JUNI 2005

[  Lives blown apart
   Crimes against women in times of conflict /
   report by amnesty international / 8 December 2004

JUNI 2005

COLOMBIA

[  Scarred bodies,hidden crimes.pdf /
   report by amnesty international / 13 October 2004

27. JUNI 2005

COLOMBIA

unterstützung der kampagne das bestehnede abtreibungsgesetz, das frauen mit bis zu 4 jahren knast bedroht, abzuschaffen.

Colombia: Women Face Prison for Abortion
Human Rights Watch Joins Challenge to Restrictive Abortion Laws

(New York, June 27, 2005) In Colombia, women can be imprisoned for up to four and a half years for having abortions even in cases of rape or when their lives are at risk. In a brief to Colombia's Constitutional Court, Human Rights Watch said the country's penal sanctions for abortion are inconsistent with international human rights obligations and should be declared unconstitutional. "Women should be not sent to prison for having abortions," said Marianne Mollmann, Women's Rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Colombia's restrictive abortion laws violate women's basic human rights and should be repealed."

On April 14, Colombian lawyer Mónica del Pilar Roa López, project director at Women's Link Worldwide, requested the court to review the country's law on abortion and declare it unconstitutional. Roa's office was broken into on June 16 and two computers as well as confidential files were stolen. Human Rights Watch is concerned for the safety of all personnel working on this case.

An estimated 450,000 abortions occur every year in Colombia. Recent studies indicate that a higher proportion of adolescent girls than adult women undergo illegal abortions. The consequences of illegal abortions are a leading cause of maternal mortality since illegal and unsafe abortion causes medical complications that can be fatal.

The United Nations treaty bodies that monitor the main international human rights conventions have repeatedly insisted that abortion must be decriminalized at least where the pregnant woman's life or health is in danger, or in cases of incest or rape. Several of these U.N. bodies have openly criticized Colombia's restrictive abortion laws, noting that they discriminate against women and violate their right to life and health.

In its submission to the Colombian Constitutional Court, Human Rights Watch also cited findings by regional human rights bodies. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has said that its main human rights treaty, the American Convention on Human Rights, is compatible with a woman's right to access safe and legal abortions.

Colombia's law prohibits abortion in all circumstances. The penalty is lighter when the pregnancy is the result of rape (or "nonconsensual artificial insemination"). In 2000, the Colombian Congress amended the penal code, adding the possibility for a judge to waive penal sanctions on a case-by-case basis. However, judges have discretion to waive penal sentences only in cases of rape and under two further conditions: if the abortion occurs in "extraordinary situations of abnormal motivation" (an ambiguous clause that requires judicial interpretation) and if the judge considers the punishment “unnecessary." However, a later amendment in 2005 also extended the maximum sentences for abortion from three years in prison to four and a half.

"Instead of amending its laws to comply with international human rights obligations, the Colombian authorities have only imposed harsher punishments on women for exercising their human rights," said Moellmann. "The court has an obligation to reverse this anti-constitutional development."

[  hrw.org

Memorial en Derecho Amicus Curiae

Sobre las Disposiciones Relacionadas con el Aborto de la Ley 599 de 2000 (Código Penal) presentado por Human Rights Watch ante la Corte Constitucional de Colombia

[  Memorial en Derecho Amicus Curiae

19. JUNI 2005

USA

[  Rethinking Treatment of Female Prisoners

09. JUNI 2005

GUATEMALA

Guatemala: Women in danger - killings of women and girls

15-year old Maria Isabel was kidnapped in Guatemala City on the night of 15 December 2001. Her body was found shortly before Christmas. According to Maria Isabel’s relatives, her body showed evidence of rape, her hands and feet had been tied with barbed wire, she had been stabbed and strangled and put in a bag. Her face was disfigured from being punched, her body was punctured with small holes, there was a rope around her neck and her nails were bent back.

Despite some initial investigations, those responsible for Maria Isabel’s murder are still at liberty.

"The lack of proper investigations and convictions in cases of killings of women and girls in Guatemala sends the message that violence against women in the country is acceptable. The Guatemalan authorities must change this perception by ensuring that murders like Maria Isabel’s are investigated and justice delivered, if the commitments it has made to prevent violence against women are to have any real value," said Amnesty International today as it launched a new report on the killings of women and girls in Guatemala.

