Two Afghan “Prostitutes” Allegedly Murdered by Taliban

The following news story was taken from here

Two Afghan “Prostitutes” Allegedly Murdered by Taliban

Two Afghan women were killed last weekend outside Ghazni City for allegedly running a prostitution ring for US military personnel and foreign contractors. The women were allegedly killed by the Taliban. A spokesperson for the Ghazni governor described the women as “innocent local people” who were killed in an “undescribable and cruel way.” Nathan Perry, a US Military spokesperson, said that he was unaware of allegations of a prostitution ring or “anything close to that nature” BBC News reports.

The Taliban purportedly released photos on the Internet of the women’s decapitated bodies. According to Times Now, the Associated Press had a camera crew and began filming the shooting as soon as they heard gunshots. There has been speculation that the execution was meant to be a warning to women of the community.

Media Resources: BBC News, 7/13/08; Adnkronos International 7/15/08; Times Now 7/14/08

Feminists Express Outrage Over New Yorker

Feminists Express Outrage over New Yorker

7/15/2008 - Feminist groups immediately expressed outrage over the New Yorker’s cover for the July 21 issue that depicts a caricature of Michelle and Senator Barack Obama. Editor David Remnick Claims the Caricature is Satirical.

The cover features Michelle and Barack Obama in what appears to be the oval office, with a portrait of Osama bin Laden over the fireplace and a U.S. flag burning in it. The Michelle caricature has an afro, is wearing camouflage, and carries a machine gun while the Barack caricature’s attire mirrors that of bin Laden. The two caricatures are doing a fist bump that Fox News has previously described as a terrorist fist jab.

Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Dr. E. Faye Williams’ response was that “the New Yorker cover is not satire; it’s racism and sexism at its worst! Never again, will I purchase a New Yorker. Some people understand nothing less than the ‘power of the purse’.”

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is encouraging its membership to e-mail letters to the New Yorker urging that the cover be removed.

The Feminist Majority (FM) has also sent out an action alert. FM President Eleanor Smeal remarks that “Of course some will say that feminists have no sense of humor, but there is absolutely nothing satirical or funny about it. This is a vicious attack masquerading as satire.”

The blogosphere has also lit up. Michelle Obama Watch calls the cover “reprehensible” and calls for its “immediate removal”. Feministing calls the cover “a perfect visual summary of what Fox News spews and what right-wing emails allege every day”. The Diary of an Anxious Black Woman asks “are we, as a nation, truly sophisticated enough to make these kinds of jokes?.

Media Resources: National Organization for Women 7/14/08; Feminist Majority Foundation 7/14/08; Women’s Media Center 7/13/08; Feministing; Diary of an Anxious Black Woman 7/13/08; Michelle Obama Watch 7/14/08; YouTube

Cynthia McKinney Will Be Green Party Presidential Candidate

Cynthia McKinney will be Green Party Presidential Candidate

7/14/2008 - Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was nominated by the Green Party to be its presidential candidate at the party’s convention in Chicago on Saturday. McKinney represented Dekalb County, Georgia’s 4th district, for six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat.

Journalist, activist and community organizer Rosa Clemente will be McKinney’s running mate. Clemente has remarked that “Cynthia McKinney is a hero to me and many others across this country and around the world for her courage in standing up to George Bush while the Democratic Party establishment caved.” McKinney is known for initiating legislation to impeach Bush during her last days in Congress.

Media Resources: rosaclemente.com; runcynthiarun.org; greensforgreens.org; Associated Press 12/8/06

Changing Hearts And Minds On Gay Marriage

Changing Hearts and Minds on Gay Marriage

This story comes from Alternet.
Young activists are trying to reach out to conservative voters.

A famous Chinese proverb teaches that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.

For Meg Sneed, a 25-year-old Arizona lesbian, journeys to change a thousand hearts begin with a single thought: There’s power in sharing personal stories.

