women's rights

No prison if you kill your daughter in the name of honour

Team Observers — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:24:18 +0200

Three victims of honour crimes in Iraqi Kurdistan. Photos posted on the "Conference to Remember Du’a Khalil" Facebook page.

On Tuesday, a Moroccan living in the north of Italy stabbed his 18-year-old daughter to death. His motive - she was going out with a 31-year-old Catholic. This type of "honour killing" was headline news in Italy, but in some countries in North Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, the practice is relatively common.

According to NGO Human Rights Watch, an honour crime is "committed by male family members against female family members who are perceived to have brought dishonour upon the family".

In 2002 a report by the UN Commission for Human Rights said this kind of crime took place in Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey, and other Gulf and Mediterranean countries. According to the report, in European countries such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom this kind of crime only occurred within immigrant communities. The list is not exhaustive. Yemen, Iraqi Kurdistan, Bangladesh and the Palestinian Territories are all areas where the practice is on the increase.

There are no official statistics for honour killings because they are usually committed in the family home and then disguised as accidents. Yet, every year, honour killings are are said to claim the lives of up to 50 women in Jordan, 200 in Syria, 500 in Yemen and over a thousand in Pakistan. In the Palestinian Territories, 70 percent of crimes perpetrated against women are thought to be honour killings, while the majority of them are attributed to natural causes.

Unlike a crime of passion, an honour crime is premeditated. And yet, sentences in many countries are usually only a couple of months long, maximum two years. The persecutor benefits from extenuating circumstances and is occasionally excused completely, escaping without charge.

In Jordan, Queen Rania has publicly called for tougher sentencing of honour crimes. But the parliament there has twice refused to abolish Article 340 of the penal code, opting instead to modify it and allow convicted honour killers to be sentenced for a few months only.

Pakistan however has voted to introduce a law to punish honour killers with the death penalty. And in Turkey, where honour killers used to incur just an eighth of the normal sentence, life imprisonment is now a real possibility.

Obama tackles the French on the hijab

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:08:14 +0200

When Obama said that Western countries should avoid "dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear", it could have been perceived as a personal attack in France. The hijab, along with all religious symbols, was banned in French schools in 2004. Read more...

The French government's decision to ban pupils from wearing "ostentatious religious symbols" caused a ruckus with hijab-wearers in the country when it was first enforced. Although the law remains in place five years on, Obama's highly critical comments on the subject come as a slap in the face for the French model. Our Observers who wear, or have worn the hijab, give us their opinion.

The statements in question:

The United States government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab and to punish those who would deny it.

It is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practising religion as they see fit -- for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We can't disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.

I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality.

Spot the difference, Saudi style

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:32:33 +0200

Images of bare female flesh are banned in Saudi Arabia. There's no efficient system in place for removing the offensive material, however, which means that somebody has the painstaking job of colouring all those arms, legs, midriffs and cleavages that appear on the covers of Western magazines and imported products. The latest cover-up victim: American singer Katy Perry.

Fighting sexual harrassment in Egypt

Team Observers — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:49:50 +0200

Asser Yasser, a young Egyptian woman, was insulted and brutalized by a group of young men in Cairo on her way home from work. Although incidents of sexual harassment happen daily in Egypt, the prominent blogger decided to press charges to draw attention to the widespread problem. Her case was filed by the police, but ruled out in court. However, she and various women's groups are determined to pursue their anti-harassment campaign.

According to a 2008 survey of 1,010 Egyptian and foreign women conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights "83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women reported being sexually harassed, regardless of age, class, style of dress or appearance."

The study's conclusions emphasize that harassment, contrary to what is often believed, is not linked to the way a woman is dressed: 71.5 percent of women who reported sexual harassment were wearing veils and covering clothes(19.6% were in fact wearing full burkas).

The problem is tarnishing Egypt's reputation as a tourist destination to the point that the Tourism Ministry has released video clips warning men of the consequences of harassment.
The Egyptian Center for Women's Rights launched a nationwide campaign called "Making our Streets Safer for All", lobbying for a law which would crack down on harassers.

