2009-06-04 20:52:33
WAM Geneva, Jun 04th, 2009 (WAM): The United Arab Emirates reiterated today before the world community, its determination to continue the march in the path of women revivalism.
Addressing the annual full-day discussion of the Human Rights Council on women's human rights today, the permanent representative of the UAE at the United Nations Office in Geneva Obeid Salem Al Za'abi said that since the formation of the UAE under the presidency of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the leadership of the country was fully aware of the fact the woman is an equal partner in the process of national development.
The leadership of the country, inspired by its faith in gender equality, adopted a strategy of empowering women in cultural, social and economic fields, Al Za'abi said.
In an intervention made during the discussion, Al Za'abi portrayed how UAE worked to achieve the gender equality in rights and duties through guaranteeing women their right to ownership, employment, social security, economic and financial management, education, healthcare, earning, as well as many other rights.
In our country, the strong presence of women in the leadership roles and positions of decision making is not a new trend, but is a continuation of the march led by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak though her ardent work for the renaissance of the women, said Al Za'abi.
He briefly shed light on various institutions in the UAE established with an objective of empowering women to play the equal role in the nation building. Al Za'abi drew a few examples such as the General Women's Union (GWU), which was founded by HH Sheikh Fatima and the Family Development Foundation (FDF).
Women in UAE holds four seats in the federal cabinet and fills nine seats in a total of 40 seats in the Federal National Council, the country's supreme legislative body. This in addition to a large number of key posts women hold in various ministries and local governments. More over, women represent 59 percent of the total work force in the UAE and enjoy equal opportunity in the economic life, Al Za'abi pointed out.
He also asserted the country's commitment to continue this march under the leadership of President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The Human Rights Council's discussion on women's human rights was entitled equality before the law: concrete steps to further women's equality. The discussion focused on non-discrimination in the law, with a view to identifying concrete steps to further women's equality. The first part addressed institutional perspectives on equality before the law and the second part presented a wider perspective from academia and civil society.
Opening the discussion, Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said international human rights treaties prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex and included guarantees to ensure that women and men enjoyed their civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights on a basis of equality.
Despite this perception, global and national realities indicated that there was a wide gulf between international legal obligations and their implementation. Not only did inequality in the legal, civil, economic, political and social arenas violate international obligations, but it also compounded discrimination against women.
When race, religion, ethnicity, poverty, disability, social status, and other forms of discrimination were factored in, then the picture was one of even greater disparity. Moreover, inequality created a climate where violence against women and girls was considered acceptable.
Speaking in the first part of the discussion were Chile, India, Nigeria, Paraguay for MERCOSUR, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Norway, Czech Republic for the European Union, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Philippines for ASEAN, Slovenia, Ukraine, Luxembourg, Russian Federation, Lithuania, Iceland, Turkey, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Serbia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Algeria, China, Indonesia, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina and South Africa.
Also speaking were the Equality and Human Rights Commission of Great Britain and the National Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, national human rights institutions. Non-governmental organizations speaking were the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Equality Now, Amnesty International and Women's International Democratic Federation.
The following non-governmental organizations also took the floor: Center for Women's Global Leadership, Worldwide Organization for Women, International Federation of Human Rights and Interfaith International.
International human rights treaties prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex and included guarantees to ensure that women and men enjoyed their civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights on a basis of equality.
WAM/AB
Showing posts with label United Nations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United Nations. Show all posts
Friday, June 5, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Algeria: Algerian feminists going strong.
Pakistan Christian Post
By Samia Allalou
Those who think that Algerians have been passive victims of their country's political problems need look no further than the Algerian women's movement for a change of mind. Twenty-five years ago, a unique relationship developed between Algeria and the non-profit organisation, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML), which is going strong even today.
WLUML provides assistance to women whose lives are governed by so-called "Islamic" laws or customs. The organisation opposes the use of faith to further political causes and builds awareness of women's rights violations committed in the name of Islam.
In 1984, Algerian women watched in amazement as the government passed a law that institutionalised women's legal status as "minors". Women had demonstrated against the ratification of this law for more than two decades, believing it stood in stark opposition to Article 29 of the Algerian constitution, which declares, "Citizens are equal before the law, regardless of birth, race, sex, opinion or any other condition of personal or social circumstance".
Algerian feminists responded immediately. Demonstrations against the law intensified and three women were put in solitary confinement without proper investigation or trial. In reaction to this injustice, nine women from Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Iran, Mauritius, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Pakistan founded WLUML to support the struggles of these women in Algeria and elsewhere.
WLUML member Marieme Helie Lucas, an Algerian sociologist, recalled: "The three Algerian women were released within a month and a half of campaigning, with telegrams arriving on the president's desk from everywhere in the world."
WLUML continued playing an important role in Algeria during the civil war in the 1990s between the outlawed political party, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), and the Algerian government. Despite the difficult environment, women continued the struggle to reinstate their legal rights as equal citizens while simultaneously enduring indiscriminate violence as a result of the war.
WLUML provided these Algerian women with a platform to voice their frustrations by inviting them to participate in international conferences, including the United Nations' World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, where they could publicly denounce the crimes against women that the FIS and other armed Algerian groups had committed.
WLUML continued to work on behalf of Algerian women even when violence from the war gradually lessened and international focus was diverted elsewhere.
In January 1999, the Algerian government presented its official report on discrimination against women to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. In response, the WLUML and New York University's International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic collaborated on an unofficial report outlining "the rise and ongoing threat of politicized, violent religious fundamentalism [in Algeria] and its project to impose its particular view of Islam through the theocratization of the state and/or through violence and terror".
In 2001, female workers in the small Algerian town of Hassi Messaoud were savagely assaulted by a crowd of 300 men following a sermon by an extremist imam at the local mosque. WLUML encouraged international networks to respond to the incident by sending letters to the Algerian government. Along with several Algerian human and women's rights associations, they pressed for the defendants to be tried in court.
Several perpetrators were convicted and found guilty in 2004, and the assaulted women were formally acknowledged as victims.
More recently, Cherifa Kheddar, the chair of Djazairouna, an association of families that are victims of terrorism, was threatened in 2008 with unfair dismissal and continuous harassment by Algerian authorities after she revealed to the public the government's reconciliation policy (the Law on Civil Concord) with armed Islamic political groups, including the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and the Islamic Front for Armed Defence (FIDA), and for speaking out about crimes committed but pardoned without trial.
In the end, the government suspended Kheddar from her position, although it never formally dismissed her from the job. After a nomination bid from WLUML, Cherifa was awarded the International Prize for Human Rights by the International Service Human Rights Awards on 8 December 2008.
Today, the international spotlight is no longer on Algeria, but WLUML remains watchful of discrimination against Algerian women. This unfailing support of WLUML's international network provides women's movements in the country with the necessary strength to stand up to all kinds of pressure and to continue the difficult path towards full acceptance of women's rights in Algeria and beyond.
By Samia Allalou
Those who think that Algerians have been passive victims of their country's political problems need look no further than the Algerian women's movement for a change of mind. Twenty-five years ago, a unique relationship developed between Algeria and the non-profit organisation, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML), which is going strong even today.
WLUML provides assistance to women whose lives are governed by so-called "Islamic" laws or customs. The organisation opposes the use of faith to further political causes and builds awareness of women's rights violations committed in the name of Islam.
In 1984, Algerian women watched in amazement as the government passed a law that institutionalised women's legal status as "minors". Women had demonstrated against the ratification of this law for more than two decades, believing it stood in stark opposition to Article 29 of the Algerian constitution, which declares, "Citizens are equal before the law, regardless of birth, race, sex, opinion or any other condition of personal or social circumstance".
Algerian feminists responded immediately. Demonstrations against the law intensified and three women were put in solitary confinement without proper investigation or trial. In reaction to this injustice, nine women from Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Iran, Mauritius, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Pakistan founded WLUML to support the struggles of these women in Algeria and elsewhere.