In 2006, she and other young activists in Soulforce, a gay-rights group devoted to the kind of peaceful confrontation practiced by Gandhi and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, traveled eight weeks by bus to evangelical colleges to share what it’s like to be gay.

The next year, Sneed, who was fighting cancer, was weak from chemotherapy but walked 60 miles to help raise money for breast cancer research.

Now, with her home state set to vote on banning same-sex couples from marrying, Sneed is back on the move: Starting Aug. 8, she and other young Soulforce activists will walk 96 miles to the state capitol to share touching accounts of how the amendment would hurt real people.

She picked 96 miles for the six-day trek through egg-frying heat because that’s the number of years gay Arizonans haven’t had equal rights. (Arizona became a state in 1912.)

“Walking 96 miles,” Sneed says of her bold adventure, “is nothing compared to a gay or lesbian person being told they can’t see their partner in their dying moments at a hospital because they don’t have full marriage rights.”

Obama Reaches Out To Women With Economic Plan

Obama Reaches Out to Women with Economic Plan
July 11, 2008

Sen Barack Obama focused on women yesterday and unleashed his economic plan for women. In New York, he attended a breakfast for women with Sen. Hillary Clinton before speaking at a town hall meeting in Fairfax County, VA.

Obama’s economic plan for women includes increasing the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour by 2011, giving 8.4 million women a raise of up to $4,700 a year. He also proposes to increase retirement saving options for 45 million women by providing a new automatic workplace pension and a $500 matching tax credit for their savings.

Obama’s plan supports closing the gender wage gap. He voted in favor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007, which is currently stalled in the Senate following a Republican filibuster in April. If passed, this bill would correct the US Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire Rubber Co., Inc. that guted the ability of women workers to sue for wage discrimination..

“We won’t truly have an economy that puts the needs of the middle class first until we ensure that, when it comes to pay and benefits at work, women are treated as the equal partners that they are,” said Obama, according to the Washington Post.

The presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, did not cast a vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, but said, according to the Associated Press, he “thinks the Supreme Court got it right,” and “this kind of legislation … opens up to lawsuits for all kinds of problems.”

Media Resources: Associated Press 7/11/2008; Washington Post 7/10/2008, Feminist Daily News Wire 4/24/2008; Report: The Impact of the Obama Economic Plan for America’s Working Women

Feminism Friday: Family Planning Vital To Improving Maternal Health, UN Officials Say

Family planning vital to improving maternal health, UN officials say

11 July 2008 – Family planning is a critical element to improving maternal health, one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) or global targets world leaders have pledged to achieve by 2015, senior United Nations officials said today, urging that women everywhere have access to this vital service.
In messages to mark World Population Day, which is observed annually on 11 July, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) noted that improving maternal health – MDG 5 – is lagging the furthest behind among all the targets.

“The rate of death for women as they give birth remains the starkest indicator of the disparity between rich and poor, both within and among countries,” Mr. Ban said.

He noted the three basic interventions necessary to improve maternal health: skilled attendance at the time of birth, facilities to provide emergency obstetric care and family planning.

“Studies show that family planning has immediate benefits for the lives and health of mothers and their infants,” he stated. “Ensuring basic access to family planning could reduce maternal deaths by a third and child deaths by as much as 20 per cent.

“And yet the benefits of family planning remain out of reach for many, especially for those who often have the hardest time getting the information and services they need to plan their families, such as the poor, marginalized populations and young people,” he said.

Unable To ‘Express’ Any ‘Straight Talk,’ McCain Stumbles Over Viagra, Birth Control Question

The following news story was taken from here.

Unable to ‘Express’ Any ‘Straight Talk,’ McCain Stumbles Over Viagra, Birth Control Question

Thursday July 10, 2008
John McCain’s Straight Talk Express stalled yesterday when a reporter asked him about insurance companies that cover Viagra but not birth control. The Republican presidential candidate refused to give a straight answer. The exchange, which happened aboard McCain’s famously-named campaign bus, can be seen at MSNBC.com.

