Usa: suore cattoliche investigate dal Vaticano

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/01/pakistan.taliban/

Pakistan: donne protestano contro i talebani

Il coraggio mostrato da queste donne è senza pari. Protestare pubblicamente contro i talebani in Pakistan di coraggio ne richiede tanto.

Contro l'integralismo islamico e la commistione tra l'islamismo e la politica si levano voci che aspirano alla democrazia e pluralità.

in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore this week, several hundred protesters gathered on a scorching day to take on a very different target: the Taliban.

Neha Mehdi moved to Lahore to study. Now, she fears her way of life is being threatened by the Taliban.

"I cannot give up my education, and I cannot give up the way I'm living," the 23-year-old student said. "These Talibans have ruined the reputation of Islam."

"There were threats here also from the Taliban that if we gather they might just bomb us," Mehdi said.

Mehdi and others in Lahore fear that the Taliban's version of sharia -- which forbids girls from attending school, as well as music, poetry and dance -- is slowly creeping into Lahore, the center of Pakistani culture.

Mehdi said she fears her life as a student could come to a violent end if the people of Lahore do not stand up to Islamic extremists.

"If the Taliban take over then I'll be on the road being flogged by one of them like they did in Swat and I don't want that," she said.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/girls-targeted-in-taliban-gas-attack-1684028.html

Afghanistan: Talebani attaccano scuola femminile

Da notare, in questa triste vicenda, che i talebani non hanno attaccato una scuola maschile ma una femminile.

Of the 90 girls from the Qazaam school admitted to hospital, at least five slipped briefly into comas, officials in Kapisa province, north-east of the capital, said. Six teachers and at least two other staff were also admitted.

It was the third such attack against a girls' school in Afghanistan in as many weeks, raising fears that the Taliban are resorting to increasingly vicious methods to terrorise young women out of education.

But the alleged poisoning comes just days after girls at a school in nearby Charikar, on the road north of Kabul, complained of similar symptoms.

Last November, men on motorbikes used water pistols to squirt acid in girls' faces as they walked to school on the outskirts of Kandahar. More than a dozen girls and several teachers at the Mirwais School for Girls had the acid thrown in their faces and one was so badly disfigured she had to go abroad for treatment. The attacks caused such distress and fear that many parents kept their girls at home for several weeks but most have since returned to school, vowing not to be intimidated.

Asia religious extremism sexism The Girl Child

http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=ukgb2&c=words&id=13174

Gran Bretagna: riflessioni sulla caccia alle streghe

Il sito Witchwox riporta un'interessante analisi storica retrospettiva sul fenomeno della caccia alle streghe.

Troverete citato Cornelius Loos, un prete cattolico romano olandese che all'epocasi era opposto allacaccia alle streghe. Un bravo ragazzo della sua epoca.

One of the fiercest Witch-hunts was in western Germany, in the second half of the 16th century. Men, women and children were dragged from their homes to be tortured and condemned by a jury of village folk. They were usually killed first and then their bodies burnt to make sure that they would not return from the grave.

The Dutch scholar Looos Callidius tried to persuade people that these claims were false. He wrote: "magic (magia) ought not to he called witchcraft (maleficium) , nor magicians (magi) witches (malefici) , and that the passage of Holy Scripture, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Maleficos non patieris vivere) , is to be understood of those who by a natural use of natural poisons inflict death."

This might not seem like its related, but Feminism is an important part of Witchcraft. The Witch Craze of 16-18th centuries was a crime against women; it was an issue of women's rights. The old religions gave women rights where the Church took them away. The Bible declared that women were responsible for all the ills of the world, and that they should be punished, and live as slaves to men. Christians believed that women were inherently sinful and their lustful nature attracted them to Witchcraft - which they equated with Devil worship. Because of this belief, 75% of the thousands of people tortured and killed for Witchcraft were women.

Herstory Pagan Community Pagan/Wicca women religious extremism United Kingdom

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29918417/

Usa: vandalizzata clinica del Dottor George Tiller

George Tiller ha una lunga storia di persecuzione da parte dei fanatici antiabortisti della destra cristiana evangelica negli Stati Uniti.

Per approfondire la sua storia qua troverete materiale che lo riguarda. Dopo un momento di sollievo gli integralisti cristriani sono di nuovo tornati alla carica vandalizzando la sua clinica.

http://www.kansas.com/457/story/805346.html?story_link=email_msg

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,523581,00.html

Usa: ucciso il Dottor George Tiller

As one of the few doctors in the nation to perform late-term abortions, Tiller had been a high-profile target of abortion opponents for decades. His clinic, Women's Health Care Services, was bombed in 1985, and Tiller was shot in both arms in 1993 by abortion protester Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon of Grants Pass, Ore.

In 1991, the Summer of Mercy protests organized by Operation Rescue drew thousands of anti-abortion activists to this city for demonstrations marked by civil disobedience and mass arrests.

Late-term abortion doctor George Tiller, a prominent advocate for abortion rights wounded by a protester more than a decade ago, was shot and killed Sunday at his church in Wichita, his attorney said.

George Tiller, who had been picketed, bombed and shot in the arms in previous incidents, was killed outside the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas.

Mr Tiller, 67, one of the few doctors who still performed late-term abortions in the United States, was demonised by abortion opponents who regularly protested outside his clinic, located just off a busy road that runs through Wichita.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Abortion-Doctor-George-Tiller-Is-Shot-Dead-Outside-His-Church-In-Wichita-Kansas/Article/200905415292298?lpos=World_News_Top_Stories_Header_2&lid=ARTICLE_15292298_Abortion_Doctor_George_Tiller_Is_Shot_Dead_Outside_His_Church_In_Wichita%2C_Kansas

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/abortion-doctor-tiller-killed-at-church-1693812.html

http://www.now.org/press/06-09/06-01.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/us/01tiller.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0526/p06s07-wosc.html

Pakistan: ragazze aggredite da milizie islamiste

Noor, a college student, has sworn off wearing jeans. A week ago, while she and her friends were browsing at a boutique on Zamzama Boulevard, Karachi's elite shopping district, two bearded men entered the store. "They told us to have shame and only leave the house with our heads covered," she says. "Before we could say anything, they added that no one would be able to keep us safe if we didn't obey."

While no physical attacks have been reported, some women have been threatened at gunpoint. Others, like prominent activist Attiya Dawood, have had eggs thrown at them while walking through residential parks.

In another sign of the growing threat, some businessmen with young daughters have received letters demanding that they keep their girls – accused of going out in public freely and dressing in Western clothes – in check. In some cases, the letters demand that men pay the Taliban cash to secure their daughters' safety.

"Women feel like their freedom is being stolen,"

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\05\26\story_26-5-2009_pg7_6

Pakistan: talebani fanno esplodere scuola femminile

The Taliban destroyed a girls’ school in Hangu on Monday, a private TV channel reported. According to the channel, the Taliban had planted explosives at the government school in Shahidkhel area in the wee hours of the morning, and the consequent blast destroyed the entire building.

Asia religious extremism The Girl Child

http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564633

Usa: Obama dimentica le donne

Barak Obama, pur essendo un eccellente difensore dei diritti delle donne negli Stati Uniti, ha quasi completamente dimenticato la tematica nel suo recente discorso al mondo islamico.

Riporto la parte del discorso che riguarda la condizione femminile:

"I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.

Now let me be clear: issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.

Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity � men and women � to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams."

Riporto alcuni commenti che in massima parte condivido:

First of all, Obama's discourse is addressed to 'Islam', as if an idea, a concept, a belief, could hear him; as if those were not necessarily mediated by the people who hold these views, ideas, concepts or beliefs. As Soheib Bencheikh, former Great Mufti of Marseilles and now Director of the Institute of High Islamic Studies in Marseilles, used to say: “I have never seen a Qur'an walking in the street...”

Can we imagine for one minute that Obama would address himself to '’Christianity' or to 'Buddhism'? No, he would talk to Christians or Buddhists – to real people, keeping in mind all their differences.

Obama is essentialising Islam, ignoring the large differences that exist among Muslim believers themselves, in terms of religious schools of thought and interpretations, cultural differences and political opinions. These differences indeed make it totally irrelevant to speak about 'Islam' in such a totalizing way. Obama would not dare essentialise, for instance, Christianity in such a way, ignoring the huge gap between Opus Dei and liberation theology...

In this religious strait-jacket, women's rights are limited to their right to education, and Obama distances himself from arrogant westerners by making it clear that women covering is not seen by him as an obstacle to their emancipation – especially if it is 'their choice'... Meanwhile, Iran is next door, with its morality police that jail women whose hair slips out of the aforementioned covering, in the name of religious laws. And what about Afghanistan or Algeria where women were abducted, tortured, raped, mutilated, burnt alive, killed for not covering***?

At no point does he raise the issue of who defines culture, who defines religion, who speaks for 'the Muslims' – and why they could not be defined by individual women themselves, without clerics, without morality police, without self-appointed, old, conservative, male, religious leaders – if their fundamental human rights were to be respected. Obviously, Obama trades women's human rights for political and economic alliances with 'Islam'... 'Islam' definitely owns oil, among other things.

At one stage when Obama made reference to Bang-ladesh and Indonesia and Turkey, my heart fluttered in anticipation. Yes, I thought. He is now going to make the argument directly to the men who rule the Arab world with an iron fist. Talking about women’s rights, Obama said: “In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead.”

Bravo, I thought. I hoped his next sentence would say: Now is the time for Arab countries to take a lead from their non-Arab co-religionists and learn how to bring women to the forefront of politics and leadership.

But he didn’t.

Instead his next line was almost an apology for why the Arab world is so hostile to women’s equality. Obama said, “Meanwhile, the struggle for women’s equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.”

To me he sounded as if he was saying to the kings and generals: Do not despair, we Americans too are not without blame as far as women’s rights are concerned.

Of course America has miles to go before it rests, but to even hint of a parallel between the challenges facing women in America and the appalling condition of women in the Arab world is downright dangerous and only feeds the mullahs who will say, “Look, even America discriminates against women — Obama said it.”

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/op-ed/Obama+misses+tear+down+this+wall+moment/1663349/story.html

En attaquant la laïcité et en défendant le port du voile, le Président des Etats-Unis, dans son discours au Caire, a mis à mal le combat de millions de femmes qui paient de leur vie tous les jours pour sortir de la violence des fondamentalistes. Le président Obama nous réduit ainsi toutes au silence.

http://www.niputesnisoumises.com/blog/2009/06/05/obama-part-en-croise-contre-les-femmes/#more-1975

gender justice religious extremism Secularism Usa

http://allafrica.com/stories/200906100035.html

Nigeria: respitnta legge favorevole a parziale depenalizzazione dell'aborto

With 13 against 1, the Imo State abortion bill euphemistically and craftily couched as women's reproductive right suffered a stunning defeat on the floor of the moderately-furnished Room 201 of the Imo State House of Assembly last Monday. It was a day every Imo citizen will live to remember.

The only support which the Imo abortion Bill received last Monday came from National Council of Women Societies (NCWS). Led by their local President, the NCWS contended that the Bill if passed into law will liberate women from dissemination and oppression.

Africa religious extremism Reproductive rights

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090610/lf_afp/israelgayreligion_20090610182315

Israele: retorica omofoba contro il Gay Pride di Tel Aviv

Israel's interior minister and chief rabbis called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to call off Tel Aviv's annual gay parade to keep the "abomination" away from children's eyes.

"The holding of a parade similar to those held in the past on its current route constitutes a grave insult to the feelings of the public, especially to the Jewish, Christian and Muslim public," the letter said.

Appunto. Il pubblico ebraico, islamico e cristiano. Gli estremismi religiosi su questo fronte, come anche in altri, sono ben uniti

homophobia Israel religious extremism

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tiller10-2009jun10,0,6032915.story

Usa: chiusa la clinica del Dottor George Tiller

"I am currently exploring every option to be able to continue to make second- and early, medically indicated third-term abortions available," said Tiller associate LeRoy Carhart in a statement. Carhart, a Nebraska physician, performed abortions at Tiller's clinic on a rotating basis with two California doctors.

Warren Hern, one of the few remaining doctors in the U.S. who perform late-term abortions, said that the closing was understandable and was "the hideous consequence of 30 years of harassment." This week, he said, he has begun to see some of Tiller's patients at his clinic in Boulder, Colo.

Among the many things that may come out of the tragedy is "the recognition that more physicians need to step up and provide abortion care," said Peter Brownlie, president of Planned Parenthood of Kansas & Mid-Missouri.

Brownlie said that with the closure of Tiller's clinic, Wichita joins the ranks of cities that have no abortion providers at all.

"Part of what is a tragedy about this is that violence has achieved its objective," said Nancy Northup, president of Center for Reproductive Rights. "There is a concerted, ongoing effort at harassment and restriction with an aim to make doctors leave the field."

Operations at Women's Health Care Services Inc. were suspended following Tiller's death last month. In a statement released by his attorneys, Tiller's family said relatives had chosen to honor him with charitable activities instead of reopening the clinic.

"We are proud of the service and courage shown by our husband and father and know that women's health care needs have been met because of his dedication and service," the family said in the statement. They did not elaborate on their reasoning to close.

At least one doctor, LeRoy Carhart, had expressed an interest in reopening Tiller's clinic. Following the family's decision to shut it down, the Nebraska doctor said he wouldn't abandon his effort to make sure third-term abortions are available but did not elaborate on his plans.

"I completely understand and sympathize with this decision," he said in a statement. "I am currently exploring every option to be able to continue to make second and early medically indicated third trimester abortions available."

Reaction to the clinic's closing ranged from sympathy from abortion rights supporters to relief from some anti-abortion groups. Planned Parenthood Federation of America saod the decision to close was difficult for the Tiller family, while Randall Terry, who founded Operation Rescue before a falling-out with the organization, said "good riddance" when he heard about the closing.

"If his replacement was going to continue to kill late-term children, the protests would continue, the investigations would continue, the indictments would continue," said Terry, who stopped using the Operation Rescue name following numerous lawsuits in 1990. He said history would remember Tiller's clinic as it remembers Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/09/george-tillers-clinic-clo_n_213184.html

religious extremism Reproductive rights Usa Womens Health

http://www.liberation.fr/monde/0101572902-le-feminisme-ennemi-des-mollahs

Iran: autorità inquiete per il diffondersi del femminismo

Preuve du sérieux avec lequel Téhéran prend en considération la question, toute une partie de la conférence portera sur l’analyse du féminisme, avec notamment «l’évaluation de son influence sur les enfants et particulièrement les garçons» ; «les tactiques utilisées par le mouvement féministe pour influencer les médias» ; «le rôle de Hollywood dans l’expansion du féminisme» ; «l’influence de la globalisation sur le féminisme», et - il fallait s’y attendre «le rôle du sionisme dans la création, le développement et la propagation du féminisme» !

La lettre annonçant la conférence de Téhéran démontre au moins que nous sommes identifiées comme l’ennemi principal par le régime des mollahs. Ils ne se trompent pas. Et c’est pour nous féministes d’ici et d’ailleurs, surtout d’Iran, une source de fierté.

Asia gender justice religious extremism Womens Freedom

http://www.lepoint.fr/actualites-societe/2009-06-17/voile-integral-en-france-ni-putes-ni-soumises-veut-un-debat/920/0/353318

Francia: proposta commissione sull'uso del burqa

"Le droit des femmes n'est pas une affaire de centimètres de tissu, mais la burka est le symbole de l'oppression que subissent les femmes, il faut encourager le débat sur cette question", a-t-elle déclaré mercredi à l'AFP.
"Il ne faut pas avoir peur d'en parler, il faut rendre visible la réalité et la dégradation de la condition des femmes (...). Nous allons faire notre travail de lutte contre les fondamentalistes", a-t-elle ajouté.

http://www.andregerin.com/index02.html

La vision de ces femmes emprisonnées nous est déjà intolérable lorsqu'elle nous vient d'Iran, d'Afghanistan, d'Arabie Saoudite... Elle est totalement inacceptable sur le sol de la République française", considère André Gerin.
Outre André Gerin, le texte est notamment signé par Christian Bataille (PS), Patrick Beaudoin (UMP), Alain Benisti (UMP), Véronique Besse (NI, MPF), Jacques Desalangre (PCF), Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (NI), Jean-Pierre Kudeicha (PS), Pierre Lellouche (UMP), Maurice Leroy (NC), Lionnel Luca (UMP), Thierry Mariani (UMP), Jacques Myard (UMP).

Pour sa part, le recteur de la mosquée de Paris, Dalil Boubakeur, explique au nouvelobs.com que "la burqa n'est en rien une prescription religieuse de l'Islam. Cette tradition est bien antérieure au Coran et provient d'une coutume locale d'Afghanistan. En quelque sorte, la burqa est "une vision talibanesque de l'Islam". Reste qu'elle "tend à un phénomène extensif, par mimétisme de ces peuples qui 'luttent' contre les Américains".

http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/actualites/politique/20090617.OBS0960/port_de_la_burka__des_deputes_reclament_un_debat.html

The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) applauds French president Nicholas Sarkozy for his clarity in condemning the burka as a tool of oppression against Muslim women.

"If the burka was a matter of choice, then why is it that I do not see a single Muslim man wearing this black tent of shame," said Sohail Raza.

http://www.muslimcanadiancongress.org/20090624.html

France religious extremism Secularism Women Freedom

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-06-24-iranianwomen_N.htm

Iran: donne lader nella protesta

Iranian women have been on the front lines of anti-government protests challenging the official results of the June 12 election, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the victor.

The face of a woman has become the symbol of the opposition. Music student Neda Agha Soltan, 27, was captured on video dying of a gunshot wound. The unsettling scene was transmitted around the world, and even President Obama referred to it this week.

Political protest is not new to Iranian women. Yet, the extent of their activism in this election is unprecedented in the years since the 1979 revolution overthrew the U.S.-backed shah and created an Islamic regime, some Iranians and Iran experts say.

They cite several factors, including a growing population of young women who are hungry for social freedoms, the participation of prominent women during the campaign and promises by opposition candidates for advances in women's rights.

Fatemeh Haghighatjoo served in the Iranian parliament from 2000 to 2004. She and her colleagues passed a law to join an international convention calling for an end to discrimination against women, she said, but the law was vetoed by the country's powerful Guardian Council, an unelected body of clerics.

Haghighatjoo, who resigned from the parliament to protest a government crackdown on activists, came to the USA in 2005 and is a visiting scholar at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

She agreed that Iranian women have been particularly active in this campaign, and believes they were energized by promises from some candidates for more gender equality. "They're fighting at this very moment to create a better future for their children," she said. "I am hopeful."

Asia gender justice religious extremism Womens Freedom

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443716574&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Territori palestinesi: giornalista arrestata per aver riso in pubblico

No comment. Come si possa avere cosi' tanta simpatia nei confronti di una società cosi' furiosamente misogina è qualcosa che non comprendo.

A Palestinian female journalist complained over the weekend that Hamas policemen attempted to arrest her under the pretext that she came to a Gaza beach dressed immodestly and was seen laughing in public.amas gunmen stand guard in Gaza City.

The journalist, Asma al-Ghul, said that the policemen instead confiscated her passport. Since the incident, she added, she has been afraid to leave her home, especially after receiving death threats from anonymous callers.

"They accused me of laughing loudly while swimming with my friend and failing to wear a hijab," Ghul told a human rights organization in the Gaza Strip. "They also wanted to know the identity of the people who were with me at the beach and whether they were relatives of mine."

http://www.examiner.com/x-4814-LA-Middle-Eastern-Policy-Examiner~y2009m7d9-Hamas-harasses-woman-journalist-beats-men-for-being-on-a-Gaza-beach-together

http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/1098030.html

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0630/1224249782433.html

Irlanda: morta Sheila Cloney, anglicana che aveva lottato per la libertà religiosa

Trovo letteralmente sconvolgente e profondamente ingiusto oltre che scorretto il fatto che in un matrimonio tra un cattolico ed un protestante i figli debbano per forza essere allevati nella fede cattolica. Questo significa che una chiesa tende ad aumentare i propri membri a discapito dell'altra.

La scelta dell'educazione religiosa, o dell'assenza di educazione religiosa dovrebbe essere lasciata ai genitori e non imposta dall'alto dei cieli. La coraggiosa Sheila ha lottato proprio per la libertà di scelta in tal senso.

A member of the Church of Ireland, her decision 52 years ago to flee her Catholic husband and the State rather than allow her children to be educated at the local Catholic national school led to a boycott of Protestant businesses in the south Co Wexford village.

Although Ms Cloney herself shunned publicity, two years before his death, Mr Cloney spoke about the events of 1957 to The Irish Times. He recalled that his wife had resented being pressurised by the Catholic priest who had told her: “Eileen’s going to the local Catholic school and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

He said: “Sheila didn’t fancy being ordered. She developed the frame of mind, ‘we’ll see what could be done about it’.” He explained the couple’s eventual resolution of the controversy: “Whether they went to a Protestant or a Catholic school would be seen as a victory for one side or the other and we could not sanction that. So they never went to school and we educated them ourselves.”

Ireland religious extremism Women Freedom

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8147329.stm

Sudan: donne ricevono colpi di frusta per aver indossato i pantaloni

No comment!

Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, who says she is facing 40 lashes, said she and 12 other women wearing trousers were arrested in a restaurant in the capital, Khartoum.

She told the BBC several of the women had pleaded guilty to the charges and had 10 lashes immediately.

Khartoum, unlike South Sudan, is governed by Sharia law.

Several of those punished were from the mainly Christian and animist south, Ms Hussein said.

"I was wearing trousers and a blouse and the 10 girls who were lashed were wearing like me, there was no difference," she told the BBC's Arabic service.

Ms Hussein said some women pleaded guilty to "get it over with" but others, including herself, chose to speak to their lawyers and are awaiting their fates.

The force, which is similar to the Saudi religious police, randomly enforces an alcohol ban and often scolds young men and women mingling in public.

Hussein said she decided to speak out because flogging is a practice many women endure in silence. She even sent printed invitations to the press and public figures to attend her expected trial.

"Let the people see for themselves. It is not only my issue," she said. "This is retribution to thousands of girls who are facing flogging for the last 20 years because of wearing trousers," she said. "They prefer to remain silent."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31897384/ns/world_news-africa/

Africa religious extremism Womens Freedom

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8182658.stm

Sudan: violenza contro le sostenitrici di Lubna Ahmed Hussein

Police have fired tear gas at supporters of a Sudanese woman charged with wearing "indecent clothing", shortly after her trial was postponed.

Lubna Ahmed Hussein says she was arrested for wearing trousers.

She has adopted a defiant attitude, urging authorities to try her although she faces up to 40 lashes in public.

Earlier, she told the BBC she was not afraid, saying: "Flogging is not pain, flogging is an insult to humans, women and religions."

Ms Hussein has resigned from a UN job that would have given her immunity to take on the case - indicating she wants it to become a test case for women's rights in Sudan.

"If the court's decision is that I be flogged, I want this flogging in public," she told the BBC's Today programme.

"Before police caught me, there are maybe 20,000 girls and women getting flogged for dress reasons," she said.

If this could happen in a restaurant in Khartoum, imagine what the situation must be for women in Darfur, Ms Hussein said.

Per sostenere Lubna e le altre donne sudanesi vittime degli integralisti islamici vi invito a scrivere lettere di protesta:

The Sudanese Minister of Justice,
Mr. Abdul-Basit Sabdarat.
P.O. Box 302 - Zip Code: 11111
Nile St. Khartoum - Sudan
Tel: 00249912287609 (The mobile number of the admin of their website)
Fax: 00249183764168
Questo indirizzo e-mail è protetto dallo spam bot. Abilita Javascript per vederlo.

Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
Rashida Manjoo
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland
Fax: 00 41 22 917 9006
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Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
Manfred Nowak
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland
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Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
Margaret Sekaggya
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (Geneva, Switzerland)
Telephone: +41 22 917 1234.
E-mail: Questo indirizzo e-mail è protetto dallo spam bot. Abilita Javascript per vederlo. . The text of the e-mail should refer to the human rights defenders mandate.

Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Human Rights Defenders in Africa
Reine Alapini-Gansou
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
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Africa religious extremism Violemce against Women Women Freedom

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/28/nicaragua.abortion.ban/

Nicaragua: critiche alla legge antiabortista

Amnesty International describes the total ban on therapeutic abortion -- carried out to protect the health of the mother -- as "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment."

"Nicaragua's ban on therapeutic abortion is a disgrace," Amnesty International's Executive Deputy Secretary General Kate Gilmore said at a media briefing in Mexico City to launch the report.

"It is a human rights scandal that ridicules medical science and distorts the law into a weapon against the provision of essential medical care to pregnant girls and women," she added.

According to official figures cited in the Amnesty report, in the first five months of 2009, 33 girls and women died from pregnancy and birth-related complications, compared to 20 in the same period last year.

Before the law was changed therapeutic abortion had been recognized as a necessary procedure in Nicaragua for more than 100 years, Amnesty said.

However, President Daniel Ortega of the left-wing Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) backed the law banning abortion to win crucial conservative Roman Catholic support in the January 2007 elections, Amnesty said.

No one from the country's health ministry was available for comment.

For some Nicaraguans, the issue is a touchstone of the legacy of the Sandinista revolution, which has just marked its 30th anniversary.

Ahead of the 2006 elections that brought the Sandinistas back to power after a lengthy spell in opposition, they backed calls from the Roman Catholic church for the end to therapeutic abortions.

This was "playing politics with the lives of women and girls", says Patricia Orozco. She fought on the side of the Sandinistas and is today a radio journalist and activist.

I asked her whether she felt there had been a betrayal of the revolution she took part in.

"We see our comrades in the revolution all changed, many of the women in particular."

At the University of Leon, Dr Herrera said that 30 years ago when the revolution took place he dreamed that there would be freedom for women.

"I have been working with women for many years. It has been very hard for women - especially now."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8171047.stm

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-nicaragua-abortion28-2009jul28,0,946345.story

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/27/nicaragua-blanket-ban-abortions-rape

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/shocking-abortion-ban-denies-life-saving-treatment-girls-women-nicaragua-20090727

Central america religious extremism Reproductive rights Women Health

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/150-women-face-adultery-flogging-on-maldives-1757150.html

Maldive: 150 donne frustrate per adulterio

Almost 150 women living in the Maldives face a public flogging for indulging in extra-marital sex after being convicted by the Muslim country's conservative courts. Around 50 men also face the punishment.

In the Maldives, an island nation made up of more than 1200 atolls, the issue of flogging has become a political battleground following the whipping of the teenager earlier this month outside a government building in the capital, Male. Reports said that the women required hospital treatment after she was flogged in front of a jeering crowd of men.

