Migration Category: Global Old Site

Yesterday, the Iranian government released its first public statement on the Sakineh Mohammedi Ashtiani case, claiming that she will not be executed by stoning. Ashtiani was sentenced to death by stoning after an adultery conviction. The Iranian Embassy in London stated that, “according to information from the relevant judicial authorities in Iran, she will not be executed by stoning punishment,” reports CNN. Those campaigning for Ashtiani”s release have not been pacified, however, for the vague statement implies that she might be executed another way, despite her very likely innocence. It is likely that the sentence was merely commuted to a hanging, not repealed.

In 2006, Ashtiani was convicted of having extramarital relations with two men, who subsequently killed her husband, according to Huliq. While she initially received 99 lashes for adultery, during an appeal of her case, the court sentenced her to death by stoning. Women executed by stoning are buried up to their necks (men are buried up to the waist) and a crowd throws stones at their head, which slowly leads to death. The case is being hotly contested, not only because of the “barbaric” nature of stoning but also because there was no concrete evidence that she committed the crime.

Thanks to a campaign championed by Ashtiani’s two children Sajid and Farideh; the head of of the International Committee Against Stoning and the Death Penalty, Mina Ahadi; and Ashtiani’s lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, the international community is alarmed Ashtiani’s sentence and that stoning is a violation of human rights. US State Department Spokesman, Mark Toner, said “Stoning as a means of execution is tantamount to torture. It’s barbaric and an abhorrent act.” According to the National Post, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said, “I think that stoning is a medieval punishment that has no place in the modern world.”

According to Ahadi, “legally it’s all over”, Sajid is writing an open letter to Ayatollah [Ali] Khamene and Judiciary Chairman Sadegh Larijani to dismiss his mother’s charges. This appears to be the only way Ashtiani can avoid execution.

According to the CBC, in an online letter Ashtiani’s children wrote, “Since our childhood we have been acquainted with the pain of knowing that our mother is imprisoned and awaiting a catastrophe… our mother is in danger, she might be killed, and she deserves everyone’s help.”

South African runner Caster Semenya,is allowed to return to professional competition after nearly a year of being subjected to gender testing by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF). Colorlines reports that the IAAF ruled that Semenya is “female-enough” and can retain her gold medals after months of dehumanizing gender tests and public scrutiny. According to the Associated Press, Semenya said, “I have been subjected to unwarranted and invasive scrutiny of the most intimate and private details of my being” in a statement released yesterday.

Semenya’s lawyer, Jeffrey Kessler said, “We are delighted that Caster is finally being permitted to compete with other women, as is her legal and natural right…Hopefully, this resolution will set a precedent so that no female athlete in the future will have to experience the long delays and public scrutiny which Caster has been forced to endure,” reported the Associated Press.

The Associated Press reports Semenya plans to return to competition in Finland at the Lappeenranta Games on July 15.

The fact that the IAAF conducted a gender test on Semenya was leaked to the media just prior the 800 meter race at the World Championships in Berlin in August 2009, where she won the gold medal. According to the BBC, the gender test became public only because a related fax was sent to the incorrect person. The IAAF reportedly initiated the test because of previous testing indicating Semenya has elevated testosterone levels and because of her quick improvement in performance prior to bursting onto the national athletic scene.

The practice of sex testing began in Eastern Europe in the 1960s. The first time Olympic athletes were tested was at the 1968 Mexico City Games. At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, eight athletes failed the tests, but were later cleared. A variety of concerns led the International Olympic Committee to stop requiring the tests in 1999. Several female athletes, including runners Santhi Soundarajan of India and Ewar Kobukkowska of Poland have been stripped of their medals after failing sex tests. Testing is a controversial practice in athletics, in part because chromosomal abnormalities may cause women to fail the tests, even though they may have no competitive advantages.

Malaysia’s Islamic courts appointed their first two women judges today. Suraya Ramli has been appointed as a Sharia judge in the administrative capital city of Putrajaya and Rafidah Abdul Razak has been appointed in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Ramli and Razak were officials in the nation’s Islamic Judicial Department prior to their appointments today.

These appointments are part of the Malaysian king’s goal to address the gender imbalance in the country’s Islamic Sharia judiciary, according to Agence France-Presse. In Malaysia, religious Islamic courts run parallel to the nation’s civil courts. Many judges in the nation’s civil courts are women.

Prime Minister Najib Razak, who announced the appointments in May, stated, “The appointments were made to enhance justice in cases involving families and women’s rights and to meet current needs.” Women in Malaysia have reportedly faced discrimination in the country’s Islamic courts in cases involving divorce, polygamy, inheritance, and child abuse, according to the Associated Press.

