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News Stories 2376 to 2400 of 2449 
7/6/2000 - Sex Trade in Europe and Middle East Sees No End
The sex-trafficking trade, which deceives and coerces women and children into sexual slavery, continues to flourish as a highly profitable enterprise for the criminals who capture and sell their victims. The United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) recently decried the increase of sex-trafficking in Austria, Lithuania, Moldova and Romania. The Interior Ministry of Macedonia has begun to address this epidemic in European countries by strengthening the customs services at its borders and collaborating with neighboring countries to fight the organized sex-trafficking business.
Profits have surged in the mail-bride industry. A $17 billion a year business where up to 150,000 women are sold annually. New Family, an organization that focuses on women's rights within the family, recently called for an investigation of Israeli companies that provide mail-order brides from Ukraine. "The police and the Interior Ministry have an obligation to investigate what is happening, and if it becomes clear that the women are being abused and imprisoned, it must be stopped," said New Family Chairwoman Irit Rosenblum, a global co-sponsor of Feminist Expo 2000.
7/6/2000 - Clinton Signs U.N. Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child; Conservative Senate Leaders Continue to Block Ratification
On July 5th President Clinton signed two United Nations (U.N.) documents that protect the role of children in armed conflict, sex trafficking and slavery. One document includes the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, which raises the international legal age of children serving as soldiers from 15 to 18 years of age. The harmful use of child soldiers has been the focus of the U.N. and many women's and human rights organizations ranging from Africa to Afghanistan. According to an U.N. Wire story last December, the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan denounced the strict Taliban regime use of child warriors younger than 14, citing that it has "sparked a firestorm." Over the past six years the Pentagon has been a major opponent of the Protocol age restriction on recruitment in lieu of a U.S. policy to recruit under the age of 17 with parental consent. The Pentagon dropped its objections after the presentation of facts showing that a very small proportion of the U.S. military would be affected.
The second signed agreement, the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, criminalizes all forms of sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. An important step for the Clinton Administration, and one which some women's rights advocates hope will be extended to adults in broader language, thus protecting the rights of all trafficking victims in a pending U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons.
In 1990, the United States signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but in ten years has failed to gain the consent of the Senate for ratification. According to U.S. Constitution, an international agreement/treaty of any kind can become an official binding agreement with the consent of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and 2/3 vote of the Senate. Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has blocked the ratification of other important human rights treaties including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which the U.S. signed in 1979.
7/6/2000 - Yugoslav International Tribunal Prosecutes Bosnian Serbs for Wartime Rape Crimes
The international war crimes trial of a Bosnian Serb accused of raping four Muslim women marks the first international prosecution for wartime sexual enslavement. On July 3rd, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal rejected the defense's motion to dismiss 11 torture counts against two defendants. The prosecution, supported by the courageous testimonies of 16 Muslim women, charged that rape was a military tactic designed to "ethnically cleanse" the region, and intimidate and traumatize women and girls. Witnesses described how dozens of women and girls - one as young as the age of 12 - were captured, beaten and raped nightly. The International War Crimes Tribunal of Yugoslavia mandates a maximum life sentence for crimes of rape and enslavement.
7/6/2000 - Women Are Casualties of World's Early Indifference Towards AIDS Epidemic in Africa
According to a Washington Post report, global organizations and national governments ignored the warnings of an imminent AIDS plague in Africa. Despite the World Health Organization's warnings that tens of millions would be infected with the HIV virus by 2000, the Washington Post charges that the US Congress, global organizations, and foreign capitals resisted funding resources that could have prevented the health crisis in Africa. "If this would have happened in the Balkans, or in Eastern Europe, or in Mexico, with white people, the reaction would have been different," remarked Peter Piot, executive director for the UN Program on HIV/AIDS.
Women in Africa suffer the brunt of the AIDS epidemic. For example, hundreds of women during the pre-election violence in Zimbabwe were raped and infected with the disease, which will undoubtedly worsen the exploding pandemic. Patriarchal values place taboos on the usage of contraceptives, and women who defy the norms are frequently shunned. The infection rate in the sub-Saharan region is 20 percent higher among women than men. The AIDS epidemic has also orphaned more than 13 million children.
7/5/2000 - Women in Kuwait Are Denied Voting Rights By Highest Court
On July 4th, the Constitutional Court of Kuwait refused to grant Kuwaiti women the right to vote and hold political office based on claims of procedural flaws. After the all-male Parliament rejected a suffrage bill last year, women's rights activists turned to the courts in hopes that the 1962 election law, which bars women from voting and holding office, would be declared unconstitutional. Women will have another chance to gain the right to vote in September, when the court will review the arguments of a Kuwaiti man who sued his local polling office for prohibiting women from voting.
