Europe

Spain: Brotherhood includes women in Holy Week procession for first time

Publication Date: 
April 20, 2011
Source: 
New York Times
Women who are participating as members of the Brotherhood of Los Javieres in Easter celebrations.


SEVILLE — Ana María Ruiz Copete, a sister in the oldest religious brotherhood of Seville, has been anticipating this Easter celebration for 30 years.

On Friday, the Brotherhood of Silence will include for the first time Ms. Ruiz Copete and 25 other women in one of the traditional processions of hooded penitents that have put the Andalusian capital at the center stage of Catholic celebrations of the Holy Week.

Austria: UN cultural rights expert calls for better promotion of cultural rights and diversity

Publication Date: 
April 15, 2011
Source: 
UN OHCHR


GENEVA – UN Independent Expert in the field of cultural rights, Farida Shaheed on Friday encouraged the Austrian Government to approach cultural diversity as an invaluable resource and to take concrete measures to promote it. 

“The Government should mainstream cultural diversity and the cultural heritage of Austria’s diverse populations by incorporating minority cultures and histories in public schooling curricula, media and cultural activities,” she said. “They should also promote intercultural understanding and minority language proficiency in all official institutions and among civil servants.” 

Voices Unveiled: Turkish Women Who Dare (Film)

Publication Date: 
April, 2010


Voices Unveiled: Turkish Women Who Dare
- A film by Binnue Karaevli 

Can Islamic values co-exist with full equality for women? VOICES UNVEILED examines this timely issue through portraits of three women pursuing life paths and careers of their own choosing in present-day Turkey.

France: Full-face veils outlawed as France spells out controversial niqab ban

Publication Date: 
March 3, 2011
Source: 
The Guardian
A woman in a niqab walks with a child in the Tuileries, in Paris, France. Photograph: Horacio Villalobos/EPA


From Saudi tourists window-shopping on the Champs-Élysées to Muslim women in a departure lounge at Charles de Gaulle airport or the few young French converts on suburban estates, any woman who steps outside in France wearing a veil that covers her face will be breaking the law from next month.

Turkey: Headscarf Continues as Political Issue

Publication Date: 
January 31, 2011
Source: 
ISP News


ANKARA, Jan 31, 2011 (IPS) - A ruling by an administrative court banning female candidates for academic posts from being veiled during an admission examination has brought the headscarf back to the front of Turkish politics, and reignited tensions between secularist and religious forces. 

Italy: Slow Changes in the Ways to Tackel 'Honour' Killings

Publication Date: 
January 20, 2011
Source: 
Dr. Valentina Colombo


“AND YET IT MOVES”… SLOW CHANGES IN THE WAY TO TACKLE HONOR KILLINGS IN ITALY
By Valentina Colombo 

In Sweden between January 20th and January 22nd, in occasion of the 9th anniversary of the tragic death of the young girl of Kurdish origins, the association “Never forget Pela and Fadime” in the person of the president Sara Mohammad, herself a survivor of a forced marriage, organized many public events to stress that Sweden will not forget Fadime and the other victims of honor related violence.

Chechnya, Russia: Islamic Religious Ideology Impacts Women

Publication Date: 
January 21, 2011
Source: 
AWID

AWID speaks with a women’s rights activist in Chechnya about the growing use of religious ideology to threaten, control and attack women there.

In the summer of 2008, Europe’s largest mosque to date was erected in Grozny, Chechnya, a federal republic within Russia. Two years earlier, the land where the USD$20 million mosque was built saw intense conflict between Chechen and Russian military forces. At the mosque’s opening, the Kremlin-appointed President of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadirov declared his loyalty to both Moscow and “traditional Islam.”

 

Report from the event "Your Marriage Your Rights"

Publication Date: 
March, 2010

Introduction

From early on after the inception of Direct Approach it was identified that a key issue facing ME women within the community was Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence.

It was, however, recognised that this was an exceptionally complex area and any work in the field should be approached with a high level of sensitivity.

Scotland: Forced Marriages Under-Reported

Publication Date: 
October 13, 2010
Source: 
The Direct Approach Network
Scotland


The Direct Approach network, a partnership between Edinburgh police and organizations representing ethnic minority women, released a report on October 13th, 2010 indicating that the number of forced marriages taking place in the city is much higher than the number reported.

Upon surveying 40 women from minority communities, half said they know of or are victims themselves of forced marriages. With only an average of seven cases reported annually, it is clear that there are many hidden victims.

Polish Federation of Women and Family Planning

"My Body My Choice" Poster Campaign


In 1992, the was established by five organizations (the Pro Femina Association, the Polish Feminist Association, the League of Polish Women, Neutrum, and The Society for Family Development) in order to defend women's right to choose.

The Federation defends the right to legal and safe abortion, to full accessibility of all medically accepted family planning methods and to modern gender-sensitive sex education. The Federation advocates for better standards of reproductive health rights and practices towards women within the healthcare system. It provides education and counselling services for women and youth with respect to family planning, sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS and other related issues.