Fundamentalisms
Saudi Arabia: Court Orders Lashing of Woman for Defying Driving Ban
A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a woman to 10 lashes for breaking the country's ban on female drivers.
The woman, identified only as Shema, was found guilty of driving in Jeddah in July.
Women2drive, which campaigns for women to be allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, says she has already lodged an appeal.
Malaysia: Why Hudud Law Is Everybody’s Business
SEPT 23 — Once again the familiar argument has surfaced, or been desperately invoked, this time in the latest stand-off between the leading Pakatan Rakyat allies Karpal Singh and Anwar Ibrahim.
Hudud law, if implemented, will apply only to Muslims, Anwar Ibrahim again insists, so the question is one that concerns only Muslims, not Malaysian citizens of other faiths — or no conventional doctrinal allegiance at all. So non-Muslims have nothing to fear, no legitimate interest in the matter, and no right to express any opinion. The matter is for Muslims alone.
Iran: Social Media Gives Women a Voice
Female protesters were beaten, raped and intimidated in a post-election crackdown by the Iranian authorities. Silenced by stigma and fear, these women are now using social media to bear witness to the horror.
A young woman is speaking to the camera, her face obscured to prevent her being identified. Her voice heavy with emotion, and hands gesturing, she describes the rape and torture she endured at the hands of her guards while imprisoned during the post-election crackdown in .
Between Power and Freedom: The Challenge in the Future of Islamic Feminism
Ahmad Fuad Rahmat | Research Fellow, Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF): It is an evident, although often unacknowledged, fact that Islam’s long history and intellectual tradition is comprised of a rather impressive list of important women thinkers and figures. The Qur’an itself included “believing women” in its scope and statements. Further precedent was set through the leadership of Aisha and the historical significance of Fatimah. Spiritually, even the most conservative of Muslim men have taken the example of Rabiah al-Aldawiyah to heart.
Pakistan: Women Advocates Aid Religious Minorities
(WNN) ISLAMABAD: In spite of real dangers for those working as advocates with Pakistan’s religious minorities, a number of people have been speaking out against religious discrimination and the misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws inside the country.
As internal divisions, casualties and conflict on the northern border and a growing hatred and distrust of ‘the West’ expands, a dedicated group of Pakistani women and men are leading the way on issues of human rights and religious freedom inside the country.
Acts of heroism for women have been happening in Pakistan despite the fact that the country is one of the worst places in the world to be a woman. A recent 2011 “Education Emergency Report” by the PETF – Pakistan Education Task Force has revealed that only “one in three” women have attended school in rural regions.
Afghanistan: Women in Media Reveal Risks & Challenges
KABUL (Reuters) - Farida Nekzad has faced threats of kidnapping, acid attacks and a plot to blow up her apartment since she founded her first news agency in Afghanistan seven years ago.
Members of the Taliban e-mailed some of the warnings; others arrived over the phone. One caller warned she would be murdered and disfigured so horrendously that her family would not be able to recognize her body.
Religiosity, Christian Fundamentalism, And Intimate Partner Violence Among U.S. College Students
Student survey data show general religiosity did not correlate with violence approval, psychological aggression, or intimate partner violence, but Christian fundament
Emergency Contraception: Catholics In Favor, Bishops Opposed
While polls of Catholics show that they support access to emergency contraception both after rape and as a fallback contraceptive method, Catholic bishops around the world continue to oppose access.
Emergency contraception (EC) is a term used to describe contraceptive methods that can be used up to five days after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. Whether because of a broken condom, a moment of passion, a calendar miscalculation or the tragedy of rape, women frequently find themselves needing a second chance to prevent a pregnancy. EC gives women that second chance. The most widely available EC method is levonorgestrel-alone pills; this publication refers only to the levonorgestrel form of EC, sometimes referred to by its brand name, Plan B, in the United States. The Vatican opposes artificial methods of contraception, although the majority of Catholics around the world support the use of contraception.
Religious Fundamentalisms and Their Gendered Impacts in Asia
Preface: Amidst growing uncertainties in a globalised world, fundamentalist convictions have been gaining ground in many religions. Reinforced by the threat from interna- tional terrorism, this renaissance of religious fundamentalisms has created ideolog- ical conditions for polarisation between ‘us’ and ‘them’, from community to trans-national level. At national level, it has affected both politics and society, leading to something of a ‘retraditionalisation’ of gender roles.
Canada/USA: Investigation of Cross-Border Underage Polygamous Marriages
VANCOUVER — The RCMP is preparing to head to Texas to look for more than two dozen brides from Bountiful, B.C., who were allegedly sent across the border as teens to marry older men, including a polygamous leader now facing a life sentence for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.
The Mounties launched a new criminal investigation into Bountiful earlier this year after a constitutional case examining Canada's anti-polygamy law heard allegations of cross-border marriages in the 1990s and early 2000s.
B.C. Supreme Court heard that more than two dozen girls were sent to the United States to marry older men, while several American girls were married to Canadians.