Reports suggest that in recent years, many mosques in the Maldives have fallen under the influence of foreign, conservative imams. The previous president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had been Asia's longest-serving ruler and who positioned himself as the country's "defender of Islam", had sought to use the religion to bolster his dwindling.

http://reproductiverights.org/en/defending-human-rights

USA: Abortion Providers Facing Threats, Restrictions, and Harassment

Abortion providers in the U.S. are human rights defenders. They work, often against great odds, to help women realize their reproductive rights. They ensure that all women have access to accurate medical information, a secure place to make private decisions, and, most importantly, access to safe medical procedures.

These courageous and tenacious professionals are frequently denied governmental and social support for their vital work. The much-publicized murders of abortion providers are exclamation points in what is often a culture of daily harassment and intimidation. Discriminatory legal restrictions and pervasive abortion-related stigma present additional obstacles to their efforts to defend women’s fundamental rights.

This constant assault doesn’t just endanger and marginalize abortion providers; it denies the rights of the one in three American women who will seek an abortion in their lifetimes.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5971/t/6770/signUp.jsp?key=1103

http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1052&Itemid=1

Malaysia: femministe musulmane denunciano le punizioni corporali alle donne

Sisters In Islam (SIS) urges the government to review whipping of women as a form of judicial punishment by the Syariah Courts. It constitutes further discrimination against Muslim women in Malaysia and violates Constitutional guarantees of equality and non-discrimination.

There is no consensus among Muslim scholars on the range of crimes for which whipping is prescribed, nor on whether women should be whipped. Many countries have already abolished the judicial punishment of whipping or corporal punishment as research has shown that it is not an effective deterrent, even to violent or sexual crimes. Research since abolition also showed that this did not result in an increase in the offences for which whipping was previously imposed.

http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1053&Itemid=1

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2009/07/28/hamas_dress_code_aims_to_make_gaza_more_islamic/

Territori palestinesi: a Gaza le donne avvocato dovranno indossare il velo

Police order a lingerie shop to hide its scantily clad mannequins. A judge warns female lawyers to wear head scarves in court. Beach patrols break up groups of singles and make men wear shirts.

It's all part of a new Hamas campaign to get Gazans to adhere to a strict Muslim lifestyle -- and the first clear attempt by the Islamic militants to go beyond benign persuasion in doing so.

It suggests that having consolidated its hold on Gaza in the two years since it seized control by force, Hamas feels emboldened enough to extend its ideology into people's private lives.

Hamas, known for its keen sense of public opinion, pledged after its June 2007 takeover to refrain from imposing Islamic ways.

That is changing, says Khalil Abu Shammala, a human rights activist in Gaza.

"There are attempts to Islamize this society," he said. Hamas' denials "contradict what we see on the street."

The "virtue campaign" is being spread by the Religious Affairs Ministry in a list of do's and don'ts that feature on posters and in mosque sermons. It also calls for gender separation at wedding parties and tells teens to shun pop music with suggestive lyrics. "We have to encourage people to be virtuous and keep them away from sin," said Abdullah Abu Jarbou, the deputy religious affairs minister.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=214733

female lawyers will have to wear a dark dress with a veil (the hijab). PCHR-Gaza maintains that the judicial authorities in Gaza, linked to Hamas, are not authorised to impose any type of "uniform", which will only widen the gap between Gaza and the West Bank.

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http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=385488&rel_no=1

Middle Est religious extremism Women Freedom

http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001TN5DH6QAa81fUGjIjMdBRP9EysgroO_SvpkxC9rtETNKGr07Rtm9pllZDNX6VBmd6R9UjhZ3h5nhtRmMDskCWLSwSduj_ZKsyCLapXbcx61t2Yym6jXloQ%3D%3D

Gran Bretagna: imam antisemita predica odio antiebraico

Despite his sectarian, racist incitements that Jews are "scum...rats...pigs and monkeys," the chief cleric of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Sheikh Abdul Rahman al Sudais, has been welcomed and invited to preach at the East London mosque in Whitechapel tonight, Tuesday evening, 4 August 2009.

Al-Sudais, who has close ties to the Saudi elite, has also insulted Christians and Hindus, referring disparagingly to Christians as "cross-worshippers" and Hindus as "idol worshippers".

He has been banned from Canada for his anti-Semitism.

"The East London mosque received $US1m from the Saudis towards its new London Muslim Centre. The mosque's links to Saudi Arabia go back many years, according to the BBC.

"I don't understand why the Home Secretary is allowing al-Sudais into Britain, given that similar hate preachers have been banned. Is it because of the close business links between the British and Saudi establishments? " queried Mr Tatchell.

The Daily Telegraph has confirmed and reported this anti-Semitism, noting that al-Sudais has described Jews as "scum of the earth", "rats of the world" and "monkeys and pigs" and suggested that they would be annihilated.

http://www.petertatchell.net/

antisemitism religious extremism United Kingdom

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/14/afghanistan-womens-rights-rape

Afghanistan: approvata legge misogina per la minoranza sciita

Da dove cominciare? Dal fatto che non ci dovrebbero essere leggi diverse per le singole comunità etniche e religiose? (la legge in questione è diretta alla minoranza sciita). O dal fatto che si tratta di una legge barbara che dovrebbe essere rigettata nella spazzatura della storia?

Afghanistan has quietly passed a law permitting Shia men to deny their wives food and sustenance if they refuse to obey their husbands' sexual demands, despite international outrage over an earlier version of the legislation which President Hamid Karzai had promised to review.

The new final draft of the legislation also grants guardianship of children exclusively to their fathers and grandfathers, and requires women to get permission from their husbands to work.

"It also effectively allows a rapist to avoid prosecution by paying 'blood money' to a girl who was injured when he raped her," the US charity Human Rights Watch said.

The law has been backed by the hardline Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohseni, who is thought to have influence over the voting intentions of some of the country's Shias, which make up around 20% of the population.

"These kinds of barbaric laws were supposed to have been relegated to the past with the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, yet Karzai has revived them and given them his official stamp of approval."

Western leaders and Afghan women's groups were united in condemning an apparent reversal of key freedoms won by women after the fall of the Taliban.

Now an amended version of the same bill has passed quietly into law with the apparent approval of President Karzai.

Women's groups say its new wording still violates the principle of equality that is enshrined in their constitution.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8204207.stm

Asia religious extremism sexism women and the law

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/08/17/iraq-stop-killings-homosexual-conduct

Iraq: omicidi e violence amofobe in aumento

Iraqi militias are carrying out a spreading campaign of torture and murder against men suspected of homosexual conduct, or of not being "manly" enough, and Iraq authorities have done nothing to stop the killing, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

One man told Human Rights Watch that militiamen kidnapped and killed his partner of 10 years in April: "It was late one night, and they came to take my partner at his parents' home. Four armed men barged into the house, masked and wearing black. They asked for him by name; they insulted him and took him in front of his parents. ... He was found in the neighborhood the day after. They had thrown his corpse in the garbage. His genitals were cut off and a piece of his throat was ripped out."

The killers invade homes and pick people up in the street, witnesses and survivors said, interrogating them before murdering them to extract names of other potential victims. They practice grotesque tortures, including gluing men's anuses shut as punishment. Human Rights Watch spoke to doctors who said that hospitals and morgues have received dozens of mutilated bodies, living and dead.

http://www.hrw.org/node/85050

Asia homophobia religious extremism

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112080711

Usa: suore cattoliche sotto attacco da parte del Vaticano

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — which enforces theological purity — is investigating the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella group that represents about 90 percent of women's orders. In February, the Vatican wrote the leadership conference, asking the group to clarify its stand on three doctrinal issues: that only men can be priests; that homosexual practice should not be sanctioned; and that the Catholic Church provides the way to salvation.

It may be some effort to kind of rein us in.

- Sister Camille D'Arienzo, former president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious

"As women religious, we wouldn't believe that we've done anything to create the need for this," says Nancy Schreck, president of Sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque, Iowa. "It feels like an affront to us."

"I don't know what they're afraid of," she says. "What I would guess is some of the more conservative bishops in the U.S. might see the sisters moving with spirit of Vatican II in a way they're not comfortable with. So it may be some effort to kind of rein us in."

That's fine by Mother Mary Quentin Sheridan. After all, she says, the Roman Catholic Church is not a democracy.

"We knew what we were getting into when we came to the altar and said, 'I promise, I do vow indeed poverty, chastity and obedience,' " she says. "I was old enough to know what I was talking about. For those of us who live it and love it, we can say, yes, sometimes it grinds us, but we're better for it."

But Sister Nancy Schreck says as followers of Jesus, the sisters must voice their views when they feel the Vatican is wrong — on things like caring for gay men and lesbians, and the equality of women. Such discussion is the American way, she says, adding that these disagreements reflect the larger tension between Rome and the U.S. church.

http://www.examiner.com/x-7785-Miami-Alternative-Religions-Examiner~y2009m8d19-American-nuns-to-the-Vatican--I-aint-afraid-of-no-Pope

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/articles/a0000622.shtml

religious extremism sexism Usa

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/14/AR2009081401598.html

Arabia Saudita: le donne non possono ancora guidare

Wajeha Al-Huwaider è una femminista saudita che ricorda che, nel regno dei peroldollari, le donne non possono guidare. Nè essere elette. Nè votare, Nè uscire di casa da sole.l Nè fare sport. Nè parlare con un uomo che non sia un parente stretto. E la lista continua. Sotto il video la mostra mentre guida una macchina incitando altre donne a farlo.

In truth, we endure a status that most Americans can scarcely imagine.

Women are not allowed to participate in sports. How could you in an abaya? When I was very young, I was a tomboy. I loved to ride a bike, which my mother allowed, although most girls are forbidden because this activity might cost them their "virginity" by rupturing the hymen. When I was 7, my teacher tied my legs and beat me with a stick when she learned that I had been playing soccer with boys. Then she made me sit at my desk all day, without going to the bathroom or getting a drink of water.

The guardianship rules are only part of a bigger system of subjugating women. Even with the permission of a guardian, a woman may not drive a car (except in some isolated rural areas and within the compounds that are home to many workers from Western countries). Obviously, there is nothing in the Koran that forbids driving. No, the reason we are not allowed to drive is that the power to transport ourselves would give men much less control over us.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/world/2009/08/23/0823afghanwomen.html

Afghanistan: Talebani tagliano le dita a due donne votanti

The shadowy threat circulated in city streets and village bazaars in the days before Afghanistan's historic presidential vote: The Taliban would cut off the ink-stained fingers of those who had dared to cast a ballot.

On Saturday, election observers disclosed that they had confirmed two such cases in southern Afghanistan and were investigating a third report in an eastern province.

The fingers of two female voters in Kandahar province, a stronghold of the Taliban, were cut off because the women voted, Nader Naderi, director of the Free and Fair Elections Foundation, told CNN.

At least 650 women's polling centers that were planned didn't open on election day, according to Free and Fair Elections, the largest Afghan observer organization. In the southern province of Oruzgan, of 36 centers for women planned, only six opened, Naderi said. In certain polling centers in the south and southeast of the country almost no women voted, according to the National Democratic Institute, an American-financed group that promotes democracy abroad.

Officials asked that the district where the two women had their fingers severed not be disclosed because it could endanger the observer who reported the grisly act. The other reported amputation case under investigation was in an Afghan province bordering Pakistan's volatile tribal areas.

The two female voters in question, whose fingers were stained with telltale purple ink, were attacked by insurgents soon after voting Thursday, Naderi said. No further details about the attack were disclosed.

Come se questo non bastasse l'ultima tornata elettorale afghana è stata quanto meno problematica per le donne.

The insecurity also led to greater proxy voting, in which male family members vote for the women, further robbing women of their rights, observers said.

Women received almost no coverage in news reporting, and topics concerning women’s rights were virtually never featured in news coverage of the electoral campaign, the European Union mission said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/world/asia/23afghan.html?_r=1&em

Asia religious extremism sexism violence against women

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418679723&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Gaza: Hamas obbliga le studentesse ad indossare il velo

Hamas has instructed schoolgirls in the Gaza Strip to wear the jilbab (Islamic long-sleeved dress) and head scarves or face being expelled from school.

The movement has also banned girls from wearing jeans at school.

A veteran journalist in the Gaza Strip said that most girls who returned to
schools that reopened on Sunday were seen dressed in traditional Islamic clothes.

He noted, for instance, that at the Maghazi Girls Secondary School in the center of the Gaza Strip, "about 95 percent" of the girls showed up wearing jilbabs.

"The few who came to school wearing jeans were warned that they would be expelled if they did not wear jilbabs," the journalist told The Jerusalem Post.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8216568.stm

Mali: violente proteste contro la riforma del diritto di famiglia

No comment.

Tens of thousands of people in Mali's capital, Bamako, have been protesting against a new law which gives women equal rights in marriage.

The law, passed earlier this month, also strengthens inheritance rights for women and children born out of wedlock.

The head of a Muslim women's association says only a minority of Malian women - "the intellectuals" as she put it - supports the law.

"We have to stick to the Koran," Ms Dembele told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. "A man must protect his wife, a wife must obey her husband."

"It's a tiny minority of women here that wants this new law - the intellectuals. The poor and illiterate women of this country - the real Muslims - are against it," she added.

More than 50,000 Muslims in Mali on Saturday protested against the new family code adopted by the Parliament, which their leaders argue, is not Malian but rather "modeled on Western civilization".

The president of a national women's association of NGOs, Oumou TourÃ©, said the family code was a â?constitutional and democratic demand' that promoted social justice.

'Many girls married at 10, 11 or 12 have died in recent years in the region of Kayes, (500km northeast of Bamako)'

'The new code will put the brakes (on this) because the guilty will from now on be punished and fined.'

IRIN said Amnesty International estimated in 2005 that more than 60 per cent of young women in Mali married before the age of 18.

http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/mali:-malian-muslims-reject-new-family-code-2009082433848.html

http://archive.gulfnews.com/nation/General/10342385.html

Emirati Arabi Uniti: le donne impiegate in banca dovranno indossare il niqab

Vi consiglio di leggere i commenti all'articolo. Lasciano senza parole.

Dubai: All female staff at Dubai Bank, Muslim and non-Muslim, must wear a shailah (head scarf) and abaya (black cloak covering the whole body) starting this Ramadan, Gulf News has learnt.

A memo sent to staff on Thursday says the bank has decided that all Muslim and non-Muslim female staff must wear a shailah and abaya.

The Fatwa and Sharia Supervisory Board's proposal, a copy of which has been obtained by Gulf News, says the abaya should not have any embroidery or decoration on it and must not be coloured.

It says any female staff who does not adhere to this dress code should be advised by the human resources department at the bank to follow it.

If the staff member insists on not abiding by the law then the matter should be brought to the notice of the executive member of the Sharia supervisory board who can decide upon action to be taken against that staff.

The bank will encourage employees to wear a shailah and abaya by providing staff with them. The head of the human resources department has been instructed to ensure that employees adhere to the dress code.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8223966.stm

Mali: riforma del condice di famiglia bloccata dalle proteste di integralisti islamici

A new family law in Mali is causing a furore, partly because it no longer stipulates that wives have to obey their husbands.

Such has been the anger in the majority Muslim country that President Amadou Toumani Toure has sent the law back to parliament for MPs to re-consider.

For many people here the new law is an attack on their religion and traditions and there have been loud protests against it ever since it was adopted by parliamentarians at the start of August.

Kane Nana Sanou, a women's rights activist who is on the committee that has been lobbying for the new family law, says women across Mali should be overjoyed at the new code and disputes the idea that the majority of women are against it.

"How can people say that the majority of women in this country are against the code? Have they done a poll to find that out? They haven't.

"I believe this new law is good for Mali. It makes all citizens equal before the law."

Ms Sanou says she understands why some women might argue that the law should contain a provision that they have to obey their husbands, even if that might mean less rights for them.

"Like me, these women have grown up in traditional families. They have always been told that it's the right thing to do to obey your husband, so of course they believe that," she says.

Tens of thousands have turned out at protests in Bamako in recent weeks and there have been other demonstrations against the law across the country.

It is a political defeat for President Toure, who was a strong backer of the new law.

It has only been the continuing angry protests by Muslim groups that have forced him to send the law back to parliament.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8223736.stm

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13208758

Usa: minacciata la famiglia del Dottor Hern da un estremista antiabortista

A man who allegedly threatened to kill the family of Boulder abortion provider Dr. Warren Hern has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver.

Donald Hertz, 70, of Spokane, Wash., was indicted on charges of making telephone threats to Hern's office and violations of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE).

"We received an anonymous call saying there were two Vietnam veterans coming from Spanish Fork, Utah, to Boulder to hurt my family," Hern said.

"Why is it necessary for a doctor who is helping women to be protected from the anti-abortion movement?" Hern said. "We live in fear of these people."

http://www.australia.to/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13848%3Aindonesia-safe-abortion-could-put-a-brake-on-womens-mortality-rates&Itemid=202

Indonesia: leader religiosi contro il cambiamento della legge antiabortista.

Women's rights groups who are campaigning for widening the scope of abortion in Indonesia are calling for an amendment to a colonial era law that puts poor women at risk.

Tini Hadad, secretary general of the Association for Women's Health, says Indonesia has one of the world's highest rates of deaths from unsafe abortions. ”This is because the current laws are totally inadequate,” she told IPS.

The Association for Women's Health is part of the Women's Network for a National Legislation Programme, a coalition of some 30 women's rights groups that has been campaigning for improved family planning services since 2005.

In 2003, a parliamentary commission submitted a draft bill to legalise abortion, but this never made it to parliament. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, and Muslim leaders have been staunchly opposed to any legalisation of the practice - a viewpoint shared strongly by other religious minorities, especially the Christians.

In the meantime, each year, millions of Indonesian women become pregnant unintentionally, and many choose to end their pregnancies in secret.

According to a 2000 survey carried out by the Centre for Health Research, University of Indonesia, the number of women who have illegal abortions could be as high as 2 million a year. Other researches have estimated the number to be closer to 2.5 million.

This situation has led to a flourishing underground practice of birth termination that heavily penalises the poor. Abortions are carried out by midwifes or doctors, all illegal. The fee for the procedure is said to vary greatly but to be in the region of 500,000 to 1.8 million rupiah (50 to 180 dollars) - out of the reach of a majority of people. Forty percent of the 240 million Indonesians live on less than 2 dollars a day, according to the World Bank.

Poor women are forced to seek the help of unlicensed doctors or traditional healers, who use a variety of methods. Their practices are quite dangerous and have contributed to Indonesia having the highest mortality rate from pregnancy-related causes in the region.

Hadad from the Association of Women's Health asserts that 10 to 15 percent of all unsafe abortions lead to serious complications, including death.

She argues that there is a need for a more comprehensive approach to family planning including wider criteria for allowing abortion.

Asia religious extremism Reproductive rights Women Health

http://www.wluml.org/english/actionsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[156]=i-156-565248

Arabia Saudita: donna di 75 anni condannata ad essere frutrata

Potrei dire no comment. Invece vi prego di leggere con attenzione quanto riporto e a sostenere Women living in muslim laws che sta sostenendo questa poveretta. Fate circolare la notizia.

On 25 August the court of Al-Shamli, north of Hail, found Mrs Khamisa Sawadi guilty of the charge of "khilwa" (mingling with two young men to whom she was not immediately related), and the higher court in Riyadh ratified their verdict. One of the two young men who was tried alongside Sawadi may face additional charges for filing a law suit against the religious police. This is in spite of the fact that in May the Court of Cassation refused to ratify the verdict and returned the case to Al-Shamli court with several observations on the previous verdict, including the rejection of her breastfeeding claim and the fact that she is old.

Please send this letter to the relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia:

Subject: Imprisonment and Whipping of 75 year-old Woman

[date]

[Your Excellency/ Dear Sir/ Your Highness],

The Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) international solidarity network is deeply concerned by the conviction of Mrs. Khamisa Sawadi for ‘illegal mingling’. On 25 August 2009, the court of Al-Shamli found Mrs Khamisa Sawadi guilty of the charge of "khilwa", and the higher court in Riyadh ratified their verdict, sentencing Mrs Sawadi to forty lashes and four months in prison. On March 3, 2009 Mrs. Sawadi, a 75 year old woman living in Hail, northern Saudi Arabia, was accused, and found guilty, of mingling with two young men to whom she was not immediately related. However, in May 2009, the Court of Cassation refused to ratify the verdict and returned the case to Al-Shamli court. The latest verdict raises questions not just related to the safety and security of Mrs. Sawadi, but also the broader situation of human/women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.

In April 2008 Sawadi met the two 24-year-old men after she asked them to bring her five loaves of bread. Since her husband’s death and the marriage of her two daughters, who subsequently relocated to Riyadh, Sawadi had commonly asked her friends and neighbours for help. The two men, Al-Anzi, Sawadi’s late husband’s nephew, and bin Zein, al-Anzi’s business partner, were also arrested by religious police and found guilty and have been sentenced to six month prison terms and 60 lashes.

The court based its decision on ‘citizen information’ and testimony from al-Anzi’s father, who accused Sawadi of corruption. Furthermore, the verdict cited the fact that Sawadi is not a Saudi national – although she was married to a Saudi man – and that she was without a husband as evidence of her guilt. Following the implementation of her sentence, Sawadi will face deportation.

As Saudi Arabia has committed itself to upholding human rights, evidenced by its candidacy to the Human Rights Council 2006, ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 2000, and claims to be dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights, we ask that the Saudi authority fulfil its obligation and correct this breach of international law. In its own letter to the UN Secretary General in 2006 Saudi Arabia claimed to have “a confirmed commitment with the defence, protection and promotion of human rights. This commitment has been manifested in its performance as a member of the Commission on Human Rights. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia pursues the policy of active cooperation with international organizations in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Even under the strict Sharia laws of Saudi Arabia, Khamisa did not commit any violation. A woman who has passed menopause is exempt from mingling and veiling restrictions by the words of Quran as a woman of ‘qawa’id’.

We demand that Saudi Arabia demonstrate its commitment to human rights and release Khamisa Sawadi, Fahd al-Anzi, and Hadiyan bin Zein and revoke the order of deportation.

Yours Sincerely,

[your name/organisation]

Gli indirizzi a cui specire le lettere di protesta li trovate nel link che riporto.

http://ncronline.org/news/cincinnati-nun-given-ultimatum-over-ordination-views

Usa: suora cattolica riceve ultimatum per il suo sostegno all'ordinazione femminile

After serving as a voice for justice for 40 years in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and beyond, Sister of Charity Louise Akers has been told by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk to publicly disassociate herself from the issue of women’s ordination if she wishes to continue making any presentations or teaching for credit in any archdiocesan-related institutions.

Akers and Pilarczyk met for 30 minutes Aug. 10 in his archdiocesan office in Cincinnati. She had requested the meeting after being informed that persons upset with her teaching had registered official complaints with church officials. Central to those complaints were both the presence of her name and photo on the Women’s Ordination Conference web site and her membership on its advisory board.

“Women’s ordination is a justice issue. Its basis is the value, dignity and equality of women. I believe this to my very core. To publicly state otherwise would be a lie and a violation of my conscience. I love, support and cherish the part of Church that upholds the gospel mission and vision of Jesus.”

She quoted the words of Martin Luther, uttered centuries ago: “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.”

religious extremism sexism Usa

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8244339.stm

Sudan: Lubna Hussein, arrestata per aver indossato i pantaloni, liberata

Decisamente una buona notizia. Rimane il fatto che è quanto meno sconcertante che una donna debba vivere un tale incubo per il semplice fatto di indossare i pantaloni.

A female Sudanese journalist, jailed for a month after being convicted of "dressing indecently" by wearing trousers, has been freed after one day.

Mohedinne Titawi, of the Sudanese Union of Journalists, said the union had paid the fine to secure her release.

Ms Hussein, in her 30s, had faced a penalty of up to 40 lashes.

International rights groups criticised the trial from the start, with the UN on Tuesday saying the charges against her breached international law.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/world/africa/09sudan.html?_r=1

Africa religious extremism Women Freedom

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/clerics-and-hardliners-vent-their-fury-at-pervez-release-1783406.html

Afghanistan: Sayed Pervez Kambaksh liberato

Sayed Pervez Kambaksh è uno studente di giornalismo afghano "reo" di averdistribuito del materiale scaricato da internet in cui si criticava il trattamento delle donne nella legge islamica. Per questo era stato processato e condannato. Non posso che gioire per la sua liberazione.

Conservative and religious groups in Afghanistan reacted with fury yesterday to the news that Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, who was sentenced to death for promoting women's rights, has been freed.

After President Hamid Karzai secretly pardoned the 24-year-old student, hardliners called for an urgent ulama, a meeting of Islamic scholars, to organise protests against the decision.

Mr Kambaksh's brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, said he was "very glad, very happy" at what had happened, and human rights organisations and a number of liberal parliamentarians welcomed the news.

yesterday in Kabul, Maulavi Hanif Shah Hosseini, a prominent mullah, declared: "Kambaksh committed a crime against the Koran and the people who conspired so that he escaped the law have also committed a crime.

A spokeswoman for Human Right's Watch said the organisation "welcomed what has happened", and Vincent Brussel, of the journalists campaigning group Reporters Without Borders, said: "This is great news. Pervez became a symbol of the oppression which is taking place in Afghanistan and the persecution the media faces there. We know there are many worrying things going on there and we must be vigilant. But The Independent led the way in this and the newspaper and others in the campaign have every reason to be proud."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8254631.stm

Indonesia: la provincia di Aceh vota leggi liberticide contro le donne e le persone gay e lesbiche

Indonesia's province of Aceh has passed a new law making adultery punishable by stoning to death, a member of the province's parliament has said.

The law also imposes severe sentences for rape, homosexuality

Married people convicted of adultery can be sentenced to death by stoning. Unmarried people can be sentenced to 100 lashes with a cane.

Asia Homophopbia religious extremism violence against women

http://www.nisnews.nl/public/7.htm

Olanda: Felmke Halsema, leader donna dei verdi, critica l'estremismo islamico

Confronted with the statement by the newspaper that the 'progressive' GroenLinks does not campaign against orthodox Islam, Halsema reacted dismissively. "We do (criticise it). I am one of the few that criticises Saudi Arabia, along with (Geert) Wilders, for the violation of women's rights. I will always campaign fiercely against any suspected introduction of the Sharia."

At the time she characterised "fundamental Muslims, fundamental American Christians and the Roman Catholic Church" as "an axis of religious evil," because they oppress women. "That is my most famous attack. I got in a lot a trouble."

Benelux religious extremism Secularism

Marocco: arresti e minacce per protesta laica di interruzione del Ramadan guidata da donne

To protest against "this interference in private life," the Movement for defense of individual liberties (MALI) launched an appeal through Facebook to symbolically break the fast before sunset and protest the Law.
The meet up was at the train station of Mohammedia, a few miles from Casablanca. 70 people indicated their intention to attend but only a dozen made it through a cordon of security personnel. "We have called a lot of people because we were surprised by the heavy police presence that we encountered" said Ms. Zineb Elghzaoui, journalist and a founder of MALI along with Ibtissam Lachgar , a psychologist.

