23 Aug 2016 - NPWJ News Digest on Gender & Human Rights

Articles

Russian MP calls for 10-year prison sentence for FGM
by The Independent , 22 Aug 2016

An MP in Russia wants to make female genital mutilation (FGM) an offence with a prison sentence of up to 10 years for those who carry out the operation. The bill, presented to parliament by Maria Maksakova-Igenbergs, says FGM has "no place in civilised society". “Discrimination of women based on religious motives manifested in full or partial amputation of external sex organs must be punished by a prison sentence between five and seven years,” the draft bill according to RT.
 

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Is Brazil's government rolling back women's rights?
by Al Jazeera, 22 Aug 2016

Sao Paulo, Brazil - In an abandoned building in the centre of Brazil's financial centre of Sao Paulo, Marli Aguiar and a group of black women have come together to talk about one thing: what to do about Brazil's new interim government. After only weeks in power, it has become clear that this new administration will be a "disaster" for women's rights, they say - particularly for black, working-class women."This is a patriarchal and machista society," says Aguiar, while the women nod in agreement. "We've fought against this for years and achieved successes, but now they're taking all that away." Aguiar is referring to the interim government of Micel Termer, which took power in May after the senate voted to suspend, and ultimately impeach, President Dilma Rousseff. In his short time in office, Temer has already made several changes to public spending as part of his plans to overhaul the economy and balance the budget. These include harsh spending caps on social programmes, reducing labour rights, and closing government ministries - all of which have contributed to major gains in women's rights over the years.

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Liberia: Rights Group to Petition Legislature to Abolish FGM
by allAfrica, 20 Aug 2016

The National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP), a group against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), says it plans to petition the National Legislature to abolish the practice of FGM in Liberia. The Steering Committee of NHRAP also said it has drafted a Bill to be presented to the Legislature for deliberation and consideration for passage into law. Under the banner of the NHRAP, those involved seek to address civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights, with a specific focus on the issues of women, children, and persons with disabilities. In a presentation at the Ministry of Justice in Sinkor Friday, an official of the Independent Commission of Human Rights (INCHR), Nathaniel T. Solo, called on Liberians to support the draft bill to ensure that it is passed into law. Solo, who is the Director of the Department of Legislative Assistance, Treaty and Law at the INCHR, said the Liberian Constitution affirms the inalienable and fundamental rights of all persons to human dignity, security and equal opportunity. Solo said the practice of FGM is against the dignity of women and girls, noting that it is an interference with the fundamental rights of the victims.

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Cambodia proves fertile ground for foreign surrogacy after Thailand ban
by The Guardian, 19 Aug 2016

After a long day of selling snacks at her son’s primary school, Kew, who is seven months pregnant, squats on the Bangkok pavement to take a rest. The single mother has no idea whose baby she is carrying, or where its future parents live. She says it makes no difference to her. “The first time I did surrogacy, I discovered that the baby was for a Spanish couple. Two gay men,” she says. “For me it’s all the same, as long as I get paid.” In two months the 26-year-old will receive the final instalment of her 300,000 baht (£6,600) surrogacy fee. It will be enough to finally pay off the loan sharks who make her mother’s life in northern Thailand miserable. She may even buy some land. “No other job lets you earn this kind of money,” says Kew, who earns of about 250 baht a day from her food stall. Kew says she is not aware that Thailand banned commercial surrogacy for foreigners last year. All she knows is that for this, her second surrogacy, her agency flew her to neighbouring Cambodia for the embryo transfer. “I think I will also have to deliver the baby there.” With surrogacy bans now in place in Thailand, India and Nepal, the business is being pushed across borders.

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Chemical castration of sex offenders in Turkey condemned by women's groups
by The Guardian, 15 Aug 2016

Women’s rights groups, lawyers and doctors have condemned Turkey’s decision to introduce a mandatory chemical castration programme for convicted sex offenders, arguing the treatment does not address the underlying reasons for widespread violence against women, and that bodily punishment will instead lead to increased abuse. Özgül Kaptan, director of the Women’s Solidarity Foundation (Kadav), has condemned the law – which came into effect on 26 July, at a time of extended legislative powers – as misguided. “It’s a very bad and dangerous decision,” she said. “The law reduces crimes related to sexual abuse and rape to the one offending individual and to that individual’s body, which disregards the systemic problem of why so many men in Turkey commit these crimes or are violent against women. “Men are taught to think that they have a right over women. We need to change ideas about gender equality and masculinity. What we really need is a change of attitude, of education. That cannot be done by passing such a law, or overnight.”

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