According to the 2008 Global Gender Gap Index, Malaysia ranks 96th among nations in terms of gender equity. The Muslim group Sister in Islam has lobbied for women to be appointed to the Islamic Courts for more than a decade. Malaysia’s women, family and community development minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil announced this move will be followed by more efforts towards “an equal representation of men and women in decision-making positions”. She continued, “Now we must maintain the momentum of such progress.”

The UN voted unanimously Friday to create a new office on women to be called the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), which will begin operating officially in January 2011. UN Women consolidates four formerly separate entities within the UN that work for the advancement of women: the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI), and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

Negotiations to form the entity have gone on for four years because of differing opinions between some developed and developing countries, according to the BBC. The UN has estimated that a minimum budget of $500 million for the new entity, which is twice the budget of all four former organizations combined. The director of UN Women will be an under-secretary-general appointed by the UN’s Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. According to a New York Times editorial, a favored candidate is Michelle Bachelet, Chile’s former president.

The organization will have two basic functions. One is to assist intergovernmental bodies in forming policies and global standards and the other is to help Member States uphold the standards set by these bodies, along with providing the support to do so. According to a UN press release, “Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but its achievement has enormous socio-economic ramifications. Empowering women fuels thriving economies, spurring productivity and growth.” UN Women’s work will be guided by the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Asha-Rose Migiro, the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, said, “UN Women will give women and girls the strong, unified voice they deserve on the world stage. I look forward to seeing this new entity up and running so that we – women and men – can move forward together in our endeavor to achieve the goals of equality, development and peace for all women and girls, everywhere.”

Human rights activists are rallying the international community to stop an Iranian woman being stoned to death. In 2006, Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani was convicted of having extramarital relations with two men, who subsequently killed her husband according to Huliq. While she initially received 99 lashes for adultery, during an appeal of her case, the court sentenced her to death by stoning. Her sentence has caused widespread outrage because there is no conclusive evidence that she actually committed a crime.

Ashtiani’s attorney, Mohammad Mostafaei, an acclaimed human rights lawyer, told the Guardian, “This is an absolutely illegal sentence. Two of five judges who investigated Sakineh’s case in Tabriz prison concluded that there’s no forensic evidence of adultery.” For a case of adultery to be punishable by stoning, four witnesses must be able to confirm the act, according to Article 74 of the Iranian penal code. In Ashtiani’s case, there are no witnesses. Additionally, the trial was conducted in Farsi, while Ashtiani, from Northwestern Iran, speaks Turkish.

Ashtiani’s children, son Sajad and daughter Farideh, are leading the campaign for her freedom. Sajad told the Guardian, “She’s innocent, she’s been there for five years for doing nothing…Imagining her, bound inside a deep hole in the ground, stoned to death, has been a nightmare for me and my sister for all these years.” Women executed by stoning are buried up to their necks (men are buried up to the waist) and a crowd throws stones at their head, which slowly leads to death. Sentences are commuted if one is able to dig oneself out of the hole.

Iranian journalist Niusha Boghrati told the Media Line, “Stoning, or other intense abuses of human rights that happen in Iran, are not only about the Islamic Republic insisting on carrying out the sentence itself, it’s a way for the regime to defy civil rights activists and civil society.” He continued, “the government wants to prove to civil society groups [that no matter] how much support you get from the UN or international human rights groups, we still have the capacity to curb you.”

A law liberalizing Spain’s abortion restrictions took effect yesterday, but remains under review in the country’s Constitutional Court. According to the Associated Press, the conservative Popular Party is challenging the legislation as unconstitutional, and the Court has agreed to study the appeal. The Court must now decide if the law should be suspended while the tribunal considers the case.

The new law, passed in February, allows abortion up to 14 weeks. It also gives 16 and 17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent. According to the Associated Press, the Popular Party claims that allowing abortion to 14 weeks contradicts a 1985 Constitutional Court ruling that said a woman’s right to abortion takes precedence over the rights of an unborn child only in cases of rape, fetal malformation, or when the health of the mother is at risk.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero stated Monday that he was confident the court would find the law constitutional, reports the Indo-Asian News Service. Reforming abortion law is part of a larger social change program undertaken by Zapatero. His Socialist government has already removed religion from the public education curriculum, reformed divorce laws, and legalized gay marriage since assuming power in 2004. If the enacted changes to abortion law are upheld, Spain’s policies will come in line with those of several neighboring European countries, including Germany, Britain, and France.

The French Parliament unanimously passed groundbreaking legislation yesterday making “psychological violence” punishable by law. The bill defines mental violence as “repeated acts which could be constituted by words or other machinations, to degrade one’s quality of life and cause a change to one’s mental or physical state,” according to the Reuters Paris.

Nadine Morano, the country”s minister for family affairs, told the lower house in parliament that a “judge could (also) take into consideration letters, SMSs or repetitive messages, because one knows that psychological violence is made up of insults,” reported BBC. Witness testimony and doctors’ certificates of nervous depression can be used as evidence of abuse as well.