WLUML member Marieme Helie Lucas, an Algerian sociologist, recalled: "The three Algerian women were released within a month and a half of campaigning, with telegrams arriving on the president's desk from everywhere in the world."
WLUML continued playing an important role in Algeria during the civil war in the 1990s between the outlawed political party, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), and the Algerian government. Despite the difficult environment, women continued the struggle to reinstate their legal rights as equal citizens while simultaneously enduring indiscriminate violence as a result of the war.
WLUML provided these Algerian women with a platform to voice their frustrations by inviting them to participate in international conferences, including the United Nations' World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, where they could publicly denounce the crimes against women that the FIS and other armed Algerian groups had committed.
WLUML continued to work on behalf of Algerian women even when violence from the war gradually lessened and international focus was diverted elsewhere.
In January 1999, the Algerian government presented its official report on discrimination against women to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. In response, the WLUML and New York University's International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic collaborated on an unofficial report outlining "the rise and ongoing threat of politicized, violent religious fundamentalism [in Algeria] and its project to impose its particular view of Islam through the theocratization of the state and/or through violence and terror".
In 2001, female workers in the small Algerian town of Hassi Messaoud were savagely assaulted by a crowd of 300 men following a sermon by an extremist imam at the local mosque. WLUML encouraged international networks to respond to the incident by sending letters to the Algerian government. Along with several Algerian human and women's rights associations, they pressed for the defendants to be tried in court.
Several perpetrators were convicted and found guilty in 2004, and the assaulted women were formally acknowledged as victims.
More recently, Cherifa Kheddar, the chair of Djazairouna, an association of families that are victims of terrorism, was threatened in 2008 with unfair dismissal and continuous harassment by Algerian authorities after she revealed to the public the government's reconciliation policy (the Law on Civil Concord) with armed Islamic political groups, including the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and the Islamic Front for Armed Defence (FIDA), and for speaking out about crimes committed but pardoned without trial.
In the end, the government suspended Kheddar from her position, although it never formally dismissed her from the job. After a nomination bid from WLUML, Cherifa was awarded the International Prize for Human Rights by the International Service Human Rights Awards on 8 December 2008.
Today, the international spotlight is no longer on Algeria, but WLUML remains watchful of discrimination against Algerian women. This unfailing support of WLUML's international network provides women's movements in the country with the necessary strength to stand up to all kinds of pressure and to continue the difficult path towards full acceptance of women's rights in Algeria and beyond.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Mauritania: Mauritania police violently break up women's demo
AFP
Apr 19, 2009
NOUAKCHOTT (AFP) — Mauritanian police on Sunday violently broke up a sit-in protest of some 60 women against last year's coup and planned June presidential elections in the West African country.
"Several women including members of parliament, former ministers and some political activists were wounded by blows with truncheons and clubs," the anti-coup National Front for the Defence of Democracy (FNDD), one of the protest's organisers, said in a statement.
Women at the demonstration, held in front of the headquarters of the United Nations mission in Mauritania, shouted "No the coup!" and "The road to the June 6 (elections) is the road to chaos!"
They also called for the release of political prisoners before being roughly dispersed by police.
The international community has widely condemned the August coup, which ousted Mauritania's first democratically elected president.
The ruling military junta has since promised a return to what it calls "constitutional order" and to hold elections on June 6.
Coup leader, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, stepped down as head of state on Thursday so he could run for president.
Apr 19, 2009
NOUAKCHOTT (AFP) — Mauritanian police on Sunday violently broke up a sit-in protest of some 60 women against last year's coup and planned June presidential elections in the West African country.
"Several women including members of parliament, former ministers and some political activists were wounded by blows with truncheons and clubs," the anti-coup National Front for the Defence of Democracy (FNDD), one of the protest's organisers, said in a statement.
Women at the demonstration, held in front of the headquarters of the United Nations mission in Mauritania, shouted "No the coup!" and "The road to the June 6 (elections) is the road to chaos!"
They also called for the release of political prisoners before being roughly dispersed by police.
The international community has widely condemned the August coup, which ousted Mauritania's first democratically elected president.
The ruling military junta has since promised a return to what it calls "constitutional order" and to hold elections on June 6.
Coup leader, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, stepped down as head of state on Thursday so he could run for president.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Middle East: Muslim countries want own rights commision
CAIRO (AlArabiya.net)
A bloc of Islamic states accused of undermining human rights standards set by the United Nations have taken matters into their own hands and set out to establish their own independent human rights commission Sunday.
The Organization of Islamic Conference, a 57-nation bloc of Muslim nations and the largest organization after the U.N., met yesterday at its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to establish an independent OIC human rights commission.
Eklemeddin İhsanoğlu, the OIC Secretary-General, stressed in a statement Monday that "human rights and man’s dignity are an integral part of Islam and core components of Islamic culture and heritage.”
Refining Cairo hr declaration
Member states also discussed "refining" the OIC’s 1990 Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI), which gave an overview of the Islamic perspective on human rights and stated that all human rights are subject to sharia, or Islamic law.
The OIC has over the past decades sponsored the "defamation of religion" resolution at the U.N. General Assembly, the latest of which was a resolution condemning the Danish cartoons of the Prophet.
It will seek assistance from other international bodies such as the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Geneva Institute for Human Rights in setting up the new commission. İhsanoğlu said in his speech that such a commission would drive OIC member states to reform intellectually and politically.
"An OIC human rights commission would promote tolerance, and fundamental freedoms, good governance, the rule of law, accountability, openness, dialogue with other religions and civilizations, the rejection of extremism and fanaticism, and the strengthening of the sense of pride in the Islamic identity," he said.
Sharia vs. human rights
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused Muslim countries including Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and Tunisia among many others of human rights violations against women and religious minorities despite many states being signatories to international human rights conventions.
Western human rights groups argue that some of the ways Islamic law is applied can lead to discrimination against women, religious minorities and converts to other faiths.
However, Islamic scholars and leaders have continued to refute western claims that sharia is incompatible with international norms of human rights and freedoms, arguing instead that the interpretation and application of Islamic law is what can lead to negative human rights outcomes.
Just as U.S. courts ruled that detainees in the “war on terror” could be held indefinitely without trial or permitted torture in contravention of internationa human rights norms, some sharia-based courts twist Islamic law to sanction cruel punishments.
Compatible with the west
In their defense of Islamic law experts refer to its protection of women’s property rights and the rights of the socially marginalized like orphans or the elderly. Steven A. Cook, an expert on Islamic law and the west, said that interpretations of what Islamic law means are so variable that in some western societies it can be incorporated into non-Islamic political systems easily.
Ihsanoglu in his speech also suggested the compatibility of the Islamic notion of human rights and international norms, saying that refurbishing the Cairo human rights declaration will be "in keeping with the current global human rights discourse," though he did not specify how this would be done.
Several OIC member states follow sharia law, which has been compared to the Western tradition of common law, for personal status and criminal issues. None of the 14 OIC states that are considered "electoral democracies" are Arab.
A bloc of Islamic states accused of undermining human rights standards set by the United Nations have taken matters into their own hands and set out to establish their own independent human rights commission Sunday.
The Organization of Islamic Conference, a 57-nation bloc of Muslim nations and the largest organization after the U.N., met yesterday at its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to establish an independent OIC human rights commission.
Eklemeddin İhsanoğlu, the OIC Secretary-General, stressed in a statement Monday that "human rights and man’s dignity are an integral part of Islam and core components of Islamic culture and heritage.”
Refining Cairo hr declaration
Member states also discussed "refining" the OIC’s 1990 Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI), which gave an overview of the Islamic perspective on human rights and stated that all human rights are subject to sharia, or Islamic law.
The OIC has over the past decades sponsored the "defamation of religion" resolution at the U.N. General Assembly, the latest of which was a resolution condemning the Danish cartoons of the Prophet.
It will seek assistance from other international bodies such as the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Geneva Institute for Human Rights in setting up the new commission. İhsanoğlu said in his speech that such a commission would drive OIC member states to reform intellectually and politically.