According to the Guatemalan authorities, 1,188 women and girls were murdered between 2001 and 2004. Many of the victims have been killed in exceptionally brutal circumstances. There is evidence to suggest that sexual violence, particularly rape, is a strong component characterizing many of the killings but this is often not reflected in official records. In a number of cases, the bodies were mutilated and disfigured in ways associated with killings during the internal armed conflict.

To date, according to the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, only 9% of the cases has been investigated.

"The true dimension of the killings of women in Guatemala remains unknown, which underlines the lack of attention given by the Guatemalan authorities to the issue. Rape and other sexually violent crimes are often almost invisible due to the lack of reliable statistical information about the numbers and circumstances in which women are killed," said Amnesty International.

Most of the women were housewives, students and professionals. Many came from poor sectors of society, working in low paid jobs as domestic employees, shop or factory workers. Some were migrant workers from neighbouring countries in Central America, others were members or former members of youth gangs and sex workers. Most of them were between 13 and 40 years of age.

The majority of the murders have occurred in urban areas which have also witnessed a dramatic rise in violent crime in recent years often linked to organized crime, or to the activities of street youth gangs known as "maras".

Amnesty International’s report highlights how discrimination is at the core of the human rights crisis women are facing in the country, even characterizing the authorities’ response to it.

References to the victims by some officials as gang members or prostitutes have reflected a great level of discrimination towards the victims and their families. Such attitudes often influence the way in which the cases are investigated and documented or indeed whether they are ever investigated or documented.

"Official inaction and complacency has intensified the suffering of the families whose pleas for a proper criminal investigation to be carried out have frequently gone unheard."

Official bodies involved in the investigations have stated that 40% of the cases are simply archived. A lack of training in investigative techniques -- including the failure to protect the crime scene or to gather necessary forensic or other evidence and the failure to follow up on possible crucial evidence – the lack of technical resources and lack of coordination and cooperation between state institutions, has meant that many cases have never gone beyond the initial investigation stage.

On the 11th anniversary of the adoption of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, "Convention of Belém do Pará Amnesty International calls on the Guatemalan government to:

* Publicly condemn the abduction and murder of women and girls;

* Carry out immediate, coordinated, full and effective investigations into all cases of abduction and murder of women and girls in Guatemala and bring those responsible to justice;

* Strengthen and improve coordination and resource allocation for all state institutions dealing with violence against women – particularly the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Women of the Public Ministry;

* Develop and implement adequate warning and protection programs to prevent the abduction and murder of women.

[  amnesty.org

Guatemala: Staat unternimmt nichts gegen Frauenmorde

Guatemala-Stadt/Berlin (epo). - Fast 1.200 Mädchen und Frauen sind nach vorsichtigen Schätzungen zwischen 2001 und 2004 in Guatemala ermordet worden. Allein im vergangenen Jahr fielen mindestens 527 Frauen zum Teil äußerst brutaler Gewalt zum Opfer. Diese erschreckenden Zahlen enthält ein Bericht, den amnesty international (ai) am Donnerstag in Guatemala-Stadt vorgestellt hat. Die Vorfälle erinnern an die rätselhaften Morde in den mexikanischen Städten Ciudad Juárez und Chihuahua, wo in den letzten zwölf Jahren 400 Frauen ermordet worden sind.

Der Anteil von Frauen an der Gesamtzahl der Morde in dem kleinen mittelamerikanischen Land stieg von 4,5 Prozent 2002 und 11,5 Prozent 2003 auf 12,1 Prozent im letzten Jahr. Viele Opfer wurden vor ihrem Tod vergewaltigt. "Die meisten Täter sind bisher nicht belangt worden. Hier hat die Justiz Guatemalas versagt", erklärte Markus Kneissler, Guatemala-Experte von ai.

Viele der Opfer erlitten amnesty zufolge extrem brutale Gewalt. Die 15-jährige María Isabel Veliz Franco wurde im Dezember 2001 entführt und Tage später ermordet aufgefunden. Hände und Füße waren mit Stacheldraht gefesselt, um ihren Hals war ein Seil geschlungen. Ihr Körper wies Würgemale und zahlreiche Stichwunden auf, das Gesicht war durch Schläge völlig entstellt. Vor ihrem Tod war María vergewaltigt worden.

