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25 April 2023 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM and Women's Rights
Articles
Backlash from anti-abortion groups as Italy prepares to make birth control pill free
Euronews, 25 Apr 2023
Italy is set to make contraception medication available for free to women of all ages, a move that’s been celebrated by women’s rights activists nationwide and condemned by anti-abortion advocates. The decision was made by the Pricing and Reimbursement Committee (CPR) of AIFA, the Italian Medicines Agency, and it’s now pending approval from the agency’s board of directors before coming into force.
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For protesters pardoned in Iran, freedom comes with no guarantees
The Washington Post, 24 Apr 2023
After 101 days in jail, 43-year-old Nazanin became one of thousands of anti-government protesters in Iran to be released or have their charges dropped following an amnesty issued by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in February. On April 12, the judiciary said nearly 90,000 Iranians were pardoned but did not specify how many had been accused of protest-related crimes. In March, the judiciary said 22,000 people connected to the protests were pardoned — a figure far higher than any official arrests number.
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‘Vicious circle’: Femicides in Peru reveal ‘crisis’ of violence
Al Jazeera, 24 Apr 2023
Since January, there have been 51 reported femicides in Peru, a figure likely to outpace the 137 recorded last year, according to public officials. This dark inventory does not account for disappearances. In 2022, there were 11,524 reports of missing women. Only 48 percent of them were found by authorities, according to Peru’s ombudsman. Describing what many consider an “emergency” to Al Jazeera, government officials, women’s rights organisations and family members faulted entrenched misogyny, mistrust in the justice system and ultra-conservative legislation as contributing to the increasingly violent attacks against women.
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Japan Set to Approve First Abortion Pill, Decades After US
Bloomberg, 24 Apr 2023
Japan is set to approve the nation’s first abortion pill that gives women a method to end pregnancy without surgery, providing controlled access to the medicine decades after it became available in France and US. A panel for Japan’s health ministry agreed on Friday to approve Line Pharma KK’s two-drug regimen for women who have been pregnant for nine weeks or less.
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Pacific Prevention Summit: What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls Where We Play, Pray, Learn and Engage Together in the Pacific
UN Women, 24 Apr 2023
“As a region, the Pacific has one of the highest recorded rates of violence against women and girls globally; with 2 out of 3 women who have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. Violence against women and girls takes a profound and long-term toll on women's health and well-being, on their families and communities and on a nation's development. Global evidence confirms that violence against women is ultimately preventable within years, not lifetimes, if an evidence-based, whole of population, whole of government and inclusive approach is advanced,” said Mereseini Rakuita, Principal Strategic Lead
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US Supreme Court upholds access to abortion pill mifepristone
AlJazeera, 21 Apr 2023
The United States Supreme Court has ruled to block lower-court decisions that would have placed restrictions on mifepristone, one of the pills used in half of the abortions in the country, while litigation proceeds. The brief paragraph-long order grants a stay on any restrictions, handing a victory to the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden and mifepristone’s manufacturer Danco Laboratories, which had appealed the lower courts’ rulings.
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MEPs: Afghanistan’s de-facto authorities must restore women’s access to education
European Interest, 20 Apr 2023
On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the respect for human rights in Afghanistan. Parliament urges Afghanistan’s de-facto authorities to release all those imprisoned for exercising their fundamental rights, including education activist Matiullah Wesa, the head of the Afghan PenPath organisation. MEPs also demand an end to the persecution of those Afghans who have been resisting the dramatic rollback of women’s rights in the country since the Taliban took over.
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