"An OIC human rights commission would promote tolerance, and fundamental freedoms, good governance, the rule of law, accountability, openness, dialogue with other religions and civilizations, the rejection of extremism and fanaticism, and the strengthening of the sense of pride in the Islamic identity," he said.
Sharia vs. human rights
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused Muslim countries including Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and Tunisia among many others of human rights violations against women and religious minorities despite many states being signatories to international human rights conventions.
Western human rights groups argue that some of the ways Islamic law is applied can lead to discrimination against women, religious minorities and converts to other faiths.
However, Islamic scholars and leaders have continued to refute western claims that sharia is incompatible with international norms of human rights and freedoms, arguing instead that the interpretation and application of Islamic law is what can lead to negative human rights outcomes.
Just as U.S. courts ruled that detainees in the “war on terror” could be held indefinitely without trial or permitted torture in contravention of internationa human rights norms, some sharia-based courts twist Islamic law to sanction cruel punishments.
Compatible with the west
In their defense of Islamic law experts refer to its protection of women’s property rights and the rights of the socially marginalized like orphans or the elderly. Steven A. Cook, an expert on Islamic law and the west, said that interpretations of what Islamic law means are so variable that in some western societies it can be incorporated into non-Islamic political systems easily.
Ihsanoglu in his speech also suggested the compatibility of the Islamic notion of human rights and international norms, saying that refurbishing the Cairo human rights declaration will be "in keeping with the current global human rights discourse," though he did not specify how this would be done.
Several OIC member states follow sharia law, which has been compared to the Western tradition of common law, for personal status and criminal issues. None of the 14 OIC states that are considered "electoral democracies" are Arab.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
UAE: UAE General Women’s Union Praises MEPI
With the presence of UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and representatives of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and foreign ambassadors, the UAE General Women Union (GWU) launched UNIFEM's Biennial Global Report, Progress
of the World's Women 2008/2009 last week. The report features new data and calls for
stronger accountability systems to move from commitments on women's rights. During the launch ceremony, the Legal Adviser of the GWU told the audience that 600 Emirati women were empowered through MEPI-sponsored programs and cooperation, especially thru the MEPI Women in Technology (WIT) program.
UAEG representatives expressed willingness to cooperate with MEPI to develop programs
on countering domestic violence, while UNIFEM's Deputy Director said they want to learn from and cooperate with MEPI programs related to women's political empowerment,
especially programs dedicated to further empower Arab woman MPs. UNIFEM has a project
entitled “Arab Women Parliamentarians.”
of the World's Women 2008/2009 last week. The report features new data and calls for
stronger accountability systems to move from commitments on women's rights. During the launch ceremony, the Legal Adviser of the GWU told the audience that 600 Emirati women were empowered through MEPI-sponsored programs and cooperation, especially thru the MEPI Women in Technology (WIT) program.
UAEG representatives expressed willingness to cooperate with MEPI to develop programs
on countering domestic violence, while UNIFEM's Deputy Director said they want to learn from and cooperate with MEPI programs related to women's political empowerment,
especially programs dedicated to further empower Arab woman MPs. UNIFEM has a project
entitled “Arab Women Parliamentarians.”
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Qatar: Workshop on human rights begins
Source ::: The PENINSULA /BY MOHAMED SAEED
DOHA: A workshop that highlights the basic facts about the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council began yesterday at the Four Seasons Doha.
The three-day event has been organised by the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and is being attended by more than 20 legal researchers representing ministries, the General Secretariat of the Cabinet, Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking and Qatar Foundation for Protecting Women and Child.
The key speakers in the workshop are Mohamed Jadallah, legal advisor at NHRC, Dr Ibrahim Badawi, legal advisor to the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ahmad Fuad, legal expert at NHRC.
Jadallah explained that the Human Rights Council was an inter-governmental body within the UN system with members from 47 states responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. The council was created by the UN General Assembly on March 15, 2006 with the main purpose of addressing incidents of human rights violations and making recommendations on them.
The UPR is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights record of all 192 UN member states once every four years. The UPR is a state-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each state to declare what action it has taken to improve the human rights situation in its territory and to fulfill its human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when its human rights situation is assessed.
On September 21, 2007, the Human Rights Council adopted a calendar detailing the order in which the 192 UN member states will be considered during the first four-year cycle of the UPR (2008-2011).
Qatar’s human rights record is scheduled to be reviewed in 2010.
The workshop will shed light on the procedures followed in compiling a national human rights report, the agencies that participate in monitoring the rights record and the review process during the UPR. The reviews are based on information provided by the state under review, which can take the form of a ‘national report’, information contained in the reports of independent human rights groups and information from other stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations and national human rights institutions.
DOHA: A workshop that highlights the basic facts about the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council began yesterday at the Four Seasons Doha.
The three-day event has been organised by the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and is being attended by more than 20 legal researchers representing ministries, the General Secretariat of the Cabinet, Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking and Qatar Foundation for Protecting Women and Child.
The key speakers in the workshop are Mohamed Jadallah, legal advisor at NHRC, Dr Ibrahim Badawi, legal advisor to the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ahmad Fuad, legal expert at NHRC.
Jadallah explained that the Human Rights Council was an inter-governmental body within the UN system with members from 47 states responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. The council was created by the UN General Assembly on March 15, 2006 with the main purpose of addressing incidents of human rights violations and making recommendations on them.
The UPR is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights record of all 192 UN member states once every four years. The UPR is a state-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each state to declare what action it has taken to improve the human rights situation in its territory and to fulfill its human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when its human rights situation is assessed.
On September 21, 2007, the Human Rights Council adopted a calendar detailing the order in which the 192 UN member states will be considered during the first four-year cycle of the UPR (2008-2011).
Qatar’s human rights record is scheduled to be reviewed in 2010.
The workshop will shed light on the procedures followed in compiling a national human rights report, the agencies that participate in monitoring the rights record and the review process during the UPR. The reviews are based on information provided by the state under review, which can take the form of a ‘national report’, information contained in the reports of independent human rights groups and information from other stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations and national human rights institutions.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Middle East: U.N. Sees Falling Middle East Fertility Rates
By Neil MacFarquhar
Eight of the 15 countries that experienced the biggest drop in population growth since 1980 are in the Middle East, led by Iran, United Nations population experts say.
Hania Zlotnik, director of the population division at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the shift suggests that education and access to family planning can play a far greater role than expected in reducing population growth, even in conservative Muslim states.
“In most of the Islamic world it’s amazing, the decline in fertility that has happened,’’ Ms. Zlotnik told reporters at a population conference this week. She noted that Middle Eastern nations with high birth rates, like Yemen, are now the exception. “Even in cultures that are Muslim, advances of a very big quantity can be made, if the government has enough commitment to provide the services and the social infrastructure that validates those changes,” she said.
The countries with the biggest change are those that have pushed to provide information to both wives and husbands, even in rural areas, about the various methods of contraception that are available, she said. Once women are given some right to chose, it is almost inevitable that they have fewer children.
From 1975 to 1980, women in Iran were giving birth to nearly 7 children per family, according to the latest U.N. population report; from 2005 to 2010 that number is expected to be less than 2. Other Middle Eastern states in the top 15, in order of the steepest drop, include Tunisia, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Kuwait, Qatar and Morocco.
The fertility rate in the Palestinian territories is estimated to have gone from 7.39 in 1975 to 1980 to 5.09 in 2005 to 2010. Israel’s growth rate over the same period dropped from 3.41 to 2.81.
Eight of the 15 countries that experienced the biggest drop in population growth since 1980 are in the Middle East, led by Iran, United Nations population experts say.
Hania Zlotnik, director of the population division at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the shift suggests that education and access to family planning can play a far greater role than expected in reducing population growth, even in conservative Muslim states.