Also on that bus - according to the Associated Press - was Carly Fiorina, a McCain supporter and trusted female advisor, sitting just a few seats away:

The former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, discussing consumer-driven health insurance, mentioned something “I’ve been hearing a lot about from women: There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won’t cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice.”

Women voters have another choice, and it’s spelled O-B-A-M-A.
Time for McCain to go back to the books and learn the alternate meanings of the word ‘express.’ Because he’s not doing a very good job of expressing himself, or impressing those of us who believe that BC (birth control) is as important an issue as ED (erectile dysfunction). If he doesn’t follow up with any real straight talk on his position, as far as we’re concerned he and his bus are on the road to nowhere.

Peru: At-Risk Women Denied Legal Abortions

Peru: At-Risk Women Denied Legal Abortions

(Lima, July 9, 200 – The Peruvian government’s deliberate refusal to streamline procedures and approve guidelines for legal abortion is endangering the lives and health of women and girls who are often forced to use unsafe solutions for risky pregnancies, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

Women and girls confronting pregnancies that could kill or permanently harm them are refused legal abortions, or don’t even know they have a right to get one.

Angela Heimburger, Women’s Rights researcher at Human Rights Watch

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The 52-page report, “My Rights, and My Right to Know: Lack of Access to Therapeutic Abortion in Peru,” documents the difficulties women face in accessing therapeutic abortion – those needed to save the life of the woman or avoid serious health risks – in Peru’s public health system. While no reliable statistics are available on how many women have been turned away from a legal abortion, in interviews with women, healthcare providers, rights activists and government officials, Human Rights Watch found that women in general lack accurate information about their right to a legal abortion, and public health care professionals are often unclear about the intent of laws guaranteeing women access to legal abortions.

“Women and girls confronting pregnancies that could kill or permanently harm them are refused legal abortions, or don’t even know they have a right to get one,” said Angela Heimburger, a women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “The government not only has an obligation to raise awareness about the right to safe, dignified and affordable legal abortions, but it should make getting the procedure as painless as possible.”

Abortion is legal in Peru when a pregnancy endangers a woman’s life and when it is necessary to protect a woman’s health. But because a legal abortion is rarely available in a public hospital, many women seek unsafe and clandestine procedures to deal with a risky pregnancy. Human Rights Watch found several obstacles to making legal abortion accessible. Ambiguities about abortion in Peru’s legal system raise fears of prosecution among health care professionals and women. The absence of a national protocol provides no standardized outline for when a therapeutic abortion can be performed. The public health care system is ill-equipped to deal with referral procedures, and circumstances under which a therapeutic abortion can be approved are unclear. Peru has legal abortions, but in practice it is nearly impossible for a woman to have one.

Read more of this story here.

Dr. Tiller Vindicated

A Kansas Grand Jury adjourned on Wednesday without finding substantial evidence that Dr Tiller, a late-term abortion provider, violated any abortion laws. The Wichita Eagle reports that the grand jury was forced to convene by an anti-choice group, Kansas for Life. Kansas is one of six states that allow citizens to petition to convene a grand jury.

The District Attorney told the Wichita Eagle, “After six months of conducting an investigation … this Grand Jury has not found sufficient evidence to bring an indictment on any crime related to the abortion laws.” The grand jury investigation had previously come before the Kansas Supreme Court over its attempts to subpoena confidential patient medical records.

Dr. Tiller is one of only a few late-term abortion providers in the country. According to Kansas and federal law, an abortion can only be performed after the 22 weeks if carrying the fetus to term would cause the woman “substantial and irreversible impairment,” according to KWCH News. Dr. Tiller has consistently been targeted by anti-choice groups.