7/5/2000 - Mexican Elections Are Proclaimed As Democratic Victory But Women's Rights Are Endangered
Although Vicente Fox Quesada's presidential victory on July 2nd has been seen as an advancement for democracy, he has failed to clearly outline a position promoting women's rights in his policy priorities. Fox, whose campaign was heavily funded by the Catholic Church, has vocally opposed abortion and gay and lesbian rights. Fox's conservative stance on these issues will further threaten women's reproductive rights and prevent the chances of legislation passing to grant women in Mexico rights over their bodies including full access to abortion. Abortion continues to be illegal in Mexico, and lesbians and gays are still popular targets of hate crimes and persecution.
7/5/2000 - France's Highest Court Prohibits "Morning-After Pills" At School
In a severe setback to women's reproductive rights, France's highest administrative court overruled a decision that had permitted the distribution of "morning-after pills" at schools. In November of last year, Deputy Education Minister Segolene Royal allowed high schools to hand out the Norvelo pill. The Norvelo pill can be used 36 hours after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. France had become the first country that authorized the dispensing of the pill and drew vehement criticism from the Catholic Church.
7/5/2000 - Gay Scout Troops Are Acceptable In Canada
On June 30th, 800,000 people marched in Toronto's annual gay and lesbian parade, many of whom were there to show their support for the world's first official gay and lesbian Scout troop. The cheers and encouragement drew sharp contrast to the US Supreme Court decision last Wednesday, which gave Boy Scouts of America the right to exclude gay members. The Court made the decision on the basis that an organization has the right to decide association, and that homosexuality was not in sync with the organization's commitment to have "morally straight" members. Andy McLaughlin, spokesperson for Scouts Canada said, "Sexual orientation has no bearing on the ability of a person to participate in or deliver our programs."
6/30/2000 - Forced Marriage Is A Violation Of Human Rights, Britain's Home Office Reports
Britain's Home Office Working Party released a report condemning the practice of forced marriage. Each year over 1,000 young British Asian women, often deceived by their families to return to Asia, are coerced into frequently abusive marriages. The working party's report rejects reaction to this practice as a "cultural issue" rather than a clear, unflinching violation of human rights: domestic violence and child abduction are crimes. The Working Party's report comes on the heels of a recent British High Court decision, which ruled that parents who take their daughters abroad to trap them into marriage are guilty of child abduction.
6/30/2000 - Poor Economic Status Inhibits Women Contesting Political Office Across Globe
Women globally struggle to achieve their political aspirations due to obstacles such as poor economic status and patriarchal stereotypes. Tanzania, for example, has only a dismal 16 percent representation of women in parliament, a slight 6 percent increase since it gained its independence from Britain 39 years ago. According to a study by the Tanzanian Inter-Party Committee, unequal incomes for women and high campaign costs have dismayed and alienated most women who seek political office.
This trend in Africa is similar to trends in Europe and Asia. In Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country where the average monthly salary is $21, registration for candidacy costs $650 - more than 30 times the average person's salary. Only five of 36 women candidates gained political seats last February's elections. At the Beijing Conference in 1995, governments resolved to establish quotas that would balance power for men and women at the highest levels of decision-making. Tanzania's failure to attain its goal of 30 percent female representation is no exception; the study identifies a long list of countries, ranging from Uganda to Argentina to the United Kingdom, as also failing to live up to their goals.
6/30/2000 - Extremist Violence Escalates in Indonesia
A ship filled with Indonesians seeking refuge from violence caused by Muslim extremists in the Malaku islands sank Thursday in Eastern Indonesia, killing a large number of the 492 people on board. The refugees came from Duma, a Christian village in the country that was targeted by Muslim extremists. International relief organizations are still unable to provide assistance due to danger posed by extremists.
6/30/2000 - AIDS Epidemic Ravages Africa
A new United Nations report, published by the UN Joint Program on HIV/AIDS, predicts that approximately half of all 15 year olds in AIDS-affected African countries will die of the disease. Women in Africa struggle with cultural taboos that discourage use of contraceptives. According to the report, the HIV infection rates of young women in Africa are three times higher than in men. The disturbing statistics attest to the necessity of increased international aid, educational and prevention programs on the disease. In Botswana, where misinformation on AIDS is widespread due to cultural traditions, the absence of such resources contributes to the exploding rates of infection. However, in countries such as Senegal and Uganda, educational programs and contraceptive access have slowed the AIDS epidemic.