“In most of the Islamic world it’s amazing, the decline in fertility that has happened,’’ Ms. Zlotnik told reporters at a population conference this week. She noted that Middle Eastern nations with high birth rates, like Yemen, are now the exception. “Even in cultures that are Muslim, advances of a very big quantity can be made, if the government has enough commitment to provide the services and the social infrastructure that validates those changes,” she said.
The countries with the biggest change are those that have pushed to provide information to both wives and husbands, even in rural areas, about the various methods of contraception that are available, she said. Once women are given some right to chose, it is almost inevitable that they have fewer children.
From 1975 to 1980, women in Iran were giving birth to nearly 7 children per family, according to the latest U.N. population report; from 2005 to 2010 that number is expected to be less than 2. Other Middle Eastern states in the top 15, in order of the steepest drop, include Tunisia, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Kuwait, Qatar and Morocco.
The fertility rate in the Palestinian territories is estimated to have gone from 7.39 in 1975 to 1980 to 5.09 in 2005 to 2010. Israel’s growth rate over the same period dropped from 3.41 to 2.81.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Middle East: Statement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
UNIFEM: “Say No to Violence Against Women” Campaign
One year ago, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) began its global campaign to advocate among publics and governments for an end to violence against women. In the course of the year, we have taken important steps to address this issue.
During its June 2008 Security Council Presidency, the United States focused on actions that would follow from UN Security Council Resolution 1325, on “Women, Peace, and Security.” On June 19, the United States chaired an open Security Council thematic discussion on the topic of violence in situations of armed conflict. The debate culminated in adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1820, which condemns the use of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations.
Violence against women remains a fact of life in countries worldwide. Like poverty, HIV/AIDS, poor maternal health, and lack of access to education, violence against women is an ill that affects the person, her community, and her nation.
As the campaign to “Say No to Violence against Women” enters its second year, we should dedicate ourselves to creating awareness among individuals and communities of the great damage violence against women inflicts, and commit ourselves to end this atrocity.
One year ago, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) began its global campaign to advocate among publics and governments for an end to violence against women. In the course of the year, we have taken important steps to address this issue.
During its June 2008 Security Council Presidency, the United States focused on actions that would follow from UN Security Council Resolution 1325, on “Women, Peace, and Security.” On June 19, the United States chaired an open Security Council thematic discussion on the topic of violence in situations of armed conflict. The debate culminated in adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1820, which condemns the use of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations.
Violence against women remains a fact of life in countries worldwide. Like poverty, HIV/AIDS, poor maternal health, and lack of access to education, violence against women is an ill that affects the person, her community, and her nation.
As the campaign to “Say No to Violence against Women” enters its second year, we should dedicate ourselves to creating awareness among individuals and communities of the great damage violence against women inflicts, and commit ourselves to end this atrocity.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Bahrain: UNDP to launch more projects in Bahrain
UNDP to launch more projects in Bahrain
By Suad Hamada (Our correspondent)
MANAMA - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is about to launch more projects in partnership with its development players in Bahrain.
"We are sharing good relations with Bahrain government and NGOs and more joint projects will be launched with civic organisations in the future," the Resident Representative of the UNDP Sayed Aqa said.
The UNDP is building on the success of microfinance project that was launched in 2003to finance businesses of small entrepreneurs. The organisation has been collaborating with three societies and three more would be included soon, he said, while highlighting that the three-year budget of the project is $1.4 million.
In regards to gender equality, Aqa highlighted the UNDP's great role in this area through its ongoing cooperation with the state-run Supreme Council for Women (SCW) as the official women protection body in Bahrain as well as women’s societies. He highlighted UNDP's participation in gender equality conference last month.
Aqa said initiatives for economic empowerment of women would be launched in association with the SCW in the coming months while the political empowerment of women will start with a series of training and programmes from the beginning of 2009 to prepare women candidates for 2010 election.
Aqa pledged his organisation’s continuous support to the government, private sector, trade unions, NGOs and media in achieving the Kingdom's development and UN millennium goals.
Aqa congratulated the Kingdom for winning a seat in the United Nations' Human Rights Council and said that such achievement reflects Bahrain's commitment to enhance its human rights record. “Bahrain has what it needed to develop its human rights foundations and that could be achieved through joint efforts between all segments of society."
He explained that human rights shouldn't be linked to politics and shouldn't become part of politicians' agendas.
Aqa highlighted the essentiality of human rights by pointing out that sustainable development couldn't be achieved if human rights principles are being violated.
"UNDP is helping the government and NGOs to reach their development goals through motivating them to integrate human rights in all initiatives by adopting human rights-based approaches.
---Khaleej Times Online, July 2, 2008
By Suad Hamada (Our correspondent)
MANAMA - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is about to launch more projects in partnership with its development players in Bahrain.
"We are sharing good relations with Bahrain government and NGOs and more joint projects will be launched with civic organisations in the future," the Resident Representative of the UNDP Sayed Aqa said.
The UNDP is building on the success of microfinance project that was launched in 2003to finance businesses of small entrepreneurs. The organisation has been collaborating with three societies and three more would be included soon, he said, while highlighting that the three-year budget of the project is $1.4 million.
In regards to gender equality, Aqa highlighted the UNDP's great role in this area through its ongoing cooperation with the state-run Supreme Council for Women (SCW) as the official women protection body in Bahrain as well as women’s societies. He highlighted UNDP's participation in gender equality conference last month.
Aqa said initiatives for economic empowerment of women would be launched in association with the SCW in the coming months while the political empowerment of women will start with a series of training and programmes from the beginning of 2009 to prepare women candidates for 2010 election.
Aqa pledged his organisation’s continuous support to the government, private sector, trade unions, NGOs and media in achieving the Kingdom's development and UN millennium goals.
Aqa congratulated the Kingdom for winning a seat in the United Nations' Human Rights Council and said that such achievement reflects Bahrain's commitment to enhance its human rights record. “Bahrain has what it needed to develop its human rights foundations and that could be achieved through joint efforts between all segments of society."
He explained that human rights shouldn't be linked to politics and shouldn't become part of politicians' agendas.
Aqa highlighted the essentiality of human rights by pointing out that sustainable development couldn't be achieved if human rights principles are being violated.
"UNDP is helping the government and NGOs to reach their development goals through motivating them to integrate human rights in all initiatives by adopting human rights-based approaches.
---Khaleej Times Online, July 2, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Bahrain: Women empowerment to be discussed today
MANAMA — Steps needed to be taken by Bahrain to deal with UN Human Rights Council’s women empowerment recommendation will be the focus of a meeting between the government’s Supreme Council of Women (SCW) and NGOs dealing with women affairs to be held today.
The recommendations were drawn from the Bahrain Human Rights reports that was reviewed at the first Universal Periodic Review Session, April 2008.
The participants would evaluate the recommendations and discuss mechanisms to implement them to further women empowerment in Bahrain.
The meeting is open to women societies, women panels, women lawmakers, human rights activists and journalists.
- Khaleej Times
The recommendations were drawn from the Bahrain Human Rights reports that was reviewed at the first Universal Periodic Review Session, April 2008.
The participants would evaluate the recommendations and discuss mechanisms to implement them to further women empowerment in Bahrain.
The meeting is open to women societies, women panels, women lawmakers, human rights activists and journalists.
- Khaleej Times
Friday, April 11, 2008
Yemen: WOMEN 'STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME ILLITERACY'
Sana'a: Illiteracy among Yemeni women is still very high despite external and internal efforts to eradicate it, a senior UN official said.
More than 75 per cent of women living in rural areas are illiterate, and more than 40 per cent of urban women, according to recent statistics of the Sanaa-based Unicef.
About 70 per cent of Yemen's population of 22 million live in rural areas.
Unicef regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Sigrid Kaag, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview in Sanaa concerted efforts were needed to overcome the many challenges facing women.
"We can't say Yemen is there yet, but that is not the major question; the question is about leadership and the courage to speak out about issues that are important to women," said Kaag.
She was on her first visit to Yemen since she assumed responsibility as Unicef director for about 20 countries in the region earlier this year. She is based in Amman, Jordan.