The legislation allows for up to three years in jail, a $90,000 fine, and experimental electronic bracelet monitoring to protect victims from perpetrators, according to the New York Times. The New York Times reports Prime Minister François Fillon said this legislation allows for the punishment of “the most insidious situations, which don’t leave a mark to the naked eye but can mutilate the victim’s inner self.”

The primary domestic violence hotline in France receives around 90,000 calls a year, 84 percent of which pertain to psychological violence. Murders resulting from domestic violence account for 20 percent of all murders in France, according to the BBC.

In Pakistan, a new hotline that educates women about abortion options was launched yesterday, but has already sparked controversy. The hotline plans to give women information about Misoprostol, a drug available by prescription to treat gastric ulcers, to safely and effectively induce abortion and also how “to prevent dangerous hemorrhaging after giving birth” according to Women on Waves. Trained staff will also provide abortion information in rural areas. The hotline was founded by several Pakistani women’s groups in conjunction with Women on Waves, a Dutch non-profit.

In Pakistan, abortion is illegal unless the mother’s life is in danger and social stigma regarding unplanned or unwanted pregnancies has contributed to a thriving unsafe underground abortion network. The Population Council reports in 2008 (see PDF) that 320 maternal deaths occur per 100,000 live births in Pakistan compared to 11 per 100,000 in the US.

Shaista Gohir, executive director of the Muslim Women’s Network told the Independent, “While the debate continues on whether terminating a pregnancy is allowed or not, and under what conditions, thousands of women are dying as a result of unsafe backstreet abortions…The Pakistani government is failing in its duty to provide adequate family planning services.”

Last week, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that same-sex marriage is not a basic universal human right. The decision was made in response to a case brought to the court by two Austrian men, Michael Schalk and Johan Kopf, who were denied the ability to marry and sued under the European Convention on Human Rights. According to the Guardian, the couple claimed that their rights were violated under the convention’s article 12, which guarantees the right to marry; article 14, which prohibits discrimination; and article 8, which guarantees the right to family and private life.

The court’s ruling found that “as matters stand, the question whether or not to allow same-sex marriage is left to regulation by the national law of the Contracting State,” according to the Guardian. Same-sex marriage is illegal in a majority of the 47 member states of the European Convention on Human Rights. Only 6 have legalized same-sex marriage and the BBC reports that several more have legalized partnerships, which allow same-sex couples similar privileges to a married couple. This year, the Austrian government passed a bill that allows for “Registered Partnerships.”

Despite the court’s statement, the case is still being viewed as a partial victory. For the first time, the court acknowledged that a same-sex couple has a right to “family life”, according to the Guardian. The ruling implied that the idea of marriage only for heterosexual couples is outdated. According to the Associated Press, the European branch of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association stated that despite the negatives of the ruling, the court displayed “a rapid evolution of social attitudes toward same sex couples.”

Others remain critical that the court’s ruling did not make any legally progressive moves. Kurt Krickler, spokesman for Austrian gay and lesbian advocacy organization, Homosexuelle Initiative, stated that the outcome “makes clear that the international human rights bodies are not ready to set the way for developments in society.”

Julia Gillard became Australia’s first woman prime minister yesterday, after former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd abruptly stepped down from his position. Gillard, who has been the deputy prime minister for nearly three years, was unanimously selected by the Labor Party. As prime minister, Rudd had low approval ratings and faced opposition from within the party. He stepped down from his position in order to avoid a party vote on his leadership that would have undoubtedly resulted in his removal from office.

Gillard, 48, was originally born in Wales but moved to Australia at the age of 4, according to the Associated Press. Her interest in politics developed while she was studying law at University. She was first elected to the Australia parliament in 1998.

Upon being elected, Gillard said, “My values and beliefs have driven me to step forward to take this position as prime minister. I will lead a strong and responsible government that will take control of our future,” according to the New York Times. While in office, Gillard plans to continue stimulus policies and intends to keep Australian troops in Afghanistan, reported the Associated Press.

The once-popular Rudd began to lose support in February, when aspects of his Economic Stimulus Package were shrouded by claims of mismanagement and corruption. His unpopularity grew when he enacted a controversial mining tax. Gillard is seen as more personable than Rudd and Labor Party Officials hope she will be able to regain public support for the party, reported the New York Times.

According to the Associated Press, Gillard has said that she looks up to women who are able to balance having a job and a family. When asked if she sees significance in being Australia’s first female prime minister, she responded by saying: “First woman, maybe first redhead – I’ll allow you to contemplate which was more unlikely in the modern age.” According to CNN, having a female prime minister is seen as long overdue in Australia.

Cammi Granato and Angela James became the first women inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, this week.Hall of Fame Chairman Bill Hay told the Canadian Press “It’s time for females to be in. Changing the voting regulations to accommodate under the player category for two women, and the maximum of four players who are male, really fits with our long-range plan.”