Media Resources: Wichita Eagle 7/3/2008, KWCH 7/3/2008, Feminist Daily News Wire 7/6/2007, Feminist Daily News Wire 5/7/2008

This story was taken from Feminist Campus Daily News Wire

Feminism Friday: Montana Anti-Abortion Ballot Initiative Fails

Montana Anti-Abortion Ballot Initiative Fails

6/27/2008 - A proposed ballot initiative to amend the Montana state constitution to define a fertilized egg as a person failed to qualify for the state’s 2008 November ballot. Supporters of the initiative failed to gather even half of the required 44,000 signatures required to qualify the measure, reports Montana’s News Station.com.

Abortion opponents have pushed these so-called “personhood initiatives” in several states. These measures declare that a fertilized egg is a “person”" who enjoys “inalienable rights, equality of justice, and due process of the law.” They would threaten not only abortion itself, but IUDs, emergency contraception, in vitro fertilization clinics, and stem cell research. The measures failed in Georgia and Oregon. Signatures have been submitted for the Secretary of State to validate in Colorado, and a petition drive is still underway in Mississippi.

Media Resources: Montana’s News Station 6/26/08; Daily Women’s Health Policy Report 6/27/08; Feminist Daily Women

This story was taken from the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Gardasil Not Approved For Women Over 26

Gardasil Not Approved for Women Over 26

6/26/2008 - The Food and Drug Administration denied Merck and Co Inc’s application to expand Gardasil use to women over the age of 26 on Wednesday. The FDA cited pending issues with the vaccine that could not be researched during the review time-frame, according to Philadelphia Business Journal.

Gardasil is a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that protects against about 70 percent of the HPV strains that are linked to cervical cancer. It was approved for use in girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26 in 2006.

The FDA also denied Merck’s proposal to expand the vaccine to cover other strains of the HPV. Merck and Co. is currently preparing to seek approval for use of the vaccine in men, according to CNN Money.

Media Resources: Philadelphia Business Journal 6/25/2008; CNN Money 6/25/2008; Reuters 6/25/2008

This story was taken from the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Judge Bans The Word Rape In A Rape Trial

Judge Bans the Word Rape in a Rape Trial

6/25/2008 - In Lincoln, Nebraska, a judge banned a woman from using the word “rape” in her testimony at the trial of her alleged rapist. According to the Kansas City Star, the judge ordered victim Tory Bowen from using the word “rape,” claiming that such language could unduly prejudice the jury.

According to the Omaha World-Herald, it is standard practice for a judge to exclude some words such as “victim,” however legal experts argue that excluding the word “rape” in a rape trial is too extreme. Wendy Murphy, a trial lawyer who is representing Bowen and professor at the New England School of Law, told the Omaha World-Herald, “It’s virtually impossible to see a woman as a victim when you’re calling a rape ’sex.’ It’s like a victim saying it was consensual.”

Ms. Bowen said that describing her ordeal as “sex” rather than “rape” was akin to lying on the stand, and such practices discourage victims from reporting crimes. Ms. Bowen told the Omaha World-Herald, “[Women] know the difference between sex and rape. If it was sex, I wouldn’t be speaking to you.” Jurors in the case were not aware of the restrictions.

Ms. Bowen’s case resulted in a mistrial due to a hung jury; a new trial is scheduled for July.

Media Resources: Omaha World-Herald 6/7/2008, Kansas City Star 6/7/2008

This story was taken from here.

New Support For Birth Control In The Philippines

New Support for Birth Control in the Philippines

6/24/2008 - Former Filipino President Joseph Estrada is now touring the country promoting contraceptives and family planning, despite longstanding opposition from the influential Catholic Church.

According to the Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, local advocates are openly promoting family planning on radio talk shows, and increasing efforts to distribute condoms. According to Wall Street Journal, family-planning advocates are increasing in number, and stepping up their efforts to oppose “the Vatican’s efforts to hold back the country’s economic potential.” Ernesto Pernia, an economics professor at the University of the Philippines, told the Wall Street Journal “It is time for the Philippines’ Catholic Church hierarchy to be more understanding and tolerant, as in other Catholic countries, so that the government is not impeded from providing strong family planning advice.”

