Author: Feminist Majority Foundation Blog

Women’s rights activists are protesting the draft constitution proposed by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi that will be voted on by the general public on December 15th, 2012. Many activists are worried that the draft constitution does not protect women’s equality under the law and instead inserts women into the law as defined by traditional roles.

One of the most controversial aspects of the constitution is the assertion of Sharia, Islamic law, as the primary foundation of legislation. Many secular and women’s activists believe that this assertion will allow for religious extremism to become the basis for laws restricting women’s rights.

In addition, women activists believe that women’s rights are not protected fully and the constitution reasserts women to traditional family roles. Article 10 provides free maternal and child health services, but also states the government will “enable the reconciliation between the duties of a woman toward her family and her work” which many fear is an indication the government will push women back into the home. Article 11 empowers the Egyptian government “to safeguard ethics, morality…” which could lead to extremist controls on women’s freedoms under the guise of “morality.” While proponents of the constitution argue that women are included as part of an equality article, many critics feel this article does not sufficiently protect women from discrimination under the law.

In a press conference, the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights said: “The current draft constitution does not represent Egyptian women in any way, but progressively ignores their rights as citizens.”

An activist group, Nazra, issued a statement declaring: “The draft constitution ignores political participation of women, it did not adopt an electoral system to ensure their effective participation or that women are represented democratically within different elected assemblies.”

“Women have not been mentioned in the constitution, only in family and divorce. Seventy-five percent of Egyptian women work and there is no mention about their rights in the constitution,” protester Mona Elwakel told the Toronto Star from Tahrir Square.

In December 2011, thousands of women gathered in Cairo as part of the “Million Women March” to protest police brutality towards female protestors. The march followed a widely broadcasted incident in which security forces brutally beat, kicked, and dragged a woman protestor. According to the New York Times, “Historians called the event the biggest women’s demonstration in modern Egyptian history, the most significant since a 1919 march against British colonialism inaugurated women’s activism here, and a rarity in the Arab world.” Women were also a large population of protesters in the 2011 revolution protests in Tahrir Square that lead to the fall of former President Hosni Murbarak.

On Thursday, the Philippine House of Representatives passed the second reading of a controversial bill known as the Reproductive Health Bill (RH Bill) which would provide contraception to poor citizens free of charge, despite pressure from the Roman Catholic church. The RH Bill requires that the government provide contraceptives to the poor free of charge as well as provide information in schools on family planning and reproductive and sexual health.

In a vote of 113 in favor of the bill and 104 against, the RH Bill passed the second reading aloud in Congress. Before it can become law, the bill must pass a third reading no earlier than Monday and be signed by President Benigno Aquino III. A version of the RH Bill is also in the Senate for a second reading. The RH Bill has been stuck in the Philippine Congress for almost 15 years.

The biggest opposition to the bill has come from the Catholic Church, which has a strong base in the country. While voting was taking place, many Catholic bishops were seated in the gallery, while priests and nuns prayed outside the building.

Magdalena Lopez, Director of International Programs at Catholic for Choice, issued a statement on the decision: “Today is a victory for those in the Philippines who want to save lives and improve families’ well-being, an achievement that could not have come about without the pro-RH champions in Congress and the advocates who fought for it over a decade. … Today is also a defeat-for the bishops and their myopic point of view, which tries to override individual conscience and the rights of the women who have no means to decide whether or when to have children, and whose health and lives may be at risk without contraception.”

A new campaign in East Timor plans to tackle high rates of maternal and infant mortality with a mobile phone program designed to provide families with information about health and wellbeing.

Mobile Mums will provide new mothers and families with information on how to plan ahead for medically necessary travel, danger signs to look out for during pregnancy, and nutritional guides. The messages will also remind women to go to their pre-natal checkups and birth planning visits.

Beth Elson of Health Alliance International, told reporters “We discovered through our household survey that mobile phone ownership is rapidly increasing, so we thought this could be the perfect opportunity to combine traditional approaches to improve health outcomes with an innovative one using mobile phones.”

Currently, 97% of East Timor has mobile coverage available. One of the biggest challenges to the program is that only 73% of women in East Timor are literate. However, according to Elson, a study by the HAI found that all of their respondents have at least one person in their family who could read the messages. Elson explained that in East Timor, “often it’s the husband or the mother-in-law that makes some decisions about health-seeking behaviours. So the more people reading those health messages in the households, the better.”

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Mexico determined that state law could not be used to prohibit same-sex marriage in the southern state of Oaxaca.

