Action Alerts
Participating in Action Alerts is a tangible means of getting involved, mobilizing support and making a difference in the lives of others. We encourage you to stay informed and to help us lobby by responding to Action Alerts which we will publish on this page and through our listserve.
Algeria: Urgent Action Needed to Stop Violent 'Punishments' Against Women
The VNC Campaign endorses this action being spearheaded by SIAWI in Algeria on behalf of women under threat of violent punitive actions by private individuals and groups associated with fundamentalist forces in the country. According to SIAWI and progressive forces in Algeria, these women are being targetted for ’stealing men’s or youth’s jobs’. To earn a living, they had to live awy from their families hence without their walis (male guardians). This spate of incidents is taking place in the broader context of State inaction against systemic violence being waged by these fundamentalist forces for decades now. Please click on this
Algeria: Two more ’punitive’ actions against women have taken place in less than one month in the southern city of M’sila, Algeria (night of June 11 and July 2-3, 2011). Their houses were burnt down by hundreds of youth, and they barely escaped being lynched. The police did not intervene.
Indonesia: Government regulation on female circumcision must be repealed
VNC is supporting the demand by Indonesian women's groups that the Indonesian government repeal the recent regulation issued by the Ministry of Health which allows female genital circumcision to be carried out by medical professionals.
Malaysia: The Obedient Wives’ Club Signals State’s Failure to Uphold Women’s Rights in the Family
The ASEAN Progressive Muslim Movement (APMM), a network of twenty one (21) non-governmental organizations working for the protection and promotion of women’s rights in the ASEAN region, jointly with and the Global Campaign to Stop Violence Against Women in the name of "Culture" (), view the recent formation of The Obedient Wives’ Club (OWC) in Malaysia as disturbing and offensive. The Syarie Lawyers Association (PGSM) in Malaysia has attacked the Club for encouraging women to fulfill their husbands' needs by being "good prostitutes".
[Update] Saudi Arabia: Al Sharif released, 17 June Women2Drive campaign continues
Via
Update on:
Saudi authorities on Monday freed a woman jailed nine days ago for her role in promoting the right to drive for Saudi women. Manal Al Sharif, a 32-year-old computer security specialist employed by the oil giant ARAMCO, was detained May 22 after she defied the kingdom's ban on female drivers and posted a video of her action on YouTube, as part of a national campaign.
Saudi Arabia: Call for release of activist challenging ban on women drivers
The international solidarity network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) calls for the immediate release of Manal Al-Sharif. Saudi authorities have arrested an activist who launched a campaign to challenge a ban on women driving in the conservative kingdom. The media spokesman of the Directorate General of Prisons in Saudi Arabia, Colonel Dr Ayoub Ben, has confirmed that Manal Al-Sharif has been charged with breach of public order and security, and with ‘deliberately inciting the media and other Saudi women’ to drive cars. She will be detained for a further five days pending investigation. 
Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill is Anti-Human Rights and Anti-Democratic: ACT NOW TO STOP IT!
The Global Campaign to Stop VAW in the name of "Culture" (VNC Campaign) extends our unequivocal solidarity with the Ugandan lesbians, gays and other progressive citizens that continue to fight against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda. The Bill is explicitly anti-human rights and anti-democratic and contravenes the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and other international human rights treaties to which Uganda is a party. National dialogue and understanding of homosexuality in Uganda is widely known to being strongly influenced by American Evangelical Christians, some of whom visited the country and took part in an anti-homosexuality conference that immediately preceded the filing of the anti-homosexuality bill in the parliament in 2009. David Kato, the LGBT rights activist whose extra-judicial killing caused worldwide public outcry was one of the main advocates campaigning against the bill, and received numerous death threats for his activism.
[Update] Iran: Adoption of Restrictive NGO LAW postponed
Amnesty International: A draft law which would limit the existence and activities of independent NGOs and civil society organizations has been sent back to a committee for a further three months' study. If it is passed, many more civil society activists in Iran could face prosecution for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of association and assembly.
The Bill on the Establishment and Supervision of Non-Governmental Organisations was undergoing a final reading in Iran’s parliament and the first 26 articles were passed. Following intense domestic and international criticism of the bill, a motion was passed which sent the bill back to the Committee on Social Affairs for three months for further study and amendment of the remaining articles.
USA: Fr. Roy Bourgeois Threatened with Dismissal From Maryknoll Community
Today, March 29th, 2011, Fr. Roy Bourgeois received a canonical warning from the leadership of his community, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. Fr. Roy has been given fifteen days to recant his belief that women, along with men, are called by God to serve as Roman Catholic priests. Failure to recant during this time period will result in a second canonical warning from his superiors, whereupon, Maryknoll leadership will submit their charge for dismissal to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with a request for laicization. Take action .
Urgent Appeal from International Civil Society: International Community Must Ensure Rights of Egyptians are Upheld
The Violence is Not our Culture campaign supports this appeal by diverse civil society organisations on the crisis in Egypt.
Urgent Appeal from International Civil Society:
International Community Must Ensure Rights of Egyptians are Upheld
1 February 2011
We, civil society organizations from across the world, strongly urge all governments, as well as regional and international organizations, to clearly and unequivocally denounce the ongoing violent crackdown against the public protests and demands for democratic reform and government accountability that have been occurring across Egypt since the 25th of January.
URGENT: PAKISTAN: Shirkat Gah Appeals for Support in Relief Work
URGENT Action: Shirkat Gah Appeals for Support in Relief Work
Pakistan is facing yet another emergency situation due to severe flooding caused by heavy rainfall. According to the Pakistani government, this has affected twenty million people so far. After visiting the flood stricken areas, a visibly upset UN General Secretary, Ban Ki Moon, said “This has been a heart-wrenching day for me. In the past, I have visited many natural disasters, but I have never seen anything like this.”
Shirkat Gah - Women’s Resource Centre (SG), Pakistan, is actively engaged in providing relief to those affected and coordinating efforts across Pakistan through its partner community based organizations in synchronization with all three Shirkat Gah offices in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. We would like to appeal to all to help us in raising funds. Your contribution will be highly appreciated and will be used to set up medical camps and purchase goods necessary for immediate relief such as food items and non-food items including medicines, cooking utensils, clothing and shoes (the latter two items can also be donated through the Shirkat Gah Offices). The funds will later be used for the particular needs of communities based on a reassessment of the situation.
You can either drop off or mail us clothing and shoes donations at any of our 3 offices – please see the end of the document for postal details.