Bisher sind weniger als zehn Prozent der Fälle untersucht worden. Rund 40 Prozent seien ohne Ermittlungen zu den Akten gelegt worden, so ai. Die guatemaltekischen Behörden tendierten dazu, die Opfer zu diskriminieren und ihnen gar eine Teilschuld zuzuschreiben, indem sie die Frauen und Mädchen als Mitglieder von Jugendbanden oder Prostituierte bezeichnen. Die große Mehrheit der Opfer seien jedoch Hausfrauen, Studentinnen oder Arbeiterinnen aus armen städtischen Gesellschaftsschichten.

[  epo.de

[  Guatemala
   No protection, no justice: killings of women in Guatemala.pdf

Datenbank über die Frauenmorde in Lateinamerika

[  BancoDataFeminicidio

1. JUNI 2005

MEXICO

Frauenmorde in Mexiko weiterhin unaufgeklärt
Von den 400 Fällen lediglich 230 Morde aufgedeckt

Mexiko-Stadt - Die Ermittlungen zu den hunderten Frauenmorden im Norden Mexikos haben in mehr als 90 Fällen noch keine heiße Spur ergeben. 93 Mordfälle in der Grenzstadt Ciudad Juarez seien noch immer nicht aufgeklärt, sagte der mexikanische Präsident Vicente Fox am Dienstag (Ortszeit). 230 Morde aus den vergangenen zwölf Jahren seien von der Polizei dagegen gelöst, etwa 200 Täter säßen mittlerweile im Gefängnis.Nach Angaben der Menschenrechtsorganisation Amnesty International wurden seit 1993 in den Städten Ciudad Juárez und Chihuahua mehr als 400 Frauen ermordet. Zahlreiche von ihnen seien zuvor sexuell missbraucht worden. (APA/AFP)

[  diestandard.at

[  México: Falla la justicia en Ciudad Juárez y la ciudad de Chihuahua

[  MEXIKO Frauenmorde im Niemandsland

[   Articles abot juarez at feminist.org

[  NAFTA's Forgotten Women / at motherjones.com

[  To Work and Die in Juarez / at motherjones.com

[  Safehouses in Juarez / savejuarez.org

[  mujeresdejuarez.org

[  petition  / 2002

[  Amnesty International / Juarez

[  Amnesty Magazine / The Juárez Murders

[  Body Count / at crimelibrary.com

[  Femicides of Juarez and Chihuahua / at mexicosolidarity.org

28. MAI 2005

INDIA

nach einem säureangriff auf eine junge frau in einem bus, bei dem mind. 11 menschen verletzt wurden, kam es zu riots und angriffen auf moslems.

Ban orders in Mandi, bandh observed
Acid attack on girl

After several incidents of arson and rioting in Mandi town yesterday in the wake of an acid attack on a girl no untoward incident took place in the town today as district administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 and deployed a police battalion as a precautionary measure. However, in Kotli and Tungal areas a mob nabbed over five persons, most of them migrant labourers and thrashed them. Kotli and Tungal areas are the hometowns of the victims of yesterday's acid attack on passengers of a bus. Life limped back to normal towards the evening as over 2,000 residents, including members of the Khatri Sabha, Namdhari Sabha and members of the Beopar Mandal and CPI-CPM and others, participated in a silent peace march that was taken out with the assistance of the district administration to restore peace and normal life in the town.

The Mandi Beopar Mandal observed a complete bandh in the town in protest against the acid attack incident and demanded a thorough investigation in the case and action against the culprit. The BJP Mandi district president, Mr Dile Ram Thakur, and former MLA from Mandi district Mr Jai Ram Thakur blamed the state government for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. He said it was the second incident of acid attack in the state. CPI leader Des Raj urged the residents to maintain peace and communal harmony and asked the police and the district administration to deal with the anti-social elements strictly to prevent the recurrence of such gory incidents.

Setting aside the rumours that the acid attack victim had died or lost her vision the Chief Medical Officer, Mandi, Dr P.S. Dogra, clarified that Mamta, a college student had been referred to the IGMC, Shimla, for treatment. Her vision is alright so far.