The Court found that the law, which included the statement “one of the purposes of marriage is the perpetuation of the species,” could not be used to prohibit same-sex marriage because it “violates the principle of equality.” While the court’s decision does not challenge the constitutionality of the law, it does assert that the law cannot be interpreted to define marriage as between a man and a woman. According to Alex Alí Méndez Díaz, the lawyer defending the couples involved, “The court did not declare the unconstitutionality of the law, but the effect of its application is that the justices said that one would have to understand marriage is a contract celebrated between two people without any reference to the sex of those who enter into it.”

Activists hope that this could spread a wave of change throughout the country. LGBT activist and blogger from Mexico City, Enrique Torre Molina, told the Washington Blade “It’s not going to be long before same-sex marriage is a reality in the whole country. … It’s a matter of same-sex couples who have been thinking about getting married and haven’t done it either because they’re not in Mexico City and traveling is not an option or because they were going to get no for an answer. It’s just a matter of time of trying it out as these couples in Oaxaca [did] and sort of contribute to this history.”

Currently, same-sex marriage is only legal in the capital, Mexico City. Wednesday’s decision will also give precedent for cases in other parts of the country.

The Mexican Supreme Court’s decision comes while the United States Supreme Court considers whether or not to take a case that challenges the American federal ban on same-sex marriage, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

For the first time in the history of public education in Saudi Arabia, new textbooks will feature photographs of women.

The textbooks, designed for third year high school English students, feature a woman as a nurse about to give someone an injection. In the photograph, she is wearing a headscarf and a surgical mask. The photograph is also accompanied by an exercise asking students to discuss men and women’s changing involvement in traditional jobs. The textbooks also picture a woman in a science lab. In the original photograph she was not wearing a veil, but the publishers of the textbook altered the image to cover her face before final publication.

Photographs of women have been banned from Saudi textbooks since the country first adopted a public education system in 1926. If women were pictured in a textbook, it was only a drawing and not a picture of a real woman. The textbooks are currently only in an experimental phase and have limited circulation. At the end of the current academic year, the textbooks can then become authorized for full circulation in the school system.

On Sunday, the self-appointed village council of Sunderbari within the state of Bihar in India prohibited the use of mobile phones by unmarried women and girls. The use of mobile phones by married women has also been restricted to when they are indoors and in the company of a relative. The ban resulted from fear of immoral relationships outside of marriage increasing due to the use of the use of mobile phones. Women who violate the ruling can face severe fines of up to 10,000 rupees.

Members of the all-male panchayat (an informal, but respected council of village leaders) justified their ruling by arguing that the reputation of their village has been compromised by the handful of single women who have eloped with their partners as well as some married women who have left their husbands by eloping with their current partners. Manuwar Alam, head of the committee to enforce the new ban, said that it was shameful every time someone asked who had eloped. “So, we decided to tackle it firmly,” he told Reuters, “Mobile phones are debasing the social atmosphere.”

Women’s rights activist Jagmati Sangwan, the vice president of the All India Democratic Women’s Association, claims the ban is illegal and the village councils “want women to get cut off from the processes of modernization, education and employment.” Another activist, Suman Lal, described the ban as “nauseating” on a debate on local television.

Women have been the target of other village councils, according to the New York Times. In the Bagpat district of Uttar Pradesh, the panchayat banned unarranged marriages and the ability of women under the age of 40 to attend markets. In addition, these councils have also lowered the age of marriage to 16 in response to an increase in sexual assault, predicting that this adjustment will “keep women sexually satisfied.” The new ban that restricts women from using mobile phones is under investigation.

Students in the Chinese city of Wuhan protested outside the Human Resources and Social Security Department on Monday against the requirement that women who apply for civil service positions in China have a gynecological exam as part of the screening process.

Ten university students carrying signs denouncing the exams and wearing large underwear that had “examine” written on the front and crossed out held a demonstration outside the government building. The exams have been required of applicants since 2005 and require that women have an invasive gynecological exam to check for STIs and tumors. Women are often asked to give information on their menstrual cycles as part of these exams.

One of the protesters told local reporters, “We believe that pelvic exams have little connection with the duties of civil servants, and they violate the privacy of citizens. Through this demonstration, we call on government departments to drop the examinations.” Another protestor who is currently a medical student say there is no reason for exams because STIs would not be spread through daily work tasks and “even more serious STIs, like syphilis, can be detected through blood tests.” Many legal scholars in China have stated that the policy could possibly be in violation of Chinese labor and employment law.

Civil service is one of the most competitive job markets in China. Approximately 1.12 million people took the civil service exam, and only 21,000 will receive a position with the government.

On Thursday, Praveen Halappanavar announced that he will take the Irish government to the European Court of Human Relations over his wife’s death after she was denied an abortion last month.

According to Gerard O’Donnell, Halappanavar’s lawyer, Halappanavar believes the government did not investigate Savita Halappanavar’s death in October sufficiently. As a result, he plans to challenge the government under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which states that “Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law.”