"It is a process of change and transformation," she said.
The UN official confirmed there was a wide gap between women in rural and urban areas in terms of access to education, health and other basic services.
Women in rural areas have very little access to these services. They sometimes work up to 16 hours per day on farms, carrying water and wood, and doing household chores.
"We need to focus on and accelerate the provision of education and health services in rural areas," the UN official said.
Child trafficking is very common from Yemen to its wealthy neighbour, Saudi Arabia. Poverty, domestic violence and illiteracy among parents are the main reasons for this.
Unicef has helped the Yemeni government tackle these issues in the past.
"The government and Unicef have taken steps towards building reception centres and helping trafficked children reintegrate into society," she said.
A recently established reception centre in Sanaa can accommodate as many as 60 victims of child trafficking.
Thousands of children are trafficked every year to Saudi Arabia for begging and working. They are deported back home almost on a daily basis.
Unicef also helps Yemen tackle child labour. Recent official reports have shown that some 3 million children, half of them girls, are working in Yemen.
Some 92 per cent of these children work in agriculture. The law which bans child labour in about 70 hazardous jobs does not apply to agriculture.
Kaag said Unicef would do a survey on poverty in Yemen, which is one of the main causes of child labour in the country.
Source: Gulf News
More than 75 per cent of women living in rural areas are illiterate, and more than 40 per cent of urban women, according to recent statistics of the Sanaa-based Unicef.
About 70 per cent of Yemen's population of 22 million live in rural areas.
Unicef regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Sigrid Kaag, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview in Sanaa concerted efforts were needed to overcome the many challenges facing women.
"We can't say Yemen is there yet, but that is not the major question; the question is about leadership and the courage to speak out about issues that are important to women," said Kaag.
She was on her first visit to Yemen since she assumed responsibility as Unicef director for about 20 countries in the region earlier this year. She is based in Amman, Jordan.
"It is a process of change and transformation," she said.
The UN official confirmed there was a wide gap between women in rural and urban areas in terms of access to education, health and other basic services.
Women in rural areas have very little access to these services. They sometimes work up to 16 hours per day on farms, carrying water and wood, and doing household chores.
"We need to focus on and accelerate the provision of education and health services in rural areas," the UN official said.
Child trafficking is very common from Yemen to its wealthy neighbour, Saudi Arabia. Poverty, domestic violence and illiteracy among parents are the main reasons for this.
Unicef has helped the Yemeni government tackle these issues in the past.
"The government and Unicef have taken steps towards building reception centres and helping trafficked children reintegrate into society," she said.
A recently established reception centre in Sanaa can accommodate as many as 60 victims of child trafficking.
Thousands of children are trafficked every year to Saudi Arabia for begging and working. They are deported back home almost on a daily basis.
Unicef also helps Yemen tackle child labour. Recent official reports have shown that some 3 million children, half of them girls, are working in Yemen.
Some 92 per cent of these children work in agriculture. The law which bans child labour in about 70 hazardous jobs does not apply to agriculture.
Kaag said Unicef would do a survey on poverty in Yemen, which is one of the main causes of child labour in the country.
Source: Gulf News
Monday, March 10, 2008
Jordan: Women’s movement urged to push for motherhood fund
AMMAN - Labour Minister Bassem Salem on Sunday urged women’s groups to unite their efforts and push for a government-proposed amendment in the social security draft law to establish a motherhood fund.
“We need the active involvement of the women’s movement, because a fund would solve many problems for women seeking maternity leave and employers who do not hire young women for fear they would have to give them paid maternity leave,” Salem said.
The minister made the remarks during a lecture on women’s economic empowerment to mark International Women’s Day at the Amman Chamber of Industry.
The mechanism of a motherhood fund would consist of taking a small percentage of employees’ salaries, matched by a contribution from business owners, which would be used to pay working women during their maternity leave.
The Cabinet is expected to discuss the social security draft law on Tuesday, according to Salem.
Asma Khader, secretary general of the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), echoed the minister’s remarks saying a fund would solve a big problem for working women.
Khader said the government is trying to encourage women to get more involved in the national economy field in specific and the workforce in general.
“We should exert all efforts to encourage women to join the workforce and adopt friendly policies that encourage women to be active in the labour market,” Khader told the gathering.
She added that work needs to be focused on drafting legislation that protect women from discrimination and harassment at work because currently there are no laws protecting women from such violations.
The Department of Statistics (DoS) launched a booklet entitled, “Women and Men in Jordan in figures, 2008” on Sunday as part of the Kingdom’s celebration of International Women’s Day.
DoS figures indicate that the actual level of female labour force participation is about half its potential, with only 14.7 per cent of Jordanian women active in the formal sector.
Men’s participation in the labour market stood at 60 per cent, according to the figures.
Meanwhile, unemployment among women in Jordan stood at 25.6 per cent, while the official rate for men was 10.3 per cent, according to DoS.
Another government study released in February 2008 indicated that two-thirds of created jobs, or 66 per cent, were provided by the private sector, 29 per cent of which were taken by females. Of the jobs offered by the public sector, only 11 per cent went to female applicants.
Sunday’s event was organised by the JNCW and the United Nations Development Fund for Women.
By Rana Husseini, Jordan Times
“We need the active involvement of the women’s movement, because a fund would solve many problems for women seeking maternity leave and employers who do not hire young women for fear they would have to give them paid maternity leave,” Salem said.
The minister made the remarks during a lecture on women’s economic empowerment to mark International Women’s Day at the Amman Chamber of Industry.
The mechanism of a motherhood fund would consist of taking a small percentage of employees’ salaries, matched by a contribution from business owners, which would be used to pay working women during their maternity leave.
The Cabinet is expected to discuss the social security draft law on Tuesday, according to Salem.
Asma Khader, secretary general of the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), echoed the minister’s remarks saying a fund would solve a big problem for working women.
Khader said the government is trying to encourage women to get more involved in the national economy field in specific and the workforce in general.
“We should exert all efforts to encourage women to join the workforce and adopt friendly policies that encourage women to be active in the labour market,” Khader told the gathering.
She added that work needs to be focused on drafting legislation that protect women from discrimination and harassment at work because currently there are no laws protecting women from such violations.
The Department of Statistics (DoS) launched a booklet entitled, “Women and Men in Jordan in figures, 2008” on Sunday as part of the Kingdom’s celebration of International Women’s Day.
DoS figures indicate that the actual level of female labour force participation is about half its potential, with only 14.7 per cent of Jordanian women active in the formal sector.
Men’s participation in the labour market stood at 60 per cent, according to the figures.
Meanwhile, unemployment among women in Jordan stood at 25.6 per cent, while the official rate for men was 10.3 per cent, according to DoS.
Another government study released in February 2008 indicated that two-thirds of created jobs, or 66 per cent, were provided by the private sector, 29 per cent of which were taken by females. Of the jobs offered by the public sector, only 11 per cent went to female applicants.
Sunday’s event was organised by the JNCW and the United Nations Development Fund for Women.
By Rana Husseini, Jordan Times
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Jordan: ‘Progress for women is progress for all’
AMMAN - Gender mainstreaming is expensive but a worthy investment that will enhance a county’s financial prosperity and human development, UN agencies in Jordan stressed during an International Women’s Day celebration on Tuesday.
The commemoration ceremony, held under the patronage of HRH Princess Basma in coordination with local UN heads of mission, highlighted this year’s theme: “Financing for Gender Equality and Empowerment”.
According to UN agencies, there is a critical need for increased investment in women and girls, and political rhetoric and objectives are not compatible with the required human and financial resources.
They emphasised that donors and governments should decisively identify the country’s needs and have more political will to advocate for budget allocations.
In her keynote address, Princess Basma pointed out that “intensive efforts are required to counteract women’s under-representation [in the Kingdom], particularly in areas such as trade, infrastructure, and finance”.