The condition of Muskan, a minor, who had been admitted to the zonal hospital is stated to be out of danger. Three other injured were discharged today. Five other victims of the attack, Bhup Singh, Shila, Muskan, Shalu and Champa, are still under treatment in the hospital, but their condition is stable, he added. After reviewing the law and order situation in the town, the Divisional Commissioner, Mandi, Mr Subhramanyam, and the DIG central range, Mr O.C. Thakur, and the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Ali Raza Rizvi, appealed to the residents to maintain peace and communal harmony in the town and district. "We will deal with the culprit strictly," said Mr Rizvi, adding that the district administration had deployed a police battalion to restore peace in the town.

A relief of Rs 2,000 was given to the acid burn victims. Mr Rizvi and former MP Anil Sharma visited the acid attack victims today. Last night a mob entered a place of worship on Jail Road and damaged its walls and gate and burnt the water tank. The fire brigade personnel, however, controlled the fire and the police dispersed the mob. The DIG, central range, Mandi, Mr O.C. Thakur, said the attacker hailed from Muzffarnagar and had acted in a fit of anger after being rejected by the girl. The motive was to attack the girl. He sprayed rest of the acid left in the bottle on passengers to escape from the bus as other passengers tried to catch him.

When asked whether the transistor bomb in Kinnaur and a balloon with "I Love Pakistan" printed on it that was seen in in Balh valley last week were connected with the incident of acid attack, Mr Thakur said there was no connection between these incidents and the acid attack. NAHAN: Muslim organisations of Sirmour district today condemned the acid attack in Mandi and demanded strict action against the culprit.

In a joint press conference held here today, Mr Naseem Mohd. Decdan, state president of the All Himachal Muslim Welfare Society, Mr N.A. Shaikh, president of the Sirmour District Anjum Islamia and office-bearers of Sirmour District Muslim Welfare Society also condemned the communal violence which started yesterday in Mandi town after a non-Himachali Muslim boy threw acid on a girl and passengers of a bus. They said the attack on the places of worship by a mob and the failure of the district administration to control the mob had raised several questions about the law and order situation in Himachal Pradesh. KULU: The district administration here took precautionary measures to avoid any untoward incident in the wake of acid attack on bus passengers in Mandi. The police has been put on guard at the Jama Masjid here and an emergent meeting by the Superintendent of Police was convened today. Mr Anand Pratap Singh, SP, said prominent citizens of the town had been invited to help maintain peace and harmony.

[  tribuneindia.com

Mandi calm, but tense following acid attack on girl

India News, MANDI: The situation in Mandi town is calm this morning, where irate mob tourched two places of worship on Friday following an incident of acid-attack on a girl. The entire town of Mandi has been fortified by additional deployment of police to ward off eruption of communal passions. As a precaution police have sounded 'high alert' in Mandi and adjoining areas. Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police Anand Pratap Singh, Kullu has convened a meeting of the civil administration to prevent any backlash in the valley.

At least 11 people were seriously injured in the acid attack when a jilted man threw a bottle of acid on a girl, travelling on a bus. Police said four of the injured persons with more than 50 per cent burns might lose their eyesight due to the attack. [India News] Mandi Deputy Superintendent of Police K.C. Shandil said the police have arrested the culprit, Mohammad Mukhruf from Muzzafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. He said eight persons are still in hospital. "Of the 11 people on whom he threw acid, 8 are still in hospital. Three of them have been released after first aid," said Shandil. Makhruf, who admitted the crime, claimed the girl had promised him marriage but retracted from her stand recently. "Something happened to her since the last 2-4 days. She told me to go away, not to come to her. She said she will not marry me," Makhruf said. The police have so far not made any arrests of those involved in setting ablaze the places of worship. (Agencies)

[  keralanext.com

mehr infos zu säureangriffen unter :
[  acidsurvivors.org

25. MAI 2005

ASIA

neuer bericht über gewalt gegen frauen in asiatischen länder von amnesty

Amnesty Reports Rampant Violence Against Women

BANGKOK, May 25 (IPS) - Mao Hengfeng was sent to a labour camp for 18 months in April last year for persistently petitioning the Chinese authorities over a forced abortion 15 years earlier, when she became pregnant in violation of China's family planning policy.

