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2008

JORDAN: Increased domestic violence among Iraqi refugees
April 29, 2008 (IRIN) - A study published in March by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on the mental state of Iraqis in Jordan and Lebanon has pointed to mounting social and economic problems as the cause of increased domestic violence.

AFGHANIStan: UN gardening scheme provides fresh start for Afghan women, ex-combatants
April 28, 2008 (UN News Centre) – A United Nations gardening and literacy project for Afghan women and ex-combatants seeks to pave the way to peace and prosperity in the war-torn nation.

IRAQ: Sense of Injustice Drives Women Bombers
April 28, 2008 (IWPR) - In Iraq, suicide bombings by women are increasing. This week, two women blew themselves up in Diyala province, bringing to nine the number of such suicide bombings in the first four months of 2008. Experts link recent increase in female suicide bombers to wartime suffering and desire for revenge.

IRAN: Iran's Female Activists Shudder at Talk of War
April 24, 2008 (WOMENSENEWS) - Iranian activists are bravely pushing for women's rights. But Soheila Vahdati warns that an outbreak of an Iran-Israeli war that involves the Bush White House would fan the flames of fundamentalism and destroy the cause.

IRAQ: Call for action against murderers of women in baghdad
April 23, 2008 (IRIN) - Residents of a western Baghdad neighbourhood have said militant groups in the area are hunting down women and killing them, and have appealed to parliament to do something, a member of parliament (MP) said on 22 April.

IRAN: Iran women activists get suspended lashing sentences
April 22, 2008 (Reuters) - Three Iranian women's rights campaigners have received suspended lashing and jail sentences for taking part in a rally, a fellow activist said on Tuesday.

SAUDI ARABIA: "For Saudi women, reaching adulthood brings no rights, only responsibilities"
April 21, 2008 (BBC News) - Saudi women are being kept in perpetual childhood so male relatives can exercise "guardianship" over them, the Human Rights Watch group has said.

Afghanistan: Half of Afghan children not in school, U.N. says
April 21, 2008 (Reuters) - Half of Afghan children are still not going to school and the biggest group missing out on an education are girls, the United Nations said on Monday.

PAKISTAN: Violence against Women More than Doubled Last Year
April 17, 2008 (Feminist Daily News Wire) - A report released by Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reveals that violence against women has gone up to 4,276 recorded cases. This number is more than double that recorded by the HRCP in 2006. HRCP Secretary Iqbal Haider told the BBC News that 2007 was a "brutal year for women."

Afghanistan: Ten Schools Attacked Since March
April 16, 2008 (Feminist Daily News Wire) - The attackers are believed to be Taliban insurgents who target schools because they oppose the education of girls and claim the school curriculum is "un-Islamic."

YEMEN: Low cost women’s literacy project - big results
April 9, 2008 - (IRIN) Fatima lives in the Sanhan District of Sanaa, where there are 50 UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)-supported literacy centres, with 2,068 female students. The centres are part of a UNICEF project to accelerate girls' education.

Afghanistan: Vocal 'Warlord' Critic Seeks To Reverse Her Expulsion From Legislature
April 7, 2008 - (RFE/RL's Radio) She's been called "the bravest woman in Afghanistan" for her criticism of warlords, and even compared to Aung Sun Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar's democracy movement. Now, Malalai Joya's courage is again being put to the test.

IRAQ: Iraqi Women Face Increased Human Rights Violations in Post-Invasion IraQ
April 1, 2008 - (Feminist Daily News Wire) Iraqi women's rights are eroding instead of improving in post-invasion Iraq. Women's rights have had a prominent place in the Bush administration's democracy rhetoric, but in reality women and children have faced increased hardship since the invasion.

Iraq: Politicians Resist Honour Crimes Reform
April 1, 2008 – (IWPR) Article 111 of the Iraqi penal code - passed in 1969 - allows a lesser punishment for the killing of women if the male defendants are found to have had “honourable motives”

IRAQ: The Iraq Legacy: Millions of Women's Lives Destroyed
March 31, 2008 – (Alternet) Politicians hoped the Iraq war would see the advance of women's rights. Instead, Iraqi women face violence, sexual abuse and segregation.