Girl whipped in Swat valley

Julien — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:29:50 +0200

Footage of a teenage girl being flogged by three men in Pakistan’s Swat valley has sparked outrage throughout the world and raised fears that the Taliban are tightening their grip on the restive region. The images, filmed by mobile phone and posted on the Guardian's website, come one month after Pakistani authorities allowed Islamist radicals to apply sharia law in the valley, bowing to a campaign of fear that has seen Taliban militants destroy over 100 girls’ schools in what used to be one of Pakistan’s prime tourist destinations.

Video originally posted on The Guardian website.

Pink taxis for girls only

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:18:37 +0100

The car's pink and so is the tie, lipstick and flower in the hair of the woman who's driving it. Welcome to the new Beirut taxis. That is, if you're female. Men are strictly banned.

The idea was first launched in the UK in 2006 by Pink Ladies Cabs. The 100% female driving squad is charged with getting party-goers home safely once the bars have closed. Now, the concept has arrived in the Middle East. Nayaghi taxi company rolled out three pink Peugeots under the name "Banet Taxis" (girl taxis) on Tuesday.

Hijab blogger lays claim to style

Julien — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:00:26 +0100

Talk about the Islamic headscarf has long been the preserve of acrimonious debates over fundamentalism, women’s rights and freedom of expression. Blasting intolerance on all sides, Jana Kossaibati presses her right to dress as she pleases – and to do so hijab style.

Jana’s blog, which claims to be the UK’s first style guide for Muslim women, is one of a growing number of websites where women may find out how to mix cultural heritages from different Muslim countries to complement Western styles.

Jana says she first set out to fill a void: there was simply nothing around to tell women how to take care of their appearance while meeting Muslim requirements for dress.
Her blog offers tips for girls eager to anticipate seasonal trends and combine fabrics tastefully, without being ostentatious. But, she says, hijab style is not about what’s “hot” or the latest fad.

To keep the men away, just cover up

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:03:00 +0200

"You can't stop them. But you can protect yourself. Your creator has your best interests at heart."

One of our Observers in Egypt received this image in a forwarded email. The message to women: Cover up to protect yourself. We ask our Observers if whether covering up really deters unwanted attention.

According to observers in Egypt, the hijab has crept up in popularity in recent years. It's not obligatory to cover up in the Arab republic and the government does little to promote the concept, but many Muslim women choose to cover their hair and bodies. This viral campaign, spread via forwarded email, suggests that women go one step further to "protect themselves". One of our Observers for Egypt told us that the person behind it is promoting the adoption of the niqab — a garment which covers everything but the eyes. Where the email originated, however, nobody seems to know. Despite efforts by some to track it through various sources, its origins remain unknown.

The cultural domain is just as sexist as the others

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:00:40 +0200

A mysterious group of "bearded women" hijacked a cultural event organised by left-wing French newspaper Libération last weekend. Their message: contrary to popular opinion, the cultural workplace is just as sexist as that of politics or finance.

While their predecessors burned bras in protest over gender inequality, these modern feminists - donned in fake facial-hair - march straight to the top of male-controlled territories; from committee meetings to shareholders' assemblies. They invited themselves to the Libération forum to remind participants that even in the cultural world, the key to success is... being male. Just an example: in 2006, 92% of theatre directors were men (source: French Ministry of Culture).

Flashing flashers

Julien — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:49:00 +0200

Tired of seeing people turn a blind eye on sexual assault and intimidation in India, one woman has decided to tackle the taboo subject head on. Her answer to a flasher is to snap a photo of him and post it online. And somebody has.

Jasmeen Patheja founded the website Blank Noise in 2003 to tackle sexual intimidation through active protest. She encourages women to post their accounts of assault online, no matter how "trivial" they may seem. She's also asking women to document men who "eve tease" them - an Indian phrase used to cover anything from unwanted glances to spitting. Her initiative has already attracted a collection of photos. One step further is to snap a man who indecently exposes himself. One woman was brave enough to take the step, and post the pic on Flickr.