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08 August 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM & women's rights
Articles
Facing Famine, Girls And Women Bear The Heaviest Burden
By The Huffington Post, 08 Aug 2017
We are in the midst of what the United Nations has called the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. The threat of famine and severe food insecurity in Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen, and Nigeria mean that 20 million people – more than the population of the entire state of New York – are facing starvation and the ripple of consequences that come alongside it. But crises like these are not gender neutral – and that’s why the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) plays a critical role in humanitarian response. Girls, boys, women and men experience disaster differently. Girls and women have the least power and status, and often at times of crisis, their basic needs are de-prioritized or neglected, and the fulfillment of their essential health and rights – including the ability to plan their family and futures – is left by the wayside. These rights are not only fundamental for a woman to survive in a crisis, they are critical in helping her and her family rebuild their lives afterwards – and eventually thrive.
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EU expresses worry over Poland reviving different retirement age for men and women
By Reuters, 07 Aug 2017
The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, is concerned that reintroducing a different retirement age for men and women in Poland could violate the bloc's equality rules, according to a letter from Brussels to Warsaw seen by Reuters. Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and President Andrzej Duda - who comes from the same political grouping - campaigned on promises to undo a 2012 reform that had been gradually raising and equalising the retirement age at 67. The government's change, largely popular among Poles, will take effect from October, reintroducing a retirement age of 65 for men and 60 for women.
Runaway German schoolgirl, 16, faces execution for joining ISIS as she’s captured in Mosul
By Express, 07 Aug 2017
The 16-year-old Jihadi bride was filmed by an Iraqi soldier when she was dragged, filthy, dazed and wounded in her arm, from the Islamic State stronghold that took nine months to capture. That video was aired on the German newspaper Bild's website for the first time today. Linda, who converted to Islam as a 15-year-old schoolgirl in her hometown of Pulsnitz in eastern Germany last year, ran away from home to join the fanatics after being groomed online by an ISIS recruiter.
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Kenyan Schoolgirls Invent App to Stop Female Genital Mutilation
By Good News Network, 05 Aug 2017
Five teens who call themselves “The Restorers” are taking a stand to end female genital mutilation (FGM) with their innovative cell phone app. The app, known as i-Cut, is a program that allows girls to call for help, seek assistance, and report abuse to reputable law enforcement organizations. When utilized by a user, the app connects her with the legal, medical, and therapeutic counseling and resources required—all at the touch of a button.
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Qatar: Residency Reform Doesn’t End Gender Bias
By Human Rights Watch, 04 Aug 2017
The Qatari cabinet has reportedly approved a draft law allowing children of Qatari women married to non-Qataris to acquire permanent residence but not full nationality, unlike children of Qatari men, Human Rights Watch said today. Permanent residents can get free government health care and education, but do not receive a Qatari passport to travel freely. “Qatar needs to end discrimination against women and their children, but the proposal to grant the children residency and not nationality merely assigns them a second-class status,” said Rothna Begum, Middle East women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.
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From a Women’s March Leader: ‘We Need to Stand United’
By The New York Times, 03 Aug 2017
“When Progressives Embrace Hate” perpetuates a flawed narrative that is dangerous for many reasons, most fundamentally because it threatens to divide and distract progressives at a time when we need to stand united.It frames challenging discussions that our movement must continue to embrace — conversations about struggle and liberation, about inclusion and understanding — as hateful or taboo. Ms. Weiss is endorsing a sensational alt-right attack that aims to discredit the Women’s March movement and its leaders and to derail the progress we have made since January.