Category Archives: human rights

No candle-lit vigils for raped and murdered girls — New Internationalist

It’s been pointed out that these girls are not dalit, though most Indian newspapers reported otherwise. They were, nevertheless, extremely poor, powerless and from a lower caste. The perpetrators, apparently, routinely molested and raped lower caste women and this particularly brazen rape and murder, was to teach the poor and powerless a lesson, to show them their place in the feudal, caste hierarchy. Recently, dalit and lower caste people had protested against the behaviour of the dominant caste Yadav men who until now have ruled the roost in the surrounding villages. The local policeman who slapped the victim’s father belonged to the same caste as the perpetrators. And two policemen reportedly, not merely abetted in the crime, but participated in the assault too.

The girls’ bodies bore marks of excessive brutality. The usual scratches, bite marks, bruises, but also  a pattern of  blood clotting which indicated beating and torture. And the post mortem revealed they were hanged while still alive. Commentators have pointed out that the levels of violence and viciousness in the new rape culture is frightening, calling for immediate and effective action. Much of it comes from the porn which circulates freely on mobile phones. It’s not merely rape now. And  the fact that I write ‘merely rape’ illustrates how terrifying  the situation is.  Almost as though one has to be grateful one is ‘merely raped’.

It is with a heavy heart that I note, that the outpouring of grief and outrage which rocked India in December 2012 for the Nirbhaya Delhi rape victim, is noticeably absent in cities across India, for the Badaun cousins. They are not middle class, dominant caste, city women. These were two lower caste, village girls. Not ‘people like us’.

via No candle-lit vigils for raped and murdered girls — New Internationalist.

Egypt’s first veiled rapper is sick of sexual harassment | GlobalPost

She describes how Egyptian women often feel self-conscious for simply being out in public because sexual harassment can be found at every corner. Though women played a central role in both the uprising against strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011, and the military-backed movement that removed Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi last year, hopes that the Arab Spring would empower women have been dispelled.

In fact, Egypt is considered the worst country in the Arab world to be a woman, according to a survey by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The report cited political instability and the rise of Islamist groups among the reasons for the repression.

Levels of sexual abuse in the country have reached new highs, according to the United Nations, which reported in 2013 that 99.3 percent of women in Egypt have experienced sexual harassment at some point in their lives.

“Girls are constantly paranoid when walking to the store or school,” Mahmoud said with frustration. “Harassment has become so widespread, some women rarely leave their homes.”

Victim-blaming is pervasive. “I see male rappers in Egypt writing songs to blame women for the sexual harassment inflicted upon them,” she said. “They say we deserve to be harassed because of the clothes or makeup that we wear.”

Mahmoud said she’s had it with the “double standards.”

“Girls are told what to do from day one — ‘dress conservatively, don’t be loud’,” she said. “I used the teachings I heard while growing up to write lyrics that show the previous generations in Egypt how they contributed to confining their daughters in boxes.”

Mahmoud’s hard-hitting lyrics are vexing Egypt’s ultra-conservative Islamists, who believe a woman shouldn’t be in the spotlight, especially if she wears the Islamic veil.

Mahmoud, in fact, faces discrimination because she’s veiled. Some critics go as far as calling her an “infidel” who is giving Egypt and Islam a bad name for openly discussing sexual harassment.

“One extremist man on Facebook threatened that he would find and kill me after my audition for ‘Arabs Got Talent,’ because I was a disgrace,” she said.

via Egypt’s first veiled rapper is sick of sexual harassment | GlobalPost.

Are these the first blooms of a ‘Palestinian summer’? | Ahmad Samih Khalidi | Comment is free | theguardian.com

The new Palestinian “reconciliation” government is first and foremost a response to an overwhelming popular desire to end the seven-year-old rift between Fatah and Hamas – a split that has inflicted deep scars on the Palestinian polity and threatened to leave Gaza in permanent secession from the West Bank.

But it also reflects a new independent-mindedness on the part of the Palestinian Authority’s leadership, and a readiness to give precedence to the Palestinian national interest above other considerations. It is of course no coincidence that the realisation of this aim has followed the collapse of the last round of US-sponsored negotiations with Israel. Long accused of passivity, and an inability to take the initiative, the Palestinians appear to have finally decided to act in their own interest without seeking prior permission from friend or foe.

This new move chimes with other “unilateral” moves designed to upgrade the Palestinians’ status at the UN. This will change little on the ground, but the leadership believes it may slowly build up sufficient political and diplomatic momentum to help define a final resolution based on the two-state solution, otherwise unobtainable via the current negotiations. The appeal to the UN is not intended as a substitute for negotiations, but as a parallel track that involves neither threats nor force. It is also a path that Israel itself trod as a means to its own independence in 1947.