Iran: Private Homes Raided for ‘Immorality’
March 28, 2008 – (HRW) In extensive interviews with men and women inside and outside Iran, Human Rights Watch has documented widespread patterns of arbitrary arrest and torture based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

YEMEN: Landmine-free by 2009?
March 21, 2008 - (IRIN) Yuka Ogata, UNDP's Crisis Prevention and Recovery programme officer, told IRIN that landmines were still a big problem: “There were many victims, often women and children, and they either became handicapped or were killed,” she said, adding that affected agricultural land lay idle.

Iran: Bush supporting Iranian women
March 19, 2008 - (Radio Fard) President Bush said in his interview on the Persian New Year: “My message to the women of Iran is that the women of America share your deep desire for children to be -- to grow up in a hopeful society and to live in peace…

IRAN: Mokarrameh Ebrahimi released from prison!
March 19, 2008 - (WLUML) We are delighted to announce the release of Mokarrameh Ebrahimi and her son Ali from Choobin Prison, in Takistan, Qazvin, in Iran, where she has been awaiting execution by stoning for adultery for the past ten years.

SYRIA: Muted Celebrations for Women’s DaY
March 13, 2008 - (Institute for War and Peace Reporting) Syrian advocacy organisations demanded that women be granted equal rights during International Women’s Day celebrations last week.

IRAQ: Minister leads call to end violence against women
10 Mar 2008 - (IRIN) Iraqi women on 8 March, International Woman's Day, called for an end to violence against women nationwide and for equal status with men, especially in top jobs, including ministries and embassies

Yemen: Despite progress, still an uphill struggle for women
March 9, 2008 - (IRIN) - Yemeni women, especially those living in rural areas, continue to have high illiteracy rates, insufficient medical care and face gender discrimination, specialists said at an event held in Sanaa on 8 March to mark International Women’s Day 2008.

Iraq: Iraqi women demand equality, end to violence
March 8, 2008 - (Middle East Times) Scores of women rallied outside a Baghdad hotel on Saturday demanding an end to violence and equal social status with men as part of the observations of International Women's Day.

afghanistan: Sharp rise in reported cases of violence against women
March 8, 2008 (IRIN) - Registered cases of physical violence against women and girls in Afghanistan have increased by about 40 percent since March 2007.

Libanon: Women’s Work
March 8, 2008 - (HRW) New York – International Women’s Day is an opportunity not only to evaluate women’s progress in areas such as education, employment, and politics, but also to honor the importance of what has been traditionally viewed as “women’s work”: cooking, cleaning, and childcare. For many of us, an incredibly precious and important part of our lives is the well-being of our children, the comfort of our elderly parents, and a safe, clean home where we can count on nourishing meals. Yet society gives little recognition to the daily labors required to nurture a family and a home.

Iran: International Support for Persecuted Women’s Rights Campaigners in Iran
March 7, 2008 – (Change for Equality)
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, March 7, 2008: In a strong show of international support for the Iranian women’s rights movement, over 280 leading women’s right advocates and organizations from around the world including six Nobel Peace Laureates have expressed their serious concern about the persecution and prosecution of their Iranian colleagues.

MIDdle EAST: No Day Is a Woman's Day in Gaza
March 7, 2008 - (IPS) Mahasen Darduna suffers in ways the world recognises; her suffering comes at the hands of the Israelis. But there are many Palestinian women whose suffering the world does not see, because their hell is inflicted on them by Palestinians.

afghanistan: Afghan women face 'violence rise'
March 6, 2008 - (BBC) Afghanistan's independent human rights commission says violence against women has increased over the past year.

Afghanistan: Inside Islam, a woman's roar
March 5, 2008 (Csmonitor) - Wazhma Frogh, an Afghan, uses her religion to press for women's rights – and development agencies take note.

Middle East: UAE calls for more support to women
March 5, 2008 - (gulfinthemedia) The UAE has called for continuous international efforts to boost political and financial support to help improve the condition of millions of women in developing countries and to help them overcome serious challenges, including poverty, diseases and armed conflicts.

IRAQ: WOMEN'S DAY: Surviving Somehow Behind a Concrete Purdah
March 6, 2008 - (IPS) Iraq, where women once had more rights and freedom than most others in the Arab world, has turned deadly for women who dream of education and a professional career.