She was reportedly tied up, suspended from the ceiling and severely beaten in the labour camp. Ma had been detained several times in the past in psychiatric units where she had been forced to undergo shock therapy. ''In China serious violations against women and girls continued to be reported as a result of the enforcement of the family planning policy, including forced abortions and sterilizations,'' said the London-based Amnesty International in its annual assessment of the state of human rights in the world, released Wednesday. Amnesty said Chinese women in detention included large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners, and they remained at risk of torture, including rape and sexual abuse.

The story of violence against women in the Asia-Pacific region is not a pretty one and Amnesty's report indicates that it was rampant last year, regardless of whether they were facing gender based violence at home, in the community or in situations of conflict.

In Bangladesh, women accounted for the large majority of acid attack victims. According to the Acid Survivors Foundation, quoted in the Amnesty report, at least 153 women were attacked between January and October 2004, and in cases that went before the courts, only one in nine ended in successful prosecution.

''In some cases the matter was reportedly 'settled' out of court between the families of the victim and the perpetrator,'' the report revealed. ''Reasons for most attacks were reportedly disputes between families or refusal by women of marriage or sex.'' Acid attacks were also reported in Afghanistan. ''A campaigner against violence against women was attacked in September because of her human rights work. She was outside her home in Kabul when three men drove up in a car. One jumped out and threw acid at her, burning her neck,'' revealed the report. Incidentally, the largest section in Amnesty's annual report was devoted to Afghanistan. The human rights group said the ouster of the conservative, Islamic Taliban regime in 2001 by U.S.- led forces did little to bring relief to women.

'' Fear of abductions by armed groups forced women to restrict their movements outside the home,'' said Amnesty. ''In the family, extreme restrictions on women's behaviour and high levels of violence persisted. Election officials registering women voters were among those killed by armed groups.'' Across Afghanistan, particularly in Herat, Amnesty reported that hundreds of women set fire to themselves to escape violence in the home or forced marriage. The report indicated that many Afghan women were imprisoned for alleged crimes such as running away from home, adultery and other sexual activity outside marriage - known as 'zina' crimes. ''In some cases, despite lack of evidence, they were imprisoned to protect them from their families,'' said Amnesty.

In Nepal, an increasing number of women are being subject to violence in the nine-year Maoist insurgency, which often sees heavy fighting between the communist rebels and security forces. ''Gender-based violence, in particular rape of women by members of the security forces, was frequently reported,'' said the Amnesty report.

Meanwhile India was singled out for its lackadaisical attitude in tackling violence against women. ''Despite the efforts of women's rights advocates to address the widespread problem of violence in the home, India still lacked comprehensive legislation addressing domestic violence,'' said the human rights group. Amnesty pointed out that the Indian government had failed to submit overdue periodic reports to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, despite ratifying the convention to that effect. In Pakistan, violence against women in the community, including crimes of ''honour'', continued to be reported. The most bizarre case, Amnesty reported, was in last June when a tribal council directed that a seven-year old girl child be killed for alleged illicit relations with an eight-year old boy. Her father refused to accept the verdict and approached the local district administrator who provided protection. Even affluent Australia did not escape Amnesty's criticism.

''In October, the results of a U.N.-coordinated survey revealed that 36 per cent of Australian women with a current or former partner had experienced violence in a relationship,'' said the report. ''In October it was reported that domestic violence was the leading cause of premature death and ill-health in women aged 15 to 44.''

In its annual report, Amnesty International also paid tribute to women's rights groups. ''One of the achievements of women's rights activists has been to demonstrate that violence against women is a human rights violation,'' it said. ''This changes the perception of violence against women from a private matter to one of public concern and means that public authorities are required to take action.'' Amnesty pointed out that women's rights activists were central to ensuring that the founding statute of the International Criminal Court explicitly recognises rape and other forms of sexual violence as crimes against humanity and as war crimes. (END/2005)

[  ipsnews.net

20. MAI 2005

USA

free battered women schrieb das governor schwarzenegger es ablehnte linda lee smith und karen narita zu begnadigen. bei linda lee smith wurde die begnadigung zum 6.mal abgelehnt. sie ist seit 25 jahren inhaftiert, ihre strafe war 15 jahre bis lebenslänglich.

