(Beirut) - A religious edict by the Kurdistan Islamic Scholars Union on female genital mutilation (FGM) sends a clear signal that the practice is not prescribed by Islam, Human Rights Watch said today. The edict, however, does not call for an outright ban on this harmful traditional practice.
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(New York) - The United States' long delay in ratifying the global women's rights treaty undermines fulfillment of the US commitment to women's rights at home and abroad, Human Rights Watch said today.
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With about 3,000 Kenyan women and girls developing obstetric fistula each year, you might think the government would have a plan to prevent and treat it. Think again.
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Africa,
Health Care Access,
kenya,
ESC Rights,
maternal health,
fistula,
Press Release,
Health,
Women's Rights,
Sexual and Reproductive Health,
Reproductive Choices and Sexual Autonomy
(Nairobi) - Tens of thousands of Kenyan women and girls suffer from obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury causing leakage of urine and feces, a direct result of inadequate health services and failed government policies, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
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Children's Rights,
childbirth,
Africa,
Health Care Access,
kenya,
maternal health,
fistula,
Press Release,
Health,
Women's Rights,
Sexual and Reproductive Health,
Reproductive Choices and Sexual Autonomy
(Kabul) - Ongoing Taliban attacks on women in Afghanistan show why women's rights should be a priority in any political agreement with insurgent forces, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
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Education,
Domestic policy,
children,
refugees,
mental health,
migrants,
labor,
child labor,
Refugees and Migrants,
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Freedom of Association,
Women Workers,
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LGBT Rights,
Internally Displaced People,
Disasters and displaced populations,
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Juvenile Justice,
Domestic Violence,
Women & Girls,
Gender-based violence,
Refugee and Internally Displaced Women,
Migrants, Forced Labor,
Workers, Forced Labor & Trafficking,
Excessive Punishment and Restrictions,
Prison and Detention Conditions,
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Disability Rights,
Children's Rights,
Health Care Access,
US Domestic Policy,
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Health,
sexual violence,
Women's Rights,
Sexual and Reproductive Health,
Reproductive Choices and Sexual Autonomy
(Chicago) - The vast majority of DNA evidence collected from rape victims in Illinois cannot be confirmed as tested, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today and based on data collected across the state.
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Domestic policy,
Criminal Justice,
Domestic Violence,
Gender-based violence,
The Failure to Protect,
United States,
US Domestic Policy,
Press Release,
Health,
sexual violence,
Women's Rights,
Sexual and Reproductive Health,
Reproductive Choices and Sexual Autonomy
(New York) - The United Nations General Assembly, in creating a new agency focused on women's rights, took a major step toward mending its historical failure to invest in women's equality, Human Rights Watch said today.
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In the United Arab Emirates, a country that prides itself on modernity and its willingness to advance women's rights, the criminal court in Abu Dhabi has sentenced an 18-year-old Emirati woman to a year in prison for illicit sex after she reported that six men had gang-raped her.
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(New York) - This week's high-level ministerial meeting about gender equality in international development assistance should promote the rights and needs of women with disabilities, Human Rights Watch said today. Specifically, governments should address the marginalization of women with disabilities in the declaration to be adopted on July 1, 2010.
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(New York) - The G20 countries should insist on development plans that are firmly grounded in human rights principles as they meet this weekend, Human Rights Watch said today. The heads of government of the G20 countries are meeting in Toronto to discuss how best to further the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
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(Arbil) - A significant number of girls and women in Iraqi Kurdistan suffer female genital mutilation (FGM) and its destructive after-effects, Human Rights Watch said today in a new report. The Kurdistan Regional Government should take immediate action to end FGM and develop a long term plan for its eradication, including passing a law to ban the practice, Human Rights Watch said.
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Kurdistan,
female genital mutilation,
sunnah,
Press Release,
Iraq,
Health,
Middle East/N. Africa,
Women's Rights,
Sexual and Reproductive Health,
Reproductive Choices and Sexual Autonomy,
FGM
(Nairobi) - Kenyan police at the Somali border and in nearby refugee camps are abusing asylum seekers and refugees fleeing war-torn Somalia, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Kenya should immediately rein in its abusive police, and the UN refugee agency should step up its monitoring of the situation and press for an end to the abuses, Human Rights Watch said.
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Somalia,
asylum seekers,
Police Violence,
Dadaab,
freedom of movement,
police abuse,
SGBV,
rape,
refugees,
Refugee and Internally Displaced Women,
Africa,
kenya,
Press Release,
sexual violence,
Women's Rights
(New York) - Saudi Arabia and Kuwait should jointly investigate the abuse and apparent trafficking of Nepalese domestic workers who agree to work in Kuwait but are instead made to work in Saudi Arabia against their will and abandoned there, Human Rights Watch said today.