"Our aim was to show that we are Moroccans, but that we do not fast, and that we have a right to exist," said Ms. Elghzaoui. “And although the Moroccan Constitution guarantees freedom of worship, each year there are arrests’ for public fast breaking, she added.
A government security spokesperson denied that any arrests were made this year for public eating during the month of Ramadan.

Ms. Elghzaoui spoke about the case of a citizen who was attacked and denounced in the city of Fez and handed to the police by civilian vigilantes last year for drinking in the street. He was free hours later, after his family showed he was a diabetic.
Only children, the elderly, the sick, pregnant, lactating or menstruating women are exempt.

The Official Moroccan Council of Ulema (theologians) denounced the protesters stunt and described them as "agitators".

http://www.moroccoboard.com/news/34-news-release/664-death-threats-and-arrests-for-facebook-ramadan-fast-break-protesters

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hF4mGNJ0BpgnduXdySz11IBLbszw

Pakistan: scuola mista bombardata

Suspected Taliban militants bombed a primary school on the outskirts of Peshawar on Tuesday, underscoring the Islamist threat in northwest Pakistan despite a series of military offensives.

Militants planted explosives to destroy the small school, which educated girls alongside boys and likely provoked the ire of Islamists who oppose the education of women and frequently target girls' schools.

"The school building, which consisted of three rooms was destroyed in the blast on Tuesday," local police official Hamzullah Khan told AFP.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/22-Sep-2009/Militants-bomb-primary-school-in-Peshawar-officials

Asia religious extremism The Girl Child Womens Education

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/23/afghanistan.women.abuse/index.html

Afghanistan: pandemia di violenza contro le donne

Afghanistan is a country where for centuries women have been considered property -- not equals, like the constitution states. They are often beaten, raped and even sold to the highest bidder. There are very few places women can turn to.

Authorities brought Shameen to a shelter run by Women for Afghan Women (WAW). The organization started in New York to provide humanitarian assistance to women who do not know they have rights.

n this safe house, WAW is currently providing care, security and an education for 54 women and children.

Nearly 90 percent of Afghan women suffer from domestic abuse, according to the United Nations Development Fund for Women.

Despite that, there are less than a dozen shelters like this one in Afghanistan, usually run by non-governmental organizations.

Abusers are rarely prosecuted or convicted, and most women are afraid to say anything.

"Their mothers are beaten by their fathers. They're beaten by their fathers, by their brothers. It's a way of life," said Manizha Naderi, director of WAW.

Naderi is an Afghan-American who grew up in New York and has returned to Afghanistan to work with other women in hopes of bringing a change, although she said it will take generations.

"They see their mothers being beaten, they see their sisters their aunts, everybody," Naderi said. "So that's what they expect."

http://www.aware.org.sg/2009/09/why-should-we-care-about-kartika/

Malaysia: giovane donna condannata a punizioni corporali per aver bevuto birra

How did you react when you heard in July that a woman was about to be caned in Malaysia? Did you think something like this? “What’s so bad about drinking beer? These fundamentalists are too much.” But did you think that what was to happen to Kartika had anything to do with you? No?

Actually, the sentence of caning imposed on Kartika is relevant to you. Perhaps you may say, “But I’m not even Muslim. Why should I care?” Or you may say, “I am unlikely to be caned. So what does this have to do with me?”

To use an analogy, even if you are yourself not a victim of domestic violence, does this mean that you don’t care whether domestic violence happens? If only those who suffer are to care about their condition, then there is no need for AWARE to have a hotline.

The AWARE hotline says: “Call us, we care.” We imply that we care for all women, not just some women. Perhaps you may say, “But Kartika didn’t call us. What is more, she even accepted the sentence of caning.”

For all these reasons, AWARE is right to have co-signed with seven Malaysian women’s organisations, one other Singaporean organisation (Maruah) and one Indonesian women’s organisation, a letter sent to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, addressed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Per inviare lettere di protesta in sostegno di Kartika vedere i dettagli riportati al link sottostante.

http://www.wluml.org/english/actionsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[156]=i-156-565420

Asia religious extremism Womens Freedom

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/sep/28/maldives-wahhabi-islam

Maldive: appello contro il dilagare dell'estremismo islamico

The country's legislative architecture entrenches this intolerance, in a constitution that recognises only Muslims as citizens and a Religious Unity Act that stringently demarcates the type of Islam to be practised. Nor are the country's non-Muslim expatriates, largely Buddhist Sri Lankans and Hindu Indians, permitted to practise their faiths in public as all places of worship apart from mosques are banned. The intolerance does not end here: for Wahhabis, even other Muslims, such as Shias and Sufis, are apostates.

The losers in this formerly matriarchal society have been women and girls. A groundswell of devotion over recent years has led to the number of headscarves worn soaring, though often through social pressure rather than piety.

More recently, families refusing to send their daughters to school or vaccinate their children, while uncommon, are beginning to worry the authorities. More alarming are reports about men keeping underage girls as concubines to have sex with when their wives are menstruating. Although yet to be verified, the reports have moved the Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed to call for an investigation. While the Ministry of Islamic Affairs denounced concubinage as un-Islamic, for many it was a nod to the practice of taking slave-girls as concubines during the prophet's time.

http://www.muslimcanadiancongress.org/20091008.html

Canada: appello per la messa al bando del burqa

The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) is asking Ottawa to introduce legislation to ban the wearing of masks, niqabs and the burka in public.

Farzana Hassan, communications director of the MCC said, "Islamists are defending the burka as if it was the central pillar of Islam. They consider Muslim women who do not cover their heads and faces--the vast majority -- as sinners or lesser Muslims.

"It is of utmots impritance that the Canadian government take the lead and end this medieval misogynist practise once and for all," Ms. Hassan added.

The MCC statement regretted that while the rest of the world is moving toward the goal of gender equality, right here in Canada Islamists are pushing back the clock, convincing educated Muslim women, they are no more than sexual objects and a source of sin, if they reveal their faces in public.

Canada religious extremism Secularism Womens Freedom

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1254861889804&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Gaza: Hamas impedisce alle donne di andare in moto

The decision to ban women from riding motorcycles was published by the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the movement's security forces in the Gaza Strip.

The decision is seen in the context of Hamas's efforts to enforce strict Islamic teachings in the area.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091008/lf_afp/egyptislamwomeneducation

Egitto: piano per proibire l'uso del niqab nelle università

Un pò di sano buon senso dall'Egitto.

"The Supreme Council of Al-Azhar has decided to ban students and teachers from wearing the niqab inside female-only classrooms, that are taught by women only," a statement said.

The ban extends to women's dormitories and to schools affiliated with the university, it said.

The face-veil, or niqab, is worn by some devout Muslim women. Local press reported that Mohammed Tantawi, head of Al-Azhar, said last week that he intended to ban the practice in the university.

The supreme council's statement added that Al-Azhar does not oppose the niqab, which it said only a minority of Muslim scholars consider an obligation, but it opposes "imprinting it on the minds of girls."

The decision came after female students who wear the niqab were banned from the women's dormitory of the state-run Cairo University.

Most Muslim women in Egypt wear the hijab, which covers the hair, but the niqab is becoming more popular on the streets of Cairo.

The government has shown concern over the trend. The religious endowments ministry issued booklets against the practice, saying the niqab is not Islamic, and the health ministry wants to ban it among doctors and nurses.

In the Middle East, the niqab is associated with Salafism, an ultra-conservative school of thought practiced mostly in Saudi Arabia.

Africa religious extremism Womens Freedom

http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/1816975,CST-NWS-abortion10.article

Usa: la città di Chicago difende le cliniche dagli attacchi degli estremisti cristiani antiabortisti

the mayor said he would sign the permanent protective zone created by a divided City Council.

"You're just trying to make sure no one's being harassed. If someone is going into a medical complex and I disagree with them going there, I should not harass and scream and yell at them. It doesn't matter whether it deals with the word abortion or anything else," the mayor said.

Daley is Catholic and pro-choice. But, unlike several of the dissenting aldermen, the mayor said he draws a line between religion and politics.

"My religion is very personal. . . . Religion does not play a part when I make a decision on behalf of the people of Chicago," he said.

Women say they're routinely approached and handed flyers in anti-abortion activists' last-ditch effort to counsel or change the woman's mind.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/chicago-daley-support-abortion-protest-ordinance-63920562.html

religious extremism Reproductive rights Usa Womens Freedom

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1220864/Whipped-wearing-deceptive-bra-Hardline-Islamists-Somalia-publicly-flog-women-sharia-crackdown.html

Somalia: donne ricevono frustate per aver indossato il reggiseno

NO COMMENT!

A hardline Islamist group in Somalia has begun publicly whipping women for wearing bras that they claim violate Islam as they are 'deceptive'.

The insurgent group Al Shabaab has sent gunmen into the streets of Mogadishu to round up any women who appear to have a firm bust, residents claimed yesterday.

The women are then inspected to see if the firmness is natural, or if it is the result of wearing a bra.

If they are found wearing a bra, they are ordered to remove it and shake their breasts, residents said.

'Al Shabaab forced us to wear their type of full veil and now they order us to shake our breasts,' a resident, Halima, told Reuters, adding that her daughters had been whipped on Thursday.

'They are now saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat.'

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=ODQwODU1NDk2

Kuwait: pressione degli integralisti islamici contro due donne parlamentari che non indossano il velo

Liberal female MP Rula Dashti yesterday submitted an amendment to the first article of the election law to scrap a requirement that women must comply to sharia controls. The amendment simply calls for having the same article one of the election law without a reference to sharia guidelines for women that was added in May 2005 when women were granted rights in a historic vote in the Assembly.

The fatwa is not binding to the Kuwaiti society.

In last May's general elections, four women won seats in the Assembly for the first time in Kuwait's history. Two of the women MPs do not wear the hijab while the two other do. That made Islamist lawmakers demand that women MPs should comply with the election law which, according to them, means that they must wear the hijab. Three Islamist MPs protested in the first session of the new Assembly on May 31 against two MPs and the only woman minister in the Cabinet, Modhi Al-Humoud, for not wearing the hijab.

"You can't force a woman going to the mall to wear a hijab and you can't force a woman going to work to wear the hijab," the MP, Rola Dashti, told The Daily Telegraph. "This is not Iran or Saudi Arabia."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/kuwait/6307598/Kuwaiti-women-MPs-refuse-to-wear-hijab-in-parliament.html

Middle Est religious extremism Womens Freedom

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/world/middleeast/25saudi.html?scp=1&sq=saudi%20joirnalist&st=cse

Arabia Saudita: giornalista condannata a ricevere 60 frustrate

No comment!

A Saudi court sentenced a journalist on Saturday to 60 lashes after she was charged with involvement in a television show in which a Saudi man talked about sex.

The journalist, Rozanna al-Yami, 22, is believed to be the first female Saudi journalist to be given such a punishment. The charges included involvement in preparing the program and advertising it on the Internet. Ms. Yami said she had worked as a coordinator for the program but had not worked on the episode in question. She said the judge, in the western city of Jidda, had handed down the sentence “as a deterrence.”

“I am too frustrated and upset to appeal the sentence,” Ms. Yami said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/world/asia/26iht-phils.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=birth%20control&st=cse

Filippine: opposizione cattolica alla legge sulla contraccezione

Abortion is illegal in the Philippines. Birth control and related health services have long been available to those who can afford to pay for them through the private medical system, but 70 percent of the population is too poor and depends on heavily subsidized care. In 1991, prime responsibility for delivering public health services shifted from the central government to the local authorities, who have broad discretion over which services are dispensed.

The main opposition in this overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country has come from the church and affiliated lay organizations, which say the proposed law would legalize abortion. In churches across the country, signs have been posted that read: “Yes to Life! No to RH Bill!”

Asia religious extremism Reproductive rights Womens Health

http://www.bosnewslife.com/9563-breaking-news-somalia-militants-kill-christian-woman-for-refusing-to-wear-veil

Somalia: integralisti islamici uccidono una donna che si rifiutava di indossare il velo

Islamic militants have shot and killed a Somali Christian woman because she declined to wear a veil as prescribed by Muslim custom, Christians said in comments monitored by BosNewsLife Wednesday, October 28.

Members of the Suna Waljameca group killed Amina Muse Ali, 45, on October 19 in her home in Galkayo, in Somalia’s autonomous Puntland region, said Compass Direct News, a well-informed Christian news agency.

Ali had told Christian leaders that she had received several threats from members of Suna Waljameca for not wearing a veil, symbolic of adherence to Islam, Christians said. She had said members of the group had long monitored her movements because they suspected she was a Christian.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/10/29/somalia.women.flogged/index.html

Somalia: donne picchiate e persguitate da integralisti islamici per non aver indossato le calze

Direi che non c'è neanche il bisogno di commentare...

"Just today, Al-Shabaab dispatched men with whips to the streets around Bakara market and they are flogging any woman who is found not wearing socks," according to a female maize trader at the Mogadishu market, who spoke Thursday.

She did not want to be named for security reasons.

In the past two days, more than 130 people, including women who were not wearing headscarves and men chewing dried khat leaves, have been detained for violating Al-Shabaab's interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law, according to witnesses and officials.

Hooded Al-Shabaab gunmen rounded up 50 women on Wednesday from Mogadishu's Bakara market for not wearing the veil that is required for women under some interpretations of Islamic law, according to the maize trader.

"Most of these women were vegetable traders, so they are poor and can't afford to buy veils for 600,000 shillings [about $23 U.S.]," she said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iUI3_jsG1_VI7A_IE2QlqD27VUgQ

Pakistan: integralisti islamici fanno esplodere una scuola per ragazze

Islamist militants blew up a girls school in Pakistan's lawless Khyber tribal district Sunday, destroying the building and wounding four people in neighbouring homes, officials said.

Two explosions ripped through the 18-room government high school for girls at Kari Gar village and a boy who watched the premises is missing, possibly kidnapped by the militants, local administration officials said.

"The militants have blown up the school with two blasts and all rooms were demolished," said administration official Shafeer Ullah.

Islamist militants, who have carved out a strong presence in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border, have destroyed hundreds of schools, mostly for girls, in the northwest of the country in recent years.

Nearly 200 schools were destroyed in the Swat valley alone during a two-year Taliban uprising to enforce sharia law in a district once favoured by Western tourists for its ski slopes and bracing mountain air.

Asia religious extremism The Girl Child Womens Education

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_el_st_lo/us_gay_marriage_maine

Usa: gli elettori del Maine rifiutano il matrimonio civile gay

Gay marriage has now lost in every single state — 31 in all — in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine — known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate — and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=8990602

gay marriage homophobia religious extremism Usa

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Limits+tolerance+needed+multicultural+Canada+work/2167717/story.html

Canada: editoriale contro il multiculturalismo e gli estremismi religiosi

Il fatto che dei giudici di una nazione come il Canada debbano soppesare il pro e il contro della poligamia è decisamente inquietante. Significa che l'uguaglianza tra uomini e donne è praticamente irrilevante rispetto ai cosidetti diritti religiosi. E questo è il risultato nefasto del multiculturalismo, corrente di pensiero secondo la quale tutte le culture e tutte le religioni sono da considerare alla stessa maniera. Anche se i diritti delle donne sono calpestati.

There is a paradox in Canadians' prized tolerance -- taken to its extreme, we inevitably will be asked to countenance the intolerable. Where that line is between tolerance and the intolerable is something that the courts are dealing with on several fronts. Polygamy is the most recent.Polygamy is the most recent. Last week, B.C. Attorney-General Mike de Jong asked the Supreme Court of British Columbia to determine whether banning polygamy is a justifiable limit on the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. It was provoked by fundamentalist Mormons in Bountiful, who believe that having multiple wives is essential to their religion and have continued that practice despite the 110-year-old Criminal Code sanction against it.

The chief justice has been asked to appoint a lawyer to make the case for polygamy being a justifiable religious practice.

"Invoking religious freedom to conceal one's identity and promote a political ideology is disingenuous," the Muslim Congress said in a press release that noted Egypt's highest Muslim authority and dean of al-Azhar University, Sheik Mohamed Tantawai, has already issued an edict against wearing them.

Why this reluctance to set limits? Fatah says it's not because Canadians are tolerant. It's because we're stupid.

We'd rather be run over by others than stand up and tell the truth to everyone who lives in Canada or wants to come here.

And the truth is that there are some customs and religious practices that are simply intolerable.

Canada religious extremism women and the law

http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSL2281395

Somalia: integralisti islamici chiudono organizzazioni delle donne

Tutto questo non dovrebbe sconvolgere? L'opinione pubblica non dovrebbe reagire di fronte a chi dice che le donne non devono lavorare?

Somalia's hardline al Shabaab insurgents closed three grassroots women's organisations in the rebel-held town of Balad Hawa on Monday to stop women from going to work, a rebel leader said.

The group wants to impose its own version of Islamic law on areas it controls, and Washington says it is al Qaeda's proxy in the Horn of African nation.

"We have taken this step after we recognised that women need to stay in their homes and take care of their children ... Islam does not allow women to go to offices," Maalim Daaud Mohmed, the chairman of Balad Hawa, told Reuters by telephone.

The organisations closed by al Shabaab are the Halgan Businesswomen's Organisation, the Sed Huro Human Rights Organisation and Farhan Woman for Peace, he said.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/crabby_cabby_boots_same_sex_lovebirds_elzOqITxWd7Y7q2HLFiSFP

Usa: tassista musulmano espelle coppia gay

Porastella! Deve essere davvero terrorizzante vedere alcuni abbracci tra innamorati. O forse il solerte tassista è stato sconvolto perchè almeno uno dei due fidanzati non corrisponde alo stereotipo degli omosessuali? Per capire cosa intendo vi invito a vedere la foto di Paul Bruno all'interno dell'articolo.

Battute a parte, ancora un altro esempio di come i cosidetti diritti religiosi non siano altro che un pretesto per non seguire le regole comuni ed imporre al resto del mondo la propria visione retrogada.

An overzealous cabby allegedly booted a gay couple when he spotted the duo sharing a warm embrace in the back of his cold car.

Paul Bruno and his partner hailed the yellow cab Monday night at 13th Street and First Avenue and sat close, Bruno told The Post.

But the driver, identified by Bruno and city records as Medhat Mohamed, was apparently appalled by their shows of affection -- and pulled the cab over two blocks into the trip.

"You guys have to get out of the taxi! Hugging is not allowed in here!" the driver said, according to Bruno.

Stunned, the lovebirds exited and watched the taxi peel away.

"I was shocked," said Bruno, 27, who called the act "discrimination against homosexuals."

Bruno said he and his partner immediately filed an official complaint against the driver via 311.

Both men want a formal apology from the driver, and say they believe hacks should be put though more rigorous sensitivity training.

homophobia religious extremism Usa

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE59U17V20091102?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=11604

Egitto: aumento dell'uso del niqab

Rokaya Mohamed, an elementary school teacher, would rather die than take off her face veil, or niqab, thrusting her to the forefront of a battle by government-backed clerics to limit Islamism in Egypt.

Egypt's state-run religious establishment wants teachers like Mohamed to remove their veils in front of female students, sparking a backlash by Islamists who say women should be able to choose to cover their faces in line with their Islamic faith.

The spread of the niqab, associated with the strictest interpretations of Islam, is a potent reminder to the government of the political threat posed by any Islamist resurgence emanating from the Gulf, where many young Egyptians go to work.

"It increased mainly because of the major influence from the Gulf. This habit is not from the heart of Egyptian society. It is imported from the Gulf," political analyst Hala Mustafa said.

"(Extremism) has been increasing in Egyptian society for the past 30 years and therefore Egyptians are accepting more extremism and becoming more closed off," she said.

Just 30 years ago, women attended Egypt's flagship Cairo University wearing miniskirts and sleeveless tops. They strolled along the beaches of Alexandria in skimpy swimsuits at a time when society was seemingly more liberal and tolerant.

Analysts say challenging the stricter interpretations of Islam could be a long journey that requires, in particular, introducing reforms on an educational system that has allowed women in niqab to teach small children.

http://www.france24.com/fr/20090407-kadirov-ramzan-president-tchetchene-prone-polygamie-islam-loi-russe

Cecenia: il presidente Kadirov si dichiara favorevole alla poligamia

Après avoir imposé le port du foulard dans l'administration et interdit la consommation d'alcool à certaines périodes de l'année, le président tchétchène donne un nouveau gage aux islamistes en se disant favorable à la polygamie.

Le président tchétchène Ramzan Kadirov, un allié du Kremlin, demande à ses concitoyens d'ignorer la loi russe et de prendre une seconde femme afin de respecter la tradition de l'islam.

Asia religious extremism sexism

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091117/wl_asia_afp/pakistanunrestnorthwesteducation

Pakistan: scuola femminile bombardata da estremisti islamici

Taliban militants blew up a girls' school in Pakistan's Khyber district on Tuesday, the third such attack in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan so far this month, officials said.

An intelligence official in the area said Taliban attacked the government-run school overnight when no one was at the property.

"The girls' middle school was badly damaged because of the explosion, now the school building is almost out of use. The classrooms, desks and chairs were also damaged," Farooq Khan, a local administrative official told AFP.

Islamist militants have destroyed hundreds of schools, mostly for girls, in the northwest of the country in recent years.

Asia religious extremism The Girl Child Women Education

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1258489193200&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Israele: donna arrestata per aver indossato il talit al muro del pianto

Police and Western Wall officials expelled a female prayer group from the Kotel area and arrested one of the women after they attempted Wednesday morning to read from a Torah scroll.

"We debated amongst ourselves whether or not to read from the Torah at the Kotel itself or to take the Torah to the Robinson's Arch," said Nofrat Frenkel, who was arrested and later released by police.

Frenkel said that as the women unrolled the Torah scroll and began to prepare to read, officials from the Kotel Foundation arrived and demanded that they leave the premises.

Frenkel said that the women agreed to roll up the Torah scroll and take it to the Robinson's Arch. But on their way out Frenkel, who was wearing a talit and was carrying the Torah, was seized by police.

"I was pushed into a nearby police station and transferred to the main police station at Yaffo Gate," she said.

About 40 women who attended the prayer formed a procession and followed the police and Frenkel through the Old City to the Yaffo Gate where they congregated and sang songs until Frenkel was released.

Israel religious extremism

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8366197.stm

Somalia: donna lapidata per aver commesso adulterio

Le pietre servono per decorare i giardini, non per uccidere le donne.

A 20-year-old woman divorcee accused of committing adultery in Somalia has been stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of about 200 people.

A judge working for the militant group al-Shabab said she had had an affair with an unmarried 29-year-old man.

He said she gave birth to a still-born baby and was found guilty of adultery. Her boyfriend was given 100 lashes.

It is thought to be the second time a woman has been stoned to death for adultery by al-Shabab.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091119/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_abortion

Messico: la legislazione antiabortista rischia di arrivare a livello federale

Lawmakers in Veracruz made it Mexico's 17th state to pass legislation declaring life begins at conception, then adopted a proposal that requires Congress to consider amending the constitution to outlaw abortion.

A majority of the country's 32 states have now enacted anti-abortion measures in response to Mexico City's legislature permitting abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Mexican states currently set their own laws on abortion, but the constitutional proposal adopted by the Veracruz lawmakers late Tuesday is likely to make the issue a federal one.

Under the constitution, a single state legislature can propose an amendment that must be considered by Congress, and even pro-choice activists said Wednesday that given the makeup of Congress — and what they called heavy lobbying by the Roman Catholic Church — Veracruz's proposal stands a good chance of approval.

"This is outrageous, disappointing and very frustrating," said Maria Luisa Sanchez of the Group for Informed Reproductive Rights. "It is very serious that they have brought it up on the federal level."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/18/ap/latinamerica/main5702409.shtml

Central Aamerica religious extremism Reproductive rights Women Health

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/18/african-children-denounce_n_324943.html

Nigeria: bambine e bambini accusati di stregoneria e maltrattati

Nwanaokwo Edet was one of an increasing number of children in Africa accused of witchcraft by pastors and then tortured or killed, often by family members. Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of "witch children" reviewed by the AP, and 13 churches were named in the case files.

For their part, the families are often extremely poor, and sometimes even relieved to have one less mouth to feed. Poverty, conflict and poor education lay the foundation for accusations, which are then triggered by the death of a relative, the loss of a job or the denunciation of a pastor on the make, said Martin Dawes, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund.

"When communities come under pressure, they look for scapegoats," he said. "It plays into traditional beliefs that someone is responsible for a negative change ... and children are defenseless."

The idea of witchcraft is hardly new, but it has taken on new life recently partly because of a rapid growth in evangelical Christianity. Campaigners against the practice say around 15,000 children have been accused in two of Nigeria's 36 states over the past decade and around 1,000 have been murdered. In the past month alone, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed and another three were set on fire.

Nigeria is one of the heartlands of abuse, but hardly the only one: the United Nations Children's Fund says tens of thousands of children have been targeted throughout Africa.

Africa religious extremism The Girl Child violence against women

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1231442/Christian-girl-16-gets-60-lashes-wearing-indecent-knee-length-skirt-Sudan.html#ixzz0Y49qdXxt

Sudan: ragazza di 16 anni riceve 50 frustate per aver indossato una gonna lunga fino al ginocchio

Il Sudan pare essere sprofondato nell'isteria e nella barbarie più totale e a farne le spese sono le donne.

A 16-year-old Sudanese girl was lashed 50 times after a judge ruled her knee-length skirt was indecent, her family said today.

The mother of Christian teenager Silva Kashif said she is to sue police and the judge who imposed the sentence under Islamic shariah law.

She is just a young girl but the policeman pulled her along in the market like she was a criminal. It was wrong,' said Doro.

Doro said Khashif was taken to Kalatla court where she was convicted and punished by a female police officer in front of the judge.

'I only heard about it after she was lashed. Later we all sat and cried ... People have different religions and that should be taken into account' she said.

Kashif's lawyer Azhari al-Haj said he was preparing a case against the police and judge for arresting and sentencing an under-age girl. He said according to the law, people under 18 should not be given lashes.

'She was wearing a normal skirt and blouse, worn by thousands of girls. They didn't contact a guardian and punished her on the spot.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aB2RfynNbLmk&pos=9

Gaza: Hamas impedisce alle donne non solo di andare in moto ma anche di ballare

The Islamic Hamas movement banned girls last month from riding behind men on motor scooters and forbade women from dancing at the opening of a folk museum. Girls in some public schools must wear headscarves and cloaks.

Signs of Hamas’s creeping Islamization are everywhere in Gaza, the Mediterranean coastal enclave that Hamas has run by itself since 2007. Gaza is already politically divided from the West Bank, the Palestinian territory administered by the secular Fatah movement.

Dancing Ban

The opening of the Palestinian Heritage Museum on Oct.7 was meant to include a rendition of the dabke, a line dance performed by girls and boys. Except that no girls were allowed.