Dear friends of Free Battered Women:

Governor Schwarzenegger has denied parole to Linda Lee Smith and Karen Narita. We are outraged that the Governor's Office has overturned Linda Lee Smith's parole for the SIXTH time. She has now served 25 years on a 15-years-to-life sentence for the death of her young daughter, who was killed by Linda's abusive boyfriend in 1979. Linda's other daughter has been leading the campaign to free her mother and we stand behind Linda and her family in the continued fight for her freedom. For Karen Narita, it was the first time she had been granted parole after serving 20 years in prison for a homicide committed by her abusive husband. As with Linda, it is senseless that Karen continues to be incarcerated at the state's expense after two decades.

We must strengthen our message to the Governor that survivors? histories of abuse are relevant to many situations in addition to survivors who kill their abusive partners in self-defense, and continue to build broad community support for survivors' release via parole (and for the release of all people serving life sentences who are granted parole by the Board of Prison Terms), particularly in the face of public messages that Governor Schwarzenegger's parole policies have been too lenient. Our hearts are heavy from this news, but our resistance remains strong. We send our love and support to Linda, Karen, and their families, and express our gratitude to all who took the time to express your support for their release to the Governor. Let us all re-commit ourselves to the struggle to end the state-sanctioned re-victimization of survivors of domestic violence.

[  freebatteredwomen.org

18.MAI 2005

JORDAN

die zwei bisher höchsten urteile die ein gericht bisher wegen "ehrenmordes" verhängt hat, 1 1/2 und 10 jahre für zwei männer die ihre schwangere schwester erstachen.

Hard labor sentences for Jordanian honor killers
Stabbed pregnant sister "to get rid of the shame"

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- A court issued Jordan's harshest punishment ever for an honor killing: 7 1/2 and 10-year jail terms for two brothers who stabbed their pregnant sister. But the judge said Wednesday while he wasn't setting a principle, he felt the men deserved hard time because they didn't act in a sudden fury. The ruling comes amid a campaign led by Jordan's Queen Rania to amend lenient laws that provide for sentences as light as six months in prison for honor killings. An average of 20 women a year are killed by male relatives each year, some for simply dating, according to government figures. Lawmakers of conservative tribal backgrounds, however, have rejected changes, saying they would give rise to more vice. The brothers, Raed and Bilal Rabah al-Ajouri, were convicted of premeditated murder in the killing of their sister Amira in April 2004.

According to the indictment sheet, Amira was in a relationship with an Egyptian man without her family's knowledge. When they found out she was pregnant, her father gave his blessing for the union to go ahead, and she later left for Egypt. But she returned to Jordan to give birth in her home country. The indictment sheet said when her two brothers learned that their sister was in town, they planned to kill her "to get rid of the shame." The elder brother, Raed, took his 25-year-old sister to his house and stabbed her to death, also killing the fetus.

A police official had said last year that the woman was eight months pregnant with a baby boy. The charge sheet listed her as three months pregnant. Police said Raed confessed and said his brother Bilal knew of the plans. Once the trial opened, however, the two brothers retracted their confessions and pleaded not guilty to the charges. The court verdict was issued in March and made available to the press Wednesday.

Judge Mohammed Abu-Dalbouh commuted Raed's death sentence to 10 years in jail with hard labor. He sentenced Bilal to 10 years, but commuted the term to 7 1/2 years in jail with hard labor. The judge underscored the severity of the sentences, saying that the two brothers had plotted the killing beforehand. "The case lacked the factor of the act of fury," he told The Associated Press. "So far there is no general intention to deal differently with the honor crimes and impose harsher punishment," Abu Dalbouh said.

Since 2000 the government has been pushing for legislation that would impose harsher punishment on men who commit honor crimes. To help combat domestic violence, the government -- under instructions from Jordan's King Abdullah II and his wife, Rania -- has been providing legal, medical and social support to abused women. A hotline has been set up, and a shelter is expected to open early next year. On Monday a 24-year-old married woman was stabbed in the stomach and back with a kitchen knife, allegedly by her 19-year-old brother. He claimed that he had killed his sister to cleanse the family's honor after finding a man in her house.