She explained that although increasing financial commitments on already overburdened budgets may not be greatly welcomed by financial decision-makers, it should be remembered that ultimately these measures are for the good of all.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Princess saluted Jordanian women and the women of Palestine, “particularly Gazan women who are enduring overwhelming hardships under fierce Israeli attacks”.
Participants stood for a moment of silence and prayer “for the martyrs who lost their lives”, at her request.
Meanwhile, UN resident coordinator, Luc Stevens noted that in spite of the many commitments made by national and international stakeholders, much remains to be done to counter impediments to the advancement of women.
He cited the 2005 World Summit, when governments of all nations agreed with General Assembly Resolution 60/1: “Progress for women is progress for all”.
Gender equality commitments were made through the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, the outcome of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly in 2000, the 2000 Millennium Summit, the 2002 Monterrey Consensus and the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
“Despite these commitments, there are still insufficient resources to adequately support policies and programmes that promote the advancement of women,” Stevens said.
He explained that the lack of resources and insufficient budgetary allocations also hold back efforts to realise all the Millennium Development Goals.
“We are now at the mid-point of our journey to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and only by investing in the world’s women and girls can we expect to reach our destination,” the UN official added.
On a positive note, Mouna Ghanem, UNIFEM Arab States regional office director, told The Jordan Times that the Kingdom already recognises the need for women’s progress and has many projects geared towards this goal.
“The environment is already conducive to the empowerment of women, we should use this advantage and exert more efforts for further growth in all areas for women, including politics,” she said.
Some of the challenges stakeholders face in mobilising increased support include the lack of senior gender specialists and the absence of dialogue between the public and private sectors, donors, research bodies and women’s organisations, according to the UN.
A few of the UN recommendations presented at yesterday’s event included increasing support for analytical work to identify inequalities, making poverty reduction strategies more gender responsive, and ensuring that trade promotes economic growth, employment and development for all.
-- By Linda Hindi, Jordan Times
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Kuwait: State launches program to grant women prominent role in society
UNITED NATIONS, (KUNA): Sheikha Hessa Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, Deputy Chairperson of Women's Affairs Committee of the Kuwaiti Cabinet, announced late Saturday the launch of a women's empowerment program in her country and called on the private sector to contribute to this national project.
Sheikha Hessa, also Chairwoman of the Council of Arab Businesswomen, is currently participating in 52nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. 'I would like to take this opportunity to announce the launch of our ambitious development project for women's empowerment, which will take place in cooperation with the Arab League,' she said. She explained that the project included training programs and rehabilitation, adding that it would be implemented by Yanuf Consultation and Training Co, one of the leading Kuwait private sector firms working in this field.
Sheikha Hessa added that the empowerment project was the result of a series of meetings of the Kuwaiti Cabinet's committee for women's affairs, saying that the focus would be on workshops for small and medium business holders, as well as those working in the vocational field in order to better prepare them for the labor market.
She called on the private sector in Kuwait to help make this project a success, especially as women empowerment would be effective in achieving sustainable development. The UN Millennium Goals of 2000 placed great emphasis on the concept of women empowerment, she added. As for the participation of the Kuwaiti delegation in the UN Commission on the Status of Women session, she said it was 'successful,' adding that she was honored to deliver Kuwait's speech before the commission.
'We highlighted the constant activity and development in women's affairs and their empowerment politically, economically and socially ... we also showed examples and results of positive empowerment in Kuwait,' Sheikha Hessa added. Such results would not have been possible without the support of the Kuwaiti leadership, she said.
The commission is a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. Representatives of its member states gather at UN Headquarters in New York annually to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote the status of women worldwide.
Sheikha Hessa, also Chairwoman of the Council of Arab Businesswomen, is currently participating in 52nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. 'I would like to take this opportunity to announce the launch of our ambitious development project for women's empowerment, which will take place in cooperation with the Arab League,' she said. She explained that the project included training programs and rehabilitation, adding that it would be implemented by Yanuf Consultation and Training Co, one of the leading Kuwait private sector firms working in this field.
Sheikha Hessa added that the empowerment project was the result of a series of meetings of the Kuwaiti Cabinet's committee for women's affairs, saying that the focus would be on workshops for small and medium business holders, as well as those working in the vocational field in order to better prepare them for the labor market.
She called on the private sector in Kuwait to help make this project a success, especially as women empowerment would be effective in achieving sustainable development. The UN Millennium Goals of 2000 placed great emphasis on the concept of women empowerment, she added. As for the participation of the Kuwaiti delegation in the UN Commission on the Status of Women session, she said it was 'successful,' adding that she was honored to deliver Kuwait's speech before the commission.
'We highlighted the constant activity and development in women's affairs and their empowerment politically, economically and socially ... we also showed examples and results of positive empowerment in Kuwait,' Sheikha Hessa added. Such results would not have been possible without the support of the Kuwaiti leadership, she said.
The commission is a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. Representatives of its member states gather at UN Headquarters in New York annually to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote the status of women worldwide.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Bahrain: Forum on ways to end violence against women
The UN information centre in Bahrain will hold a forum tomorrow to discuss ways and means of ending violence against women. The occasion will coincide with the launch of ‘Unite To End Violence Against Women’ world campaign by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
The UN has invited government officials, representatives from the civil and private sectors and also media representatives to participate in the event.
“In addition to mobilising the usual partners on women empowerment, the UN is calling on the private sector and the business community, men and women alike, to join the Secretary-General’s campaign that will call for a focus on investing in women and girls,” UNIC said in a statement yesterday.
According to UN estimates at least one out of every three women in the world is likely to be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. One in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape.
The UN has invited government officials, representatives from the civil and private sectors and also media representatives to participate in the event.
“In addition to mobilising the usual partners on women empowerment, the UN is calling on the private sector and the business community, men and women alike, to join the Secretary-General’s campaign that will call for a focus on investing in women and girls,” UNIC said in a statement yesterday.
According to UN estimates at least one out of every three women in the world is likely to be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. One in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Religious police hit back over woman held in cafe
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia’s religious police hit back on Tuesday at critics of their arrest of a businesswoman in a Starbucks cafe for mixing with a male colleague, threatening to sue a journalist.
The powerful Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, or religious police, charged the Saudi woman was making ‘suspicious gestures’ while in the man’s company and broke the law on several counts, in a statement published in the local press.
The commission ‘reserves the right of its members ... to claim their legal right from columnist Abdullah Al Alami who accused them of abduction,’ it said.
The religious police, commonly known as Muttawa, said Alami, a columnist for the daily Al Watan, had also accused them of strip-searching the woman, ‘which is no less reprehensible than ... the crime of kidnapping’.
The businesswoman, a 40-year-old financial consultant, was quoted in the English-language daily Arab News on February 5 as saying she was detained and strip-searched by the Muttawa the previous day.
She had been sitting in a Starbucks coffee shop with an unrelated man, an activity which is taboo in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia.
The woman, named only as Yara, said she was holding a business meeting with the man in a branch of Starbucks in Riyadh, in a section reserved for families.
Yara, a mother of three, said she was taken to a Riyadh prison, strip-searched and forced to sign a confession to having been caught alone with an unrelated man.
She said the Muttawa released her several hours later after her husband intervened. The man with whom Yara had coffee, an unnamed Syrian financial analyst, was also arrested.
Newspapers said the man was released the next day.
In its statement, the 5,000-strong religious police accused Yara of violating both the law and Islamic tenets by flying unaccompanied from Jeddah to Riyadh and sitting alone with an unrelated man in a public place in a section reserved for families.
The religious police said its members went to the coffee shop after receiving information that the woman did not have her head covered and was wearing make-up and making ‘suspicious gestures’ while in the man’s company.
A UN expert on women’s rights said last week at the end of a visit to Saudi Arabia that she had heard accounts of serious discrimination against women and abuses by the Muttawa.
‘The Muttawa are said to be responsible for serious human rights abuses in harassing, threatening and arresting women who ‘deviate from accepted norms’,’ said Yakin Erturk, the United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women, citing Yara’s arrest during her visit.
