Our weekly round-up of women's rights news from TrustLaw and other media
LONDON (TrustLaw) – Here is our selection of this week’s stories on women's rights from TrustLaw and other media.
AFRICA
In Niger, child marriage on rise due to hunger
The Associated Press
One out of every three girls in Niger marries before her 15th birthday, a rate of child marriage among the highest in the world, according to a UNICEF survey. Now this custom is being layered on top of a crisis. At times of severe drought, parents pushed to the wall by poverty and hunger are marrying their daughters at even younger ages.
South Africa: MPs’ eyes opened to rights in sex trade
Cape Time, South Africa
Police and health-care workers must be trained to deal with sex workers and protect their human rights, MPs said yesterday after a briefing on the plight of women in the sex trade.
Gambia: OIC committed to improving women's status
allAfrica.com/ The Daily Observer
The deputy speaker of the National Assembly has said that the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) member states are committed to improving women's status and ensuring their equal rights. Hon. Fatou Mbye made the disclosure on Monday before deputies at the National Assembly, when she was laying the report of [the conference] on the 'Role of women in changing Muslim Societies', held in Istanbul, Turkey on 22-24 December 2011. However, she admitted that it is also true that there are inadequacies of implementation to bring about this upliftment of women.
AMERICAS
Half of U.S. women prefer a job outside the home -Gallup poll
TrustLaw, United States
Half of American women said that, if given the choice to do either, they would prefer a job outside the home rather than stay home and take care of the house and family, according to a new Gallup poll.
ASIA
Free jailed Afghan women fleeing forced marriages - group
TrustLaw, India
Almost 500 women and girls currently incarcerated in Afghanistan's jails for "running away" from forced marriages and violence under an ambigious and arbitary law must be freed, Human Rights Watch said
Bangladesh's family laws fuel female poverty - rights group
TrustLaw, India
Laws on marriage, separation, and divorce in Bangladesh discriminate against women and girls in abusive marriages, often driving them into poverty when their marriages fall part, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a new report released on Monday.
Indonesian women’s rights must be a priority: Marzuki
Jakarta Post, Indonesia
The issues of empowerment and protection of women need to be given greater prominence in light of the high number of women living in poverty, a conference of parliamentarians from across Southeast Asia heard on Monday.
“Today, women account for 70 percent of the 1.3 billion people worldwide still living in poverty,” said Marzuki Alie, president of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). “Indeed, literacy among girls and women is lower than among males, and there continue to be violations of their civil and human rights.”
Iran Cleric claims he was beaten up by 'badly veiled' woman
The Huffington Post, United States
Women’s rights in Iran may be in a sordid state, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Iranian women can’t take care of themselves.A cleric in the central province of Semnan claims he received the beating of his lifetime last month after advising two women passing by a mosque to cover up.
In an interview with the semi-official Mehr news agency on Monday, Hojatoleslam Ali Beheshti, a top religious figure in the city of Shahrmirzad, said he thought the women's attire defied social codes and Islamic values.
MIDDLE EAST
VIDEO: Syrian women face growing abuses - opposition activist
TrustLaw, France
Suhair Atassi was beaten and detained for her involvement in protests at the start of Syria's uprising, before going into hiding and being smuggled out of the country late last year. Now an exile living in Paris, the prominent opposition activist is trying to drum up support for humanitarian aid in Syria where the conflict has escalated.
Egypt: New hotline to report sexual harassment cases
Aswat Masriya, Egypt
Egypt's National Council for Women announced on Tuesday a new hotline dedicated to receiving reports of sexual harassment.
The council issued a statement on their Facebook page stating that they are working with the interior ministry to swiftly reinforce the sexual harassment law on thugs and offenders. Ambassador Mervat Talawy, head of the council, stressed the importance of reinforcing the law, considering the council a representation of all women in Egypt and pointing to its keenness to preserve the dignity of women.
Egyptian women battle harassment on the streets
Jerusalem Post
Egyptian women’s groups called again on President Mohamed Morsy and his government this week to help combat increasing incidents of sexual harassment against women.
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