The Catholic Bishops Conference on the Philippines has suggested that the chronic poverty is a result of corruption and poor economic policy. However, other groups, including the UN Population Fund, report that the high birth rate and overpopulation, perpetuated by the government’s anti-family planning policies, are partially responsible for the country’s poverty.

Media Resources: Daily Women’s Health Policy Report 6/23/2008, Wall Street Journal 6/20/2008, Feminist Daily News 4/23/2008

The story above was taken from http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswire.asp.

Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Sentenced to Prison

Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Sentenced to Prison

An Iranian women’s rights activist was sentenced to a five year prison term last week, the maximum penalty for her so-called crime. Hana Abdi was convicted of “gathering and colluding to commit a crime against national security,” according to Payvand Iran News.

Ronak Safarzadeh, another young activist who was working with Abdi, has been charged with “enmity against God,” which could carry the death penalty. Amnesty International released a press report last week expressing the belief that both women are prisoners of conscience, “detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and association.”

“It’s become routine for the Iranian government to use vague security charges to detain and intimidate peaceful activists,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, according to a statement. “Now, they’re going further by handing down outrageous sentences.”

Both Abdi and Safarzadeh are members of Campaign for Equality, a group working to end legal discrimination against women in Iran. This group has come under increased media attention recently after nine members were arrested two weeks ago during a demonstration to commemorate Iran’s national day of solidarity.

Media Resources: Payvand Iran News 6/21/2008; Feminist Daily Newswire 6/17/2008; Amnesty International 6/20/2008; Human Rights Watch

This story was taken from the Feminist Majority Foundation.

UN Security Council to Discuss Sexual Violence

UN Security Council to Discuss Sexual Violence

Today, Condoleezza Rice leads the United Nations Security Council in a discussion of sexual violence as a tactic of war. While the United Nations has previously recognized that sexual violence against women occurs in war, it has not created concrete steps for alleviating this atrocity or mechanisms for oversight and information gathering, according to Relief Web. This debate may lead to a resolution addressing the issue.

BuaNews (South Africa) reports that there are still shockingly low numbers of women involved in conflict resolution, military observers, civilian police, and observers of peacekeeping missions. Based on data in South Africa, increased women’s involvement in peacekeeping enhances the mission’s effectiveness and reduces the incidence of sexual violence against women and children.

Media Resources: Sources: Relief Web 6/18/2008, BuaNews 6/18/2008

This story was taken from the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Pakistan: Abolish the Death Penalty

Pakistan: Abolish the Death Penalty
Immediate Moratorium Should Precede Abolition

(New York, June 17, 200 – The newly elected government in Pakistan should abolish the death penalty, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani.

Until the death penalty is abolished by an act of Parliament, Pakistan should announce an immediate moratorium while the government establishes a commission to review the application of the death penalty, the offenses for which it can be applied, and implements reforms to ensure that international fair trial standards are met.

Human Rights Watch stated in its letter that crimes carrying the death penalty have significantly increased in recent years under the government of Pervez Musharraf, resulting in a much higher number of death sentences and executions. Out of the more than 31,400 convicts in the country, nearly a quarter – more than 7,000 individuals, including almost 40 women – have been sentenced to death, and are either involved in lengthy appeals processes or awaiting execution. In 2007, 309 prisoners were sentenced to death and 134 were hanged. Most of those sentenced to death are poor and illiterate. Some face discrimination as members of religious minority communities. Many were held without due process of law and faced trials that did not meet international fair trial standards.

“The number of persons sentenced to death and executed every year in Pakistan is among the highest in the world,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “If the new government is really interested in justice, it would end this unacceptable state of affairs.”

Human Rights Watch said that torture is endemic in Pakistan and can lead to wrongful convictions and the execution of innocent people. Lawyers and human rights activists believe that there are many cases where the person executed was innocent or where capital punishment was used to settle political scores.