Women in Saudi Arabia, which applies a rigorous doctrine of Islam known as Wahhabism, face a host of constraints, including a ban on driving.
They are forced to cover from head to toe in public, and can not mix with men other than relatives or travel without written permission from their male guardian.
(AFP)
The powerful Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, or religious police, charged the Saudi woman was making ‘suspicious gestures’ while in the man’s company and broke the law on several counts, in a statement published in the local press.
The commission ‘reserves the right of its members ... to claim their legal right from columnist Abdullah Al Alami who accused them of abduction,’ it said.
The religious police, commonly known as Muttawa, said Alami, a columnist for the daily Al Watan, had also accused them of strip-searching the woman, ‘which is no less reprehensible than ... the crime of kidnapping’.
The businesswoman, a 40-year-old financial consultant, was quoted in the English-language daily Arab News on February 5 as saying she was detained and strip-searched by the Muttawa the previous day.
She had been sitting in a Starbucks coffee shop with an unrelated man, an activity which is taboo in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia.
The woman, named only as Yara, said she was holding a business meeting with the man in a branch of Starbucks in Riyadh, in a section reserved for families.
Yara, a mother of three, said she was taken to a Riyadh prison, strip-searched and forced to sign a confession to having been caught alone with an unrelated man.
She said the Muttawa released her several hours later after her husband intervened. The man with whom Yara had coffee, an unnamed Syrian financial analyst, was also arrested.
Newspapers said the man was released the next day.
In its statement, the 5,000-strong religious police accused Yara of violating both the law and Islamic tenets by flying unaccompanied from Jeddah to Riyadh and sitting alone with an unrelated man in a public place in a section reserved for families.
The religious police said its members went to the coffee shop after receiving information that the woman did not have her head covered and was wearing make-up and making ‘suspicious gestures’ while in the man’s company.
A UN expert on women’s rights said last week at the end of a visit to Saudi Arabia that she had heard accounts of serious discrimination against women and abuses by the Muttawa.
‘The Muttawa are said to be responsible for serious human rights abuses in harassing, threatening and arresting women who ‘deviate from accepted norms’,’ said Yakin Erturk, the United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women, citing Yara’s arrest during her visit.
Women in Saudi Arabia, which applies a rigorous doctrine of Islam known as Wahhabism, face a host of constraints, including a ban on driving.
They are forced to cover from head to toe in public, and can not mix with men other than relatives or travel without written permission from their male guardian.
(AFP)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Don’t waste women’s potential – Erturk
RIYADH - A visiting UN official called Wednesday for greater participation of Saudi women in society so as to avoid "an incredible waste of human resources here."Yanik Erturk, the special United Nations rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on Violence against Women, said at a press conference here that while her 10-day visit to the Kingdom has given her hope about improvement in the condition of Saudi women, more is needed to be done.
"I have met many high-level educated women, and I see an incredible waste of human resources here," said Erturk. "Half of society can't contribute."
Ertuk noted that women's access to education, which has resulted in the significant improvement in the literacy rates for women in a relatively short period of time, was a positive improvement achieved by the Saudi government.
"Women are enjoying free and close to full access to primary, secondary and tertiary education, where the ratio of girls attending school is equal to or higher than that of boys," she said.
However, Erturk said that women still have limited access to higher education in some fields.
Erturk's findings also concluded that in the public sector, with the exception of participation in the health, education and social fields, women still lack access to employment in ministries such as the Ministry of Justice and Interior and they are excluded from decision-making positions.
She noted in particular the absence of women members in the Council of Ministers, Shoura Council, and on the board of the Human Rights Commission.
During the press conference, Erturk addressed the need for judicial reform, the overall participation of women in society, work force and decision-making, violence against women and the conditions of foreign female workers.
"There is urgency for judicial reform," said Erturk. "The judiciary reform which is already in progress is important to bridge the gap between traditions, law and what is being implemented."
The special UN rapporteur also addressed the issue of codification of law and the need for establishing a family law, looking into guardianship, and women's access to the judicial system.
Erturk noted progress in Saudi media coverage of women's issues. "The media is the most important element in supporting women's issues," she said. "I am impressed by the coverage women's issues are getting, and encourage it to go further."
"I congratulate the media for engaging in the issue of violence against women but more has to be dome to increase awareness."
Erturk also expressed her gratitude to the Saudi government for inviting her to the Kingdom and also for all the support they provided her during her visit.
"The Saudi women I met had diverse voices, aspirations and demands," said Erturk. "Among the Saudi women I met there were those who have expressed contentment and satisfaction with their lives, while others have raised concerns of serious levels of discriminatory practices against them."
"I also met foreign women married to Saudi nationals and migrant domestic workers who face additional vulnerabilities."
Erturk spoke about her visits to the safe houses for domestic workers and the Social Protection centers in Jeddah and Dammam.
"I met with many migrant workers in safe houses and hundreds in Riyadh prison, this morning" said Erturk. "I believe that both the sending countries and the host country have obligations to ensure protective measures for the safety of these workers who are uninformed, uneducated and mostly illiterate themselves," said Erturk.
The behavior of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice grabbed Erturk's attention during her visit to the Kingdom. "These law enforcers are responsible for maintaining morality in public places. Although they are required to act in concert with the police and under certain limitations with respect to arrest and detention of people, they reportedly often act independently; as a result they are said to be responsible for serious human right abuses....," she said.
During her 10-day visit to the Kingdom, Erturk did not meet with the Commission or with Yara, the businesswoman who was arrested by the Commission for having coffee at Starbucks in Riyadh with her male colleague.
By Susan Zawawi from the Saudi Gazette
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Women complain of discrimination, abuse
RIYADH - A UN expert on women’s rights said on Wednesday she had heard accounts of serious discrimination against women and abuses by religious police during a visit to ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia.
There also appears to be no timeframe for lifting a ban on women’s driving, Yakin Erturk, the United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women, told reporters at the end of a 10-day visit to the Muslim kingdom.
Erturk said that while some Saudi women she met during her visit at the government’s invitation expressed satisfaction with their lives, ‘others have raised concerns of serious levels of discriminatory practices against women that compromise their rights and dignity as full human beings.’
Others related ‘the domestic abuse they systematically encounter with little prospect of redress.’
Erturk said that progress had been made in women’s access to education, but there has been no comparable increase in their participation in the labour force, mainly due to sex segregation in the workplace, and they are ‘particularly excluded from decision-making positions.’
She said many of her interlocutors complained about the behaviour of the religious police, or Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice who are commonly known as Muttawa and enforce a strict Islamic moral code.
‘The Muttawa are said to be responsible for serious human rights abuses in harassing, threatening and arresting women who ‘deviate from accepted norms’,’ the UN official said, citing an incident reported during her visit in which they arrested a businesswoman for sitting in a coffee shop with a male colleague in Riyadh.
Erturk said she had not met any officials from the religious police during her visit, which followed a report by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women which stated that women in the kingdom were the victims of systematic and pervasive discrimination across all aspects of social life.
Women in Saudi Arabia, which applies a rigorous doctrine of Islam known as Wahhabism, face a host of constraints, including the driving ban. They are forced to cover from head to toe in public, and cannot mix with men other than relatives or travel without written permission from their male guardian.
Erturk, who met officials and human rights groups, said she had raised the driving ban during her talks but did not feel there was a specific timeframe for solving the issue.
What matters in enabling women to drive is that this would give them freedom to move and work, she said.
Erturk, who will report to the UN Human Rights Council, said recently adopted judicial reforms which foresee the establishment of family courts, together with a draft law on domestic violence, were ‘promising initiatives,’ but more needed to be done to combat violence against women.
This includes adoption of a legal framework based on international human rights standards that would cover violence and family matters, establishment of a ‘national machinery for women’ to intervene in cases of violence, and ‘positive action policies and plans’ to empower women.
