Sunday, December 11, 2011

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

UN launches campaign to promote human rights

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Summary of story from the UN News Centre, December 9, 2011 United Nations officials are urging everyone to build on the momentum following the Arab Spring and support a new internet and social media campaign to help people know and demand their rights. The campaign – called ’Celebrate Human Rights’ - was launched on Human Rights Day, December 10. It focuses on [...]

South African lesbian’s killers to be sentenced – maybe

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Summary of story from The Daily Maverick, December 10, 2011 Four  men found guilty of murdering 19-year-old lesbian Zoliswa Nkonyana in a township on the outskirts of Cape Town in 2006 are due to be sentenced on December 19, after a litany of blunders and failures by the justice system. Ms Nkonyana was brutally stabbed to [...]

New study shows few women in top Silicon Valley jobs

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Summary of story from The New York Times, December 9, 2011 The annual Study of California Women Business Leaders has confirmed the lack of women on boards and in top executive positions in technology companies. The study, conducted by the University of California, Davis and Watermark, concludes that technology companies have the lowest percentages of [...]

Rape by Burmese army a systematic weapon

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Summary of story from IPSNews, December 10, 2011 The Burmese army has been following a policy of systematically raping women and girls to subjugate the country's rebellious ethnic minorities, according to a new report. The latest conflict between the militant Kachin Independence Army and the Burmese military reveals widespread use of rape by the military [...]

One in three women soldiers has experienced sexual trauma

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Summary of story from The Guardian, December 9, 2011 Women serving in the US military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq, research shows. One in three women soldiers has experience of sexual trauma whilst on active service, according to the US Department of Veteran Affairs. [...]

Zimbabwean women petition for help with sanitary issues

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Summary of story from SWRadioAfrica, December 8, 2011 A group of young women has presented a petition to Zimbabwe's parliament urging the government to consider subsidising sanitary wear, and demanding that such products be distributed free in poor communities and in schools. The petition was presented ahead of the 2012 budget presentation, and the budget [...]

Study throws light on sperm theft in Zimbabwe

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Summary of story from AllAfrica, December 2, 2011 In Zimbabwe, three women and their male accomplice are due to go on trial in January accused of drugging men before extracting their semen, which is believed to be sold to witchdoctors (see WVoN coverage). A study by the University of Zimbabwe’s Department of Sociology now describes [...]

Sudanese women to set development agenda for South Sudan

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Thelma Etim WVoN co-editor The South Sudan government will present its national development plan to international stakeholders at the South Sudan International Engagement Conference (IEC), which it is co-hosting with the United States. During the two-day Washington DC-based event starting on December 14, a number of pressing issues will be discussed including planning for the [...]

Lebanese women’s groups launch campaign to criminalise marital rape

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Summary of story from Womens eNews, December 9, 2011 Following the decision by Lebanon’s parliament recently to drop a bill that would criminalise violence against women, activists launched a campaign to criminalise marital rape during the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. The passage of the bill which proposed criminalising physical, mental and [...]

Constitution failing to protect LGBT against violence in South Africa

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Summary of story from Human Rights Watch, December 5, 2011 A recent report by Human Rights Watch has revealed that black lesbians and transgender men in South African townships and rural areas face an overwhelming climate of discrimination and violence despite protections promised them in the country's constitution. The 93-page report, "'We'll Show You You're [...]

Muslim cleric warns women off cucumbers

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Summary of story from Fox news, December 9, 2011 An Islamic cleric living in Europe has reportedly cautioned Muslim women not to handle cucumbers, bananas or other produce to avoid having "sexual thoughts". The unnamed cleric's directive was featured in an article in religious publication el-Senousa. According to Egyptian website Bikya Masr, the cleric advised [...]

Israeli women sing as protest against gender segregation

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Summary of story from the Guardian, December 9, 2011 A faction of the ultra orthodox Jewish Haredi community has recently been calling for segregated public areas in Jerusalem for women and men, with many advertisements in the city torn down or defaced (see WVoN story). This week citizens have joined together to sing and dance [...]

Ex-Philippine President Arroyo moved to army hospital

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Summary of story from Al-Jazeera, December 9, 2011 Former President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, under arrest on charges of fixing the 2007 election, was moved from a private hospital to an army facility on Friday. The convoy transporting Arroyo was flanked by tight security as she was delivered from the medical facility in the country's capital [...]

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence end today

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Ivana Davidovic WVoN co-editor  Today is International Human Rights Day. It is also the last day of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (see WVoN story). Gender violence, according to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban-Ki moon "continues to persist as one of the most heinous, systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the [...]

Democracy and lasting peace impossible without women: the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winners

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Rosy Moorhead WVoN features editor Today at 13.00 CET, the Nobel Peace Prize 2011 will be awarded to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work". Why have these three women been chosen to receive the [...]