Middle East

IRAN: Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani faces imminent death by stoning

Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani


The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women (SKSW) and the International Solidarity Network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) urge all concerned to immediately contact the Iranian officials to express their concern over the planned stoning to death of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani. Under Iranian law, execution by stoning is prescribed for adultery. Stoning is one of the most brutal punishments; the Islamic Penal Code of Iran states that the stones used should “not be large enough to kill the person by one or two strikes” – clearly aiming to inflict a slow and painful death.

Attached at the bottom of the page is a sample letter to the authorities.

IRAN: Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh sentenced to 2 ½ years in jail and 30 lashes for 'acts against national security'

The Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) International Solidarity Network and the Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women (SKSW) are deeply concerned by the sentencing meted out to our colleague and friend, Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, in May by the Iranian Revolutionary Court for exercising her constitutional right to peaceful assembly.

IRAN: Imprisoned activist Shiva Nazar Ahari to go on trial for 'acts against national security'

In March 2010, Women’s human rights defender and WLUML council member, Shadi Sadr, took the extraordinary step of to Shiva Nazar Ahari, a young human rights activist and a member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), currently imprisoned in Iran for ‘acts against national security’.

Talk of Women’s Rights Divides Saudi Arabia

Publication Date: 
May 31, 2010
Source: 
New York Times
Photo: New York Times

JIDDA — Roughly two years ago, Rowdha Yousef began to notice a disturbing trend: Saudi women like herself were beginning to organize campaigns for greater personal freedoms.

Iran: Strict Dress Code Campaign Enforced by Morality Police

Publication Date: 
June 15, 2010
Source: 
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
After police seize cars, they put signs on them saying the occupants are "Offenders of Honour" or men with improper dresses.

High Price of "Bad Hejab": Morality police back with a vengeance, after apparent respite

When Iranian girls go out these days, their friends warn them they face trouble if they are wearing makeup or are fashionably dressed.

A Wall of Silence: The Limits of Public Discourse in Israel. The Case of Gaza (Feminist Perspective)

Publication Date: 
January, 2010
A Wall of Silence: The Limits of Public Discourse in Israel. The Case of Gaza

Ella from Bat-Yam: “I would like to see women express themselves in the peace talks. Since they (the men) sit and discuss economics and security, my idea is for a ‘women’s room’ in peace talks. This space would give voice to women who would sit and talk about peace, and their voices and opinions would have entree to the main discussion as well.”2

Read the full report in , , or . 

Lebanon: Lebanese women not satisfied with second class

Publication Date: 
June 15, 2010
Source: 
Common Ground News Service

Beirut - On 18 May, Samira Souedian, the Lebanese widow of an Egyptian, was refused the right to pass Lebanese citizenship to her four children by the Lebanese Court of Appeal, despite previously winning her case in a district court in June 2009.

Al-Jazeera is under scrutiny as female TV presenters quit

Publication Date: 
June 16, 2010
Source: 
London Evening Standard
Al Jazeera

has, since its 1996 launch as an Arab-based international TV news network, been the subject of controversy. Much of the criticism has been the result of prejudice.

Egypt: Beneath the galabiya: Intersex operations in Assiut

Publication Date: 
June 15, 2010
Source: 
Al Masry Al Youm
Dr. Mostafa El Sonbaty

 

Assiut--In the realm of sexual taboos in Egypt, the issue of "intersex individuals"--or those born with "ambiguous genitalia"--is certainly somewhere near the top of the list. While medical professionals take an impartial approach to treatment and surgical operations, social and cultural factors pose a challenge for affected individuals and their families.

“They Took Me and Told Me Nothing”: Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan

Publication Date: 
June, 2010
Human Rights Watch

I remember my mother and her sister-in-law took us two girls, and there were four other girls. We went to Sarkapkan for the procedure.