18 Nov 2014 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM & women's rights

Articles

Indonesia: ‘Virginity Tests’ for Female Police
By Human Rights Watch, 18 Nov 2014

(Jakarta) – The Indonesian government subjects female applicants for Indonesia’s National Police to discriminatory and degrading “virginity tests,” Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch interviewed female police and police applicants in six Indonesian cities who had undergone the test, two of them in 2014. Applicants who “failed” were not necessarily expelled from the force, but all of the women described the test as painful and traumatic. Policewomen have raised the issue with senior police officials, who have at times claimed the practice has been discontinued. But the test is listed as a requirement for women applicants on the official police recruitment website, and Human Rights Watch interviews suggest it is still being widely applied. “The Indonesian National Police’s use of ‘virginity tests’ is a discriminatory practice that harms and humiliates women,” said Nisha Varia, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Police authorities in Jakarta need to immediately and unequivocally abolish the test, and then make certain that all police recruiting stations nationwide stop administering it.”
 

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London school warns students of FGM, forced marriage
By Al Arabiya , 18 Nov 2014

A school in the East end of London has started teaching young people on the prevention of female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage. “Education to young people on female genital mutilation and forced marriage is hugely important and invaluable. It is not just about legalization and having laws it’s about prevention and getting to children as young as possible and explaining to them that this could happen to you,” Arifa Nasim, educator and campaigner against forced marriage, told Al Arabiya News. This week marked the start of a series of talks to young children at Frederick Bremer School in London on FGM and forced marriage. Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting, is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons.” FGM is practiced in many countries across the globe and is practiced by some Arab, South-East Asian and African communities.

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Kenyans protest after woman is beaten and stripped in public
By The Guardian , 17 Nov 2014

Hundreds of women have turned out on the streets of the Kenyan capital today to defend their right to wear what they choose after a woman was stripped and beaten for wearing a miniskirt. The attack, which took place last week at a busy bus stop in Nairobi’s Central Business District, involved dozens of men who surrounded the woman, tore off her clothes and forced her to the ground. Local media said the men, who are believed to have been ticket touts, had said the woman was “indecently dressed”, and accused her of “tempting” them. A video of the incident later emerged online, showing the men calling the woman “jezebel” as she cried for help. The footage has sparked debate in Kenya, with many Kenyans taking to social media to condemn the video, uniting under the hashtag #MyDressMyChoice. Today the Facebook group Kilimani Mums organised a “miniskirt protest” in central Nairobi to defend their right to wear what they choose.
 

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Iran 'Vigilante' Law to Test Rouhani on Women's Rights
By Voice of America, 16 Nov 2014

Iran’s parliament last week approved a bill that would allow paramilitary forces to return to public streets and verbally enforce strict Islamic dress codes.  Meanwhile, hardliners are reportedly pushing legislation that would support and protect citizen vigilantes who also want to help enforce the hijab. This comes in the wake of a string of acid attacks on women in Isfahan for not dressing properly. President Hassan Rouhani repeatedly pledged to promote women’s rights and relax tough dress codes during his campaign and since was elected. But how committed is he — and will he deliver? Nasrin Afzali doesn’t think so.  A feminist activist now living in Canada, she once wrote for Zanan, a leading feminist magazine Iran shut down in 2007. She also received a suspended sentence of ten lashes and six months in jail for taking part in protests against gender discrimination. She sees recent events as part of a continuum that began with the Islamic revolution.

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FGM: Images of female circumcision ceremony show distressing reality of female genital mutilation
By The Indipendent, 15 Nov 2014

Photos of young Kenyan girls being circumcised in a tribal ceremony highlight the stark reality faced by those who experience female genital mutilation (FGM).
FGM, a non-medical practice involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, can lead to haemorrhaging, psychological damage, complications in childbirth, fistula and even death. Harrowing images captured by Reuters photographer Siegfried Modola show young girls from the Pokot tribe being led out of huts and towards areas where they are then cut with razor blades by traditional circumcisers. The practice is considered a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all Pokot girls before they marry.

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