Black-shirted men from Hamas carrying AK-47s appeared at the gates of the museum, on Gaza’s waterfront, said Jamal Salem, the curator. They said girls shouldn’t dance because it wasn’t religiously proper. Nor could they share the stage for the inaugural speeches, said Salem.

http://www.courrierinternational.com/breve/2009/11/27/des-infirmieres-obligees-de-porter-le-voile

Bolivia: alle infermiere si richiede di indossare il velo islamico

Per fortuna, grazie all'indignazione popolare, questa brutta vicenda ha avuto un esito positivo.

Par ordre du directeur, tout le personnel féminin de l'établissement devra se soumettre à cette mesure, rapporte La Prensa de La Paz. Cette nouvelle a fait grand bruit dans le pays. L'opposition à Evo Morales a traité le chef de l'Etat de "vendu" et le courrier des lecteurs du quotidien déborde de lettres indignées.

"Nous respectons les lois iraniennes en Iran, les Boliviens appliquent d'autres lois que nous ferons respecter", a finalement déclaré Ramiro Tapia, le ministre de la Santé.

religious extremism sexism South America Women at Work

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1233918/Honour-crime-40-rising-fundamentalism.html

Gran Bretagna: in aumento gli omicidi d'onore contro le donne

Police have seen 'honour' crime surge by 40 per cent due to rising fundamentalism, new figures show.

Honour-based violence, including crimes like murder, rape and kidnap has rocketed in London during the past year.

Reported instances of intimidation and attempts at forced marriage have also increased by 60 per cent.

A report into the scale of the problem by Scotland Yard found there were 161 honour-based incidents recorded in 2007-8, of which 93 were criminal offences.

But in 2008/9 the number of incidents had risen to 256, with 132 being criminal offences.

Diana Nammi, of the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation, said the group is now dealing with four times more complaints relating to honour than two years ago.

She said: 'More women are coming forward. They are becoming more aware of their rights in the UK, that there is help available and they feel confident enough to report matters to the police.

'But I also think cases and violence are increasing.

'One reason is the rise in fundamentalism. The problem is increasing in communities around the UK.

'We are seeing a rise not only in honour killings, but also in female genital mutilation and polygamy.'

religious extremism United Kingdom violence against women

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Makeup-Its-against-Islam-Iran-women-told/articleshow/5293935.cms

Iran: le donne in televisione non potranno indossare il make-up

NO COMMENT!

Make-up by women during television

programmes is illegal and against Islamic sharia law ... There should not be a single case” of a woman wearing make-up during a programme, Ezatollah Zarghami was quoted as saying by the reformist Etemad newspaper.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2009/12/ugandas_antigay_hate_law.html

Uganda: proposta legge omofoba

Remember: this is not a debate about the rights and wrongs of homosexuality in the eyes of the public. This is a debate about a proposed law that would permit the Ugandan state to execute any gay or lesbian person if they repeatedly engage in same-sex sexual relationships. Homosexuality has always been illegal in Uganda. This new law will increase the penalties for homosexuality to include judicial killing.

After weeks of pressure from around the world, Ugandan politicians are reported to be considering an amendment to their proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. This would remove the use of the death penalty and possibly even life imprisonment.

However, this is unlikely to satisfy the Bill’s critics, who insist that it would still be draconian, even with such amendments.

They point out that it would allow the imprisonment of anyone in authority – such as a teacher, priest or minister of religion – who knew of an instance of homosexuality but failed to report it.

While the campaign against the Bill has achieved significant support from Christians, there are fears that the removal of the death penalty clause would make churches in Uganda more likely to support the legislation.

The Anglican Church in Uganda has so far been divided on the Bill. Last week, Canon Gideon Byamugisha condemned the proposals as “state-sponsored genocide against a specific community of Ugandans”. However, his fellow Ugandan Anglican, Bishop Joseph Abura, has welcomed the Bill, describing its opponents as “lovers of evil”.

In its original form, the Bill sets down life imprisonment as the punishment for anyone who “stimulates the sexual organs” of someone of the same sex. The death penalty would be used if the “offender” were HIV positive, or if his/her sexual partner were disabled or aged under 18.

http://ekklesia.co.uk/node/10795

Human-rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have condemned the bill. They say it is a product of a campaign by evangelical churches and anti-gay groups that has led to death threats and physical assaults against Ugandans suspected of being gay.

The governments of the United States and France have criticized the proposed law, with France expressing “deep concern.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/ugandas-anti-gay-bill-causes-commonwealth-uproar/article1376503/

Africa Homphobia religious extremism

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8406796.stm

Galles: organizzazioni islamiche propongono i tribunali della sharia

Wales could get its first court based on Islamic law under proposals from a Muslim body, BBC Wales has learned.

A Sharia law tribunal in Cardiff will help community relations and give some Muslims services they want, supporters have told the Dragon's Eye programme.

But the Ministry of Justice said that Sharia law "has no jurisdiction in England and Wales".

A spokesperson said: "Regardless of religious belief we are all equal before the law".

A recent report by Civitas was critical of Sharia courts, saying they were not in keeping with UK legal principles.

Denis MacEoin, of Civitas, said: "It is Sharia law that is given the prominent position and this effectively means that British law is shoved to one side.

Considero importante la seguente dichiarazione, centrale per la questione dei diritti delle donne:

Marya Shabir, of the Welsh Women's National Coalition, said: "It's being advertised as this opt-in system when it actually isn't.

"If a Muslim woman is given the option of using a Muslim Arbitration Tribunal over going through the courts system using the law of England and Wales; there's no question as to which system she's going to use.

"If she doesn't go with the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, she is going to face stigmatisation, she will be ostracised by her community, her peers, her family who believe she is turning her back on the community."

gender justice religious extremism United Kingdom

http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2009/12/10/un-tribunal-islamique-aurait-juge-une-femme-pour-adultere-en-catalogne_1278734_3214.html

Spagna: donna musulmana minacciata da tribunale islamico illegale

Agée de 30 ans, enceinte de quelques semaines à l'époque des faits, la jeune Maghrébine aurait profité d'un moment de confusion pour fausser compagnie à ses geôliers et se réfugier dans un bar voisin.

Au terme de huit mois d'enquête, de filatures et d'écoutes téléphoniques, la police a arrêté, le 14 novembre, dix personnes d'origine maghrébine soupçonnées d'avoir participé à ce que les enquêteurs qualifient de "tribunal d'honneur islamique". Sept hommes sont sous les verrous, deux autres et une femme ont été remis en liberté sous contrôle judiciaire début décembre.

La révélation de l'affaire du "tribunal de Valls" a suscité la réprobation unanime des responsables d'associations musulmanes : "Il ne s'agit pas d'une application de la charia, mais de pratiques moyenâgeuses qui ne sont plus en vigueur nulle part et qui s'apparentent davantage à un crime d'honneur", a réagi Abdennur Prado, de la Junta islamica de Catalogne, ajoutant qu'"aucun groupe salafiste n'a pour l'instant revendiqué ces tribunaux dans notre pays".

Selon de nombreux témoignages, des groupes de fondamentalistes s'en prendraient aux femmes ne portant pas le voile ou fréquentant les cafés. Ils feraient pression sur leurs parents ou leur mari.

religious extremism Spain

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h1T_6wIygeZcvhY_waE7u1KWS3LQ

Pakistan: estremisti islamici fanno esplodere scuola femminile

Sto perdendo il conto di quante volte stanno accadendo simili efferatezze.

Taliban militants blew up a girls' school in Pakistan's Khyber district Monday, officials said, as two soldiers and seven insurgents were killed in clashes in the northwest tribal belt.

The pre-dawn school attack took place in Saddokhel town in northwest Khyber tribal district, where militants detonated explosives planted around the building, destroying all five school rooms but causing no injuries.

"They are Taliban. They are the same people who do not want children to get an education," senior administration official Rahim Gul Khattak told AFP.

Islamist militants opposed to co-education have destroyed hundreds of schools, mostly for girls, in the northwest of the country in recent years as they wage a fierce insurgency to enforce Sharia law.

Asia religious extremism The Girl Child Women Education

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8368242.stm

Arabia Saudita: le giornaliste in televisione dovranno indossare il niqab

No comment!

Until recently you would never have seen women presenting television programmes dressed from head to toe in the niqab or burqa. But on the Saudi religious channel Awtan TV it has now become the norm.

Female broadcasters at the station are draped in the all-enveloping dresses, which are usually black and also cover their faces.

The work environment too is very different. Male technical assistants do not enter the studio while the women are presenting.

There are more than 60 religious channels across the Middle East. Some allow women to present programmes without being fully covered or dressed in black.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/saudiarabia/6813312/Saudi-Arabia-to-flog-75-year-old-for-breaching-sex-segregation-rules.html

Arabia Saudita: donna di 75 anni condannata a ricevere frustate per aver parlato con un uomo

Notizie come questa dovrebbero essere su tutte le prime pagine e invece non sono considerate importanti. Evidentemente nelle riunioni di redazione, nel corso delle quali si stabilisce cosa sarà publicato e cosa no, la violenza legalizzata ai danni delle donne non è giudicato degno di nota. Vorrei tanto sbagliarmi.

"The minister of interior (Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz) is reported to have ordered the immediate detention and flogging of a 75-year-old woman, Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi, along with two Saudi Arabian men known only as Fahad and Hadyan," the London-based watchdog said.

"The Saudi Arabian authorities must not carry out the imminent flogging and imprisonment of an elderly woman and two younger men.""It is abhorrent that an elderly woman is at risk of 40 lashes," said the deputy director of the watchdog's Middle East and North Africa Programme, Philip Luther.

http://www.nif.org/media-center/nif-in-the-news/protest-targets.html

Israele: proteste contro la segregazione tra uomini e donne nei bus richiesta dagli ultraortodossi

The High Court of Justice in Israel is weighing the question of who sits where on public buses.

The dispute centers on routes that run through traditional haredi neighborhoods, where men sit in the front and women in the back.

The court set a Dec. 27 deadline for the Transport Minister Yisrael Katz of the center-right Likud party to present a position on gendersegregated seating.

Last month, the US-based New Israel Fund launched a "Say no to the back of the bus," campaign, urging people to call, fax or email Katz and ask him to reject public buses with segregated seating. Last week a New Israel Fund spokesperson said close to 250 people had told the New Israel Fund that they had contacted Katz.

She added, "I'm sure not going to tell some Israeli what to do about a zoning dispute in Rehovot, but when Orthodox rabbis…attempt to legislate gender segregation, it's something we have to be concerned about."

Ninety percent of the country's Jewish adults, including 81% of the Orthodox, support the elimination or limitation of gender segregated "mehadrin" bus lines, according to a survey conducted by the Smith Research Institute on behalf of Hiddush-For Religious Freedom and Equality.

Furthermore, 71% of the public view the bus lines as degrading to women. The poll was conducted between the 16th and 18th of December among a sample group of 500 respondents.

The survey also portrays an increase of some 10% in opposition to such bus lines. A preliminary survey on the matter that was conducted in July, showed that 80% of those polled called for eliminating or limiting the mehadrinbus lines.

"If gender segregation isn't stopped on buses, our fear is that it will continue to move further into the public sphere," said Martin Viler, a spokesman for the Yerushalmim movement, which is led by city councilwoman Rachel Azaria.

"Our goal today was to call attention to the ongoing segregation of the sexes on the mehadrin bus lines, but also to warn the public that if it continues unabated, we'll soon see it on the streets, and not just in haredi neighborhoods."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1261364519884&pagename=JPArticle/ShowFull

A mock "chastity squad" divided the walking routes leading up the government offices in Jerusalem for men and women on Sunday morning in protest against the segregated bus lines in public transportation in the capital.

The protestors, some 20 activists of the Yerushalmim movement handed out fliers outside the Supreme Court building which directed pedestrians to their designated pavement according to their sex.

The demonstrators held up signs which read, "Passersby! We implore you to adhere to complete separation between men and women in the government compound. Men are required to move to the right side and women to the left side. Mothers are required to separate from their children and husbands. Please do not disrupt our lifestyle of god-fearing Jews, God and his Torah."

http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3825852,00.html

Israel religious extremism Women Freedom

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1261364538889&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

Gaza: epidemia di violenza contro le donne

The vast majority of women in Gaza face violence of varying types, a new survey has found.

The study found that 77.1% of Gazan women have experienced violence of various sorts, with almost half experiencing violence of more than one type.

A quarter of the women said they do not feel safe in their own homes because of violence and more than a third said they were unable to fight back as they had more urgent priorities to deal with.

67% of the women surveyed said they had encountered verbal violence, 71% mental violence, 52% physical violence and more than 14% sexual violence.

"I think the levels [of violence] are higher than they were in the Gaza Strip in previous years and compared to other countries, the rates are certainly higher," Huda Hamouda, Director of the PWIC told The Media Line. "It's hard to imagine a family living in dignity when seven family members are living on less than three dollars a day."

The women's rights advocate said the Hamas government is trying to impose a certain ideology, which includes forcing women to wear the hijab, religious head covering, implying that this has eroded the standing of Gazan women.

"They're imposing their directives and they're encountering opposition from certain groups, human-rights organizations and unions," Hamouda said. "It's understood that in society there is no pluralism or freedom of thought. It's one side imposing its understandings on those under its control."

There are few shelters for battered women in the Palestinian territories.

Middle Est religious extremism violence against women

http://goldenbrand.finchannel.com/news_flash/World/53944_Belgian_Muslim_woman_fined_$300_for_wearing_burka/

Belgio: donna in burqa multata

A Belgian Muslim woman was ordered to pay 200 euros ($300) for wearing a burka, a Islamic outfit that covers everything but the eyes, in a public place, the La Capital paper reported on December 10.

She was initially ordered to pay a 35-euro fine for violating a local ban on covering faces in public places.

When the woman was caught wearing the outfit the second time, she was fined 200 euros, but refused to pay and went to court.

"The rule is the rule, and we must obey it," local mayor Vincent De Wolf said.

Benelux religious extremism Women Freedom

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/polygamist-leader-suing-bc-government/article1430320/

Canada: leader poligamo fa causa al governo provinciale della British Colombia

Winston Blackmore, the leader of a polygamous community in southeastern British Columbia who has admitted to having multiple wives, is suing the provincial government for violating his rights when he was charged last year.

Mr. Blackmore and James Oler, both leaders of separate factions in Bountiful, B.C., were arrested in January 2009 and each charged with practising polygamy, two decades after police first starting looking into the community near the United States border.

The charges were thrown out last fall after the men's lawyers successfully argued in court that the decision of a previous special prosecutor not to lay charges was final.

Last October, de Jong announced the government would ask the B.C. Supreme Court for an opinion on whether the federal law barring multiple marriage violates the religious protections under the charter.

Mr. Oppal, who left politics last year after he was narrowly defeated in a provincial election, declined to comment.

Mr. Blackmore and Mr. Oler are leaders of two separate factions of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a breakaway sect of the mainstream Mormon Church, which renounced polygamy more than a century ago.

Mr. Blackmore is reported to have more than 100 children.

The RCMP first investigated the community in 1990, and there have been subsequent investigations into allegations including polygamy, sexual abuse, and trafficking young girls to sister polygamous communities in the U.S. to be married.

Canada religious extremism

http://www.liberation.fr/societe/0101609706-il-faut-bannir-la-burqa-de-l-espace-public

Francia: appello di tre politici socialisti per la messa al bando del burqa

Même si les spécialistes religieux s’accordent à reconnaître que le port du voile intégral ne fait l’objet d’aucune recommandation coranique, il n’appartient pas au politique de piocher dans leur argumentaire pour justifier son positionnement. S’approprier ce référentiel serait une faute pure et simple de jugement. Puisque la France est une société laïque séparant l’Etat du religieux, c’est bien au cœur de la sphère publique qu’il nous faut façonner notre jugement.

La burqa est aussi une atteinte à la dignité humaine. Elle concerne tout individu dans la mesure où elle place la femme à un rang de subalterne. Car une femme dont on ne peut lire les expressions du visage perd de son humanité. Car une femme qui se voit interdire le port de certains vêtements perd, aussi, de sa liberté. L’homme n’étant pas concerné par le port de la burqa, celle qui la porte est reléguée d’emblée à son seul et unique statut de femme sans que l’on puisse lire, sur son visage ou son corps, d’autres caractéristiques de son individualité. La République française, qui porte en son sein l’égalité homme-femme, ne peut l’accepter.

France religious extremism Secularism Women Freedom

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/01/2010114135658864208.html

Iran: scarcerata la sorella di Shirin Ebadi

Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel peace laureate, has told Al Jazeera that her sister was released from prison in Iran.

Noushin Ebadi was released on Thursday after being arrested during opposition protests at the end of last year, her sister said on Al Jazeera's Frost Over the World programme.

Noushin had been arrested at her home in Tehran in an attempt to intimidate her, Shirin said.

"The government arrested my sister and held her in prison in horrible conditions," Shirin, a human-rights activist and former judge in Iran, said.

"They thought that by doing so they could keep me quiet.

"After three weeks they realized that there was no point and I wasn't going to stay quiet. So they let her go."

Noushin was arrested during days of protests in opposition to the Iranian government from December 27.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/saudi-arabia-75-year-old-woman-faces-40-lashes-20091214

Arabia Saudita: donna di 75 anni rischia di ricevere 40 frustate

Speriamo che qualcuno legga e decida di parlarne.

The Saudi Arabian authorities must not carry out the imminent flogging and imprisonment of an elderly woman and two younger men, Amnesty International said today.

The Minister of Interior is reported to have ordered the immediate detention and flogging of a 75-year-old woman, Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi, along with two Saudi Arabian men known only as Fahad and Hadyan.

All three were found guilty in March 2009 of being in the company of members of the opposite sex who are not close relatives, known as khilwa. The verdict was subsequently upheld by a court of appeal. Attempts to lodge an appeal at the Supreme Court were recently rejected.

If imprisoned Amnesty International would consider all three to be prisoners of conscience as the organization considers the criminalization of khilwa to be a violation of the right to freedom of expression and to privacy as set out in international human rights standards.

“It is abhorrent that an elderly woman is at risk of 40 lashes. The flogging of any individual is cruel and inhumane,” said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. “We urge the authorities to prevent the imprisonment and flogging of Khamisa, Fahad and Hadyan.”

http://jta.org/news/article/2010/01/12/1010137/questioning-of-women-of-the-wall-leader-sparks-protests

Israele: il gruppo Women of The Wall sotto attacco

For more than two decades, the group has been organizing regular women’s prayer services at the Western Wall and pressing for expanded worship rights at Judaism's holiest pilgrimage site. Last week its chairwoman, Anat Hoffman, was summoned to a Jerusalem police station for questioning.

Hoffman's questioning comes nearly two months after another Women of the Wall member, Nofrat Frenkel, was arrested after she and other women began reading from a Torah scroll in the course of the group's regular prayer session at the wall, timed to coincide with the start of the new Hebrew month.

Frenkel and Hoffman were informed that they were in violation of an Israeli Supreme Court ruling that, citing concerns about public safety, denied women the right to read from the Torah in the regular women's section of the wall. The ruling resulted in the designation of a nearby site, known as Robinson's Arch, as the place for women to pray as a group with a Torah scroll.

Israel religious extremism

http://www.humanite.fr/Rayhana-aspergee-d-essence

Francia: la cantante Rayhana aggredita da estremisti islamici

Alors qu’elle se rendait au théâtre, à la Maison des métallos, pour jouer dans la pièce dont elle est par ailleurs l’auteure, Rayhana a été agressée dans la rue par deux hommes qui l’ont aspergée d’essence avant de lui jeter une cigarette qui, fort heureusement, ne s’est pas enflammée. Et ces mots, emplis de haine : « On t’avait prévenue. » Quelques jours auparavant, deux individus, les mêmes au vu de leurs propos, l’avaient déjà molestée, lui lançant : « On te prévient, on sait qui tu es. » Il faut dire que la Maison des métallos, rue Jean-Pierre-Timbaud, dans le 11e arrondissement de Paris, fait face à une mosquée d’intégristes et de fondamentalistes.

Selon son entourage, Rayhana a été aspergée d'essence et ses "agresseurs lui ont ensuite jeté une cigarette au visage, fort heureusement sans enflammer la jeune femme". "L'agression physique s'est doublée d'une agression verbale qui laisse peu de doutes sur le lien existant entre cette tentative d'homicide et les représentations en cours qui se poursuivront jusqu'a la fin", a indiqué la même source.

"Indigné par ce terrible événement, qui semble trouver son origine dans le sujet même de ce spectacle [qui donne la parole à neuf figures féminines aux prises avec le refoulement et la violence, réunies dans un hammam à Alger], je condamne avec la plus grande fermeté ces agissements d'une extrême gravité", écrit le maire dans un communiqué.

http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/01/14/l-auteure-et-comedienne-rayhana-agressee-a-paris_1291857_3224.html

Francia religious extremism violence against women

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/health_med_fit/article_bd39ae74-c8c4-5cbf-a7e0-50094afbb809.html

Usa: estremisti antiabortisti mettono centro medico sotto assedio

Since news leaked one year ago that UW Hospital, its doctor group and Meriter Hospital were proposing to add abortion procedures to the surgery center, which they jointly own, opponents have kept up a near-daily presence at the site and begun measures intended to hurt the hospitals financially.

Now a year later, with no abortion services yet offered, local anti-abortion activists say the issue has reinvigorated their movement, and they are taking at least partial credit for the delay.

UW Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Brunette, who is handling all media inquiries on the issue, said she would not comment in detail on a timeline, the planning process or opposition.

“We will not do anything that will increase the risk of security problems at the site or the threat of harassment from those who oppose providing abortions,” she said.

But she said that while no definitive date had been set for when abortions would begin, “it is true that getting ready to do them has taken longer than originally anticipated.”

Lisa Subeck, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, said it is the anti-abortion movement that is out of the mainstream.

Abortion is a common medical procedure — the National Abortion Federation estimates 35 percent of all women will have had an abortion by age 45 — that retains majority public support in most polls, she said. It should be offered wherever there is the medical capacity to do so, she said.

religious extremism Reproductive rights Usa Women Health

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60L25C20100122

Francia: Hassen Chalghoumi, imam di Drancy, appoggia i politici anti-burqa

Trovo molto interessante che lo stesso imam coraggioso che prende posizione contro il burqa sia, al contempo, fautore di dialogo ed amicizia con la comunità ebraica. Sono entrambe atteggiamenti di grande apertura mentale.

Hassen Chalghoumi, whose mosque stands in a northern Paris suburb where many Muslims live, said women who wanted to cover their faces should move to Saudi Arabia or other Muslim countries where that was a tradition.

"Yes, I am for a legal ban of the burqa, which has no place in France, a country where women have been voting since 1945," Hassen Chalghoumi, 36, told the daily Le Parisien.

Chalghoumi, who has received death threats for his promotion of dialogue with Jews, said that full face veils had no basis in Islam and "belong to a tiny minority tradition reflecting an ideology that scuttles the Muslim religion."

"The burqa is a prison for women, a tool of sexist domination and Islamist indoctrination," said Chalghoumi, whose mosque stands in Drancy, site of a wartime camp where Jews were detained before transport to Nazi concentration camps.

"Having French nationality means wanting to take part in society, at school, at work," he said.

"But with a bit of cloth over their faces, what can these women share with us? If they want to wear the veil, they can go to a country where it's the tradition, like Saudi Arabia."

France religious extremism Secularism Women Freedom

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/7094489/Imam-in-Spain-charged-for-harassing-woman-over-veil.html

Spagna: imam perseguita donna musulmana che si rifiuta di indossare il velo

An imam in north-eastern Spain has been charged with threatening a woman who refused to wear an Islamic headscarf or abide by certain Islamic customs

The prosecutors are seeking a five-year jail sentence for Mohammed Benbrahim, a Moroccan, on charges of slander, coercion and menacing behaviour against fellow Moroccan Muslim Fatima Ghailan. The two live in Cunit, a town in Catalonia, a region with a sizable Muslim population.

In a statement to the court in the nearby town of Vendrells, Mrs Ghailan, 31, said Benbrahim had harassed her and campaigned to have her removed from her job in the town hall's cultural department purely because she had a job, dressed in a Western style, drove a car and associated with non-Muslims.

She said the imam and his supporters also pressured her husband and children.

religious extremism Spain Women Freedom

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/579991-no-plan-to-close-child-bride-loophole--bahrain-minister

Bahrain: ancora nessun piano per impedire i matrimoni di ragazze sotto i 15 anni

Lawmakers in Bahrain have no plans to close a loophole that allows girls below the age of 15 to be married in the Gulf island state, despite legislation intended to ban the practice.

The government prompted a storm of controversy last year when it pushed through a law which set the minimum marriage age for girls at 15. Lawmakers from the largest opposition bloc in the Bahraini Parliament had opposed the legislation, saying it went against Islamic principles.

However, a clause in the legislation means that parents are still able to marry their daughters younger, with the consent of the courts.

Middle Est religious extremism The Girl Child

http://www.thelocal.se/24632/20100127/

Svezia: esodo ebraico dalla città di Malmo a causa dell'odio antiebraico

“Threats against Jews have increased steadily in Malmö in recent years and many young Jewish families are choosing to leave the city,” Fredrik Sieradzki of the Jewish Community of Malmö (Judiska Församlingen i Malmö) told The Local.

“Many feel that the community and local politicians have shown a lack of understanding for how the city’s Jewish residents have been marginalized.”

Last year there were 79 crimes against Jewish residents reported to the police in Malmö, roughly double the number reported in 2008, according to the Skånska Dagbladet newspaper.

In addition, Jewish cemeteries and synagogues have repeatedly been defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti, and a chapel at another Jewish burial site in Malmö was firebombed in January of last year.

There are currently an estimated 3,000 Jews living in the south of Sweden, with most residing in Malmö, Helsingborg, and Lund.

About 700 currently belong to the Jewish Community of Malmö, but the group's membership rolls have been dropping steadily in recent years.

“It’s sort of a downward spiral,” Sieradzki told The Local.

When asked to explain why Jewish religious services often require security guards and even police protection, Reepalu said much of the violence directed toward Malmö’s Jewish community come from members of extremist right-wing groups, a theory which baffles Sieradzki.

“I’m not saying we don’t have problems with neo-Nazis, but the threats aren’t as concrete,” he explained.

“More often it’s the far-left that commonly use Jews as a punching bag for their disdain toward the policies of Israel, even if Jews in Malmö have nothing to do with Israeli politics.

“It’s shameful and regrettable that such a powerful politician could be so ignorant about the threats we face.”

In addition to the far-left, Sieradzki said that a “very small segment” of the city’s growing population of Muslim immigrants from Arab countries in the Middle East are also responsible for growing anti-Semitism.

“This is a small group of extremists who have decided to go after Jews wherever they are in the world and regardless of their relationship to Israel,” he said.

antisemitism religious extremism Scandinavia

http://www.cphpost.dk/news/politics/90-politics/48084-no-burka-ban-forthcoming.html

Danimarca: niente bando anti-burqa ma regole severe nelle amministrazioni

Meglio di niente.