[  edition.cnn.com

6.MAI 2005

AFGHANISTAN

3 frauen wurden in der provinz baghlan vergewaltigt und ermordet. lt. reuters wurde bei den leichen ein zettel gefunden auf dem stand " dies ist die strafe für die frauen die in ngo's arbeiten und die frauen die huren sind". eine der frauen arbeitete für eine ngo aus bangla desh.

Three Afghan Women Killed As Warning to Stop Working for Aid Groups

Three Afghan women were found raped and strangled to death in the northern province of Baghlan with a warning for women to stop working for aid groups. One of the three was a 25-year-old woman who was working for a Bangladeshi non-governmental organization (NGO). The bodies were found with a note stating "this is retribution for those women who are working in NGO's and those who are involved in whoredom," reports Reuters.

Aid workers, particularly women, have been the targets of Taliban-led attacks and some organizations have withdrawn staff due to Taliban threats. A group named "Afghan Youths Convention" has claimed responsibility for the murders of the three women. It is currently unclear if the group has connections with the Taliban. Meanwhile, Afghan authorities have arrested six men for killing a woman named Amina in the northwestern province of Badakhshan for committing adultery, reports the Associated Press. The six men including the mullah who reportedly authorized the woman's father to kill his daughter, the woman's father, her alleged lover, and three other men will go on trial as soon as the charges are prepared by the attorney-general.

[  feminist.org

7. MAI 2005:

PALESTINE

bericht über "ehrenmorde" in palästina

There is growing concern among Palestinian human rights workers after the killings of at least six young women in recent months. The murders are described in some quarters as "honour killings". The victims are usually accused of behaving improperly and bringing shame upon their families. Orla Guerin has been piecing together some of the victims' stories.

She was last seen at half past two on a Saturday afternoon looking down from a window in her family's apartment. They live on a main road, in a building that houses an ice-cream shop. Outside a religious procession was making its way through the streets.Someone walking in that procession, who knew her face and her troubles, glanced up and saw her.Less than two hours later, she was dead - her skull crushed - reportedly by blows from an iron bar. Her name was Faten. She was 22-years-old, a Palestinian Christian from the West Bank city of Ramallah.After her lifeless body was found, her father and an aunt were taken into custody.

Death sentence

Faten had fallen in love with a young man called Samer, a Muslim, from Jericho. Her family disapproved of her choice. In the last desperate weeks of her life, Faten knew a death sentence was hanging over her head, and she tried hard to escape it.She attempted to elope, but did not get far and was sent home, to face the wrath of her relatives.Some reports say beatings from family members resulted in a broken pelvis. Others that she sustained the injury when she jumped from a third floor window.Either way she wound up in hospital, and her case came to the attention of the governor of Ramallah, Mustafa Issa.He put guards outside her hospital room to keep her safe while she recovered.According to the governor here is what happened next:Faten decided to use an ancient formula for resolving disputes, known in Arabic as "Tanebeh".The idea is that a woman in distress can appeal to a powerful tribe.Faten approached a Bedouin tribe in Jericho, who took her in. They asked her father to promise she would not be harmed. After he gave his word, she was returned home.Within days, she was dead. The governor is greatly troubled by her killing. It was he who looked up from the procession, and saw her face in the window.

'Strangled'

Forty-eight hours later, and a half an hour's drive away, two sisters were killed - this time in a Muslim home. Police believe this was another so-called honour killing. The victims were a 20-year-old called Amani and her older sister Rodina, who was 27.Both were married and both had apparently been strangled. A third sister was attacked but survived, and she is now in hospital.We were turned away from the family home in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Jabal Mukkaber. No one there wanted to talk.One local claimed the head of the household had passed away, and the killings resulted from a dispute about inheritance rights.But the women's father is very much alive and now in jail, together with their mother. Their brother, the key suspect in the case, is apparently on the run.As he was taken into custody their father was asked what had happened. He replied, calmly, that he came home to find that his son had killed his daughters."Why?" he was asked. "Because they dishonoured the family," he said."A married woman who goes with another man isn't good," he said, but added that he had told his son not to do it.