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Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait,
Trafficking,
Trafficking of Women and Girls,
migrants,
labor,
Immigration and the Treatment of Non-Citizens,
Migrants, Forced Labor,
Workers, Forced Labor & Trafficking,
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Middle East/N. Africa,
Women's Rights
(Washington, DC) - Governments across the Middle East should reform the kafala (sponsorship) system that gives sponsoring employers substantial control over workers and leaves workers vulnerable to situations of trafficking and forced labor, Human Rights Watch said today.
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Forced Labor,
Migrant Domestic Workers,
Labor Rights,
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sponsorship system,
Trafficking,
Trafficking of Women and Girls,
migrants,
labor,
Women Workers,
Women & Girls,
Migrants, Forced Labor,
Workers, Forced Labor & Trafficking,
Press Release,
Middle East/N. Africa,
Women's Rights
(New York) - Brazil's Congress should protect women's dignity and human rights by rejecting a bill that confers extensive rights to fertilized ova, Human Rights Watch said today. The measure would give the rights of the fertilized ovum "absolute priority" under Brazilian law.
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Americas,
Brazil,
Abortion,
fetal rights,
rape,
Press Release,
Health,
sexual violence,
Women's Rights,
Sexual and Reproductive Health,
Reproductive Choices and Sexual Autonomy
(Geneva) – Kuwait should accept recommendations on protecting the rights of migrant domestic workers and stateless persons made today by United Nations member countries, Human Rights Watch said. The UN Human Rights Council examined Kuwait’s human rights record as part of the council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of each nation.
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2010,
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United Nations,
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labor,
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Women & Girls,
Migrants, Forced Labor,
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Press Release,
Middle East/N. Africa,
Women's Rights
(New York) - Indonesian and Malaysian ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur today should ensure that pending revisions to a labor pact include a minimum wage and stronger oversight of recruitment fees, Human Rights Watch said.
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Indonesia,
Malaysia,
low wages,
recruitment fees,
Forced Labor,
Migrant Domestic Workers,
migrants,
labor,
Women & Girls,
Migrants, Forced Labor,
Workers, Forced Labor & Trafficking,
Asia,
Press Release,
Women's Rights
In most parts of the world, women can make their own decisions. Mothers can drive cars and daughters can go to school if they wish. They can even board planes and fly to different cities or countries under their own volition.
But not in Saudi Arabia - a country where Nazia Quazi, a 24-year-old citizen of Canada and India, has been trapped because she's a woman.
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(New York) The Dutch government is leading efforts to end child labor as the host of an international conference next week, but the government should also support binding international standards to protect domestic workers, Human Rights Watch said. Globally, more girls are in household work than in any other sector of child labor.
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Children's Rights,
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(New York) - A video about the life and death of an Indian mother won a Webby People's Voice Award, Human Rights Watch said today.
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(New York) - The reforms undertaken by Middle Eastern and Asian governments fall far short of the minimum protections needed to tackle abuses against migrant domestic workers, Human Rights Watch said today in a report released in advance of May 1, International Labor Day.
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Jordan,
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Women's Rights
(New York) - The United Nations Security Council should immediately begin using measurable benchmarks to protect women caught in conflicts around the world and to ensure that women are included in peace negotiations, rather than delaying this step, Human Rights Watch said today.
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G8 development ministers should take a strong stand on fulfilling the global promise to reduce maternal and child mortality and eliminate health disparities among nations and communities, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the Canadian government.
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I met Aisling in her office in Dublin. "Keep your voice down," she said, closing her office door and sitting behind her desk. The walls were thin, and she didn't want her colleagues to overhear us talking about her abortion.
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(New York) - A video telling the story of Kiran Yadav, an Indian woman who died needlessly in childbirth, has been nominated for a prestigious Webby award, Human Rights Watch said today.
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(Beirut) - Iran should stop infringing on women's rights and take immediate steps to meet Iranian women's demands for full equality, Human Rights Watch said today. Iranian women's rights activists have issued a call for freedom and gender equality in Iran in connection with International Women's Rights Day on March 8.
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(New York) – The Irish government should implement the will of the Irish population by liberalizing the country’s restrictive abortions laws, Human Rights Watch said today, on International Women’s Day.
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(New York) - Malaysia and Indonesia should complete a pact on the status of migrant domestic workers that would include basic labor protections, Human Rights Watch said today in advance of International Women's Day on March 8.
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Indonesia,
Malaysia,
Migrant Domestic Workers,
migrants,
labor,
Women & Girls,
Migrants, Forced Labor,
Asia,
Press Release,
Women's Rights