The government declares that burkas and niqabs do not belong in Danish society but maintains existing rules instead of proposing new legislation to ban the religious garments.

Under the current legislation, schools can require teachers and pupils to make their faces visible and public employers can require the same of home helpers, social workers and educators. Social service caseworkers can require that a client’s face is not covered when her case is being attended, and the same goes for any identification procedures, such as entry or exit on public transport.

Finance Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen and Interior and Social Affairs Minister Karen Ellemann are now scheduled to meet with Local Government Denmark and the Association of Danish Regions to ensure that the current rules are fully implemented.

religious extremism Scandinavia Women Freedom

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/world/asia/26malaysia.html

Malaysia: femministe musulmane vincono causa per la pubblicazione di un libro sull'estremismo islamico

Una buona notizia.

Free speech advocates were rejoicing Monday after a Malaysian court quashed a government ban on a book about the challenges facing Muslim women.

In a country where human rights organizations say that government censorship pervades many parts of public life, the decision was hailed as a victory for freedom of expression.

“We were hoping, we were praying that this would mark a good day for all Malaysians,” said Professor Norani Othman, the editor of the banned book, “Muslim Women and the Challenges of Islamic Extremism,” a collection of essays by international scholars. “It’s a good day for academic freedom.”

In July 2008, the Ministry of Home Affairs banned the book, published in 2005 by Sisters in Islam, a Malaysian nongovernmental organization, on the grounds that it was “prejudicial to public order” and that it could confuse Muslims, particularly Muslim women.

Sisters in Islam filed a judicial review in the Kuala Lumpur High Court in December 2008 on the basis that the ban was unconstitutional because it infringed upon freedom of speech and religion and gender equality.

He ordered the government to pay court costs incurred by Sisters in Islam.

http://aureliefilippetti.free.fr/index.php?post/2010/01/29/Fran%C3%A7ois-Grosdidier-refuse-une-loi-d%E2%80%99interdiction-claire-de-la-burqa-en-France-contre-la-majorit%C3%A9-des-d%C3%A9put%C3%A9s-UMP-!

Francia: le femministe laiche protestano contro il partito socialista che non appoggia il bando anti-burqa

Ci sono ovviamente alcune lodevoli eccezioni in seno al Parti socialiste come Aurélie Filippetti.

Parce que le Parti Socialiste a déclaré vendredi qu’il ne voterait pas les propositions de la Mission Parlementaire sur le port du voile intégral, nous avons protesté ce matin devant le siège du Parti, rue Solférino, pour demander une clarification de leur position et le soutien à la mission parlementaire.

Nous sommes venues dire au deuxième Parti de France et à toutes les forces progressistes de ne pas abandonner les femmes face à la violence et aux forces obscurantistes

Le Parti Socialiste ne peut participer pendant plusieurs mois à cette mission d’information et esquiver toutes prises de décisions. Etre contre la burqa c’est avoir le courage politique d’agir, c’est avoir une position claire !

Di seguito la reazione della Filippetti:

La burqa n’est pas un phénomène religieux, ce n’est pas une prescription de l’islam. C’est une dérive sectaire et une insulte à la dignité de la personne humaine à travers l’humiliation de la femme. Les musulmans et les musulmanes ne veulent pas être assimilées à celles qui portent la burqa ou à ceux qui les obligent à les porter, et l’ensemble de la collectivité nationale ne veut pas voir de burqa dans ses rues.

Moi je suis claire : la burqa n’a pas sa place dans notre République. Je suis donc favorable à une loi l’interdisant sur l’ensemble de notre territoire, y compris sur la voie publique. C’est une atteinte insupportable à la dignité de la femme et de tous ceux qui sont amenés à croiser des individus ainsi dissimulés dans cette prison de tissu.

Par ailleurs, nous continuerons ces interpellations en direction de toutes les forces progressistes du pays, demandons aujourd’hui au Parti Socialiste d’écouter le courage d’Aurélie Filippetti et de soutenir le rapport de la mission parlementaire auquel ils ont participé pendant 6 mois!

http://www.niputesnisoumises.com/blog/2010/01/25/%C2%AB-reviens-marianne-ils-sont-devenus-fous-ils-veulent-nous-mettre-la-burqa-%C2%BB/

France religious extremism Secularism Women Freedom

http://www.thelocal.se/24654/20100128/

Svezia: nessun bando anti-burqa all'orizzonte

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said definitively on Thursday that he is against introducing legislation which would ban women from wearing burqas.

“We don’t support creating a law to regulate it, it should be a free choice. It would only turn a rarely occurring problem into something bigger than it is. However, it may be relevant to have rules in certain workplaces for purely professional reasons but it's not something that should be solved through legislation,” Qarlsson told TT.

Reinfeldt highlighted the need for a society-wide debate that is not just restricted to the issue of burqas.

religious extremism Scandinavia Women Freedom

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Muslim-leader-blasts-gay-lifestyle

Jamaica: leader islamico giustifica la pena di morte per le persone gay

PRESIDENT of the Islamic Council of Jamaica, Mustafa Muhammad, says he agrees with the Sharia law which prescribes death for people who openly flaunt homosexual behaviour.

Muhammad did not mince words as he lashed out against what he described as an unclean, unnatural lifestyle.

“It is illegal and in the Sharia law the punishment is death. If you follow Christianity it is a crime in the sight of God. He destroyed a whole city because of this thing. It is an ungodly practice and I apologise to no one for this,” Muhammad said.

Under Jamaican law, persons who practice buggery — the sexual penetration of the anus — can be sent to prison for up to 10 years.

Central america homophobia religious extremism

http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20100128-24873.html

Germania: politica turco-tedesca apre il dibattito su eventuale restrizione del burqa

E' interessante che sia proprio una donna di origini turche a lanciare il dibattito.

“The burka is a full-body prison that deeply threatens human rights,”she told daily Frankfurter Rundschau. “It would be an important signal for Germany to ban the burka.”

A burka ban in German should include schools, universities, and high-security zones such as banks and airports, she said.

Meanwhile the Free Democrats' integration expert Hartfrid Wolff called the burka a particular form of discrimination that courts should not tolerate.

Germany religious extremism Secularism Women Freedom

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1247755/We-respect-Muslim-rights-want-Islamic-countries-respect-rights-warns-French-Catholic-Church-speaks-burka-ban.html

Francia: la chiesa cattolica si oppone al bando anti-burqa

e corre in soccorso agli estremisti islamici in nome della reciprocità di diritti. Vorrei sapere come mai, sempre in nome della reciprocità, non hanno chiesto agli uomini di indossare loro il burqa.

The French Catholic Church warned Paris today against banning Muslim full-face veils.

Bishop Michel Santier, the top French Catholic official for inter-religious dialogue, said very few women in France wore full veils and Muslim leaders agreed it was not obligatory in Islam.

France religious extremism

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0203/French-citizenship-denied-to-man-with-veiled-wife

Francia: cittadinanza negata a uomo musulmano che obbligava la moglie ad indossare il burqa

Considerare la propria moglie come un essere inferiore non è altro che misoginia allo stato puro. Vive la France!

France’s immigration minister said he is refusing citizenship to a Muslim man who called his wife “an inferior being,” and forced her to wear a full veil in public, an announcement that plays well with French public support for a burqa ban.

France religious extremism sexism

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/un-urged-condemn-nicaragua-abortion-ban-20100204

Nicaragua: critica alla legge antiabortista

UN member states should urge Nicaragua to repeal its ban on abortion following a human rights' review of the country on 8 February, Amnesty International said on Thursday.

"Nicaragua's ban on abortion is the result of a shocking and draconian law that is compelling rape and incest victims to carry pregnancies to term and causing a rise in maternal deaths," said Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International. "UN member states should take this opportunity to hold Nicaragua to account for a law that violates women's right to life, health and dignity."

The organization also reiterated its call on the Nicaraguan authorities to decriminalize abortion in all circumstances. Amnesty International said Nicaragua should ensure that women and girls have access to safe and legal abortion services when an unwanted pregnancy is a result of rape or incest or when it threatens the woman's health or life.

The organization also found an increase in maternal deaths since the introduction of the ban.

In the first 19 weeks of 2009, some 16 per cent of all maternal deaths were as a consequence of unsafe abortion compared to none in the same period in 2008.

Nicaragua's ban on abortion is a cause of grave concern in the wider international community. Tens of thousands of Amnesty International activists appalled at the impact of the ban on women's and girl's human rights, have signed petitions and contacted the Nicaraguan authorities to call for the repeal of the law.

Central america religious extremism Reproductive rights Women Health

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/58915,news-comment,news-politics,mob-of-80-muslims-attack-hassen-chalghoumis-mosque-in-paris-suburb-burka

Francia: l'imam di Drancy minacciato da estremisti islamici per la sua amicizia con gli ebrei e per condannare il burqa

Hassen Chalghoumi è un bravo ragazzo. Ce ne vorrebbero tanti come lui.

The Tunisian-born Chalghoumi, who is a naturalised French citizen and proud of it, told the paper: "Having French nationality means wanting to take part in society, at school, at work. But with a bit of cloth over their faces, what can these women share with us? If they want to wear the veil, they can go to a country where it's the tradition, like Saudi Arabia."

He was chairing a meeting of the Conference of Imams, a body established in 2009 to promote better relations between France’s faiths, particularly Jews and Muslims, when a mob of 80 men forced their way into the building. There was a brief scuffle between the two groups, ending in a handful of invaders grabbing the microphone. "They started to cry Allah Akbar and God is great," recounted Chalghoumi. "Then they insulted me, my mosque, the Jewish community and the [French] Republic. They left after an hour and a half."

According to a member of the Conference of Imams, the mob condemned Chalghoumi as an apostate and threatened him with "liquidation, this imam of the Jews".

As for Chalghoumi, he is now under police protection, as is his mosque, and he is promising to press charges against his aggressors. While he has received support from the Christian and Jewish communities throughout France, the reaction from many of his fellow Muslims has been luke-warm.

antisemitism France religious extremism sexism

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/04/girl-buried-alive-turkey

Turchia: ragazza seppellita viva perchè aveva socializzato con i maschi

Quanto spazio avrà questa notizia nei media generalisti? C'è da essere terrificati da come possa essere misogina e violenta una cultura da indurre un padre, con la complicità di tutta la famiglia, a seppellire viva la figlia.

Turkish police have recovered the body of a 16-year-old girl they say was buried alive by relatives in an "honour" killing carried out as punishment for talking to boys.

The girl, who has been identified only by the initials MM, was found in a sitting position with her hands tied, in a two-metre hole dug under a chicken pen outside her home in Kahta, in the south-eastern province of Adiyaman.

Police made the discovery in December after a tip-off from an informant, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on its website.

The girl had previously been reported missing.

The informant told the police she had been killed following a family "council" meeting.

A postmortem examination revealed large amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach, indicating that she had been alive and conscious while being buried. Her body showed no signs of bruising.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20100205/tuk-gaza-link-to-rise-in-anti-semitism-dba1618.html

Gran Bretagna: aumento dell'odio antiebraico

More than 924 reports of bigoted violence and abuse were received last year by the Jewish Community Security Trust (CST).

The charity, which monitors anti-Semitism in Britain, said the figures marked the worst year since records began in 1984. They included violent street attacks, arson, egg-throwing, racist graffiti, website hacking and hate mail.

Of the 924 incidents, 124 were rated as violent, the highest annual number the CST has recorded. Three of these involved a threat to life or grievous bodily harm, including an attempt to set fire to a rabbi's house.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE61403V20100205

antisemitism religious extremism United Kingdom

http://www.wluml.org/node/5953

Iran: arrestata l'avvocata delle donne Maryam Ghambari

Maryam, figura di spicco del movimento delle donne in Iran, è solo l'ultima di una lunga serie di persone, donne e uomini, perseguitati dal regime teocratico.

On the morning of Monday 8 February, 3am local time, Maryam Ghanbari, a 27 years-old lawyer and an active member of Meydaan (Women’s Field), was arrested at her home in Tehran by five Iranian security officers, according to her lawyer, Mina Jafari. The location to which Ms. Ghanbari was taken and where she is currently being held is unknown, as well as any formal charges she might be facing.

Ms Ghanbari has been very active in the national women’s movement’s struggles against the draft of a new family law that includes laws on divorce, fixed-term marriage contracts for men, child custody, and legislation that would allow a man to take a second wife without the permission of the first in certain circumstances. She is also part of the Volunteer Lawyers Network, which is a voluntary legal service for vulnerable women.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7017810.ece

Gran Bretagna: Amnesty International licenzia Gita Sahgal, capo della gender unit, perchè si è permessa di criticare la collaborazione di Amnesty con un gruppo filo-talebano

Davvero è deprimente e sconcertante vedere come, persino all'interno di un'organizzazione universalmente riconosciuta per la lotta per i diritti umani come Amnesty International, la corrente del relativismo culturale riesca a prendere il sopravvento e a mettere a tacere le voci di dissenso, come quelle di Gita, una autentica femminista.

Gita Sahgal, head of the gender unit at Amnesty’s international secretariat, believes that collaborating with Moazzam Begg, a former British inmate at Guantanamo Bay, “fundamentally damages” the organisation’s reputation.

In an email sent to Amnesty’s top bosses, she suggests the charity has mistakenly allied itself with Begg and his “jihadi” group, Cageprisoners, out of fear of being branded racist and Islamophobic.

Sahgal, who has researched religious fundamentalism for 20 years, has decided to go public because she feels Amnesty has ignored her warnings for the past two years about the involvement of Begg in the charity’s Counter Terror With Justice campaign.

“I believe the campaign fundamentally damages Amnesty International’s integrity and, more importantly, constitutes a threat to human rights,” Sahgal wrote in an email to the organisation’s leaders on January 30. “To be appearing on platforms with Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban, whom we treat as a human rights defender, is a gross error of judgment.”

Sahgal, 53, is not the only critic of Begg at Amnesty. In 2008 a board member of its US arm opposed Begg’s appearance, via videolink, at its AGM, but was overruled.

In an email to her colleagues at Amnesty on January 30 she wrote:
“I believe the campaign fundamentally damages Amnesty International’s integrity and, more importantly, constitutes a threat to human rights. To be appearing on platforms with Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban, whom we treat as a human rights defender, is a gross error of judgment.”

STOP PRESS: 16.53 Sunday - Gita Sahgal has been suspended

http://www.spectator.co.uk/martinbright/5757557/amnesty-international-moazzam-begg-and-the-bravery-of-gita-sahgal.thtml

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/david_aaronovitch/article7019817.ece

Within a few hours of the article being published, Amnesty had suspended me from my job.

The tragedy here is that the necessary defence of the torture standard has been inexcusably allied to the political legitimization of individuals and organisations belonging to the Islamic Right.

I have been a human rights campaigner for over three decades, defending the rights of women and ethnic minorities, defending religious freedom and the rights of victims of torture, and campaigning against illegal detention and state repression. I have raised the issue of the association of Amnesty International with groups such as Begg’s consistently within the organisation. I have now been suspended for trying to do my job and staying faithful to Amnesty’s mission to protect and defend human rights universally and impartially.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/martinbright/5759197/gita-sahgal-a-statement.thtml

http://fleshisgrass.wordpress.com/2010/02/07/defend-gita-sahgal-from-her-employers-amnesty-international/

http://www.human-rights-for-all.org/

religious extremism United Kingdom Women Freedom

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=50197

Kenya: estremisti cristiani antiabortisti strumentali per la proibizione dell'aborto legale nella costituzione

The threat by influential Christian leaders to mobilise a vote against Kenya's draft constitution if it does not explicitly prevent any expansion of abortion rights appears to have succeeded.

The draft assembled by a Committee of Experts for consideration by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) contained no specific reference to abortion, but the National Council of Churches (NCCK) and the Catholic Church were up in arms about a phrase stating that "everyone has a right to life" while failing to define where life begins and ends.

Phrases guaranteeing everyone the right to health care (including reproductive health care) and stating that no one may be refused emergency medical treatment have been deleted; added is a phrase ruling out abortion "unless in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner the life of the mother is in danger".

Grace Maingi-Kimani, the acting executive director of Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya (FIDA), says the move by the PSC is disheartening and will serve to limit access to choice for women and young girls who are raped and end up pregnant.

"The PSC was not thinking about the hundreds of women who were raped during the post-election violence and were forced to have children sired by men who violated them and possibly killed their husbands. The PSC was not thinking of young girls who are abused by their teachers and forced to cut short their education due to unwanted pregnancies," Kimani says.

Currently, abortion is permitted in Kenya only to save the life of the mother. Despite this, every year large numbers of women seek assistance to terminate pregnancies wherever they can find it.

Dr Joachim Osur, an advisor with reproductive health rights organisation IPAS - a member of the RHRA - argues that opponents of expanded abortion rights in Kenya have their heads buried in the sand.

"Despite termination of pregnancy being restricted in Kenya, induced abortions remain common. In Kenya it is estimated that 300,000 spontaneous and induced abortions occur annually, about 29 abortions for every 100 live births," says Osur.

"Unsafe abortions contribute a significant margin to the maternal deaths in this country at 30 percent. It is estimated that 2,000 women die annually from unsafe abortions."

Africa religious extremism Reproductive rights Women Health

http://www.forward.com/articles/125079/

Polonia: integralisti cattolici lanciano messaggi di odio antiebraico da Radio Marjia

Anti-Semitic rhetoric is heard on broadcasts from listeners who call the station, as well as from the station’s own commentators and panelists.

On January 11, 2009, for example, Dr. Krzysztof Kawecki justified the persecution of Jews between the two world wars and claimed, “The boycotting of Jewish stores was necessary for self defense against the alien competition.”

Professor Boguslaw Wolniewicz criticized the nation’s president Lech Kaczynski for participating in a Hanukkah service. “What should we Poles care about Hanukkah,” he said in a broadcast on January 31 last year. “It looked awful for the government to do this.”

On march 27,2006 Michaelkiewicz addressed Holocaust restitution efforts this way in a Radio Maryja broadcast:

“While we are implementing democracy, the Judeans are sneaking up from the back trying to force our government to pay protection money, concealing the fact by calling it compensation.”

My request to interview Father Rydzik in Torun was declined.

”You have to understand that the Catholic Church does not want to act against Rydzik and sow divisions within the church,” said Katarzyna Bilok, who has studied the station,” adding that “the church sees benefits from the leadership of Father Rydzik because he is a powerful evangelizer.”

antisemitism Est Europe religious extremism

http://www.austriantimes.at/news/General_News/2010-02-04/20323/Female_genital_mutilation_remains_problem%2C_group_warns

Austria: migliaia di ragazze immigrate subiscono la mutilazione genitale femminile

Between 6,000 and 8,000 women in Austria have been forced to undergo genital mutilation, according to Social Democratic MP Petra Bayr.

Bayr, a member of the Austrian Platform against Female Genital Mutilation, said today: "Many parents believe they are doing their daughters a favour by forcing them to undergo it."

Bayr said the Platform wanted 6 February - proclaimed "International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation" at the Inter African Committee conference seven years ago - to become a UN commemorative day to increase public awareness of the problem.

The Platform will also begin a Europe-wide campaign against genital mutilation with an event on 17 February at Palais Epstein in Vienna.

Greens’ women’s spokeswoman Judith Schwentner called for asylum for all prospective victims of genital mutilation, "a serious assault on the physical and sexual integrity of women and a serious violation of human rights."

The Platform claims 155 million women around the world have been subject to genital mutilation, and Amnesty International says three million women a year, or 8,000 a day, are forced to undergo it.

Est Europe religious extremism violence against women Women Health

http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuDet_-Le-martyre-des-Algeriennes-de-Hassi-Messaoud-_3639-1267188_actu.Htm

Francia: algerine sopravvissute agli attacchi di estremisti islamici raccontano la loro storia

La haine des hommes s'est abattue sur elles comme sur des centaines d'autres femmes seules, en 2001, dans la grande ville pétrolière du désert algérien. Fatiha et Rahmouna ont été parmi les seules à se battre pour demander réparation du lynchage collectif. Ces femmes du peuple, sans instruction, témoignent du calvaire qu'elles ont vécu pendant les années noires du terrorisme.

Le 12 juillet, le paradis se transforme en enfer. Des centaines d'hommes de Hassi Messaoud se déchaînent. Des dizaines, peut-être des centaines de femmes sont insultées, battues, humiliées, violées aux cris d'Allah Akbar. Parmi les agresseurs il y a le voisin, l'épicier du coin. Fatiha et Rahmouna sont transportées quasi-mourantes à l'hôpital.

Fatiha et Rahmouna font partie de ces femmes battues, veuves ou répudiées par des maris tout-puissants, l'opprobre de leur famille en plus. De 1991 à 2001, le terrorisme gangrène l'Algérie. « La situation des femmes a connu une énorme régression, dit Nadia Kaci. Elles étaient désignées comme la raison de tous les maux. Les courants religieux ont fait un travail terrible. 3 000 à 7 000 femmes auraient disparu, probablement enlevées par le GIA. » Hassi Messaoud, sécurisée grâce aux sociétés étrangères qui s'y trouvent, est un refuge. « Leurs familles les laissent y aller seules car la crise économique sévit, et l'argent qu'elles y gagnent est bienvenu. »

« Il y a eu un tel désir d'étouffer l'affaire ! Deux femmes au moins ont disparu, mais il y en a sûrement beaucoup plus. 39 blessées, parmi de nombreuses autres certainement, ont accepté de porter plainte. Certaines se sont directement enfuies en bus, en taxi, pour ne plus revenir, et sans jamais demander réparation. » 3 000 femmes, peut-être, vivaient seules à Hassi Messaoud.

La situation est toujours difficile pour les femmes d'Algérie. Nadia va enquêter sur d'autres lynchages, qui ont fait quelques lignes dans la presse. Fatiha et Rahmouna retournent en Algérie. « Ça nous fait peur. Mais nous avons dit notre vérité. »

quelques lignes dans la presse! qualche riga nei giornali....vergognoso!

France religious extremism violence against women

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61G2OJ20100217

Malaysia: donne subiscono punizioni corporali per aver infranto legge islamica

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the sentences were carried out on February 9 after a religious court found them guilty of having sex out of wedlock. Two of the women were whipped six times.

"It was carried out perfectly."" Hishammuddin said in a statement. "Even though the caning did not injure them (the women), they said it caused pain within them."

The canings come at a time when the National Front Coalition is trying to win over Malay Muslims who make up 55 percent of the 28 million population to stay in power after Chinese and Indian minorities deserted the coalition in 2008 elections.

That means that the linchpin of the governing coalition, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), cannot afford to offend conservative voters who are mostly Malay and live in rural areas.

But this could further alienate the sizeable ethnic minorities who are concerned about the rise of Shariah laws and increasing Islamisation in Malaysia, analysts have previously said.

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50333

Gaza: minacce per le donne giornaliste da parte degli estremisti islamici

Last year a shadowy group in Gaza calling itself 'Swords of Islam' threatened to slit the throats of female journalists who appeared on TV with their heads uncovered, calling them "shameless and immoral."

Gaza is a deeply conservative patriarchal society where many people believe a woman’s place is in the home with her husband and children. The free mingling of the sexes is frowned upon.

This attitude has impacted negatively on Gaza’s female reporters, especially those married with children, as they try to report.

The issue came to a head recently when dozens of female journalists held a rally outside the office of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) in Gaza City and demanded that membership of the syndicate be opened to women.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14295198

Usa: integralisti cristiani alla Stanford University trovano resistenza da parte degli studenti ebrei e gay

Members of the Westboro Church, a traveling theater of religious extremists, gathered on Arastradero Road to flay the most unlikely victims: school children already traumatized by the five recent suicides of Gunn-associated students.

"You'll be in front of the train next! God laughs at your calamity!" shouted Margie Phelps, the daughter of Westboro Church founder Fred Phelps, a disbarred lawyer with a craving for publicity and a fixation on hatred of homosexuality.

The Topeka-based group then traveled to Stanford University's Taube Hillel House, where they were greeted by the dancing Stanford Tree mascot, the Stanford Band, several hundred students and a bagpipe player performing a haunting rendition of "Amazing Grace."

It was only 8 a.m., an hour when most college students are still asleep. But word had spread across campus through e-mails from student groups and conversation, and a bold crowd awaited the far-outnumbered church members.

Some students posed for pictures with the visitors, holding signs like one that read "Gay for Fred Phelps."

"I just wanted to come out and show them that being a Christian isn't about hate, it's about love," said Monica Alcazar, a Stanford freshman and Gunn graduate.

antisemitism homophobia religious extremism Usa

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/sweden/7278532/Jews-leave-Swedish-city-after-sharp-rise-in-anti-Semitic-hate-crimes.html

Svezia: la comunità ebraica minacciata dagli integralisti musulmani

In 2009, a chapel serving the city's 700-strong Jewish community was set ablaze. Jewish cemeteries were repeatedly desecrated, worshippers were abused on their way home from prayer, and "Hitler" was mockingly chanted in the streets by masked men.

"I never thought I would see this hatred again in my lifetime, not in Sweden anyway," Mrs Popinski told The Sunday Telegraph.

"This new hatred comes from Muslim immigrants. The Jewish people are afraid now."

The future looks so bleak that by one estimate, around 30 Jewish families have already left for Stockholm, England or Israel, and more are preparing to go.

With its young people planning new lives elsewhere, the remaining Jewish households, many of whom are made up of Holocaust survivors and their descendants, fear they will soon be gone altogether. Mrs Popinski, an 86-year-old widow, said she has even encountered hostility when invited to talk about the Holocaust in schools.

"Muslim schoolchildren often ignore me now when I talk about my experiences in the camps," she said. "It is because of what their parents tell them about Jews. The hatreds of the Middle East have come to Malmo. Schools in Muslim areas of the city simply won't invite Holocaust survivors to speak any more."

The city's synagogue has guards and rocket-proof glass in the windows, while the Jewish kindergarten can only be reached through thick steel security doors

antisemitism religious extremism Scandinavia

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-46408620100223

Arabia Saudita: minacce di morte per chi lotta a favore della parità tra uomini e donne

A prominent Saudi cleric has issued an edict calling for opponents of the kingdom's strict segregation of men and women to be put to death if they refuse to abandon their ideas.

"Anyone who accepts that his daughter, sister or wife works with men or attend mixed-gender schooling cares little about his honour and this is a type of pimping," Barrak said.

Barrak, believed to be 77, does not hold a government position but he is viewed by Islamists as the leading independent authority of Saudi Arabia's hardline version of Sunni Islam, often termed Wahhabism.

Western diplomats believe that King Abdullah's push for reforms is resisted by a mainly older generation of clerics who still control the religious establishment.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23809775-islamic-preacher-who-called-jews-filth-to-speak-at-kings-colleges.do

Regno Unito: predicatore islamico misogno, antisemita e antigay invitato a parlare alla London University

NO COMMENT!

A London university has been condemned for inviting an Islamic preacher with anti-Semitic and homophobic views to give a lecture to students.