(AFP)
There also appears to be no timeframe for lifting a ban on women’s driving, Yakin Erturk, the United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women, told reporters at the end of a 10-day visit to the Muslim kingdom.
Erturk said that while some Saudi women she met during her visit at the government’s invitation expressed satisfaction with their lives, ‘others have raised concerns of serious levels of discriminatory practices against women that compromise their rights and dignity as full human beings.’
Others related ‘the domestic abuse they systematically encounter with little prospect of redress.’
Erturk said that progress had been made in women’s access to education, but there has been no comparable increase in their participation in the labour force, mainly due to sex segregation in the workplace, and they are ‘particularly excluded from decision-making positions.’
She said many of her interlocutors complained about the behaviour of the religious police, or Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice who are commonly known as Muttawa and enforce a strict Islamic moral code.
‘The Muttawa are said to be responsible for serious human rights abuses in harassing, threatening and arresting women who ‘deviate from accepted norms’,’ the UN official said, citing an incident reported during her visit in which they arrested a businesswoman for sitting in a coffee shop with a male colleague in Riyadh.
Erturk said she had not met any officials from the religious police during her visit, which followed a report by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women which stated that women in the kingdom were the victims of systematic and pervasive discrimination across all aspects of social life.
Women in Saudi Arabia, which applies a rigorous doctrine of Islam known as Wahhabism, face a host of constraints, including the driving ban. They are forced to cover from head to toe in public, and cannot mix with men other than relatives or travel without written permission from their male guardian.
Erturk, who met officials and human rights groups, said she had raised the driving ban during her talks but did not feel there was a specific timeframe for solving the issue.
What matters in enabling women to drive is that this would give them freedom to move and work, she said.
Erturk, who will report to the UN Human Rights Council, said recently adopted judicial reforms which foresee the establishment of family courts, together with a draft law on domestic violence, were ‘promising initiatives,’ but more needed to be done to combat violence against women.
This includes adoption of a legal framework based on international human rights standards that would cover violence and family matters, establishment of a ‘national machinery for women’ to intervene in cases of violence, and ‘positive action policies and plans’ to empower women.
(AFP)
Friday, February 1, 2008
Saudi Arabia: UN calls for Saudis to end male guardianship
GENEVA - (AP) A United Nations human rights body called on Saudi Arabia on Friday to immediately end its system of male guardianship which it said severely limits the basic freedoms of women in the kingdom.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, in its first scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s gender equality record, said Islamic Sharia law should not trump an international women’s rights treaty that Riyadh signed in 2000.
The committee’s 23 independent experts urged Saudi Arabia to ‘amend its legislation to confirm that international treaties have precedence over domestic laws,’ and ‘enact a comprehensive gender equality law’.
They also said that Riyadh should ‘take immediate steps to end the practice of male guardianship over women’ and work to eliminate ‘negative cultural practices and stereotypes’ which discriminate against women.
Saudi Arabia’s system of male guardianship severely curtails the rights afforded in the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the committee said.
The rules restrict women’s legal rights in marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, property ownership and decision-making in the family, as well as choice of residency, education and jobs, the committee said.
It ‘contributes to the prevalence of a patriarchal ideology with stereotypes and the persistence of deep-rooted cultural norms, customs and traditions that discriminate against women,’ the committee said. A de facto ban on Saudi women driving further reinforces such stereotypes, the UN body concluded.
Although the body has no legal power to enforce its recommendations, it is regarded as a moral authority on women’s rights.
Saudis say no discrimination
A report submitted by Riyadh on its compliance with the treaty said that generally there was ‘no discrimination against women in the laws of the kingdom’.
A Saudi delegation led by Zeid Bin Abdul Mushin Al Hussein, vice president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, told the committee during a recent debate: ‘Human rights in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia are based on Sharia law.’
Saudi clerics, who rule according to the strict religious tenets, have wide powers in Saudi Arabia under a traditional pact with the royal family.
The country drew international criticism after its Supreme Judicial Council ordered a 19-year-old to 200 lashes and six months in jail for having been with a man she was not related to when she was attacked and raped by seven other men in 2006.
King Abdullah pardoned the gang-rape victim in December.
The UN committee urged Riyadh to withdraw its proviso that Islamic law take precedence over the women’s rights treaty, particularly as Saudi authorities have given assurances that there is ‘no contradiction in substance’ between the two.
The committee’s conclusions were issued at the end of a three-week meeting during which it also reviewed other states.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, in its first scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s gender equality record, said Islamic Sharia law should not trump an international women’s rights treaty that Riyadh signed in 2000.
The committee’s 23 independent experts urged Saudi Arabia to ‘amend its legislation to confirm that international treaties have precedence over domestic laws,’ and ‘enact a comprehensive gender equality law’.
They also said that Riyadh should ‘take immediate steps to end the practice of male guardianship over women’ and work to eliminate ‘negative cultural practices and stereotypes’ which discriminate against women.
Saudi Arabia’s system of male guardianship severely curtails the rights afforded in the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the committee said.
The rules restrict women’s legal rights in marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, property ownership and decision-making in the family, as well as choice of residency, education and jobs, the committee said.
It ‘contributes to the prevalence of a patriarchal ideology with stereotypes and the persistence of deep-rooted cultural norms, customs and traditions that discriminate against women,’ the committee said. A de facto ban on Saudi women driving further reinforces such stereotypes, the UN body concluded.
Although the body has no legal power to enforce its recommendations, it is regarded as a moral authority on women’s rights.
Saudis say no discrimination
A report submitted by Riyadh on its compliance with the treaty said that generally there was ‘no discrimination against women in the laws of the kingdom’.
A Saudi delegation led by Zeid Bin Abdul Mushin Al Hussein, vice president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, told the committee during a recent debate: ‘Human rights in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia are based on Sharia law.’
Saudi clerics, who rule according to the strict religious tenets, have wide powers in Saudi Arabia under a traditional pact with the royal family.
The country drew international criticism after its Supreme Judicial Council ordered a 19-year-old to 200 lashes and six months in jail for having been with a man she was not related to when she was attacked and raped by seven other men in 2006.
King Abdullah pardoned the gang-rape victim in December.
The UN committee urged Riyadh to withdraw its proviso that Islamic law take precedence over the women’s rights treaty, particularly as Saudi authorities have given assurances that there is ‘no contradiction in substance’ between the two.
The committee’s conclusions were issued at the end of a three-week meeting during which it also reviewed other states.
Saudi Arabia: UN Committee urges government to take concrete steps to enforce gender equality
GENEVA - Women in Saudi Arabia are the victims of systematic and pervasive discrimination across all aspects of social life, a United Nations report said on Friday.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women urged the Saudi government to take concrete steps to enforce gender equality and end violence against women.
The committee overseas the application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, a UN treaty regarded as a global bill of rights for women.
"Neither the Constitution nor other legislation embodies the principle of equality between women and men," the committee said in a report.
Saudia Arabia imposes almost complete separation of the sexes.
As such, it is illegal for a woman to be in the company of a man who is not in her immediate family.
Women suffer from domestic violence, poor healthcare provision and high levels of illiteracy, the committee said in its report.
They are also shackled by the obligation to have a male "tutor" or guardian to accompany them for many daily tasks, it found.
"The concept of male guardianship contributes to the prevalence of a patriarchal ideology with stereotypes and the persistence of deep-rooted cultural norms that discriminate against women," the report said.
"The level of representation of women in public and political life, at the local, national, and international levels and in particular in decision-making positions, is very low," it added.
The committee also expressed concern about female domestic migrant workers in the kingdom, who are vulnerable to economic and sexual exploitation and do not have ready access to the law.
Earlier this month, a Saudi delegation told a meeting of the committee in Geneva that "Saudi society is still largely a tribal society and changes in mentality allowing new ideas to be accepted take time".
Earlier this month, a Saudi delegation told a meeting of the committee in Geneva that "Saudi society is still largely a tribal society and changes in mentality allowing new ideas to be accepted take time".
- Middle East Online
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