REVERENCE

nickturse: “In certain cafés close to medical colleges in...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:04:39 -0500

“In certain cafés close to medical colleges in Pakistan, and of course within the institutions themselves, students studying gynaecology speak of some unexpected sights they have seen.

‘Recently, we examined a woman who complained of pain in her genital region. We were shocked to see when we examined her that she had suffered some mutilation of her private parts. I have read about these practices but I didn’t know they took place here,’ Zeba Khan, a 4th year medical student, told IRIN.”

(read the rest at: IRIN Asia | PAKISTAN: Low awareness of hidden FGM/C practices | Pakistan | Gender Issues | Health & Nutrition | Human Rights)

Poet Wislawa Szymborska, on Dictators and Tyrants

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:52:00 -0500

Poet Wislawa Szymborska, on Dictators and Tyrants: fictionthatmatters: “All sorts of torturers,...

Human Rights Petition: Free Nigerian Activists and Prisoners of Conscience | Change.org

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:51:21 -0500

Human Rights Petition: Free Nigerian Activists and Prisoners of Conscience | Change.org: Why This...

Photo

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:43:49 -0500

carolinepercello: Photographer Lee Jeffries worked as a sports...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:30:00 -0500

carolinepercello:

Photographer Lee Jeffries worked as a sports photographer before having a chance encounter one day with a young homeless girl on a London street. After stealthily photographing the girl huddled in her sleeping bag, Jeffries decided to approach and talk with her rather than disappear with the photograph. That day changed his perception about the homeless, and he then decided to make them the subject of his photography. Jeffries makes portraits of homeless people he meets in Europe and in the US, and makes it a point to get to know them before asking to create the portraits. His photographs are gritty, honest, and haunting.

Killed because they were girls - Christie Blatchford for the National Post

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:28:00 -0500

EXCERPT: Looking directly at Shafia, 58, Yahya, 42, and their oldest son Hamed as they stood...

nickturse: IRIN Africa | SOMALIA: Rape on the rise amid...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:09:43 -0500

nickturse:

IRIN Africa | SOMALIA: Rape on the rise amid “climate of fear” in Mogadishu IDP camps

From IRIN:

“The number of reported rapes in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, has risen sharply, creating ‘a climate of fear,’ according to a civil society source.

‘We have had the problem of rape in the city but what we are witnessing now is on a scale never seen before,’ said Mama Hawo Haji, a women’s rights activist. ‘For instance, in the last two days alone, we have taken 32 rape cases to the hospital; in the past four months we recorded 80 cases.’”

For more, see: Somalia | Conflict | Gender Issues | Governance)

Amnesty International USA: Midwest: Armenian Genocide’ Bill Threatens Freedom of Expression in France, says Amnesty International

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:11:52 -0500

Amnesty International USA: Midwest: Armenian Genocide’ Bill Threatens Freedom of Expression in...

In his foreword Christopher Hitchens writes, “She is much...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:17:46 -0500

In his foreword Christopher Hitchens writes, “She is much wiser than many thousands of apologetic academics and pundits, and she is also, I want to say, much more tolerant and much more humane. It is impossible to imagine her disliking someone on the mere grounds of origin or faith, just as it is impossible to imagine her being reconciled to any dogma that forms its calcified opinion on that basis.”

BACKCOVER:

“Infidel shows the coming of age of this distinguished political superstar and champion of free speech as well as the development of her beliefs, iron will, and extraordinary determination to fight injustice. Raised in a strict Muslim family, Hirsi Ali survived civil war, female mutilation, brutal beatings, adolescence as a devout believer during the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and life in a four troubled, unstable countries ruled largely by despots. She escaped from a forced marriage and sought asylum in the Netherlands, where she earned a college degree in political science, tried to help her tragically depressed sister adjust to the West, and fought for the rights of Muslim women and the reform of Islam as a member of Parliament. Under constant threat, demonized by reactionary revolutionary Islamists and politicians, disowned by her father, and expelled from family and clan, she refuses to be silent.