6/30/2000 - Women's Vote Key in Mexico's Elections
The outcome of the Mexican presidential elections this weekend may depend on women's vote, but little from the candidates' supposedly woman-oriented dialogue will advance women's rights. The candidates, Vicente Fox Quesada of the National Action Party (PAN) and Francisco Labastida Ochoa of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), have focused on the women's vote to gain key ballots in what polls show is an even tie between the two. This new focus on women by Fox and Labastida is deceiving since both are fierce opponents of abortion and gay and lesbian rights.
More than 52 percent of the Mexican voters are women. As a result, Labastida and Fox have paid careful attention to their dress and language, and have used female members of their families to vouch for their character. Their campaign strategy is geared to appeal to so-called feminine stereotypes rather than to articulate substantive women's issues in this Sunday's election.
6/30/2000 - Women Tortured By Police in Swaziland
Women in Swaziland suffer from torture and brutalization by the Royal Swaziland Police. One survivor of such abuse explains how her local police force, the Manzini Swazi police, attacked and attempted to suffocate her in order to extract information. The police force, currently confronting a multitude of lawsuits, has denied that it uses torture and intimidation. The Human Rights Association of Swaziland and the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse have called for an end to these human rights violations.
6/30/2000 - Women's Rights Activists Condemn Female Genital Mutilation
Female circumcision is a brutal and debilitating ritual that governments and international organizations must eliminate, women's rights activists asserted at the UN headquarters on Thursday. Approximately 130 million women, the majority of whom live in Africa, survive the practice of genital cutting or female genital mutilation - with an estimated 2 million increase each year. The co-authors of Female Genital Mutilation: A Guide to Laws and Policies, Anika Rahman of the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy and Nahid Toubia of Research, Action and Information Network for the Bodily Integrity of Women, disputed the treatment of this issue as "cultural," articulating instead the emotional scarring, gruesome nature, and physical dangers of female genital mutilation. Legislation and education are crucial to its eradication, explains Rahman, but they must occur in "an overall framework to promote women's rights and their status." In New York earlier this month at the Beijing +5 Conference , 180 countries called for an end to harmful traditional practices including female circumcision.
6/30/2000 - Malaysia Creates Women's Bureau With Focus On Economics
Malaysia will establish a women's bureau to enlarge its focus on women involved with consumer issues. The increased participation of women in the workforce and in the economy has forced this change, expressed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Minister of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry. The bureau, which will seek employment from women, would also welcome cooperation with existing women's associations.
6/30/2000 - Afghan Intellectuals Threatened in Pakistan
Amnesty International has reported that Pakistan has recently deported former Kabul University Professor
Mohammad Rahim Elham in violation of an agreement between Pakistani government and the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees for joint assessment of Afghan refugee claims prior to deportation. Elham's
whereabouts are currently unknown, and human rights activists are alarmed. He was turned over to the Taliban on
June 21. Other Afghan intellectuals currently living in Pakistan are fearful for their safety. Amnesty International
reports that the Taliban has tortured dozens of intellectuals who have openly advocated ending Afghanistan's
internal "holy war" and establishing a new government that represents and addresses the concerns of all ethnic
groups.
6/29/2000 - UN report cites continued violations against the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan
UN report cites continued violations against the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan
This week United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented his most recent report on the situation in
Afghanistan to the U.N. Security Council, citing the ongoing systematic violations of human rights committed by
the Taliban regime. Annan reported, "Despite some limited improvements, women and girls have continued to face
serious abuses of their fundamental rights, including severe restrictions imposed on their participation in public life."
Women and girls in Afghanistan face the severest impact of what Annan describes as a situation in which people
"have little or no possibility for judicial recourse and are largely denied the possibility of shaping decisions that
affect them." According to the report there is no indication of improvement of life under the Taliban, and in fact the
situation may deteriorate as future military offensives, and a new wave of human rights violations, loom.
6/29/2000 - Thousands of Girls Raped And Enslaved In Sierra Leone
The raping and enslavement of women and children were rampant during Sierra Leone's eight years of civil war, according to the New York-based Human Rights Watch and U.N. groups. Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels seized and repeatedly raped girls as young as 10 years of age, coercing them into sexual slavery and often infecting them with sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea. Although last July's peace accord sparked false hope for an end to the atrocities against women, the rebels' instigation of conflict in May has again endangered the lives of women and children. In Freetown alone, more than 4,500 children - nearly 60 percent girls - were reported missing after RUF's invasion in 1995.