Sheikh Quick has denounced the �filth� of Jews and once gave a televised lecture in which he said the Islamic position on homosexuality is �death�.

He added: �Muslims are going to have to take a stand [against homosexuals] and it's not enough to call names.�

Usamah has been filmed advocating the killing of gays and Muslims who leave their faith and has described women as “deficient” and “incomplete”.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/02/25/homophobic-and-anti-semitic-preacher-invited-to-london-university/

antisemitism homophobia religious extremism sexism United Kingdom

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/03/07/britmuslim-leader-forced-to-dress-conservativelya.html

Gran Bretagna: estremisti islamici minacciano consigliera musulmana progressista per via dell'abbigliamento

NO COMMENT!

Shiria Khatun, 38, told the police that callers threatened to kill her and her four young children.

"As a councillor I'm meant to be a strong woman and I didn't want to show that I was bothered, but it's gone too far," the Daily Express quoted her, as saying.

"They're really disgusting. They would talk about my Western clothes, my tight jeans and my body parts," she added.

religious extremism United Kingdom

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8550445.stm

Gaza: gli estremisti islamici di Hamas impediscono ai parrucchieri maschi di lavorare con clienti donne

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has said it is to ban male hairdressers from working in salons where women get their hair styled.

The announcement is part of a campaign by Hamas to introduce more Islamic customs to the Gaza Strip.

The Interior Ministry have said there will be legal consequences for anyone who disobeys the new rule, but they have not specified what they might be.

Since the Islamist movement took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, they have introduced a number of rules that move toward tightening customary Islamic restrictions on the way men and women interact.

Middle Est religious extremism Women Freedom

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-03/saudi-woman-gets-300-lashes-jail-for-complaints-group-says.html

Arabia Saudita: donna condannata a 300 colpi di frusta e 18 mesi di prigione per essere andata in tribunale senza il guardiano maschio

Ricordo per inciso che in Arabia Saudita le donne non possono circolare se non accompagnate da un uomo della famiglia o senza almeno un permesso scritto ovviamente da un uomo. Lo trovo aberrante.

A Saudi woman who filed harassment claims in Saudi Arabia without being accompanied by a male relative has been sentenced to 300 lashes and 18 months in jail, Human Rights Watch said.

Sawsan Salim lodged a series of complaints in 2007 at government offices and in court in the northern region of Qasim in which she alleged harassment by local officials, the New York-based rights group said. She was sentenced in January on charges of making “spurious complaints” against government officials and appearing “without a male guardian,” the group said in an e-mailed statement received today.

Wahhabism, a Sunni Muslim movement, is the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world that doesn’t allow women to drive on public roads.

http://www.rights.no/publisher/publisher.asp?id=59&tekstid=3343

Norvegia: riconoscimento pubblico ad estremista musulmano che vuole propibire l'omosessualità

C'è del marcio in Norvegia. Vergogna, vergogna, vergogna!

It was in June of last year that Mahdi Hassan of Tynset was named the ”Role Model of the Year.” The point of the prize is for the Ministry of Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion to salute energetic souls who perform a major and important service to their local communities. The award is meant to go to people who are good role models, who promote anti-discrimination, and who establish dialogue across generational lines.

As early as last summer, Hassan told the newspaper Arbeidets Rett that he wants a ban on homosexuality, based on the Koran: “Homosexuality is prohibited in the Koran, and I believe in my religion.” Now Arbeidets Rett has asked Hassan if that is still his opinion, and it is. The head of the Norwegian LGBT Association, Karen Pinholt, doesn’t thinks this man is a good role model: “It appears as if the Ministry of Inclusion has forgotten to include gay people here.”

But if Mahdi Hassan agrees in principle with a ban on homosexuality, he does not oppose, in principle, the death penalty for gays: “That must be up to each individual country to decide,” he told the newspaper.

homophobia religious extremism Scandinavia

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/que-government-forced-woman-from-classroom-for-refusing-to-remove-face-covering-86006777.html

Canada: musulmana integralista rifiuta di togliere il niqab durante il corso di francese e viene espulsa dal corso

Evidentemente la signora crede di essere superiore agli altri e che per lei si debbano applicare regole speciali.

After months of balancing a woman's religious beliefs with her desire to learn French, the Quebec government stepped into her classroom to offer an ultimatum: take off the niqab or drop the course.

The woman opted to keep her Islamic face-covering and has filed a human-rights complaint against the government.

The college was initially willing to accommodate her, but eventually balked as her demands escalated.

According to a report in a Montreal newspaper, she was allowed to give an oral with her back to the class and asked men to move so they wouldn't face each other.

The breaking point occurred when the woman again refused to take off the niqab, though teachers had stressed it was essential they see her face to correct her enunciation and facial expressions.

Several groups, including several teachers' unions, applauded the government for drawing a line in the sand. So did moderate Muslim groups.

"When people come to Canada we're not coming to the Islamic Republic of Canada," said Raheel Raza, a Muslim women's-rights activist who has argued for a public ban on religious face coverings.

"We are coming here because we want that freedom, we want the separation of church and state."

Canada religious extremism Women Education

http://www.leparisien.fr/seine-saint-denis-93/la-mosquee-de-drancy-fermee-09-03-2010-842029.php

Francia: chiusa la moschea di Drancy guidata dall'imam anti-burqa a causa di violenze degli estremisti islamici

Tutta la mia solidarietà all'imam di Drancy.

Dans un communiqué rédigé en début d’après-midi, Hassen Chalghoumi et les responsables du lieu de culte, expliquent avoir pris cette décision car «il n’est pas possible de garantir la sécurité des fidèles».

Selon Farid Hannache, le conseiller de l'imam, le bureau de l'association a décidé de fermer la mosquée jusqu'à nouvel ordre". Il a précisé que la décision fait suite à l'agression lundi soir du muezzin par des membres du collectif pro-palestinien Cheikh Yacine, qui mène une fronde contre Hassan Chalghoumi, qualifié d'"imam des sionistes".

http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/la-mosquee-de-drancy-fermee-jusqu-a-nouvel-ordre_853947.html

antisemitism France religious extremism

http://www.thenews.pl/national/artykul126999_catholic-weekly-loses-abortion-killer-case-.html

Polonia: giornale cattolico integralista perde causa per aver paragonato ai nazisti una donna che voleva abortire

The Gosc Niedzielny Catholic weekly lost its appeal, Friday, after accusing a woman of trying to kill her unborn baby, the Court of Appeal in Katowice ruled.

The court in Katowice upheld an earlier lower court’s ruling that Gosc Niedzielny and its publisher – archdiocese in the southern city of Katowice – will have to apologize to Alicja Tysiac and pay her 30,000 zloty (7,200 euro) in damages.

Gosc Niedzielny published a series of articles in which it accused Tysiac of attempting to kill her unborn baby and compared the woman with Nazi war criminals. Both courts decided that describing Alicja Tysiac’s case the weekly deliberately used expressions which were offensive, disdainful and aggressive. “Christianity is the religion of love and so should the language of the Catholic weekly be. Instead, it chose the language of hate,” said the judge.

Est Europe religious extremism Reproductive rights

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/03/11/13201531.html

Canada: preoccupazione per richieste di ricongiungimento familiare con ragazze adolescenti da parte di uomini musulmani

Federal immigration officials say there’s little they can do to stop “child brides” from being sponsored into Canada by much older husbands who wed them in arranged marriages abroad.

Muslim men, who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents return to their homeland to wed a “child bride” in an arranged marriage in which a dowry is given to the girl’s parents. Officials said some of the brides can be 14 years old or younger and are “forced” to marry. The practice occurs in a host of countries including: Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Lebanon.

William Hawke, of immigration’s Permanent Resident Unit, said the young brides won’t be allowed in Canada.

“Sponsorship applications submitted for a spouse under 16 will be refused,” he said.

Canada religious extremism The Girl Child

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Afghanistan/abused-women-afghanistan-helped-secret-shelters/story?id=10074409

Afghanistan: continua la violenza estrema contro le donne

Se gli eserciti Nato partono dall'Afghanistan, chi difenderà queste donne? I pacifisti?

Not every Afghan is hoping the Americans soon leave their country. Some are actually dreading it.

"You can't leave Afghanistan," Manizha, who helps run a shelter for battered women, recently warned "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer. Behind Manizha, women who were beaten, bruised and badly scarred shake their heads in urgent agreement.

Among the most heartbreaking is the story of Bebe. She is 17, and she says her face was mutilated by her husband, a Talib. Bebe's nose and ears were cut off as punishment for running away to escape the constant pummeling by her husband and his family.

She was married to the radical Muslim when she was 12, Manizha told Sawyer. Her marriage was the result of an outlawed tribal custom called "baad" in which the daughter was given away as compensation for a crime or offense committed by a male member of Bebe's family.

Girls given away in baad transactions are often little more than slaves. Bebe was forced to sleep in a stable with the animals, and beatings and pain became part of life for her.

Bebe tried to escape but was captured. Her husband was ordered by the Taliban to punish her by disfiguring her face. While her brother-in-law held her down, her husband sliced off her nose and ears.

Left for dead, she crawled to her uncle's house, but he refused to help. Bebe staggered on to her grandfather's house. He called her father. The local Afghan hospital was unable to treat her wounds, and suggested her father take her to the nearby U.S. military base, Forward Operating Base Ripley in Oruzgan province.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2690763

Canada: gli uffici pubblici nel Quebec rifiutano di accomodare le estremiste musulmane col niqab

"From now on, for a woman who is veiled with a niqab or a burka and comes to our office asking to be photographed by a woman, the answer is no," said Marc Lortie, spokesman for the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec. "Line up again, or come back another day."

"If you want to integrate into Quebec society, here are our values," Immigration Minister Yolande James told reporters last week. "We want to see your face."

After the health-insurance board sought its expertise on the niqab issue, the rights commission published its opinion on Monday that requiring a veiled woman to briefly expose her face to a male employee is not a significant breach of her rights.

A group calling itself "Intellectuals for secularism" published a declaration on Tuesday arguing for a completely secular government. No government employee should be allowed to wear any religious symbol, and the crucifix that hangs in the National Assembly should be removed, the group, which includes former premier Bernard Landry, argued.

Canada religious extremism Secularism

http://www.gaucherepublicaine.org/respublica/soad-baba-aissa-les-integristes-catholiques-polonais-ont-compare-%C2%AB-alicja-aux-criminels-nazis-et-l%E2%80%99ivg-a-la-shoah-%C2%BB/1736

Polonia: Soad Baba Aïssa, araba laica, ha sostenuto Alicja Tysiac attaccata dagli integralisti cattolici

J’ai activement participé à la campagne 20 ans barakat (20 ans, ça suffit ! pour l’abrogation du Code de la famille algérien, fondée sur les préceptes de la chari’a).

Lourdement handicapée, mère de deux enfants, Alicja redoutait une nouvelle grossesse. Face à des médecins qui ont nié son handicap, elle n’a pas réussi à obtenir une autorisation d’IVG légale et a dû mener sa grossesse à terme.
En Pologne, il n’existe aucun recours pour une femme face au refus de l’IVG. C’est contre ce refus et pour avoir été la victime du système fondamentaliste qu’Alicja a pu, soutenue par les féministes polonaises, faire condamner en 2007, l’État polonais par la Cour Européenne des Droits de l’Homme pour refus d’IVG légale à lui verser la somme de 25 000 euros de dommages et intérêts.

Elle a été traitée de « meurtrière en puissance car elle voulait tuer son enfant », « nous vivons dans un monde où une mère reçoit une récompense, parce qu’elle voulait absolument tuer son enfant, mais on ne le lui a pas permis ». Ce journal appelle à obliger Alicja « à rendre son enfant puisqu’elle ne le voulait pas ». Elle a été comparée aux criminels nazis et l’IVG à la Shoah. Alicja a contre-attaqué pour préserver son honneur et sa vie.

http://www.gaucherepublicaine.org/combat-feministe/alicja-tysiac-a-gagne-une-seconde-fois-la-solidarite-internationale-aussi/1827

Est Europe religious extremism Reproductive rights

http://www.la-croix.com/afp.static/pages/100313191108.itamnzg1.htm

Israele: manifestazione laica contro la segregazione tra uomini e donne nei bus

Jérusalem: manifestation laïque contre la séparation des sexes dans des bus

Plus d'un millier d'Israéliens, hommes et femmes, ont manifesté samedi soir à Jérusalem-ouest contre la séparation des sexes sur certaine lignes d'autobus desservant des quartiers ultra-orthodoxes en Israël

La chef de l'opposition et dirigeante du parti centriste Kadima, Tzipi Livni, a adressé un message de soutien à la manifestation, proclamant "ceux qui relèguent des femmes à l'arrière des bus, les relèguent à l'arrière-ban de la société".

Israel religious extremism

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_504831.html

Yemen: le femministe lottano per proibire il matrimonio delle ragazzine e delle bambine

Mentre invece le islamiche integraliste, tutte vestite col niqab nero, sostengono che sia perfettamente giusto che una bambina si sposi con un uomo adulto.

THOUSANDS of Yemeni women, their faces covered in religious veils, demonstrated outside the parliament on Sunday to oppose proposed legislation banning the marriage of girls under 17.

The protesters held up banners proclaiming 'don't ban what Allah made permissible,' or 'stop violating Islamic sharia law in the name of rights and freedoms,' an AFP correspondent said. Answering calls by Muslim clerics who oppose the proposal on grounds it goes against Islamic sharia law, the protesters arrived in organised buses.

A handful of women's rights activists outside the parliament were seen leaving after being outnumbered by the demonstrators. 'It is unreasonable to marry our daughters at the age of eight or nine. This is a serious problem,' said Houriya Mashhour, deputy director of Yemen's Women National Committee.

Middle Est religious extremism The Girl Child

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/29/hate-crimes-force-jews-out-of-malmo/

Svezia: ondata di attacchi antiebraici da parte della comunità islamica

Il problema persiste, lo avevo già segnalato in passato.

Now the 32-year-old law firm associate feels the welcome for Jews is running out, and he is moving to Israel with his wife and two children in May. He says he knows at least 15 other Jews who are leaving for a similar reason.

That reason, he says, is a rise in hate crimes against Jews in Malmo, and a sense that local authorities have little desire to deal with a problem that has exposed a crack in Sweden's image as a bastion of tolerance and a haven for distressed ethnic groups.

Anti-Semitic crimes in Europe have usually been associated with the far right, but Shneur Kesselman, an Orthodox rabbi, says the threat now comes from Muslims.

"In the past five years I've been here, I think you can count on your hand how many incidents there have been from the extreme right," he said. "In my personal experience, it's 99 percent Muslims."

Malmo police say that of 115 hate crimes reported in 2009, 52 were anti-Semitic. Bejzat Becirov, the mosque head, estimated there are about 60,000 Muslims in Malmo. But the number of Jews is about 700 and shrinking - it was twice as big two decades ago, according to Fredrik Sieradzki, a spokesman for the Jewish community.

antisemitism religious extremism Scandinavia

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/27/nu-rules-favor-underage-marriages.html

Indonesia: giuristi musulmani appoggiano il matrimonio per le ragazze minorenni

The minimum age of 16 years to marry under the prevailing 1974 marriage law is not a sharia-binding regulation for Muslims, according to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) jurists.

The panel of sharia experts announced there was no age limitation for marriage under Islamic law.

They did not cite gender; but the law states that women must be at least 16 to marry, while the minimum age for men to marry is 18.

The experts said Muslim parents can marry off their underage children, but strongly appealed for marriages to only be carried out after the child has reached puberty.

“The majority of clerics are of the opinion that there is no minimum age limit in marriage under sharia law,” NU jurist Cholil Nafis told a press conference on the sidelines of the congress on Friday.

The edict to allow for underage marriages quickly sparked protests from human rights activists Friday.

“It’s a setback and contravenes the 2002 Child Protection Law,” National Commission for Child’s Protection (Komnas Anak) secretary general Arist Merdeka Sirait said.

Asia religious extremism The Girl Child

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/63/20100330/tpl-burqa-franois-fillon-veut-aller-le-p-5cc6428.html

Francia: il Primo Ministro François Fillon promette una legge anti-burqa

Le Premier ministre a appelé une loi qui aille "le plus loin possible sur la voie de l'interdiction générale" du voile intégral, dans un discours lundi devant les parlementaires UMP.

Le ministre de l'Intérieur Brice Hortefeux a indiqué mardi, lors de la séance de questions au gouvernement à l'Assemblée nationale, qu'il fallait "aller le plus loin possible" vers l'interdiction du voile intégral en France.
"Nous sommes déterminés à aller le plus loin possible sur la voie de l'interdiction générale du voile intégral, dans le respect des principes généraux du droit", a affirmé Brice Hortefeux en répondant à Marie-Louise Fort (UMP, Yonne) et Nicolas Perruchot (NC, Loir-et-Cher).
Le gouvernement "présentera un projet de loi aussi volontariste que possible", a poursuivi le ministre de l'Intérieur, après avoir rappelé les limites soulignées dans le rapport que le Conseil d'Etat a remis au Premier ministre.
"Nous devons aller le plus loin possible, car nous ne voulons plus que demain des femmes entièrement voilées aillent chercher leurs enfants à l'école, se présentent aux guichets des services publics ou prennent les transports en commun", a assuré Brice Hortefeux.
"Le port du voile intégral est une expression radicale et du communautarisme et la République ne peut pas accepter ni le radicalisme ni le repli communautaire", a relevé le ministre.
Pour lui, "c'est tout simplement une question de dignité, d'égalité, de sécurité", a-t-il ajouté.

"Je vous proposerai d'aller le plus loin possible sur la voie d'une interdiction générale du voile intégral dans le respect des principes généraux du droit", a-t-il indiqué. Le chef du gouvernement a assuré que la proposition de résolution déposée sur le même sujet par le groupe UMP à l'Assemblée nationale "recueille le soutien du gouvernement". La proposition de résolution est un texte non contraignant visant à réaffirmer des principes généraux.

http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/actualite/politique/20100330.OBS1411/voile-le-conseil-d-etat-rejette-l-interdiction-generale-et-absolue.html

France religious extremism Secularism Women Freedom

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aRiu1lPRlt2Y

Arabia Saudita: Lama al-Sulaiman, eletta alla guida della camera di commercio di Jeddah, promuove l'accesso al lavoro per le donne

Lama al-Sulaiman, a 43-year-old Saudi Arabian businesswoman, was elected deputy chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry in December.

That might not be news in most places. It was in her country, where al-Sulaiman is the first female to hold such a post in Saudi history.

“With King Abdullah, we are changing so that women can have far more opportunities,” said al-Sulaiman, wearing a black abaya long-sleeved robe and a headscarf, in a 10th-floor conference room overlooking the Red Sea.

“By including more women in the labor force, you increase productivity” and thus add jobs to the economy, said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Riyadh-based Banque Saudi Fransi. “By employing them, the government will get a return on its investment in education.”

“Saudi women are participating positively in all programs of development by standing alongside their male brothers as students, employees, teachers, and businesswomen,” Abdullah said in a March 7 speech in Riyadh.

A women’s university in Riyadh that can house 26,000 students is under construction. And law and engineering degrees are now available for women, who previously were mostly restricted to studying medicine or education, al- Aiban said.

“What we’re doing today is creating opportunities for women within the limitations that exist in Saudi Arabia,” she said.

Middle Est religious extremism sexism Women at Work

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/apr/02/scott-roeder-murder-george-tiller-abortion

Usa: Scott Roeder condannato a 50 anni di carcere per l'omicidio del Dottor Tiller

Scott Roeder, the anti-abortion extremist who murdered Dr George Tiller, shouted "The blood of babies is on your hands!" as he was led from the courtroom in Wichita, Kansas after receiving a life sentence without parole for 50 years

The judge opted to sentence Roeder to the "hard 50" of 50 years without parole, rather than a lighter sentence of 25 years, because of evidence that Roeder had systematically stalked Dr Tiller before killing him.

Earlier, Roeder had attempted to turn the hearing into a platform for an anti-abortion diatribe, but was stopped by the judge, who said: "It is your opportunity to convince me you need a lesser sentence. It is not a soapbox for your political views."

Lee Thompson, attorney for Dr. George Tiller's family, issued the following statement today at the request of Mrs. Jeanne Tiller and the Tiller family following the sentencing of Scott Roeder.

"The sentence handed down today was appropriate. It is the most severe penalty available to Judge Wilbert under Kansas law. This crime was cruel and heinous not only because it took our husband, father and grandfather; but because it was a hate crime committed against George – but also against all women and their constitutional rights.

http://www.kwch.com/Global/story.asp?S=12244823

http://www.human-rights-for-all.org/spip.php?article53

Gran Bretagna: Amnesty International si ostina a difendere la "jihad difensiva"

Continuo a stupirmi di quanto scarso peso i miei colleghi stiano dando alla questione. Non mi sono chiari i criteri in vase ai quali una notizia è degna di pubblicazione e un'altra no specie laddove l'argomento è la trasparenza, l'universalità e la coerenza in tema di diritti umani e di diritti delle donne. Nel mio piccolo intendo dare visibilità alla questione.

the Secretary General of Amnesty International makes a shocking and incredible claim that "Defensive Jihad not antithetical to Human Rights". If this is the official position of the world’s leading human rights organisation, this would gravely undermine the future of the human rights movment. The rationale and call for ‘defensive jihad’ runs through many muslim fundamentalist texts. It is precisely ‘defensive jihad’ that the Taleban use to legitimise its anti human rights actions such as the beheading of dissidents, attacks on minorities, attacks on schools and religious shrines and the public lashing of women.

We are revealing and making public (see attached documents) the full text of the letter received from secretary General of Amnesty international in response to the ’Global Petition to Amnesty International: Restoring the Integrity of Human Rights’ and also the Response sent by Initiators of Global Petition

The highlights of the response sent to Amnesty International by Initiators of Global Petition are:

Endorsement of the concept of ‘defensive jihad’ by an organization such as Amnesty International calls into question its commitment to research the ideological underpinnings of acts of terrorism and its commitment to the eradication of discrimination on the basis of sex/gender and religion.

In the present climate, within the mainstream human rights world, a serious challenge is being posed to the principles of universality and equality by a host of concessions to ‘traditional values’ and ‘cultural rights’.

Amnesty International should make public the following information - Investigative research which informs decisions on partnerships and alliances:
- What process of investigation was carried out to determine whether Moazzam Begg was a suitable partner for Amnesty International?

Allow real internal debate and give individuals within Amnesty International including at the level of National Sections, the right to act according to their conscience and to exercise their freedom to dissent.

gender justice religious extremism Secularism United Kingdom

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/03/23/kenya.abortions/index.html

Kenya: le donne costrette ad abortire clandestinamente

Con tutto quello che ne consegue per la loro salute.

Women are being forced into backstreet abortions in Kenya because of the country's restrictive abortion law, a study says.

And the law could soon get even tougher with church groups urging a ban on almost all abortions.

The U.S.-based Center for Reproductive Health, which advocates abortions rights, found that women and girls in Kenya use metal wires, knitting needles and other unsafe practices to abort tens of thousands of unwanted pregnancies.

Now church groups in Kenya are pushing for the new constitution, coming up for a parliamentary vote soon, to make almost all abortions illegal. The church groups want to define 'life as starting at conception,' and heavily restrict abortion except for cases where a mother's life is in immediate danger.

Social workers say that women often don't have choices and that in a country where one-third of maternal deaths are caused by abortions, they say stricter laws will only force women to make choices that could kill them.

Africa religious extremism Reproductive rights Women Health

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/pakistan/Fatwa-against-modelling-by-Muslim-women/Article1-527819.aspx

India: fatwa contro fotomodelle musulmane

A fatwa has been issued by a leading Islamic seminary against modelling by Muslim women.

Darul-uloom Deoband has said that exhibiting bodies by Muslim women while modelling is against the Shariat law.

The fatwa, which describes modelling as un-Islamic, was issued by Mufti Habibur Rehman, Mufti Mehmood Hasan, Mufti Fakhrul Islam, Mufti Zanul Islam and Mufti Waqar Ali of the seminary on Monday.

Asia religious extremism Women in Arts

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Machete+used+anti+Semitic+attack+Carleton+students/2766537/story.html

Canada: estremisti islamici attaccano con il machete due studenti colpevoli di non odiare Israele

Nick Bergamini, 22, vice-president of the Carleton University Students’ Association, said he and roommate Mark Klibanov were leaving Le Volt bar on Promenade du Portage at 1:45 a.m. when a group of about 10 men began yelling in English and Arabic that they were Zionists and Jews.

“These people must have been Carleton students because I recognized one of them,” Bergamini said. “I said I love Israel because I support Israel’s right to exist.

“One of them rolled down the window and said: ‘I am the one who hit you, you f-----g Jew,’ although I am not a Jew,” Bergamini said. “Two guys came out of the car, and one of them tried to kick my roommate.

Len Rudner, director of the Ontario chapter of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said being a Jew or Zionist in Canada should not prompt such an attack.

“Maybe we should consider the impact that words can have in accelerating the argument to the point where people feel that this kind of behaviour is acceptable,” Rudner said.

“If you permit a constant invective and demonization of the Jewish state and people who support the Jewish state, some people will feel that this gives them the permission or responsibility to carry out this kind of attack.”

antisemitism Canada religious extremism

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100408/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen_child_bride

Yemen: ragazzina di 13 anni muore per sanguinamento a seguito del matrimonio

A 13-year-old Yemeni girl has died of injuries to her genitals four days after a family-arranged marriage, a human rights group said.

The practice of marrying young girls is widespread in Yemen and has drawn the attention of international rights groups seeking to pressure the government to outlaw child marriages. Legislation that would make it illegal for those under the age of 17 to marry is in serious peril after strong opposition from some of Yemen's most influential Islamic leaders.

More than a quarter of Yemen's females marry before age 15, according to a report last year by the Social Affairs Ministry. Tribal custom also plays a role, including the belief that a young bride can be shaped into an obedient wife, bear more children and be kept away from temptation.

Last month, a group of the country's highest Islamic authorities declared those supporting a ban on child marriages to be apostates.

Middle Est religious extremism The Girl Child violence against women

http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=998&Itemid=1

Malaysia: Kartika, colpevole di aver bevuto birra, non riceverà punizioni corporali

Sisters in Islam is indeed very happy with the decision by Sultan of Pahang, Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, to commute Kartika’s caning sentence to community service.”

Kartika, 33, was spared the cane when the Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Ahmad Shah commuted her sentence to community service.

"Thank God. I am prepared although I have be away from my two children for three weeks. My sister and mother will take care of them.

"I will do whatever is asked of me. I am surprised but accepted the decision made by the Sultan of Pahang. I thank my family for the support," she told reporters here.

Kartika said she will care for two boys, aged six and eight years with a hole-in-the-heart and autism, after completion of her punishment.