According to the NHL, Granato said, “I’m just so incredibly honored to have gotten this call and to know that I’m in the Hockey Hall of Fame with such great players that I watched my whole life. It’s almost unfathomable as a woman. It’s overwhelming. I’m very thankful.” She was Eastern College Athletic Conference Player of the Year from 1991 to 1993 and a 15-year member of the US Women’s National team. Granato played on five professional teams over 19 seasons and scored a total of 608 goals.

At the start of her career, James told the New York Times that women wore pink uniforms but, “we didn’t care if we were wearing polka-dots, we just wanted to play.” She told reporters, “This is a day that I never really thought would ever happen. I’m really honored to represent the female hockey players from all over the world.” James was the leading scorer for the Central Ontario Women’s League eight times and a six-time MVP. She was also a medalist in 12 National Championships and played on four gold-medal World Championship teams.

The National Commission for Women, a statutory body of the Indian government, is calling for a report from the police on last week’s so-called “honor killing” of a teenage Indian couple by the woman’s family. According to the Times of India, the commission took “suo motu cognizance” in the case, which means that they cognizantly made the decision to get involved in the incident, but were not required to do so.

The couple, 19-year-old Asha Saini and her lower-caste boyfriend, Yogesh Kumar, wanted to marry. Yogesh’s sister told the BBC, “he was having dinner, it was 9.30pm on Sunday when Asha’s mother came and called him. Yogesh was a driver. She said someone needed the car, and he went.” The couple were then gagged, flogged, and possibly electrocuted by members of Asha’s family. Thus far, Asha’s father, mother, uncle, and two other relatives have been arrested in connection to the murders.

Asha was forcibly engaged in May to a property dealer, according to OneIndia. Asha’s “compromising position” justified the honor killing according to one cousin who spoke with the BBC. Omprakash Saini, Asha’s uncle, told reporters after his arrest, “I’m not sorry. I would punish them again if given a chance.”

Yogesh’s family is outraged and is calling for the death penalty. “He was a very good boy,” one neighbor, Meera Devi, told the BBC. “We are very angry. We want justice.”

Demonstrators gathered in downtown Montreal on Sunday to protest Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision not to fund family planning and abortion services in Canada’s G8 Health Initiative for women and children in the developing world.

In March, the Canadian government officials stated that their initiative to save the lives of women and children in developing nations will not include family planning supplies or services of any sort.

Alexa Conradi, president of the Quebec Women’s Federation told the Montreal Gazette, “Hangers and knitting needles are still what women use around the world when they don’t have accessible and safe abortion services.” The Montreal Gazette reports the 200 women, dressed in black, laid on the ground with coat hangers over their stomachs, symbolizing the 70,000 women around the world who die from unsafe abortions. “We fought to make it legal in Canada,” a protestor, Pia Lironi, said. “It is wrong to say: We can do it, but we have decided that you can’t.”

Keith Martin, a Physician and liberal member of parliament, told The Star that the decision to exclude family planning resources from the G8 program was in contradiction to the goals of the initiative. According to Martin the move will result in “higher abortion rates, more disease, more maternal deaths and more maternal injuries.” He continued, “[Conservatives] can’t say on the one hand they want to save lives…yet on the other, deprive people of having the tools to be able to reduce the death rate. The government is slaughtering good medical practice on the altar of ideology.”

The G8 summit in Huntsville, Ontario will be held June 25 to the 27.

A group of women gathered in St. Peter’s Square last Tuesday to protest the exclusion of women from the Roman Catholic priesthood, reports the American Free Press. According to the National Catholic Reporter, the eight protesters demanded “full and equal participation” in the church, as they marched on the Vatican holding signs reading “Ordain Catholic Women,” “Vocation is important, not gender,” and “Born to be Priests.” The march was stopped almost immediately by police officers.

Prior to the demonstration, groups advocating for women’s ordination held a press conference to protest the Vatican’s three-day celebration marking the end of Pope Benedict’s “Year for Priests,” reports the Associated Press.

Erin Saiz Hanna, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, told reporters, “The absolute hypocrisy of the ‘Year for Priests’ celebration cuts to the core of what is wrong with the hierarchy today,” reported the National Catholic Reporter. According to the Associated Press, Hanna continued, “While the hierarchy spends their time covering up scandals and throwing major celebrations for themselves, Catholic women are working for justice and making a positive difference in the world.”

Mary Ann Schoettly, one of more than 100 women who have been ordained by female bishops and secretly consecrated by male bishops, told the American Free Press, “Reclaiming our ancient spiritual heritage, women priests are shaping a more inclusive, Christian centered Church of equals in the 21st century.” Donning a traditional Catholic priest’s collar, Schoettly vowed that the fight for equality has just begun.