Binyamin Netanyahu may fulminate about Palestinian terrorism (a total of three Israeli civilians have been killed on the West Bank in the past three years, none directly ascribed to Hamas) but the fact is that Mahmoud Abbas, the PA president, is dedicated to non-violence, as is his new government.

via Are these the first blooms of a ‘Palestinian summer’? | Ahmad Samih Khalidi | Comment is free | theguardian.com.

ELLE UK Persuades Pharrell Williams into Becoming the Latest Red Face Disgrace

It’s time we stop settling for meaningless apologies and demand that celebrities and brands be held accountable for their actions. It may seem overkill, but we should still be bombarding ELLE, ELLE UK, American Express, and Pharrell’s label and discussing why this is an issue that cannot be fixed with words. Corrective actions must be taken because the only way to stop this willful ignorance is if the offenders feel the consequences, whether it’s through fines or being dropped from labels and tours or losing sponsorships. At this point, an apology doesn’t it cut it because the magazine will still be released with the same cover and the same disrespectful photographs. Pharrell and ELLE magazine will still be promoting and profiting from their blatant disregard of indigenous people and that is unacceptable. Our ancestors did not sacrifice their lives to preserve our cultural heritage so that vapid celebrities, designers and hipsters could feel superior, exotic and trendy by playing “Indian”.

via ELLE UK Persuades Pharrell Williams into Becoming the Latest Red Face Disgrace.

Britain’s first secret trial: this way lies trouble | Owen Jones | Comment is free | theguardian.com

Two men, known only as AB and CD, have been charged with terrorism; journalists were forbidden from disclosing even this simple fact until newspapers overturned a gagging order. But for the first time in centuries – and in a direct challenge to the Magna Carta of 1215 – the entire trial will be held in secrecy.

A basic principle that democrats of all hues should surely champion is that justice is done, and is seen to be done. As Liberty’s Shami Chakrabarti has put it: “Transparency isn’t an optional luxury in the justice system – it’s key to ensuring fairness and protecting the rule of law.” But it is the precedent that should disturb us. It isn’t one of the authoritarian anti-terror laws passed by New Labour or the coalition responsible for this assault on justice, it is being justified with provisions under common law. Yet once this precedent is established and a centuries-old tradition of justice broken, it will be much easier to hold trials in total secrecy in future.

Indeed, this government’s Justice and Security Act, passed last year, allows for the extension of secret courts, or “closed material procedures” to use the proper legal jargon. Instead of judges, ministers will be given powers over evidence in court, risking the principle of a fair trial. Liberty has suggested it could be used to keep “dirty state secrets” away from victims and the public, and 700 legal experts signed a letter condemning it as “dangerous and unnecessary”. Sadly, to no avail.

via Britain’s first secret trial: this way lies trouble | Owen Jones | Comment is free | theguardian.com.

Massive Investigation Uncovers White Supremacist Criminal Network in Oregon | Hatewatch

A massive investigation in Oregon shows evidence of a criminal web – involving guns, drugs, stolen property, identity theft and violence – linking white supremacists and outlaw motorcycle gangs.

“Operation White Christmas,” as the year-old investigation is code-named, so far has resulted in the arrests of 54 individuals, mostly in the Portland area, leading to 11 criminal cases in state court and another 43 in federal court.

As for its scope, the investigation based in Portland and Multnomah County rivals the prosecutions of members of another violent gang, the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.

The Oregon suspects variously are affiliated with at least five known street and prison white supremacist gangs – European Kindred (EK); Rude Crude Brood; All Ona Bitch (AOB); Fat Bitch Killers (FBK) and Insane Peckerwood Syndicate (IPS), authorities say.

Josh Sparks

Others arrested, investigators say, are associates of the Gypsy Jokers outlaw motorcycle gang whose members were believed to be involved in firearms and drug trafficking with the white supremacist gangs.

via Massive Investigation Uncovers White Supremacist Criminal Network in Oregon | Hatewatch.

No respect, no shame, “we can do whatever we want!” Israeli Occupation Forces raid al-Aqsa mosque compound

Settlers accompanied the Israeli Occupation Police are raiding the al Aqsa mosque compound. The Israeli Occupation Forces laid siege to the Palestinians at al-Aqsa Mosque compound gates.

Palestinian sources informed PNN that around 60 Israeli Settlers raided the compound this morning with the purpose of performing Talmudic prayers. Following the raid, Israeli Police Forces prevented Palestinians from praying, in order to protect the settlers who were still in the compound.

The sources added that the department of Awqaf in Jerusalem is attempting to open the compound gates and evacuate the settlers.

The Palestinian Organizations in Jerusalem are afraid that these raids may activate the Israelis’ plan to divide the compound.

via Israeli Occupation Forces raid al-Aqsa mosque compound.