“Ultimately a celebration of triumph over adversity, Hirsi Ali’s story tells how a bright little girl evolves out of dutiful obedience to become an outspoken, pioneering freedom fighter. As Western governments struggle to balance democratic ideals with religious pressures, no other book could be more timely or more significant.”

With Reverence,

thepoliticalnotebook: Morning Reading. Human Rights Watch has...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:17:47 -0500

thepoliticalnotebook:

Morning Reading. Human Rights Watch has released its annual World Report. Check out the essays, which cover the revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa, the Soviet bloc twenty years on, human rights and tolerance in Europe, and rights for the disabled, among others. Also check out the individual country chapters.

The report is accompanied by photosets, a video and some extra resources on human rights in the Arab World, to support the report’s special focus on the anti-regime uprisings.

[Download here; View the main page]

fictionthatmatters: My article in the Huffington Post on...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:33:09 -0500

fictionthatmatters:

My article in the Huffington Post on detained writer in Cameroon Enoh Meyomesse—and how you can do something about it.

rafastarisativa: Gambia: AI demands release of jailed ex...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:38:31 -0500

rafastarisativa:

Gambia: AI demands release of jailed ex minister

“These men are prisoners of conscience and must be released immediately and unconditionally. Gambia must stop such acts of persecution and allow criticism to be heard in the country,” said Lucy Freeman AI researcher on the Gambia in a press release.

Amnesty International has urged the international community to publicly condemn human rights violations in the Gambia, such as arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances.

According to Lucy Freeman, Amnesty International’s researcher on the Gambia; “The conviction of these men is a violation of their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.”Amnesty International today called for the immediate release of four activists arrested over the distribution of T-shirts calling for an end to dictatorship in the Gambia.

The four were arrested in June 2011 after distributing T-shirts made by the NGO “Coalition for Change – The Gambia” (CCG), which featured the slogan “End to Dictatorship Now”.

Dictionary of Human Rights

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:58:15 -0500

whitefieldopinionn: Dictionary of Human RightsOver 200 clear and concise mini-essays providing...

suitep: For Sofiah and her classmates, the journey to school...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:30:08 -0500

suitep:

For Sofiah and her classmates, the journey to school just got a whole lot harder. The Indonesian schoolgirl lives on one side of the Ciberang River but her school in the village of Sanghiang Tanjung is on the other - and the river has been flooding.

On Monday, the rising waters broke a pillar supporting a suspension bridge that crosses it, the head of the village told Reuters.

Faced with an extra 30 minutes’ walk to cross via an alternate bridge, Sofiah and her friends have chosen to undertake the precarious crossing of the collapsed bridge instead.

doctorswithoutborders: This mother and child—and this part of...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:43:26 -0500

doctorswithoutborders:

This mother and child—and this part of Mogadishu—show the toll of the overlapping political, security, and public health crises in Somalia, which have put an immense burden on women and children.

Years marked by conflict, drought, and a profound lack of governance culminated in a massive humanitarian crisis in the second half of 2011, to which MSF responded by expanding its programs in Somalia and for the huge numbers of Somali refugees who sought aid in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Photo: Somalia © Lynsey Addario/VII

janli28: Life In North Korea Here is a video about the real...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:37:00 -0500

janli28:

Life In North Korea

Here is a video about the real status of life in North Korea, brought to us by LiNK (Liberty in North Korea).

Hope that people who have seen this short video can pass it on to their audience for more people can be aware.

Is internet access a human right?

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:03:48 -0500

Is internet access a human right? : kyokan: A recent United Nations Human Rights Council report...

Richard Mosse for V-Day

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:06:00 -0500

Richard Mosse for V-Day

STOP RAPE IN THE CONGO!

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:27:00 -0500

Even with the City of Joy open and operating in the Congo, women continue to be abused at the hands...

Can Nonviolence Be Effective?

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:46:00 -0500

Principled and Pragmatic Peace by Metta Spencer, editor of Peace Magazine, summarizes Gene...