The part-time model arrived at Pahang Islamic Department at 8.45am and was briefed on what was expected of her.

http://www.mmail.com.my/content/32253-kartika-starts-community-service-childrens-home

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/09/AR2010040901835.html

Olanda: il Reformed Political Party si ostina ad escludere le donne dalle liste elettorali

The Reformed Political Party, known by its Dutch initials SGP, is an orthodox Protestant party that did not admit female members until 2006 and still does not allow women to stand for office under the party's banner.

The court said that policy was at odds with the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which the Dutch are a party.

"That treaty obliges the state to respond effectively to ensure that women can fully participate in political parties," the court said in its ruling.

The SGP added that the ruling had not affected its activities, and Friday it presented an all-male candidate list for the June 9 national elections.

The court said the government was "obliged to take effective measures" to ensure the SGP allowed women to run for office, though it would not prescribe those measures nor block state subsidies for the party.

The party's statement of principles argue that according to God's word, everyone has a specific place in the world:

"In this order the husband is the head of the wife. Every emancipation effort that ignores the God-given place and vocation of men and women is revolutionary and should be vigorously combated."

Benelux religious extremism sexism

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7095732.ece

Gita Sahgal abbandona Amnesty International

A senior official at Amnesty International who was suspended after she complained that the human rights organisation was too closely linked to a “pro-jihadi group” has left her job.

Gita Sahgal claimed that the charity’s links with Moazzam Begg, the former inmate at Guantánamo Bay, and his organisation Cageprisoners were undermining its campaigns.

She was suspended as interim head of Amnesty’s gender unit in February after an e-mail that she sent to her bosses criticising the links with Mr Begg was made public.

Ms Sahgal, 53, said yesterday that she felt that her seven years’ campaigning for women’s rights had been a waste of time because of the charity’s continuing work with the former prison-camp detainee and his group. “Their continued link to Moazzam Begg and Cageprisoners undermines Amnesty’s claims to stand against gender-based violence and religious discrimination,” she said. “He supports Islamic states where women are second- class citizens.”

The senior leadership of Amnesty International chose to answer the questions I posed about Amnesty International’s relationship with Moazzam Begg by affirming their links with him. Now they have also confirmed that the views of Begg, his associates and his organisation Cageprisoners, do not trouble them. They have stated that the idea of jihad in self defence is not antithetical to human rights; and have explained that they meant only the specific form of violent jihad that Moazzam Begg and others in Cageprisoners assert is the individual obligation of every Muslim.

So I invite you to join me as I continue to campaign for public accountability at this moment, which comes but rarely in history, when a great organisation must ask: if it lies to itself, can it demand the truth of others?

Gita Sahgal

http://www.human-rights-for-all.org/spip.php?article54

religious extremism Secularism United Kingdom

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jzt25qOzuNhJIoNy9bemLPOo8cHQD9F1M9R00

Usa: lo stato del Nebraska restringe l'accesso all'aborto legale

Nebraska lawmakers on Monday gave final approval to a first-of-its-kind measure requiring women to be screened for possible mental and physical problems before having abortions.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman said Thursday he supports the measure, meaning it is all but guaranteed to receive his signature and become law this summer. It's also likely be challenged in court. National abortion-rights supporters have called it a drastic shift in abortion policy that would block abortions by scaring doctors who might perform them.

Supporters say it simply puts abortions in line with other medical procedures in which patients are screened for possible problems.

"We're dealing with destruction of early, unborn life, so we ought to take extra care," said Greg Schleppenbach of the National Catholic Conference.

"It's too vague," said Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, one of just nine senators who voted against the measure on Monday. "I don't know if a physician faced with civil action can know all the risk factors," cited in journals, he added.

Nebraska lawmakers have approved groundbreaking abortion restrictions that could change the legal foundation of abortion laws nationally, if the new law is upheld by the courts.

The bill got final approval Tuesday morning. Gov. Dave Heineman planned to sign it into law in the afternoon.

It would bar women from getting abortions at 20 weeks, based on assertions that fetuses feel pain at that time.

Current restrictions in Nebraska and elsewhere are based on a fetus's ability to survive outside the womb.

The law is partially meant to shut down late-term abortion provider LeRoy Carhart of Bellevue, Neb.

http://www.beatricedailysun.com/news/state-and-regional/article_16abb25d-0e90-5342-a6b6-bea6f2829f7e.html

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/extramarital-sex-fuels-earthquakes-warns-iran-cleric/story-fn3dxity-1225854907773

Iran: rappresentante del clero musulmano accusa le donne non vestite "modestamente" di scatenare terremoti

"Many women who dress inappropriately ... cause youths to go astray, taint their chastity and incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes," Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi told worshippers at overnight prayers in Tehran.

"Calamities are the result of people's deeds," he was quoted as saying by reformist Aftab-e Yazd newspaper.

"We have no way but conform to Islam to ward off dangers."

The Islamic dress code is mandatory in Iran, which has been under clerical rule for more than three decades.

Every post-pubescent woman regardless of her religion or nationality must cover her hair and bodily contours in public. Offenders face punishment and fine.

Asia religious extremism sexism

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1163329.html

Israele: la prima donna haredim eletta alla Knesset difende la parità

Tzvia Greenfield. Israel's first Haredi female to be elected to the Knesset, she is a fierce critic of her own community's attitudes to the peace process and modernity; describing the Haredi community as being "incapable of compromise." Yet she still lives in it, a resident of the Jerusalem suburb of Har Nof.

The irony is she believes Haredi women - who she says are so "subjugated' but do get at least some educational opportunities- can help bring about change. "The education at my strictly Orthodox Beit Yaakov school in Jerusalem was infinitely better than what my brother received," she says.

"I hope ultra-Orthodox women, who often work to support their husbands in their (Torah) learning will seize their greater opportunities," and presumably carry out a feminist revolution that will help to push the whole Haredi community into modernity.

Not that she can see that just yet: "They still have to take enough courage to make their input into society significant because they are still hushed down and still internalize that as a legitimate position. They are gathering power but they won't put it in front of society what they offer," she says.

"The big issue here is a very delicate one. That is children. Large families thirty years ago was six children; now there's 13 or 14 - from one wife. I believes the glorification of bringing as many children as possible is a definite way of ensuring women can?t bring their advantages into effect - subjugation.

It's inconceivable for a woman to say to her husband, 'I won't have more than three children'- a cause for divorce. Inconceivable and non-existent.'"

Do you think there should be Orthodox female rabbis?

I'm all for it. I think if women want to serve as rabbis in religious function they should be given the right to do so. The issue of depriving women a religious position is part of deprivation of women from positions of power. Women don?t have equal rights in Judaism because they never had them in any field of life- a general result of subjugation.

What do you think about the issue of segregated buses.

Firstly, I personally participated in an initiative in Jerusalem in which women, and some men - about 100 of us - went up onto buses which separate women and men and the women in our group insisted on sitting at the back of the bus. We did it for the whole morning, getting much press. Of course that doesn't lead to the real results but something was done to turn the attention of the public to that.

Second, and it was part of my doctorate published several years ago. The last chapter was an philosophical analysis of the separation of women and men in response to an article written by an expert on jurisprudence in South Africa saying there was no problem in the separation of men and women in buses and it can be totally accepted if the community wants it.

I thought it was a shameful position- typical to a post-modern position which doesn't take into account women in these communities. It?s a reckless position and a big chapter in my doctorate was dedicated to a philosophical analysis of that rationale. We have to fight against segregated buses but we'll lose ground because instead of protesting people cooperate.

Israel religious extremism sexism women leaders

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.1.281862305

Afghanistan: studentesse avvelenate da estremisti islamici

At least 12 female students were hospitalised in Afghanistan on Wednesday after inhaling a poisonous substance sprayed at a school in northern Afghanistan.

The 12 students of the Fatima Zahra Girl School, and a teacher and an assistant were mysteriously poisoned, Hamayon Khamush, director of the hospital in Kunduz city, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Asia religious extremism The Girl Child Women Education

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/news/france-veil-ban-will-apply-to-muslim-tourists-too/story-e6frg8ro-1225857146299

Francia: il bando anti-burqa si applicherà anche alle turiste islamiche

In fondo non dovrebbe essere cosi' complicato il concetto che la legge è uguale per tutti. Vive la France!

MUSLIM tourists in France will be forbidden to wear the full-face veil along with French residents under the Government's plan to ban the garment in public places, a minister said today.

"When you arrive in France, you respect the laws in force .... Everyone will have to respect the laws in France. That's how it is," Nadine Morano, a junior minister for families, told the radio station France Info.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to France each year from the Middle East, according to estimates from the tourism ministry, and veiled women are a common sight in the luxury stores on Paris shopping boulevards.

Ms Morano said women breaching the ban would be fined but would not be unveiled "on the spot".

Ms Morano said the planned ban was in line with France's secular principles but also aimed to give "a message at international level" and would apply equally to visitors from abroad.

France religious extremism Secularism

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Head-of-the-religious-police-in-Mecca,-men-and-women-can-pray-together-18247.html

Arabia Saudita: integralisti islamici minacciano di morte riformista "colpevole" di sostenere che uomini e donne possono pregare insieme

The Saudi official news agency, SPA, had reported his dismissal only to delete all reports a few hours later, a fatwa says "he should be killed," the Grand Mufti has denied his authority to speak about Islamic law. He, Ahmed al Ghamdi (pictured), head of the religious police in Mecca, the first holy city of Islam, confirms his convictions: men and women can pray together and meet freely, even if only in public.

The question of the possibility of men and women “mixing” - in public, never in private - has for weeks been at the centre of a debate between scholars and politicians.

But the reaction of conservatives has been very hard. If Ghamdhi argues that the division did not exist at the time of Mohammed his opposers cry of violations of Sharia and apostasy. Sheikh Abdulrahman Al Barrak has issued a fatwa which says that promiscuity "as supported by modernists" is prohibited because it allows "the sight of what is forbidden and prohibited conversations between men and women." Anyone who facilitates such promiscuity is an infidel", and if not retracted "should be killed". And finally, anyone who allows his daughter, sister or wife to work with men or to attend a mixed school is guilty of "a kind of prostitution".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/7639728/Suntanned-women-to-be-arrested-under-Islamic-dress-code.html

Iran: il governo islamico ordina l'arresto delle donne alla moda ed abbronzate

Iran's Islamic leadership has in recent weeks launched a scaremongering campaign to persuade the population that vice is sweeping the streets of the capital. National law stipulates that women wear headscarves and shape shrouding cloaks but many women, particularly in the capital, spend heavily on fashions that barely adhere to the regulations.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8654326.stm

Malawi: estremisti islamici ostacolano approvazione della legge contro la poligamia

Muslims in Malawi have been angered by government plans to ban polygamy.

The gender minister said the ban was necessary to prevent women from being abused in polygamous relationships.

She said problems occurred because men could not give their full attention to more than one woman.

But Imran Shareef Muhammed - secretary general of the Muslim Association of Malawi - disputed this.

"The minister is lying - she didn't consult the Muslim community," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

"We are totally rejecting it. There are also other ethnic groups [who practise polygamy] and they also totally reject this," he said.

"If these people go ahead banning polygamous marriages it means many women will go into prostitution.

"Every woman has the right to be under the shelter of a man."

He said under Sharia law, polygamy was optional.

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2010/04/27/control-coercion-threats-abortion-rights-mexico

Messico: il diritto all'aborto sotto attacco

Recently, the heart-rending case of a 10-year-old girl who became pregnant as a result of rape by her stepfather in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatán Peninsula (also home to the popular resort of Cancun) was made public by the media. According to GIRE-Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida, whose National Lawyers’ Network for the Defense of Reproductive Choice contacted the girl and her mother, it emerged that they had apparently received biased information from authorities about their rights and access to abortion.

Abortion is highly restricted in all of Mexico (except for Mexico City), but it is supposed to be available in cases of certain situations such as rape. However, it is very common for state health and legal officials to blatantly ignore the law, lie to women, and deny women and girls their rights.

Mexican women and girls risk their lives and health to obtain abortions and there are at least 600,000 to one million illegal abortions annually in the country. At least 1,500 women die of medical complications following abortion every year and there are estimates of at least 50,000-100,000 post-abortion complications that are treated in health facilities every year. Abortion is the third to fourth highest cause of maternal mortality in Mexico.

In the coastal state of Veracruz, at least five women are serving 12-to-15 year sentences for aborting a pregnancy after having been found guilty of homicide.So while celibate men whose Church is its own ethical crisis decide the fate of women’s health and bodies, the influential participation of the Church is both overt and covert, as Mexico has a Catholic majority but is constitutionally a secular state. Working behind political parties and other conservative organizations, there is no doubt that the Church’s influence in the health, lives, and destinies of women remains powerful and destructive, even as it is overstepping constitutional boundaries.

Central america religious extremism Reproductive rights

http://sistersong.net/documents/SS_SB_529_Dies_News_release.pdf

Usa: sconfitta legge antiabortista nello stato della Georgia

SB 529, the "OB/GYN Criminalization and Racial Discrimination Act," died in the Rules Committee of the House on the last day of Georgia's legislative session. We won in Georgia, but this may be coming to your state next.

religious extremism Reprodutive rights Usa

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/29/elects-iran-commission-womens-rights/

Iran: L'Onu ammette l'Iran nella Commission on the Status of Women

Che dire? Sconvolgente? Allucinante? Pazzesco? Incredibile? Quali altri sinonimi dovrei usare?

Without fanfare, the United Nations this week elected Iran to its Commission on the Status of Women, handing a four-year seat on the influential human rights body to a theocratic state in which stoning is enshrined in law and lashings are required for women judged "immodest." Just days after Iran abandoned a high-profile bid for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, it began a covert campaign to claim a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women, which is "dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women" according to its website.

As word of Iran's intention to join the women's commission came out, a group of Iranian activists circulated a petition to the U.N. asking that member states oppose its election.

"Iran's discriminatory laws demonstrate that the Islamic Republic does not believe in gender equality," reads the letter, signed by 214 activists and endorsed by over a dozen human rights bodies.

The letter draws a dark picture of the status of women in Iran: "women lack the ability to choose their husbands, have no independent right to education after marriage, no right to divorce, no right to child custody, have no protection from violent treatment in public spaces, are restricted by quotas for women's admission at universities, and are arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for peacefully seeking change of such laws."

The Commission on the Status of Women is supposed to conduct review of nations that violate women's rights, issue reports detailing their failings, and monitor their success in improving women's equality.

The activists' letter sent to the U.N. Tuesday argued that it would be better if the Asian countries proffered only one candidate, instead of elevating Iran to the commission.

"We, a group of gender-equality activists, believe that for the sake of women's rights globally, an empty seat for the Asia group on (the commission) is much preferable to Iran's membership. We are writing to alert you to the highly negative ramifications of Iran’s membership in this international body."

A spokeswoman for the U.N.'s Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which oversees the commission, did not return phone calls or e-mails seeking comment.

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NzQ5NTA2MTk3

Kuwait: dibattito sull'uso del niqab da parte delle donne al volante

A famous political online community forum is pushing for liberal MPs to submit a question to the Minister of Interior Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah on why women wearing niqabs are allowed to drive without being fined. According to a law passed in 2006, women covering their faces are not allowed to drive cars in Kuwait, but this law has not been put into practice

However, a lot of supporters of this law expressed that it needs to be applied if the government insists on going by the rules. The niqab is arguably not a religious must; it is a tradition inherited from the old days through life in the desert.

Latifa Al-Ajmi, 27, is a woman who wears the niqab and drives. She says that it does not bother her to drive while wearing the niqab most days. "When there are check points, police men ask me to reveal my face when I present them with my driving license. It is a necessity; they must know who is driving the car. I have no problem revealing my face then," she said, stressing that a niqab is not usually worn
religiously.

Middle Est religious extremism Women Freedom

http://www.vindy.com/news/2010/may/08/woman-alleges-capture-threats/?newswatch

Usa: donna musulmana aggredita dalla famiglia perchè "colpevole" di aver sposato un uomo cristiano

Forse ho la memoria corta. Ma non è la libertà di amare uno dei pilastri della società democratica e della libertà delle donne? E allora perchè mai si dovrebbe tacere di fronte a simili violenze?

A Campbell woman of Yemeni descent says she was abducted by her parents and taken to Hermitage, Pa., where they threatened to send her back to her homeland.

The victim, 32, told police she was leaving a doctor’s appointment at an office on U.S. Route 224 when her father came up behind her, grabbed her in a bear hug and put her in the back seat of her car.

The father then got into the driver’s seat, and her mother in the back seat with her. They drove to the Sheetz gas station in Hermitage.

No charges have been filed.

“I’m still gathering information and still trying to talk to witnesses,” said Boardman Detective Glenn Patton.

The woman told police that her parents, who are Muslim, don’t approve of her marriage to a Christian man.

Patrolman John Gulu, who coaches the daughter’s softball team, was able to reach the woman on her cell phone.

“The first thing he asked was, ‘Are you OK? Are you safe?’” Rusnak said. “She said, ‘No.’”

To keep from raising her parents’ suspicions, Gulu asked yes-and-no questions, interspersed with questions about softball in case the woman’s parents listened, the detective said.

religious extremism Usa Women Freedom

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8672618.stm

Mali: estremisti islamici attaccano imam che aveva difeso la nuova legge paritaria sul diritto di famiglia in discussione al parlamento

An imam in Mali is living in fear after backing a new family law which no longer obliges wives to obey their husbands, angering Muslim groups.

He has received threatening phone calls and local Muslim leaders have tried to dismiss him.

In April, the imam of Kati, 15km (9 miles) north-west of the capital, Bamako, wrote a letter to Mali's High Islamic Council stating he saw nothing in the new family law which infringed the country's social values, much less Islam, the BBC's Martin Vogl in Mali says.

The High Islamic Council has said imams can only be dismissed by their congregation and it is unclear what weight the decision by local Muslim leaders to sack the imam will have, our reporter explains.

But the incident has highlighted the intense feelings among Muslims towards the new family law.

Its most contentious provisions give more rights to women.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.1.376249283

Afghanistan: talebani attaccano scuola per ragazze

At least 30 schoolgirls were poisoned on Tuesday in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, the third such attack on a girls' school in the city in less than a month, officials said. It is unclear who was behind the attacks.

"A masked man, dressed in black, came into the classroom and threw a small box at us. When we saw the box, we tried to run away, but I passed out. When I regained consciousness, I was in hospital," said 13-year-old Nafeesa, quoted by Pajhwork Afghan News.

Asia religious extremism The Girl Child Women Education

http://www.france24.com/en/20100511-france-burqa-niqab-parliament-assembly-national-contrary-values-national-resolution

Francia: approvata risoluzione formale contro il burqa ed il niqab

Un primo piccolo passo.

"All of France will say 'non' to the full veil and will ask that this practice be prohibited on the territory of the republic," speaker Bernard Accoyer told reporters.

Supporters of the ban argue they are not attacking religious freedoms but rather upholding women's rights, with one prominent group saying the new law will liberate young Muslim girls growing up in France.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing UMP party and the opposition Socialists along with other smaller parties have all agreed to back the five-point resolution in the National Assembly.

Lawmakers will declare that "radical practices which violate the dignity and equality between men and women, such as the wearing of the full veil, are contrary to the values of the republic."

Parliament "deems it necessary that all useful means be put in place to ensure the protection of women who are subjected to violence and pressure and in particular are forced to wear the full veil," the resolution says.

France religious extremism Secularism Women Freedom

http://www.meforum.org/2646/worldwide-trends-in-honor-killings

Usa: pubblicato studio sui crimini d'onore

Thus, wherever an honor killing is committed, it is primarily a crime against young people. Just over half of these victims were daughters and sisters; about a quarter were wives and girlfriends of the perpetrators. The remainder included mothers, aunts, nieces, cousins, uncles, or non-relatives. Honor killings are a family collaboration. Worldwide, two-thirds of the victims were killed by their families of origin. (See Table 1). Murder by the family of origin was at its highest (72 percent) in the Muslim world and at its lowest in North America (49 percent); European families of origin were involved almost as often as those in the Muslim world, possibly because so many are first- or second-generation immigrants and, therefore, still tightly bound to their native cultures. Alternatively, this might be due to the Islamist radicalization of third or even fourth generations.

Worldwide, 42 percent of these murders were carried out by multiple perpetrators, a characteristic which distinguishes them considerably from Western domestic femicide. A small number of the murders worldwide involved more than one victim.

In the non-immigrant West, serious domestic violence exists which includes incest, child abuse, marital rape, marital battering, marital stalking, and marital post-battering femicide. However, there is no cultural pattern of fathers specifically targeting or murdering their teenage or young adult daughters, nor do families of origin participate in planning, perpetrating, justifying, and valorizing such murders. Clearly, these characteristics define the classic honor killing of younger women and girls.

One might argue that the stated murder motive of being "too Westernized" may, in a sense, overlap substantively with the stated and unstated motives involved in Western domestic femicide. In both instances, the woman is expected to live with male violence and to remain silent about it. She is not supposed to leave—or to leave with the children or any other male "property." However, the need to keep a woman isolated, subordinate, fearful, and dependent through the use of violence does not reflect a Western cultural or religious value; rather, it reflects the individual, psychological pathology of the Western batterer-murderer. On the other hand, an honor killing reflects the culture's values aimed at regulating female behavior—values that the family, including the victim's family, is expected to enforce and uphold.

It also suggests that gender separatism, the devaluation of girls and women, normalized child abuse, including arranged child marriages of both boys and girls, sexual repression, misogyny (sometimes inspired by misogynist interpretations of the Qur'an), and the demands made by an increase in the violent ideology of jihad all lead to murderous levels of aggression towards girls and women. One only has to kill a few girls and women to keep the others in line. Honor killings are, in a sense, a form of domestic terrorism, meant to ensure that Muslim women wear the Islamic veil, have Muslim babies, and mingle only with other Muslims.

religious extremism Usa violence against women

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Deoband-fatwa-Its-illegal-for-women-to-work-support-family/articleshow/5919153.cms

India: imam estremista lancia fatwa contro le donne che lavorano

Darul Uloom Deoband, the self-appointed guardian for Indian Muslims, in a Talibanesque fatwa that reeked of tribal patriarchy, has decreed that it is "haram" and illegal according to the Sharia for a family to accept a woman's earnings. Clerics at the largest Sunni Muslim seminary after Cairo's Al-Azhar said the decree flowed from the fact that the Sharia prohibited proximity of men and women in the workplace.

"It is unlawful (under the Sharia law) for Muslim women to work in the government or private sector where men and women work together and women have to talk with men frankly and without a veil," said the fatwa issued by a bench of three clerics. The decree was issued over the weekend, but became public late on Monday, seminary sources said.

Asia religious extremism sexism Women at Work

http://www.irac.org/NewsDetailes.aspx?ID=584

Israele: estremista ebreo ultraortodosso attacca una donna "colpevole" di aver indossato il tefilin

Noa Raz was physically assaulted Tuesday morning by a fervently Orthodox man in Beersheba's Central Bus Station, where she was waiting for a bus to her job in Tel Aviv, according to a news release issued Wednesday by the Israel Religious Action Center.

According to the release, the man asked Raz twice if the imprints were from tefillin. When she told him that they were he began to kick and strangle her while screaming “women are an abomination.” Raz reportedly broke free from the man and boarded her bus.

The fact that this man thought it acceptable to attack a woman for performing a religious act in private is an example of the escalation of violence targeted against women and against religious pluralists in Israel."

Israel religious extremism violence against women

http://atheists-in-action.com/

Francia: Salvatore Pertutti, ateo, continua la sua battaglia contro il sessimo e l'omofobia dei testi sacri cristiani ed islamici

http://www.le-monde-pluriel.eu/

http://livre-athee.com/

Nous allons sensibiliser l'opinion sur l'aspect homophobe des textes religieux contenus dans la Bible et le Coran. Nous serons présents dans les rues de Rennes ce week-end,

Une nouvelle plainte vient d’être déposée, le 15 février dernier. Cette fois-ci, j’attaque un éditeur de la bible, un éditeur du coran et une librairie pour complicité de menaces de mort et d’insultes. Mais je suis régulièrement victime de menaces et d’insultes (dans la rue, sur internet…), de la part d’individus qui utilisent souvent la bible et le coran pour justifier leurs actes à mon égard. Mon but n’est pas d’interdire ces ouvrages (la liberté d’expression est «sacrée»!). Ce que je souhaite, c’est qu’un avertissement soit mis sur la couverture de ces livres, qui pourrait être: «Attention, ces ouvrages contiennent des propos à caractère sexiste, homophobe, criminogène et il convient de les remettre dans leur contexte historique.»

http://www.tetu.com/actualites/france/salvatore-pertutti-il-faut-denoncer-lhomophobie-des-grands-textes-religieux-17111

France homophobia religious extremism sexism

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/05/15/20100515phoenix-catholic-nun-abortion.htmlR

Usa: suora cattolica scomunicata per aver permesso un aborto che ha salvato la vita di una donna

A Catholic nun and longtime administrator of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix was reassigned in the wake of a decision to allow a pregnancy to be ended in order to save the life of a critically ill patient.

The decision also drew a sharp rebuke from Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, head of the Phoenix Diocese, who indicated the woman was "automatically excommunicated" because of the action.

Sister Margaret McBride, who had been vice president of mission integration at the hospital, was on call as a member of the hospital's ethics committee when the surgery took place, hospital officials said. She was part of a group of people, including the patient and doctors, who decided upon the course of action.

The patient was not identified, and details of her case cannot be revealed under federal privacy laws.

The Catholic Church forbids abortion in all circumstances and allows the termination of a pregnancy only as a secondary effect of other treatments, such as radiation of a cancerous uterus.

religious extremism Reproductive rights Usa Women Health

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.818e03363d37aed733b8e1d6484580c4.8f1&show_article=1

Arabia Saudita: le ragazze "emo" perseguitate dalla polizia religiosa

Saudi Arabia's religious police have arrested 10 "emo" women for allegedly causing a disturbance in a coffee shop, Al-Yaum newspaper reported on Saturday.

The coffee shop owner in the eastern city of Dammam called the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to complain after the young women, dressed and made up in the "emo" fashion, apparently began disturbing other clients.

The religious police then called their parents to come and collect the women, and to sign pledges that the girls would not repeat their ostensibly offensive un-Islamic behaviour and dress.

According to recent reports, growing numbers of urban young Saudi women are latching on to the emo fashion popular from Japan to Europe and the Americas.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/21/america.female.genital.cutting/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Usa: pressione culturale sulle ragazze immigrate causa della pratica della mutilazione genitale femminile

The United States has outlawed female genital cutting, but cultural and religious pressures to circumcise girls linger among some African and Muslim immigrant families. Mohamed says the decision was an easy one for her to make after going through the painful experience herself in Africa as a child. She strongly opposes the idea of cutting her 11-year-old daughter, an American-born Somali with long curly hair, who plays soccer and likes watching "American Idol."

In the U.S., an estimated 228,000 women have been cut -- or are at risk of being cut -- because they come from an ethnic community that practices female genital cutting, according an analysis of 2000 Census data conducted by the African Women's Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Census reports there are roughly 150 million women living in the United States.