Israel: Israeli court hands down 16 year sentence in 'honor killing'
March 4, 2008 - (International Herald Tribune) An Israeli court sentenced a man to 16 years in prison on Tuesday for aiding in the so-called "honor killing" of his sister. The case was unusual for the fact that the women of the family broke their usual code of silence and came forward to testify against the suspect.

IRAN: Iranian women's rights activist barred from travel to Sweden
March 3, 2008 - (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS) An Iranian women's rights activist has been barred from travelling to Sweden to receive a prize from her work.
Parvin Ardalan is scheduled to receive the 2007 Olof Palme award in Stockholm this week.

Iraq: Anfal Widows Get Little Relief
February 29, 2008 - (IWPR) Women widowed by Saddam’s ruthless Anfal campaign continue to struggle 20 years on. Sabri Fatah has struggled to keep her head above water since 1988, when her husband disappeared after being arrested by Iraqi troops during Saddam’s Anfal campaign.

EGYPT: First Women to Conduct Marriages in Egypt
February 29, 2008 - (Feminist Daily News Wire) This week Amal Soliman became Egypt's first woman able to perform Muslim marriages. Soliman's appointment has generated controversy within Egypt's Muslim community, especially among Muslim men who insist that a woman should not hold the position of maazun, or marriage registrar. The BBC News reports that the court chose Solima over 10 male candidates due to her legal qualifications. Solima has a master's degree in law.

IRAQ: Suffering Without A Nation: The Plight of Kurdish Women in the Diaspora
February 28, 2008 - (Wluml) "According to a recent (9 Feb, 2008) report by BBC news - Iraq, “This semi-autonomous area (in northern Iraq) is relatively safe, the economy is flourishing and it is regarded in the West as a liberal haven in an often-conservative region. But since the fall of Saddam Hussein there has been an alarming trend – hundreds of women have died after setting themselves on fire.”

IRAN: WOMEN ACT AGAINST REPRESSION AND INTIMIDATION IN IRAN
February 28, 2008 - (Amnesty) The Iranian authorities are continuing to harass activists working to defend women’s rights. Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi – two Kurdish Iranian activists – currently remain detained without charge or trial. They were arrested in October and November 2007 for peacefully exercising their rights.

Iraq: Group addresses women's issues in Iraq
February 27, 2008 - (UPI) Five female service members from the U.S. Marines coordinated an engagement team to discuss local issues concerning Iraqi women.

Afghanistan: New Party To Focus On Women's Rights
February 20, 2008 - (Radio Free Europe) For nearly three decades, Afghans have endured war and foreign occupation, extreme poverty, and the Taliban. Yet some suffer more than others. Not all Afghans are created equal. Fatima Nazari wants to change that.

IRAN: "We are Proud of Raheleh and Nasim for their Commitment to Women’s Rights" Claims Raheleh’s Mother
February 20, 2008 - (Change for Equality) Raheleh Asgarizadeh and Nasim Khosravi contacted their family members on Sunday February 17, 2008 to inform them that they had been transferred to Evin’s public ward 3.

IRAQ: Honour Killing Outcry
February 18, 2008 - (IWPR) Activists call for legislative reforms to tackle honour killing and other forms of violence against women.

IRAN: Is Change Possible?
February 18, 2008 - (Change for Equailty) This article was written by Raheleh Asgarizadeh, about her experience of engaging in face-to-face discussions and collecting signatures in support of the Campaign’s petition, which asks the Iranian Parliament to reform laws which are discriminatory against women. Raheleh was arrested along with Nasim Khosravi while collecting signatures in support of this same petition, on Thursday February 14, 2007, in Park Daneshjoo, following a street theater performance, as part of the International Fajr Festival, on the subject of women’s rights. Raheleh and Nasim are currently being held in Evin’s Public Ward 3, in relation to their peaceful activities in support of women’s rights.

IRAN: Transfer of Raheleh Asgarizadeh and Nasim Khosravi to Evin Prison
February 16, 2008 - (Change for Equality) Raheleh Asgarizadeh and Nasim Khosravi, two members of the Campaign who were arrested on Thursday February 14, 2007, were charged with "propaganda against the state" and transferred to Evin prison on the afternoon of February 16, 2008.