6/29/2000 - 62 House Members Demand Release Of Jailed Iranian Woman
After being imprisoned and tortured in Iran for four years, the women's rights and human rights advocate Mahnaz Samadi was jailed in the U.S. for allegedly leading "coordinated attacks designed to liberate Iran." Ms. Samadi, who has not committed any crimes in the US and was granted political asylum in 1995, has been praised by House members and human rights organizations as a legitimate advocate of democratic reform in Iran. A bipartisan group of 62 House members protesting the Immigration and Naturalization Service's mistreatment of Ms. Samadi stated in a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno, "Given the Iranian regime's record of crimes against humanity, it is the right of the Iranian people, including Ms. Samadi, to resist their repressive rulers."
July will mark three months of Ms. Samadi's detention by INS authorities. She is now waiting in solitary confinement for a hearing which will inevitably send her to certain death in Iran. According to a Boston Globe report, deportations by the State Department and INS more often target immigrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa.
6/29/2000 - Elections in Mexico Further Threaten Women's and Gay Rights
After seventy-one years of struggle for democracy in Mexico to overthrow the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the world's longest ruling political party with a history of corruption and economic irresponsibility, feminists and lesbian and gay rights activists face an even greater threat to their equality in Sunday's upcoming elections: the possibility of the National Action Party (PAN) coming to rule. Feminists worry that election of the PAN government will mean a large range of setbacks for women and gays and lesbians. The deeply conservative PAN, which has strong ties to the Catholic Church, strongly opposes abortion, and feminists fear that the already limited access to abortion in Mexico would be further jeopardized. Currently, abortion in Mexico is legal only in cases of rape or in which the mother's life is at risk. Limits on sex education in school and birth control programs are also likely to occur under PAN's authority. PAN's presidential candidate Vicente Fox, who is openly against abortion, has in the past called homosexuality an "aberration," which leads many gay rights activists to fear a likely escalation of already strong anti-gay sentiment in Mexico. Reports have indicated that persecution of gays and lesbians in Mexico has been so severe that many seek refuge status in other countries.
6/28/2000 - Women Gain Access To Birth Control In Buenos Aires
Women's rights activists in Argentina's capital, as well as health advocates and physicians, are celebrating a momentous advancement in promoting the reproductive rights of women. On June 23rd the Buenos Aires legislature approved a new law that guarantees women and girls free access to contraceptives and information on reproductive health. The groundbreaking law, which sparked protests predominantly from the politically powerful Catholic schools and churches, aims to prevent unwanted pregnancies and botched abortions. An estimated 1,300 abortions, although illegal under Argentina law, are practiced daily in Buenos Aires, and 16 percent of babies in Argentina are born to women between ages 10 and 19. According to a study by the Latin American Centre on Health and Women, 48 percent of women in Latin America do not use any form of contraception, and 37 percent of the pregnancies are unwanted.
LEARN MORE Click here to read women's narratives about barriers or successes in accessing reproductive health and family planning services.
6/28/2000 - Over 80 Percent Of Repatriated Afghan Refugees Are Women And Children
Under pressure from the Pakistani and Iranian governments, some Afghan refugees are returning to Afghanistan despite deadly drought, threat of renewed fighting and landmines, and denial of basic rights such as education for women and girls. According to United Nations data, women and children make up over 80 percent of the refugees repatriated in 1999. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) supervises the "voluntary repatriation" program, aimed most recently at returning 200,000 Afghan refugees to Afghanistan. "We are obliged to volunteer for the return," an Afghan refugee in Iran was quoted in Gulf News.
6/28/2000 - Women's Activists Urge G-8 To Stop Military's Sexual Violence
An international network of women's activists from the United States and East Asian countries aim to expose U.S. military's involvement in multiple cases of rape and sexual abuse towards women and children. The pre-summit meeting, which prepared proposals that will be submitted at the upcoming Group of Eight summit in July, drew 40 delegates from South Korea, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, the U.S., as well as 40 Okinawan activists.
Suzuyo Takazato heads the Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, an international organization which was founded after three U.S. servicemen gang-raped an Okinawan schoolgirl in 1995. Takazato stated, "Cases of sexual violence against women (perpetrated by U.S. military personnel) have been brushed aside as being just personal tragedies - which has forced the victims to remain silent." More international pressure is necessary to urge governments to end sexual violence caused by military personnel on or near military bases. The soon to be established International Criminal Court would serve as an indicator of governments' commitment to ending the cycle of violence targeting women and girls during conflict situations.
6/28/2000 - Police Must Combat Rape More Effectively In Botswana
To fight the increasing rates of rape and sexual attacks against women, the police force in Botswana should establish more effective methods of prevention and deterrence, asserts a recent report by the Botswana police service. The study is the first of its kind to focus on violence against women and girls and cites that the urban capital Gaborone had the highest percentage of non-investigated rape cases: 50 rape cases were reviewed, but not one person was convicted. The report urges the police to develop more effective investigative techniques and communications systems.
