disputes, and rural tribal courts dispense summary justice that can overrule central authority.
South Sulawesi, Indonesia: General Statement on Socialization of Indonesia's Porn Law
GENERAL STATEMENT ON SOCIALIZATION OF INDONESIA’S PORN LAW
BY: WOMEN’S ACTIVISTS COALITION OF SOUTH SULAWESI
Since the enactment of Indonesia's pornography law No. 44 year 2008, therefore we, from Women’s activists coalition of South Sulawesi rejected the bill and urged the government to withdraw the law. Our legal effort that we have done by doing a judicial review of this pornography act was rejected by the constitutional court. There are some basic consideration why we reject this pornography law, they are:
- That this act does not take side to the society, especially women, and the tendency of the act is to blame women.
- That by the enactment of the act, so diversity and pluralism in Indonesia is not recognized.
- That the tendency of the act is about criminalization towards the victims, especially female victims.
- That by the enactment of this act, the people will also get the role (perpetrator of violence) from the police or other officials to capture or raided both suspects and victims who allegedly conduct pornography action.
- That the point is, it is not giving any human rights protection to the people, especially women and it does not respect art creativity in the society, and the fact is that this act kills the scientific world especially those dealing with human anatomy.
Up to this moment, we still reject this act and in the socialization forum of pornography law No. 44/2008, we declare to deny this act and choose to walkout. This concludes the statement of rejection, thank you.
Makassar, 1 September 2010
SP Anging Mammiri, KPI Sulsel, LBH Apik Makassar dan FPMP Sulsel.
Supporting syariah, advancing women
The life and work of an Islamic teacher in Aceh shows that the struggle for gender equality is about much more than syariah.
In Aceh, a special formulation of Islamic law, the qanun, was implemented in 2003, and ever since, national and international media covering Aceh have been obsessed with it. Although this interest is perhaps understandable, it also results in distorted, incomplete, and sometimes false portrayals of local dynamics.
The issue of gender equality is a case in point. Media claiming to present a balanced view of current events in Aceh often concentrate on the public debate between fierce defenders of Islamic law on the one hand, and Aceh’s critical, visible and eloquent women’s rights movement on the other. While locating and portraying this debate is itself laudable (most media reports do not even reach this degree of sensitivity), what also happens is that the broader struggle for gender equality is equated with the debate about syariah. But in reality, this struggle takes multiple forms.