This spring, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a contentious policy statement suggesting that some physicians who work with immigrant communities that want the procedure should have the ability to prick or nick a girl's clitoral skin in order to "satisfy cultural requirements." The academy says the pricking procedure is harmless, like an ear piercing.

The pricking method is illegal in United States, but it could be effective in certain African communities in reducing harm, said Douglas S. Diekema, a Washington physician and former chair of the bioethics committee at the academy.

"We are very disappointed," said Asmaa Donahue, senior program officer at the Sauti Yetu Center for African Women in New York. "By offering to a person to do it, it undermines the education and advocacy work being done to stop it."

religious extremism sexism Usa Women Health

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_531136.html

Indonesia: la polizia islamica controlla l'abbigliamento delle donne

ISLAMIC police in Indonesia's Aceh province have been issued with 20,000 long skirts and ordered to cover up women deemed to have broken Muslim dress codes, an official said on Tuesday.

The province on northern Sumatra island has banned Muslim women from wearing figure-hugging clothing such as tight trousers, under Islamic by-laws that have outraged less conservative parts of the mainly Muslim archipelago.

Vice and virtue officers in West Aceh district have been told that from Wednesday they should ask women wearing the wrong clothes to put on the government-issue skirts on the spot. 'Starting tomorrow morning, I will hand over some 20,000 skirts to the sharia police in West Aceh,' West Aceh district chief Ramli Mansur said.

'Female offenders can then immediately change their tight pants to the long, loose skirts if the sharia police catch them.' Mr Mansur said that one day he would have to answer to God about what he did to enforce sharia or Islamic laws, so residents should expect increased vigilance and 'raids' by the morality squad, known as the 'wilayatul hisbah.'

Vice and virtue officers stopped and interrogated 30 women over their clothes as they entered a village in West Aceh on Tuesday. 'What's wrong with the way I'm dressed? What law did I break? Am I a terrorist that I'm being asked to show my identity card?' 40-year-old Fatimah asked officers who stopped her. Her protests fell on deaf ears and she eventually covered her jeans with a skirt she had brought from home.

http://en.afrik.com/article17666.html

Francia: estremisti islamici minacciano partecipanti ad un dibattito pubblico sul burqa

French NGO “Ni Putes Ni Soumises” had planned a public debate on the eve of the presentation of the draft law that seeks a complete ban on the burqa, the full Islamic veil. However, pro-burqa supporters, who the police have failed to identify, violently thwarted the NGO’s efforts.

The debate, which began in a tense atmosphere, was allegedly disrupted by members of Sheikh Yassin, a pro-Palestinian group, forcing the organizers to call for police intervention, as insults turned into fistfights. The rioters had already fled upon the arrival of the police.

Manuel Valls, member of the French Socialist Party (PS) and supporter of the ban on the burqa, was among those present when the riots broke out. According to him, instead of dissuading him, the incident has only given impetus to his belief that the law should be established. "I feel that this case comes to try the Republic and its representatives and I for one won’t be intimidated”, he said.

"I think those who had doubts before tonight’s debate understood, as they left (the meeting), the need for a law that says enough to those who exploit Islam and reduce women to silence," added Sihem Habchi, President of Ni Putes Ni Soumises.

http://www.niputesnisoumises.com/blog/2010/05/21/jai-vu-les-integristes-a-montreuil/

France religious extremism Secularism Women Freedom

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Islamic-scholars-against-trans-working-in-women%E2%80%99s-beauty-salons-18508.html

Indonesia: estremisti islamici lanciano fatwa contro transessuali e travestiti

A group of Islamic experts from the al Bahtul Masa’il have issued a fatwa against transsexuals and transvestites. The scholars, who represent 125 pesantren in the provinces of Java and Madura Island, have decreed that transgendered people must be viewed as male and for this reason “cannot cut or prepare women’s hair” in beauty salons “to whom they are not linked by blood or marital ties.” Leaders from the Indonesian Muslim Clerical Council (MUI) chose instead not to comment the issue.

This time, Java and Madura Island transvestites and transsexuals have become their target. According to Bahtul Masa’il, touching women’s hair is haram, i.e. forbidden, when done by men unrelated to the women by blood or marriage.

Asia homophobia religious extremism

http://www.smh.com.au/world/acehs-religious-police-crack-down-on-tight-jeans-20100526-weap.html

Indonesia: polizia islamica controlla i jeans delle donne

Even before the policy is introduced, West Aceh's Wilayatul Hisbah, or religious police, have been setting up roadblocks outside the district's capital of Meulaboh, inspecting every car and stopping motorcycles if there is a female rider on board wearing trousers.

In a 60-minute operation in the hamlet of Arongan, more than 25 women were yesterday taken aside for a lecture on Islamic morals and asked to sign a document, vowing not to repeat their mistake and pledging to ''immediately report'' to the religious police if they notice someone else violating Islamic law.

Some women are upset by the intrusion, with one storming back to her vehicle. And conversations with young West Acehnese in Meulaboh's cafes elicit a similar anger. Almost all of the jeans-clad women have been pulled over, or know someone who has.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100530/lf_afp/qatarmediajazeerawomen

Qatar: giornaliste di Al-Jazeera si dimettono per protestare contro pressioni legate all'abbigliamento ed al look

Five female news presenters at the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera satellite television channel have resigned over conflicts with management over dress code and other issues, a journalist there said on Sunday.

The news presenters who have reportedly quit are Jumana Namur, Lina Zahreddin, Lona al-Shibel, Julnar Mussa and Nofar Afli.

The Al-Hayat daily reported on Sunday that they had resigned in the past few days after petitioning management in January over repeated criticism from a top company official for allegedly not being conservative enough in their dress.

Middle Est religious extremism sexism Women at Work Women Freedom

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37444714

Spagna: il Partito Popolare inizia azione legale contro la legge che ha liberalizzato l'aborto

A conservative opposition party asked Spain's highest court on Tuesday to throw out a new law allowing abortion without restrictions in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, calling it unconstitutional.

The center-right Popular Party filed suit with the Constitutional Court and asked it to block the law from taking effect as scheduled on July 5 while it deliberates.

The party objects to eight clauses in the legislation, which became law in February when the Senate confirmed passage given late last year by the lower chamber of Parliament.

In challenging the 14-week clause as unconstitutional, the Popular Party cited a 1985 ruling from the Constitutional Court that said a woman's rights could not systematically take precedence over those of an unborn child, but rather only in cases of rape, fetal malformation or when the mother's health is in jeopardy.

To establish a period for unrestricted abortion "violates the balance between the rights of the mother and the rights of the unborn," Popular Party lawmaker Sandra Moneo said.

The party also argued that letting teens have abortions without parental consent violates parents' right to have a say in the upbringing of their daughters.

religious extremism Reproductive rights Spain women and the law

http://www.siasat.com/english/news/man-throws-acid-daughter-love-outside-faith

India: ragazza musulmana brutalizzata perchè "colpevole" di amare un uomo non musulmano

In an alleged attempted "honour killing", a man poured acid on his daughter and threw her into a canal for planning to marry a man from another religion Tuesday, police said. The girl is in critical condition in hospital.

Gulistan, 18, daughter of Asghar Ali of Charaura village in Bulandshahr district, 350 km from Lucknow, fell in love with Ravinder, 20, who ran a medical store in the village and often came to their house to deliver medicines.

The couple eloped 10 days back but were traced to Delhi and Gulistan was taken back to the village. Her parents then pretended that they had agreed to let her marry Ravinder and asked her to come with them to Delhi to buy clothes for the marriage.

The girl left with her father and brother. When they reached near the upper Ganges canal on Grand Trunk Road, they stopped and dragged her out. First they poured acid on her face, strangulated her and then threw her in the canal. Assuming that she had died, they left the place.

Sahi said a case under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered and investigations are on.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLblNs3s4jk_xGFP5ut23lEMLphQD9G4H3L01

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Nigeria: senatore musulmano sposa ragazzina di 13 anni

A Nigerian federal court will hear a case over whether the West African nation's religious freedom and privacy laws allow a Muslim senator to marry a 13-year-old girl

The lawsuit filed by the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria on behalf of Senator Ahmad Sani Yerima challenges the country's child protection laws that ban women from marrying before age 18. The suit, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, claims that Yerima's constitutional rights are being trampled over the controversy surrounding his alleged marriage to a 13-year-old Egyptian girl.

The suit names the government's National Human Rights Commission, the Senate president and the speaker of the house as defendants. The Human Rights Commission has urged the police to investigate Yerima, while both chambers of the National Assembly have called for their own investigations.

Human rights groups say the 49-year-old lawmaker married the girl at the National Mosque in Abuja after paying her family a $100,000 dowry. Under child protection laws enforceable in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, a woman must be 18 before being able to consent to marriage. However, those laws aren't enacted in all of Nigeria's 36 states and activists say child brides have been married off in Muslim communities after their first period.

Africa religious extremism sexism The Girl Child

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/health/policy/03abortion.html

Usa: ondata di leggi antiabortiste a livello statale

At least 11 states have passed laws this year regulating or restricting abortion, giving opponents of abortion what partisans on both sides of the issue say is an unusually high number of victories. In four additional states, bills have passed at least one house of the legislature.

While opponents of abortion rights hope ultimately to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that guarantees a woman’s right to an abortion, they have made the most impact at the state level, where laws passed in one state often appear in other legislatures in subsequent years. State laws also have the potential for national consequences by setting off court battles that challenge or limit the scope of Roe.

“Ninety percent of pro-life legislation happens at the states,” said Daniel S. McConchie, vice president for government affairs at Americans United for Life, which opposes abortion. “While Congress is the main focus of attention for so many people in the country, state legislatures have greatest impact on daily lives, and life-related legislation is no exception.”

About 370 state bills regulating abortion were introduced in 2010, compared with about 350 in each of the previous five years, and 250 a year in the early 1990s, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. At least 24 of this year’s bills have passed, and the final total may reach the high of 2005, when states passed 34 laws, said Elizabeth Nash, a public policy associate at the institute.

More significant than the number of bills introduced are the number and nature of those that passed, partisans on both sides agree.

religious extremism Reproductive rights Usa Women Health

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100104/FOREIGN/701039884/1135

Egitto: la Corte Amministrativa del Cairo sostiene il bando anti-niqab delle università

Un plauso all'Egitto!

The Cairo Administrative Court yesterday upheld the decision of the higher education minister, Hany Helal, and heads of three universities to bar women who cover their faces with a niqab from sitting in this month’s mid-year exams.

The case was filed against the higher education minister and the heads of Cairo, Ain Shams and Helwan universities, the sheikh of Al Azhar, the grand mufti and the minister of religious affairs, Mohammed Hamdi Zaqzouq.

Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, the grand imam of Al Azhar, banned the niqab in Al Azhar classrooms and dormitories after he forced a 12-year-old to remove her niqab. He said it did not matter as she was in a classroom full of girls and her school was run by women only.

Africa religious extremism Secularism Women Freedom

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/afghanmission/article/820480--women-s-advocate-warns-against-peace-with-taliban?bn=1

Afghanistan: Massouda Jalal, ex-ministra delle donne, ricorda che i diritti delle donne non sono negaziabili

Parole sante. Non ci può essere pace se i diritti delle donne non sono garantiti.

Dr. Massouda Jalal once embodied all the possibility that was promised by the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Now, the former cabinet minister and presidential candidate, says she is in danger of being silenced once again, as are all the country’s women.

“Taliban do not recognize rights and even they don’t recognize women as human beings,” she told reporters Tuesday.

“Their engagement will be bad news to our values and to the women of Afghanistan, so I hope it doesn’t happen. We need to depowerment of the Taliban and extremism,” she said.

“It’s not good for … the democratic processes that we have created and we have insisted on and it’s not good for the peace and security of the world. We have to be careful with this.”

“In the beginning a lot of hope was created… We thought that a government made of civilians will be made a civil government,” she said, noting that laws have been passed prohibiting violence against women or affirming women’s rights.

But there have been more, and more prominent, steps backward in the last few years. More schools being burned, more female students being threatened and attacked, more instances of local laws barring women from travelling outside the house unaccompanied

So she has hopes for the country that, for now, rely heavily on outside help. Canada’s military may be packing up and leaving Kandahar in a year, but the country can still make an impact if it redirects even a fraction of the money spent on military might toward development assistance and aid.

“Afghanistan is very sick, it’s very sick. It cannot stand on its feet,” she said. “We need to care for Afghanistan, otherwise this wounded body will be used by negative energy.

http://www.cphpost.dk/news/local/87-local/49188-muslim-teens-enraged-by-pop-stars-name.html

Danimarca: giovani musulmani violenti bloccano il concerto della cantente Medina

NO COMMENT!

Denmark’s answer to Lady Gaga, decided to put on a free concert in the southern Copenhagen suburb of Ishøj, home to one of Denmark’s largest minority communities.

But Medina, whose real name is Andrea Fuentealba Valbak, didn’t get to sing more than a few notes before a hail of eggs began to rain down upon the stage. The perpetrators, reports tabloid B.T., were a gang of between 10 and 20 youngsters between the ages of 14 and 17 all ‘with an immigrant background’.

Their reason for attacking the songstress? Apart from taking exception to Medina’s hot pants and sexually suggestive song lyrics, it appears that the gang were provoked by the singer’s stage name which is also coincidentally the name of the second holiest city in Islam and the burial place of the Prophet Mohammed.

With the backing of most of the 3,000 strong audience, Medina ripped into the trouble-makers and told them that their behaviour was disrupting the concert for everyone else. But the strain took its toll, and the pop star ended up leaving the stage in tears.

Medina made no public comment after the aborted concert but her manager told B.T. that Medina is a common in Chile, where the singer’s father originates.

Her official Facebook page received hundreds of messages of support in the wake of the egg attack, and Medina was also defended by Conservative MP Naser Khader.

religious extremism Scandinavia Women in Arts

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/823509--mother-stabbed-daughter-in-honour-crime-police?bn=1

Canada: donna musulmana accoltella selvaggiamente la figlia in un tentativo di omicidio d'onore

Ebbene si. Le donne sono capacissime di violenza e crudeltà ai danni di altre donne. E sono le più feroci, a volte, sostenitrici di una cultura tribale e misogina.

Per fortuna la ragazza è riuscita a salvarsi.

The 19-year-old daughter remains in hospital with knife wounds to the head, shoulders and arms.

It’s believed that the daughter came home late, Pentefountas, a prominent name in the Montreal legal community, indicated to the court.

Police based their theory that it was an honour crime on “what we saw at the scene of the crime,” said Olivier Lapointe, spokesperson for the Montreal Police Service, and especially on interviews with people inside the house and the victim herself.

It appeared related to the “behavior of the victim,” Lapointe said.

The woman, 38-year-old Johra Kaleki, faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.

According to Amnesty International, there are more than 5,000 honour crimes in the world each year.

They are an “ancient practice” in a number of countries tied more so to culture than religion. Typically the woman is murdered by a member of her own family after tarnishing the family’s honour for ostensibly “immoral” behavior, often in relation to virginity or modesty.

The three other daughters in the family are currently in the custody of provincial youth protection authorities.

The family, which is Afghan in origin, moved to the neighbourhood in Dorval, near Montreal’s main airport, about five years ago, according to neighbour Emery Dora.

The family was pleasant, but “mostly kept to themselves,” Dora said. For instance, the father and the girls would play together but not with other children in on the street. The father, Ebrahim Ebrahimi, wouldn’t let a younger daughter play soccer with other girls in their backyard, Dora added.

Last summer, after a car was found submerged in the Kingston canal, a Montreal-area couple of Afghan origin were accused along with their son of killing their three daughters and another relative in what was also believed to be an honour crime. Their trial will begin next year.

Canada religious extremism violence against women

http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/new-report-sharia-law-in-britain-a-threat-to-one-law-for-all-and-equal-rights/

Gran Bretagna: pubblicato studio sugli effetti negativi dei tribunali islamici

Based on an 8 March 2010 Seminar on Sharia Law, research, interviews, and One Law for All case files, the report has identified a number of problem areas:

- Sharia law’s civil code is arbitrary and discriminatory against women and children in particular. With the rise in the acceptance of Sharia courts, discrimination is being further institutionalised with some UK law firms additionally offering clients advice on Sharia law and the use of collaborative law.

-Sharia law is practiced in Britain primarily by Sharia Councils and Muslims Arbitration Tribunals. Both operate on religious principles and are harmful to women although Muslim Arbitration Tribunals are wrongly regarded as being of more concern because they operate as tribunals under the Arbitration Act 1996, making their rulings binding in law.

- Sharia Councils, on the other hand, claim to mediate on family issues but in practice often this differs little from arbitration: they frequently ask those appearing before them to sign an agreement to abide by their decisions; they call themselves courts, and the presiding imams, judges. Their decisions are then imposed and regarded as having the weight of legal judgements.

- There is neither control over the appointment of “judges” in Sharia Councils or Tribunals nor an independent mechanism for monitoring them. Clients often do not have access to legal advice and representation. The proceedings are not recorded, nor are there any searchable legal judgements, nor any real right of appeal.

- Sharia law cannot be compared to secular legal systems because it is considered sacred law that cannot be challenged. There is no scope to look at the interests of the individuals involved, as required by UK family law.

- These legal processes ignore both common law and due process, far less Human Rights, and provide little protection and safety for women in violent situations.

http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/New-Report-Sharia-Law-in-Britain.pdf

gender justice religious extremism United Kingdom women and the law

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1993205,00.html

Brasile: rischio deriva antiabortista guidata dagli estremisti cristiani

It should not be too surprising that in Brazil, the country with the largest number of Roman Catholics (73% of the populace, or about 140 million), abortion is illegal except in cases of rape, when the mother's life is in danger or when the fetus has severe genetic abnormalities. Indeed, the ban on abortion is an immovable plank in the campaign platforms of the two main candidates in Brazil's upcoming presidential election. Yet a recent study revealed that 1 in 5 Brazilian women of child-bearing age has terminated a pregnancy, and statistics by the Health Ministry show that 200,000 women each year are hospitalized because of complications arising from unsafe abortions.

The study has shocked doctors, who were surprised at just how common the illegal procedures are. "I think the big conclusion we draw from this is that the woman who has an abortion is a typical Brazilian woman," says Marcelo Medeiros, the economist and sociologist who coordinated the government-funded study. "She could be your cousin, your mother, your sister or your neighbor. All the evidence shows this is a serious problem and one that is not being debated openly."

In fact, Brazil's Congress is discussing tightening legislation rather than relaxing it. A bill in the committee stage proposes criminalizing any act designed to deliberately damage a fetus and prohibiting any statements that promote even legal abortion, a move the New York City–based Center for Reproductive Rights said "totally disregards women's health and lives." Health professionals say they hope the bill will die with the end of the current legislature and are hopeful next year's new Congress will be more forward-looking.

Birth-control advocates are dismayed that Roman Catholic Church still wields considerable power.

maternal mortality has remained steady for 15 years, a fact researchers say is intimately linked to a lack of safe abortions. Specialists fear that unless the issue is treated more as a health one than as a moral one, that statistic will not change. "The Health Ministry has said all along that this is a public-health problem," says França. "It should be up to the woman to decide how many children to have."

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2010/06/13/abortion-human-rights-current-controversy-brazil

religious extremism Reproductive rights South America Women Health

http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/successful-day-against-sharia-and-religious-laws-in-uk/

Gran Bretagna: manifestazione anti-sharia a Londra

Several hundred people joined One Law for All on 20 June at Downing Street to show their opposition to Sharia and religious-based laws in Britain and elsewhere and to demand universal rights and secularism.

MC Fariborz Pooya of the Iranian Secular Society said: “The One Law for All Campaign has brought to centre stage an important debate about the kind of society we want to live in whilst defending the rights of everyone irrespective of religion, race, nationality…; this Campaign is truly the voice of the voiceless.”

Women’s rights campaigner Yasmin Rehman said: “We Muslims have been a part of the UK for many, many years but the generations before me did not feel the need for or call for segregation in the way that is being demanded now. At the beginning of my career as a women’s rights advocate there was no need to apply for a certificate of Khula in divorce cases. Muslim women are now being told that divorces under the English legal system are not valued or recognised without a certificate of Khula – and should they remarry without this they will be committing Zina – a ‘crime’ punishable by death in many Muslim countries. This is not a view shared by all Islamic scholars but a view that is being pushed through the Islamic councils and tribunals across the UK.”

Sue Robson of the Gay And Lesbian Humanist Association said: “This is a human rights issue. Here in the UK, it’s an egalitarian issue; it’s a feminist issue. Elsewhere in our world, the issue is life – and death.”

Gerard Phillips of the National Secular Society said that Sharia Law was “nothing less than an attack on human rights and on equality.” He went on to say: “It undermines our democracy. It must be opposed.”

religious extremism Secularism United Kingdom women and the law

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3906746,00.html

Israele: imponente manifestazione razzista degli integralisti ultraortodossi

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox demonstrators rallied in Jerusalem and in Bnei Brak Thursday to protest the High Court of Justice's decision to jail haredi parents who refused to adhere by the court's ruling regarding their children's schooling.

By the afternoon, about 100,000 people accompanied the parents to the Jerusalem police station where they were ordered to report to, ahead of their imprisonment. The protestors were waiting at the site without rioting.

At the same time, more than 60,000 protestors flocked to Jerusalem's Yirmiyahu Street along with signs reading, "High Court against the people" and "God will rule for all eternity".

Israel Racism religious extremism

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100624-28069.html

Germania: adolescenti musulmani lanciano pietre verso gruppo teatrale di ebrei

About 30 children and youths, largely of Lebanese, Palestinian and Iranian descent, threw stones at the dancers on Sunday, shouting “Jews out!” daily Berliner Morgenpost reported.

The youths were aged from 10 to 15, the paper reported.

The dance troupe, named Chaverim – Hebrew for “friends” – broke off their performance after one of their members was hit in the leg by a stone and lightly injured.

Charlotte Knoblauch, president of the German Jewish Council, said the incident showed “a new social provocation, which already in the past weeks is clearly visible as it hasn’t been before.”

Hannover Mayor Stephan Weil branded the incident “unacceptable.” The city was meanwhile pursuing charges of incitement and attempted assault. He said at a press conference Wednesday there was “no evidence that the crime was prepared by an organisation or in advance.”

The chairman of the Jewish community in Lower Saxony, Michael Fürst, said however that “the children acted at least with the approval, if not even the direction of their parents.”

antisemitism Germany religious extremism

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/23/gay-people-iraq

Iraq: continua la violenza estrema degli integralisti islamici contro gay e lesbiche

Last week, 12 Iraqi police officers burst into a house in Karbala, beat up and blindfolded the six occupants and bundled them off in three vans, taking the computers they found with them. The house was then burned down by unknown people.

The house was a new "emergency shelter" run by the Iraqi LGBT organisation.

Two days later, one of the men turned up in hospital with a throat wound saying he'd been tortured. Iraqi LGBT has ordered those in its other two safe houses to move immediately.

Ali Hili, Iraq's LGBT leader, said "people in the west have been too quiet for too long about the violence against LGBT people in Iraq. The militia and the powers that be know they can get away with it while that silence continues."

At a state department event yesterday, Hillary Clinton touted US support, like Britain's, for African LGBT activists. Four were invited guests and she even offered funding. In both Malawi and Uganda there is a strong religious opposition to homosexuality but this hasn't stopped criticism. Yet in Iraq "religious sensitivities" are mentioned behind the scenes as the reason why Britain won't publicly criticise inaction on the killings of LGBT people, let alone killings by or with the connivance of the Iraqi government. Of course, in reality, the "sensitivities" are primarily political and LGBT people are being sacrificed for the sake of them.

Africa is the "gay international issue du jour" and that's a good thing, but the absence of any attention – any – to Iraq screams out for explanation. Iraqi LGBT has documented 738 killings in five years, similar numbers to those suffered by Iraq's Christian minority. Yet Iraq's state-colluded pogrom of gays isn't the subject of demonstrations by the international gay community, sustained actions by international human rights organisations, protests by lesbian or gay celebrities or even fundraising for "safe houses" – though they have one major funder, the Dutch humanist charity, Hivos.

Asia homophobia religious extremism

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/abortion-hotline-in-pakistan-faces-violent-opposition-2011540.html

Pakistan: integralisti islamici minacciano le femministe della linea telefonica pro-choice

An abortion hotline which has been set up in Pakistan is facing violent opposition. Islamic groups and political parties have condemned the hotline, which was launched yesterday, as "anti-Islamic" and "colonial", even though it will save the lives of thousands of women who die each year in backstreet abortion clinics. They have warned the organisers that they are at risk of reprisals.

The hotline, set up by a collection of women's groups in Pakistan and the Dutch pro-choice group Women on Waves, advises women how to use a drug to induce miscarriage safely and aims to reduce the estimated 890,000 unsafe illegal abortions performed in Pakistan every year.

"We want to save women's lives," said Gulalai Ismail, founder of the Pakistani women's group Aware Girls, which is helping to set up the hotline. "We are empowering women, and trying to give them information to help them take control of their bodies. Any groups which try to help women will have problems with extremist and fundamentalist groups. Ninety-nine per cent of clerics will oppose this."

As well as the hotline, trained Pakistani staff will offer abortion information in communities in rural Pakistan, particularly in the tribal areas of the North-West Frontier Province, where opposition is expected to be fiercest.

"While the debate continues on whether terminating a pregnancy is allowed or not, and under what conditions, thousands of women are dying as a result of unsafe backstreet abortions," said Shaista Gohir, executive director of Muslim Women's Network. "The Pakistani government is failing in its duty to provide adequate family planning services," she said.

Asia religious extremism Reproductive rights

http://www.sign4change.info/english/spip.php?article722

Iran: Zeynab Jalalian rischia di essere uccisa dalle autorità iraniane

Per favore vi chiedo di scrivere in modo da intercedere per la sua salvezza!

Change for Equality: Iran’s Supreme Court approved the death sentence by execution of Zeynab Jalalian in November 2009. The sentence has been submitted to the implementation office and is scheduled to be carried out. The exact date and time when the sentence will be implemented is unclear, but it may take place in a matter of hours or days. Khalil Bahramian, a prominent lawyer, who has represented others sentenced to death, and who efforts to represent Zeynab by the courts was rejected, explained in news reports yesterday that Zeynab faces imminent execution and may be hanged in only a few hours.

Zeynab Jalalian, from Maku, a town in the north-west of Iran, was sentenced to death for “Enmity against God” in January 2009 by the Kermanshah Revolutionary Court. Before that, she had spent eight months in a Ministry of Intelligence detention facility, during which time her family had no information concerning her fate. She is reported not to have been granted access to a lawyer during her trial, which she said lasted only a few minutes. Zeynab Jalalian’s death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on 26 November 2009.

http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/06/jalalian-risk-execution/

Please write to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urging immediate action:

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Ms. Navanethem Pillay
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

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