IRAN: Ayatollah Sanei’i Issues Fatwa in Support of Women’s Inheritance
February 16, 2008 - (Change for Equality) Grand Ayatollah Sanei’i has issued a Fatwa regarding the inheritance women receive from their deceased husbands. In this Fatwa, Ayatollah Sanei’i has explained that when a man with no heirs besides his wife, passes away, his wife becomes the sole heir of his assets.

iran: Campaign Members Raheleh Asgarizadeh and Nasim Khosravi Arrested
February 15, 2008 - (Change for Equality) Raheleh Asgarizadeh and Nasim Khosravi, two members of the One Million Signatures Campaign were arrested on the afternoon of February 14th, in Daneshjoo Park, while collecting signatures in support of the Campaign’s petition.

Kurdistan: Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi’s Contact Colleague from Prison: Don’t Forget Us!!
February 15, 2008 - (Change for Equality) Fatemeh Goftari, Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi* members of Azar Mehr NGO in Sanandaj, Kurdistan have been in prison for several months. During a telephone conversation with Negin Sheikholeslami, the Director of Azar Mehr NGO, the three women described their situation in prison. In an interview with Kurds for Change, the site of the Campaign for Kurdistan, Ms. Sheikholeslami provides information about the status of these women’s rights activists and their telephone discussion.

Iraq: Conference addresses role of women in Iraq
February 14, 2008 - (Middle East Times) A newly formed women's committee met before community leaders and their colleagues in a school in Iraq to discuss issues regarding community welfare. Representatives of the Hawr Rajab's Women's Committee said women were faced with taking on head-of-household roles as many of the Iraqi men have died from the violence since the 2003 invasion, the Multi-National Force-Iraq said.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabian women need support to help advance society – UN expert
February 13, 2008 – (UN News Centre) An independent United Nations expert today hailed progress in Saudi Arabia on advancing the status of women but urged more action to prevent gender-based violence and raise their profile in public life.

Iran: Parvin Ardalan wins human rights prize
February 13, 2008 (Women Living under Muslim Law) Women's human rights defender Parvin Ardalan has received the Olof Palme Prize for 2007. (WLUML Networkers)
The Olof Palme Prize for 2007 goes to Parvin Ardalan, who has succeeded in making the demand for equal rights for men and women a central part of the struggle for democracy in Iran.

Kurdistan: Struggle to abolish gender discrimination and ethnic oppression
February 11, 2008 (Change for Equality) After spending three months in holding cells at the bureau of the intelligence services in Sanandaj, Ronak Safa zadeh, Hana Abdi, and Yasser Goli were transferred to the city’s central prison and their families were finally permitted to visit them.

IRAQ: Increasing trend of women's suicide by fire
February 11, 2008 - (Women Living under Muslim Law) Like their colleagues across Iraq, the doctors and nurses at the Emergency Management Centre in Irbil work relentlessly. The medical specializations at this hospital are war surgery and burns.

Iran: Does Government Fear Educated Women?
February 10, 2008 - (RadioFreeEurope) Who’s afraid of girls? The Iranian government, it seems. Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in the number of Iranian girls enrolling in universities and other institutions of higher education. While many governments would see this as a blessing worth boasting about, that's not the case in Iran.

IRAN: Influential Women's Magazine Silenced in Iran
February 10, 2008 - (WOMENSENEWS) Iran's most influential women's magazine, Zanan, has become the latest victim of a government intent on censoring, harassing and imprisoning opponents, journalists in particular. Officials accused the monthly journal of damaging society by being too negative toward Iran and closed the publication Jan. 28.

IRAQ: Desperate militants using women for attacks, analyst says
February 3, 2008 - (IRIN) With joint US-Iraqi military operations pushing extremists out of their strongholds and limiting their activities, Iraqi militants are growing desperate and have increasingly resorted to training women to become suicide bombers, an analyst said on 2 February.

IRAQ: Kurdish Women Hit Glass Ceiling
February 1, 2008 (Institute for War and Peace Reporting) Political parties pay only lip-service to women’s demands for greater political clout. Despite a reputation for courage on the battlefield, Kurdish women are unable to penetrate the upper echelons of power in the region’s top parties and government, according to politicians and women’s activists.