Savita Halappanavar died last month in Ireland after she was denied an abortion while miscarrying her pregnancy. She was 17 weeks pregnant when she arrived at University Hospital Galway complaining of severe back pain. Hospital staff determined she was miscarrying, however, doctors refused to remove the pregnancy until three days later after the fetal heartbeat had stopped. After the pregnancy was removed, Savita was transferred to intensive care where she died three days later of what was determined to be septicaemia (similar to blood poisoning). During the days before her death, Halappanavar begged to have the pregnancy terminated, but was told she was in “a Catholic country.”

Her death has made international headlines and increased external and internal pressure for reforming Ireland’s abortion ban. The government has launched two investigations into Halappanavar’s death, however, both were private investigations and have not satisfied Praveen Halappanavar or Savita’s family, according to CNN.

On Thursday, a court in Moscow ruled that videos of Pussy Riot’s performance at Christ the Savior Cathedral must be removed from websites. The court ruling stated that the group’s performance that made international headlines was “extremist” and ruled that access to four videos of the feminist punk band’s performances be immediately blocked from the internet.

After a thirty-day appeal period, Russian Internet providers must block access to the videos. Any Russian servers that host forbidden content can face criminal prosecution. The Russian office for Google told reporters they would not remove the content until they received a court order. Servers and hosts outside of Russia will not be affected by the court’s ruling.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Marina Alyokhina, 24, are currently serving two-year sentences for “hooliganism” after they were arrested for performing a “punk prayer” (video) on the altar of Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral in dissent of Vladimir Putin. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, was released from prison after an appeal. The members entered the church wearing bright colors and balaclavas, singing “Mother of God, Blessed Virgin, drive out Putin!” The band members said their intent was to challenge the Church’s political support for Putin and to show their dissatisfaction with Putin’s 12-year political dominance.

Last week the governing body of the Church of England voted against allowing women to become bishops. While the measure did receive the necessary two-third votes in the House of Bishops and the House of Clergy, the measure just fell short in the House of Laity.

Bishops who supported the measure are currently working to find a way to save the legislation in time for the next meeting of the General Synod in July 2013. A memo leaked to the Times of London indicates a plan for drafting simpler legislation, such as a clause, that could be proposed at that time. However, if a substantial plan is not discovered, the measure will have to start again in 2015.

Women in Saudi Arabia are having their movements tracked by the government and sent to their husbands through text message, according to Saudi activists across the country.

News spread about the text message alerts when a couple leaving the country received a message from the government that the wife had crossed the country’s border. As part of a new electronic passport system established in 2010, when a woman or child crosses the border into a different country the Interior Ministry sends a text message to alert their male guardian. Originally the alerts were only sent to those who signed up for the service, however, the husband who received the message never registered to participate in the service.

When the husband received the message, the couple contacted Manal al-Sharif, a prominent Saudi women’s rights activist who protested the ban on women drivers. Al-Sharif immediately began organizing around the alerts and told CNN, “It’s very shameful. …It shows how women are still being treated as minors.” As soon as the couple told her what happened, she began to tweet what was happening and it soon went viral.

“It’s a power that’s being used over women,” according to Eman Al Nafjan. Al Nafjan is a Saudi writer who advocates ending the practice of male guardianship in the country altogether. “Women are not free. No matter how old you are, you’re always a minor. It’s almost like slavery. Guardianship is practically ownership.” Currently, every woman and underage child in Saudi Arabia must be granted permission to leave the country by their male guardian, who is either their father, husband, or brother.

In its annual report released on November 14th, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) declared that it will now consider contraception a global human right. The report, titled “The State of World Population 2012: By Choice, Not by Chance: Family Planning, Human Rights and Development,” conveys the basic message that contraception is a “human right” and is essential to the “sustainable development” of nations. The report insists that legal, cultural and financial barriers to accessing contraception and other family planning methods infringe upon women’s human rights.

Currently, 222 million women in developing countries have little to no access to family planning. UNFPA believes that an additional $4.1 billion is needed to provide for current family planning resources. UNFPA estimates that maternal and newborn health costs would decrease by $11.4 billion if voluntary family planning was made available to everyone in developing countries.

Along with the economic costs, UNFPA claims that ignoring the right to family planning results in poverty, poor health, and gender inequality. By enabling individuals to choose if and when they want to have children, both women and their children are more likely to live healthier, longer lives. According to a statement from UNFPA Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, “Family planning has a positive multiplier effect on development … Not only does the ability for a couple to choose when and how many children to have help lift nations out of poverty, but it is also one of the most effective means of empowering women. Women who use contraception are generally healthier, better educated, more empowered in their households and communities and more economically productive. Women’s increased labor-force participation boosts nations’ economies.”