Human Rights Watch also expressed concern at the use of the death penalty by special courts like the anti-terrorism, narcotics and military courts, all of which fail to deliver fair trials, not least because these courts are not independent of the executive.

So long as the death penalty remains in force, Human Rights Watch urged the Pakistani government to ensure reforms are put in place before any death sentence is handed down or carried out. These include ensuring that defendants in death penalty cases have prompt access to competent counsel; that torture and other ill-treatment is not used to obtain confessions or evidence; and that all trials meet international fair trial standards and other relevant provisions of Pakistani and international law.

“There are serious weaknesses in the legal system that lead to unjust executions,” said Adams. “The new government should place reform at the center of its agenda.”

On December 18, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution by a wide margin calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions. In September 2008, the General Assembly will reopen discussion on the death penalty.

“The new Pakistani government can distinguish itself from Pervez Musharraf’s military rule by telling the General Assembly in September that it has put a stop to the death penalty,” said Adams.

Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because it is a punishment of an inherently cruel, inhuman and final nature.

This story can be found here.

Iranian Activists Arrested After Peaceful Gathering

Iranian Activists Arrested After Peaceful Gathering

Nine Iranian women activists were arrested last week on Iran’s national day of solidarity with women. The activists were attempting to take part in a peaceful demonstration the Rahe Abrisham Gallery last week, the Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) reports.

According to Amnesty International, the activists were part of a group called the Campaign for Equality, which had organized the demonstration to commemorate Iran’s national day of solidarity. Security forces prevented it from taking place by closing down the gallery.

The Campaign for Equality is fighting to eliminate discrimination against women, and is sponsoring the One Million Signatures campaign. Amir Yaghoub-Ali was arrested and sentenced to a one-year prison term earlier this month for circulating this petition.

Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) reports that the activists were released around 1 a.m. later that night, but it is not known whether there will be charge against them.

Media Resources: Amnesty International 6/16/2008, WLP 6/12/2008, WLUML 6/13/2008, Feminist Majority Foundation 6/3/2008

This story was taken from the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Canada: Imprisoned HIV/AIDS Activist Wins 2008 Rights Award

Canada: Imprisoned HIV/AIDS Activist Wins 2008 Rights Award

(Ottawa, June 16, 200 – A federal prisoner and health activist is the recipient of the 2008 Canadian Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch announced today. The award, which recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations that protect the rights and dignity of people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS, will be presented at a public reception and ceremony in Ottawa on June 16.

As a peer health counsellor, Peter Collins has been conducting HIV-prevention education behind bars since the late 1980s. His efforts have also included providing support to prisoners living with HIV and hepatitis C, and advocating for better health care and HIV prevention services – including harm-reduction measures – in prisons. Collins is currently serving his sentence at Bath Institution, a medium-security federal prison near Kingston, Ontario that houses more than 300 male prisoners.

“Today’s award not only recognizes one person’s efforts to make a difference in stopping this epidemic, but also highlights how much still needs to be done to ensure prisoners’ basic human right to protect themselves against HIV and hepatitis C,” said Richard Elliott, executive director of the Legal Network. “One immediate priority is to reinstate the safer tattooing program; another is for Canadian prisons finally to implement needle-exchange programs.”

Prisoners throughout Canada still have no access to clean needles. Studies in Canada and elsewhere report much higher levels of HIV and hepatitis C infection among prisoners than among the population as a whole, and that sharing of equipment, including makeshift tools to inject drugs, is common in prisons. The World Health Organization and the Ontario and Canadian Medical Associations, among others, have recommended that needle-exchange programs be implemented in prison settings. The Public Health Agency of Canada recently reviewed the evidence for Correctional Services Canada (CSC) and concluded such programs make sense as a public health measure.

This story can be found here.

