External Publications
Report: Rising Restrictions on Religion
Pew Forum Executive Summary (12.08.2011) - Restrictions on religious beliefs and practices rose between mid-2006 and mid-2009 in 23 of the world's 198 countries (12%), decreased in 12 countries (6%) and remained essentially unchanged in 163 countries (82%), according to a new study by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life. Direct Link to Report:
Report on the Strategic Conversation on Addressing Gaps in the Defense of Women Human Rights Defenders
The VNC Campaign was privileged to be part of this meeting on women human rights defenders organised by the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) and the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition. The Campaign was represented by AIsha Shaheed and Edna Aquino who took part in the Working Group on Families, Communities and Culture.
The Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) is pleased to publish this report on the ongoing efforts being taken by the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD IC) and its allies to shed light on the unique challenges women human rights defenders face and to create new systems of advocacy on their behalf.
Intersections Between Women's Equality, Culture, and Cultural Rights
Report of the South Asia Plus Consultation on Culture, Women and Human Rights, September 2-3, 2010, Nepal
With culture being such a contested terrain, particularly as it relates to equality claims of women and minorities, the development of cultural rights offers new understandings on culture and cultural diversity that reinforce the indivisibility of cultural rights with other human rights. This report explores the intersections of the developing field of cultural rights in relation to advancement of women’s equality.
Defying the Odds: Lessons learnt from Men for Gender Equality Now
In 2001, the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) took the first steps towards creating an African network of male activists against gender-based violence. In a regional consultative meeting which was organized by FEMNET that year, Kenyan men came together to form a local initiative “Men for Gender Equality Now” (MEGEN). This Project was facilitated and supported by FEMNET from 2004 to 2008 when the project became independent.
ICERD and CERD: A Guide for Civil Society Actors
This Guide provides information on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Di
Women leading change in the Muslim world: Islamic jurisprudence, human rights norms and CEDAW
The concept of nondiscrimination and equal rights for both men and women in all spheres of their lives as enshrined in the CEDAW Convention (1979) and all other Human Rights Frameworks generated a new realization and discourse in the Islamic world. The Universal Declaration on human Rights (1948) states in Article one that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’. By ratification of these International human rights frameworks States parties are in obligation to domesticate these human rights standard in their own legal system.
At present about 187 states parties have ratified the CEDAW convention which is almost a universal ratification for the Convention. Except Iran, Sudan and Somalia all other Muslim countries have ratified or acceded to the CEDAW convention. Many of these Muslim countries imposed reservations under Article 28 of the convention on certain core Articles, such as Article 2, 16, 9 etc of the convention in the name of Islamic Sharia law.
Intimate Partner Violence: High costs to Households and Communities
ICRW and its partners, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) in Uganda and Hassan II University in Morocco, with support from UNFPA, undertook a three-country study in Bangladesh, Morocco and Uganda to estimate the economic costs of intimate partner violence at the household and community levels, where its impact is most direct and immediate. The focus on intimate partner violence was motivated by the fact that this is the most common form of violence against women. A household and community level analysis helps to shed light on intimate partner violence's relationship to both household economic vulnerability and the extent to which scarce public resources for essential health, security and infrastructure services are diverted due to such violence.
UK - Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines: Female Genital Mutilation
The United Kingdom Government released its of Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines: Female Genital Mutilation. Though female genital mutilation (FGM) in the UK is illegal, 24,000 British girls under the age of 15 still are in grave danger of FGM in its harshest form.
These guidelines seek to address this gap by providing recommendations, strategies, and support to professionals working with people affected by FGM.
UPR Submission on Sexual Rights in Tajikistan
Equal Opportunities (Tajikistan), LGBT Organization Labrys (Kyrgyzstan) and The Sexual Rights Initiative submitted report on Sexual Rights in Tajikistan for the 12th Round of the Universal Periodic Review in October 2011.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a new and unique mechanism of the United Nations which started in April 2008 and consisting of the review of the human rights practices of all States in the world, once every four years. For more details please visit web site .
More Under the Veil: Women and Muslim Fundamentalism in MENA
It is important to begin any discussion related to religious fundamentalism with an exploration of what is meant by the term “fundamentalism.” The word “fundamentalism” was originally coined in reference to a movement within the Protestant community of the United States in the early part of the 20th century. In the broadest sense, fundamentalism can be understood as “a selective retrieval and imposition of...[religious] law and sacred texts as the basis for a modern socio-political order” (Hardacre 1994:130).