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2 June 2015 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM and women's rights
Articles
The phone app challenging violence against women in a Mumbai slum
by The Guardian, 02 Jun 2015
Bhanuben lets out a throaty laugh when asked if the men of Dharavi are scared of her and her team. “Not yet ... but they are a tad wary of us these days,” says the 42-year-old community worker for SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action), a Mumbai-based NGO. Mumbai’s Dharavi slum is home to anywhere between 300,000 and 1 million people. Bhanuben was born and brought up here and knows the place like the back of her hand, and the challenges of surviving in this “teeming slum of 1 million souls”. “There is a high incidence of gender violence here, but I have been lucky,” says Bhanuben, a mother of two sons, adding: “My husband is a good man.” Violence against women is pervasive in India and much of it – domestic violence, dowry deaths, acid attacks, honour killings, rape, abduction and cruelty – is at the hands of family members. Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that an Indian woman is most unsafe in her marital home: 43.6% of all crimes against women are by husbands and relatives.
Kansas Doctors Challenge 2nd Trimester Abortion Procedure Ban
by The New York Times, 01 Jun 2015
A father-daughter doctor team on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging a Kansas state law due to take effect in July that would ban a common second trimester abortion procedure that lawmaker supporters termed "dismemberment abortions." The ban "will undermine their patients' rights to be free from unnecessary medical procedures and to make medical decisions, in conjunction with their physicians, that are in their best interests," the doctors' state court lawsuit said. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback in April signed the bill prohibiting the use of dilation and evacuation effective July 1. The bill says the procedure can result in the fetus being extracted in pieces.
Gambia: It Is Time for a Law to Ban FGM, After Three Decades of Advocacy!
by allAfrica, 30 May 2015
Over a hundred delegates comprising of district chiefs, National Women Councilors and other women's leaders gathered at a one day national Consultation held at Kaira Konko, Soma in the Lower River Region to review the situation of FGM and to make a final advocacy call to the National Assembly Members (NAMS) to end the practice in the Gambia. The consultation, witnessed by various stakeholders took the form of a review of the National Gender Policy and Women Empowerment 2010-2020 and efforts made so far to raise awareness and consciousness on the harmful effects of Female Genital Mutilation on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls.
Orthodox Jewish women driving ban unacceptable, says Nicky Morgan
by BBC news, 29 May 2015
A ban on women driving their children to school issued by a Jewish education institution is "unacceptable", Education Secretary Nicky Morgan says. Leaders of the ultra-Orthodox Belz sect in north London wrote to parents saying "no child will be allowed to learn in our school" if their mother drives. Women driving "goes against the laws of modesty within our society", it said. A spokesman from the Belz Community said they were "saddened" by the "misrepresentation" of the notice. The Home Office said it would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases, adding that the government "believes everyone in this country is equal and everybody is free to lead their lives as they see fit". The Belz, who originated in Ukraine in the early 19th Century, are an ultra-Orthodox sect who follow Haredi Judaism.
Sri Lankan Women Stymied by Archaic Job Market
by Global Issues, 28 May 2015
Wathsala Marasinghe, a 33-year-old hailing from the town of Mirigama, just 50 km from Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, once had high hopes that the progressive education and employment policies of this South Asian island nation would work in her favour. Today, she feels differently, believing that "an evil system" has let her down.In 2012, the Gender Gap Report produced by the World Economic Forum ranked Sri Lanka 39th out of 135 countries surveyed, an unsurprisingly strong placement given that the country of 20 million people has a female adult literacy rate of 90 percent. This rises to 99 percent for female youth in the 15-24 bracket. Furthermore, girls outnumber their male counterparts at the secondary level, indicating a dedication to gender equality across the social spectrum. However this has not translated into equitable employment opportunities, or wage parity between men and women.
Lawmakers Urged to Criminalize FGM, Not to Fail Women Who Voted Them Into Office
by Diasporium news, 27 May 2015
Anti-FGM Campaigners urged lawmakers to heed to the call of district Chiefs, Alkalolus and the communities to formally ban Female Genital Mutilation in the Gambia. Activists stressed that the time is ripe for lawmakers of mainland Africa’s smallest nation to pay heed to the clarion call made by communities and even circumcisers, and follow the good examples of district chiefs to fulfill the state’s commitments made on behalf of women and girls. Effective national legislation is a vital component of efforts to accelerate the elimination of FGM. “The enactment and implementation of legislation against FGM demonstrates a formal, explicit and lasting commitment of the National Assembly and public authorities to protect girls from a practice that is detrimental to the physical, psychological and rights to bodily integrity and dignity of women and girl,” Dr Isatou Touray, Director of GAMCOTRAP, a women’s protection institution in The Gambia said.
Gambia: Ban FGM Practice, Campaigners Urge National Assembly
by allAfrica, 26 May 2015
The Executive Director of GAMCOTRAP has appealed to the National Assembly to heed the call of Gambian district head chiefs, alkalolou and the communities to formally ban Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the country. Dr Isatou Touray made this appeal on Thursday in Jarra Soma in the Lower River Region, whilst addressing a consultative meeting with district head chiefs to call for legislation to end FGM in The Gambia. Traditional rulers, circumcisers, women councillors, parliamentarians in the region and governors of Lower River Region and Central River Region attended the meeting.