However, this classification by the UNFPA is not legally binding and the United Nations cannot force nations to take any immediate action following the release of the report.

Savita Halappanavar died last month in Ireland after she was denied an abortion while miscarrying her pregnancy. She was 17 weeks pregnant when she arrived at University Hospital Galway complaining of severe back pain. Hospital staff determined she was miscarrying, however, doctors refused to remove the pregnancy until three days later. After the pregnancy was removed, Savita was transferred to intensive care where she died three days later of what was determined to be septicemia (similar to blood poisoning).

Praveen Halappanavar, Savita’s husband, told the Irish Times that she had asked for an abortion multiple times while she was miscarrying, but was told that the hospital could not do anything until the fetal heartbeat stopped. Savita experienced vomiting, shivers, shakes, and even physically collapsed in the three days before the fetal heartbeat stopped. When Savita asked if the hospital could induce labor to end the pregnancy, a hospital employee told the family that Ireland is a Catholic country and “as long as there’s a foetal [sic] heartbeat we can’t do anything.”

In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights determined that Ireland had to have a system in place to grant women an abortion in accordance with their rights established by the government. In Ireland, abortion is legal “when there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother.” However, many hospitals have been hesitant to terminate pregnancies in these situations because the statute is vague regarding specific guidelines for when the procedure is permissible. Fiona de Londres, a law professor at Durham University England told Bloomberg “[Savita’s death] clearly underlines the need for a change in the abortion laws. It is a ludicrous situation. There is a clear need for legal guidelines to be introduced so that doctors know precisely when they are legally entitled to provide an abortion when requested.”

University Hospital Galway has launched an internal investigation into Savita’s death, and the Health Service Executive, Ireland’s executive health board, is also launching an investigation. Pro-choice activists across Ireland and the U.K. are planning protests to challenge the restrictive abortion laws in Ireland.

Praveen Halappanavar accompanied his wife’s remains to India for her funeral and cremation on November 3rd, 2012. News of her death made international news when her community canceled the city’s Hindu Diwali festival, which Savita had helped organize.

The Kenyan Government has proposed a law that would ban mandatory bride-price payments, recognize co-habiting couples, and legalize polygamy. The Marriage Bill 2012 was approved by the cabinet but must also pass parliament before becoming a national law.

Marriage Bill 2012 will eliminate the current customary law that dictates a marriage is not legal until a bride-price has been paid. This custom is practiced by more than 40 different ethnic groups in Kenya. The bill does not outlaw the practice, however, so families wishing to pay a bride-price would be allowed to do so.

The proposed marriage reform law would also recognize a couple that has been living together for six-months, so-called “come-we-stay” relationships, as legally married. This provision of the proposed law aims to recognize these relationships in part to protect any children born to such couples that then separate, leaving one person alone to raise a child or children.

Marriage Bill 2012 would also legalize polygamy with respect to different cultures within Kenya where polygamous marriages are considered the norm. According to Africa Review, the cabinet issued a statement that the proposal seeks to bring together Christian, Hindu, Islamic, civil and traditional laws and provide protections for all different types of marriages in the country.

Other reforms included in the proposed law would protect widows from wife inheritance, raise the minimum age for marriage to 18, and give men and women equal status within all marriages. The bill does not recognize same-sex couples and defined marriage as the “voluntary union of a man and a woman intended to last for their lifetime.”

According to the BBC, the vast majority of members of parliament are men and are likely to oppose sections of the bill on the basis of cultural and traditional values.

A 15-year-old Pakistani girl named Anusha was the victim of an “honor killing” last week at the hands of her parents. The specifics of what happened are uncertain, however reports indicate that Anusha died after her parents poured acid on her for turning to look at a boy or boys. It was reported that she was beaten by her father and then both of her parents poured acid on their daughter, resulting in much of her body being covered with burns. Anusha’s parents did not take her to the hospital until the morning after the incident.

Though “honor killings” are frequent occurrences in Pakistan, as well as in other parts of the world, police report that Anusha’s murder was the first of its kind in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, where such an act is a criminal offense that can lead to life imprisonment. While some deaths are not reported, there were at least 943 honor killings in Pakistan last year, according to the Huffington Post. A report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan found that “throughout [last] year, women were callously killed in the name of honor when they went against family wishes in any way, or even on the basis of suspicion that they did so. Women were sometimes killed in the name of honor over property disputes and inheritance rights.”

Anusha’s parents have confessed to the honor killing and are being charged with murder. Human rights activists are working to end honor killing by attempting to control the sale of acid, creating a documentary on those who have survived acid attacks, and implementing educational programs.