IRAN: Iranian women crucial in Majlis election
January 30, 2008 - (BBC) More than 7,000 candidates have registered for the Iranian parliamentary election scheduled to be held on 14 March. Almost 600 of them are women.
The election for the 290-seat Majlis will be crucial in determining the future of the hard-line conservatives who broadly back President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

AFGHANISTAN: Bleak prospects for country's estimated 1.5 million widows
January 30, 2008 - (IRIN) - Afghanistan has one of the highest numbers of widows (proportionate to the total population) in the world, owing to the armed conflicts that have bedevilled the country for over two decades.

IRAQ: Saddam's Unrepentant Judge
An Iraq High Tribunal member talks about Saddam Hussein's trial.
January 29, 2008 - (Neews week) Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa is a member of the Iraq High Tribunal, which was created to prosecute crimes that occurred under the regime of Saddam Hussein. Khalifa presided over the conviction of Saddam Hussein and the so-called Anfal trial, which specifically dealt with the crimes committed against Iraqi Kurds.

IRAN: Grand Ayatollah Mazaheri Issues Fatwa Allowing Abortion for Unwed Mothers
January 23, 2008 - (Change for Equality) According to Parsine News Agency, Grand Ayatollah Mazaheri, one of the more renowned religious scholars based in Isfahan, has issued a Fatwa allowing unwed mothers to obtain abortions.

Arab World Forum Shares Gender Field Notes
January 18, 2008 - (WOMENSENEWS) Gender research in the Arab region drew conference participants from across the Middle East and North Africa this week. While challenges and restrictions are abundant at women's studies centers, degrees and programs are growing. But not everyone could make it.

IRAN: Iran urged to prohibit execution by stoning
January 15, 2008 - (Toronto Star) Punishment for adultery under state penal code. The woman stands chest-high in a pit, surrounded by jeering onlookers. On a signal they will aim small stones at her head, taking care not to pick up any heavy enough to strike a fatal blow.

Afghanistan: Afghan journalists seek release of colleague
January 15, 2008 - (Women living under muslim laws) 23-year-old Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, reporter of Jahan-e Naw daily paper and a journalism student at Balkh University in northern Afghanistan, was detained three months ago. Dozens of Afghan journalists and activists on Saturday sought the release of a journalist detained by security officials for allegedly making blasphemous comments.

AFGHANISTAN: Who is Killing the Women of Basra?
January 9, 2008 - (MADRE) In Basra, Iraq's second largest city, 2008 was ushered in with an announcement of the 2007 death toll of women targeted by Islamist militias. City officials reported on December 31 that 133 women were killed and mutilated last year, their bodies dumped in trash bins with notes warning others against "violating Islamic teachings..." But ambulance drivers who are hired to troll the city streets in the early mornings to collect the bodies confirm what most residents believe: the actual numbers are much higher.

United Arab Emirates: UAE will soon have women judges: report
January 6. 2008 - (Middle East Times) DUBAI (AFP) Women in the United Arab Emirates will soon be allowed to become judges, breaking a male monopoly over the profession in the conservative monarchy, the justice minister was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Afghanistan: Afghanistan sets up panels for women's rights
January 6, 2008 - (India eNews) The Afghanistan Ministry for Women Affairs has constituted two new organisations to protect women's rights, a local newspaper reported Sunday.

IRAQ: An End to Female Genital Cutting?
January 4, 2008 - (Time) These are busy times for Pakhshan Zangana. Head of the women's caucus in the Iraqi Kurdish parliament in Arbil, she is on the verge of pushing through a piece of legislation that is the first of its kind in the Middle East - a law criminalizing female genital mutilation (FGM).

IRAQ: Islamic extremists target women in Basra
January 2, 2008 - (IRIN) One hundred and thirty-three women were killed last year in Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, either by religious vigilantes or as a result of so-called “honour” killings, a report said on 31 December.

Jordan: Women struggle for more rights to continue - activists
January 1, 2008 (Jordan Times) AMMAN - Women activists praised the tangible improvements in women's rights in the Kingdom in 2007, but noted that more lobbying was needed to change discriminatory legislation.

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