New UN-Built Safe House To Boost Assistance For Abused Girls And Women

New UN-built Safe House To Boost Assistance For Abused Girls and Women
13 June 2008 | UNMIL | PR 55

Monrovia, Liberia – A new safe house, built by the United Nations Mission in Liberia, (UNMIL) for survivors and victims of sexual and gender-based violence has been handed over to the Liberian non-governmental organisation, THINK, (Touching Humanity In Need of Kindness).

The safe houses, which are also supported by the UN Children’s agency, UNICEF, are run by THINK.

“Safe houses provide a very important service to survivors. And sexual and gender-based violence, especially rape, must be stopped if Liberia is to develop fully,” said the UN Envoy in Liberia, Ms. Ellen Margrethe Løj, as she handed over the keys of the completed US$24,000-project to the Executive Director of THINK, Ms. Rosana Schaack.

“Any woman or girl who falls victim to this sort of violence, especially rape, is really having her possibilities for contributing to society greatly diminished,” the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, SRSG, added, as she called for a greater involvement of elders and community leaders in preventing violence against women.

The Deputy Minister of Health for Administration, Ms. Vivian Cheru, thanked UNMIL for providing funds for the construction of the new safe house and commended THINK for their work in assisting abused and battered women and children. “Our gathering is very very important because rape has increased in our society so we definitely need more safe houses,” she noted.

This story can be found here.

Feminism Friday: Japan Should Become A Champion Of Human Rights

Japan Should Become a Champion of Human Rights

By Kanae Doi, Japan Consultant for Human Rights Watch

Each day brings news of a new human rights crisis. Even focusing only on our Asian neighbors, countless civilians are being killed in conflicts in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka; governments are crushing protest movements in Burma, Tibet and Uzbekistan; security forces and armed groups are abducting, torturing and killing people in Sri Lanka, North Korea, Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines, while the military government is compelling people to vote in Burma with no respect for the rule of law. Japan’s goal to make the 21st century “a century of human rights” seems wishful thinking.

And how is the Japanese government responding to these human rights crises all over Asia? The Japanese government’s position has often been vague and slow when it does raise its voice about human rights concerns in other countries. Japan has rarely demonstrated leadership in the international community to speak up for those being oppressed by their own governments. Only in the case of North Korea has Japan certainly taken the lead in pressuring the North Korean government on abductions of Japanese nationals. But this has more to do with protecting Japanese nationals than protecting universal human rights. Proof lies in the fact that we hardly ever hear about Japan speaking out about ordinary North Koreans who face every day abuses of human rights.

The Japanese media often nonchalantly reports on “Western governments” protesting human rights violations abroad. Broadcasters report on such acts as if protesting human rights violations were a duty reserved solely for the West, and not Asia. True, Japan is not alone in its relative reticence to speak about human rights violations in other countries; it is a common trait found in almost all Asian governments.

Being Japanese, we are quick to count ourselves among Western democratic nations as far as the economy is concerned. Yet why are we so indifferent and allow ourselves to lag behind in the area of human rights? It’s not as if Japanese people do not possess a basic sense of social justice.

Respecting human rights is not only about asserting social justice for all, but it is also in Japan’s national interest by promoting regional stability. For example, many foreign affairs experts say China and North Korea pose the biggest threat to Japan’s security, because these countries do not share basic values with Japan and their governments lack stability, which in turn makes it difficult to predict their future stance towards Japan.

But what if China and North Korea were rights-respecting nations where the rule of law protected the interests of all individuals without fear of oppression and societies in which people had the freedom of expression to openly discuss their problems and seek solutions even on politically “sensitive” issues? China and North Korea would then become genuinely stable societies, and neighbors in which Japan could place greater trust.

Japan has the potential to be a leading Asian nation that advocates the protection of global human rights. Certainly that leadership comes with a responsibility to clean its own slate, too. The human rights record of the Japanese government will come under scrutiny. But that is an honor. It is more dishonorable to maintain relationships with other countries when neither party ever brings up their shared stake in human rights, or their roles in preventing human rights violations.

This story can be found here.