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17 January 2023 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM & Women's Rights
Articles
Met chief says 800 officers investigated over sexual and domestic abuse claims
BBC News , 17 Jan 2023
The Metropolitan Police is investigating 1,000 sexual and domestic abuse claims involving about 800 of its officers, the commissioner has said. It comes after PC David Carrick pleaded guilty to 49 offences, including dozens of rapes. Sir Mark Rowley announced all 45,000 Met officers and staff would be rechecked for previously missed offending. He also apologised to Carrick's victims for the force's failings. "We have failed. And I'm sorry. He should not have been a police officer," he said. This man abused women in the most disgusting manner. It is sickening. We've let women and girls down, and indeed we've let Londoners down. The women who suffered and survived this violence have been unimaginably brave and courageous in coming forward. I do understand also that this will lead to some women across London questioning whether they can trust the Met to keep them safe. We haven't applied the same sense of ruthlessness to guarding our own integrity that we routinely apply to confronting criminals."
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Kilkenny remembers Ashling Murphy and victims of gender-based violence
Kilkenny People, 17 Jan 2023
Kilkenny honoured the memory of Ashling Murphy and the 15 other women murdered in public and private places, including their homes, in the last 12 months, at a vigil hosted by Amber Women’s Refuge. Speaking at the vigil, Lisa Morris, Manager, Amber Women’s Refuge said: “Ashling’s murder represented for many, a tipping point in how we view and respond to men’s violence against women in our country. Ashling was murdered in a public place by a man she didn’t know. The vast majority of the other women were murdered in their homes by a man known to them. 2022 was the worst year in a decade for violence against women with 16 women murdered on our island. We’re not all responsible for violence against women and girls, but we all have a responsibility to make it stop. Working together we can and must end this in Ashling’s memory and in memory of the 15 other women murdered in the last year and the countless others before them.”
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Spanish Region Is Trying to Make It Harder to Get Abortions
Bloomberg, 17 Jan 2023
The Spanish government threatened to take legal action against a conservative-led region if it doesn’t scrap new rules aimed at discouraging women from seeking abortions. Leaders in the Castilla y Leon region, just north of Madrid, late last week announced new measures that give pregnant women weighing an abortion the option of listening to their fetuses’ heartbeat or watching their ultrasound. As criticism mounted over the weekend, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez — a socialist who’s been in power since 2018 and is trailing conservatives in the polls — said he was ready to intervene. “The government will take the necessary action to prevent non-compliance of the current law and setbacks in women’s rights,” Health Minister Carolina Darias told state-run television TVE on Monday."
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Village in Egypt lauded as 'free of violence against women'
Middle East Monitor, 16 Jan 2023
A village in Upper Egypt has been designated as a "Safe Village Free of Violence against Women" by the Equal Opportunities Unit of the Department of Women, Motherhood and Childhood in the Minya Governorate. The village of Abyouha received the recognition as part of an awareness seminar on "Women's Economic Empowerment" and the "Decent Life" presidential initiative, reported Egypt Independent. The seminar addressed various important issues, including services provided by the National Council for Women, and training courses on entrepreneurship for women to empower them economically and to make them aware of their rights and opportunities. The problem of violence against women is a significant issue in Egypt and has been described as "endemic". According to a 2013 study by the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights (ECWR), 99 per cent of Egyptian women have experienced some form of sexual harassment, and 91 per cent of Egyptian women have experienced physical abuse. A study by the Edraak Foundation for Development and Equality (EFDE) recorded 813 violent crimes against women and girls in Egypt in 2021, up from 415 in the previous year.
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Women's Rights Not Priority, Says Taliban Spokesperson After Education Ban
NDTV, 15 Jan 2023
Amid the ongoing violation of the rights of Afghan women under the Taliban regime - banned from universities, as well as, from working in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that overturning restrictions against women is not a priority for the group, reported Khaama Press. The Taliban said on Saturday that it would not permit any act that violates Islamic law, and the concerns regarding restrictions on women's rights will be dealt with according to the established rule of the group in the country.
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Medics Accused Of Aiding FGM
Kenya News, 13 Jan 2023
Medics in Narok County have been put on notice after it emerged that a number of them have been collaborating with locals to abet Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Narok County Commissioner Isaac Masinde accused the medics of writing an untrue report whenever a FGM case is presented to them so as to hide evidence in court of law and let the culprits free. The revelation came after a woman was arrested in Limanet area, Narok Central Sub County for subjecting her two daughters to FGM. However, after the two girls were taken to the Narok County Referral Hospital, the medics gave a primary report that the two victims had not undergone FGM. This prompted the security team and the office of Director of Public Prosecution to threaten to take the girls to a far hospital for examination, only for the medics to release another report that shown that the two girls had indeed undergone FGM few weeks ago. Masinde said another similar case was reported few days ago, where a medic gave a false report of a girl who had been arrested for undergoing FGM. Upon further examination in a different hospital, the girl was evidenced to have undergone FGM. The county commissioner warned medics against giving unprofessional reports to hide culprits of FGM saying his office will liaise with Department of Health so as to have such nurses arrested, prosecuted and interdicted.
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