We know nothing of the final days of Amani and Rodina. Did they too know that death was coming? Did they, like Faten, try to find a way out? There would have been few escape routes available, even if they had gone looking.In recent months there has been an increase in honour killings in the West Bank and Gaza.Women's rights activists say they cannot explain the upsurge.But there has been an increase in general lawlessness in Palestinian areas. And in male-dominated conservative Palestinian society, if a man commits an honour killing he may get off scot-free.There may never be justice for 19-year-old Yousra: shot dead in Gaza by gunmen from Hamas.Witnesses said they claimed to be from a morality squad.On the day of her death, Yousra shopped for her wedding dress, then sat on the beach with her husband to-be and another couple - her sister and her fiancé.What was Yousra's offence against morality? Her family denied she committed any. But on her way home, she was ambushed and killed.

Perpetrator

In a jail in Nablus I once came face to face with the perpetrator of an honour killing.The local police chief had opened the cells, and summoned all those accused of murder.When they formed a line-up there was an odd man out. Small, very young-looking.I asked what he had done. The police chief told me he was 17, and had turned himself in after killing his sister.Back in Ramallah, Faten lies buried in the Christian cemetery, in a rough grave, without even a headstone. Her father was released from jail for two hours to attend her funeral.

[  news.bbc.co.uk

4. / 5. MAI 2005

INDIA

Jail tolls for rapist, not wedding bells
- Victim waves off marriage bait, court says proposal made with mala fide intent

New Delhi, May 4: A ward boy who raped and partly blinded a nurse in a Delhi hospital and two years later offered to marry her, just before the sentence against him was to be read out, has been handed life imprisonment. The victim shrugged off the marriage proposal as a “bogus offer” made to escape punishment and demanded that 24-year-old Bhura be hanged.Bhura was today sentenced to life imprisonment each under Section 376 of the IPC for rape and Section 326 for causing grievous injury. He was sent to jail for a year for causing illegal confinement. All the sentences will run concurrently. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000. If he fails to pay up, the rapist will have to undergo three more years of simple imprisonment.

The judge who had deferred his verdict yesterday, after Bhura filed an application offering to marry the victim “because no one else would”, today said the proposal was made with a “mala fide intention to evade the law”.After convicting Bhura for the brutal rape of the nurse, then 19, during which he had gouged out her right eye and wounded the left, additional sessions judge J.M. Malik was about to announce the sentence yesterday when Bhura’s counsel said he wanted to marry the victim.Examining the application, the judge asked the victim and her parents to appear before the court today to file their reply. The court also reserved the sentence for a day.

The nurse was on night duty at the private Shanti Mukund Hospital in east Delhi in September 2003 when she was assaulted.Looking after a comatose patient, she awoke in the middle of the night to find the convict trying to force himself on her. When she resisted, Bhura plunged his fingers into her eyes, gouging out her right eye and wounding the left. He then dragged her to an adjacent bathroom, raped her and locked her in. She lay unconscious and bled through the night.When she was found, Shanti Mukund Hospital did not treat her and referred her instead to Guru Tegh Bahadur hospital, where doctors did not attend to her for three days.

As a result of the delay, the victim lost sight in her right eye. She had to undergo four major facial operations and psychiatric treatment for depression.The victim, who appeared in court with her parents, said in an affidavit: “The convict has committed a horrendous crime which should not be repeated. After he was found guilty, he is trying to escape punishment with the bogus offer... he should be hanged.”

The court’s move to reserve the sentencing for a day after the marriage offer sparked an outcry from women’s groups which said the punishment should have been handed immediately.“It is totally outrageous and insulting and will set a bad precedent,” said activist Brinda Karat.Nirmala Sitaraman, a member of the National Commission for Women, said a rapist should not be allowed to make such an offer to a victim. “It is not for him to make marriage offers. The marriage offer, coming after such a gruesome rape, is atrocious.”Bhura’s counsel said he would appeal against the ruling in the high court.

[  telegraphindia.com

5.MAI 2005

'Court no marriage bureau for rapists'

Lawyers and socials activists have criticised a Delhi court for considering a rapist's offer to marry his victim. The victim, a nurse at the Shanti Mukund Hospital in east Delhi, rejected the offer on Wednesday and the rapist was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, the fact that the court asked the victim and her family to file a reply to the rapist's offer has surprised lawyers and women activists. The rapist, a ward boy, had gouged the girl's eye out after raping her.

Rapist's marriage offer atrocious: NCW

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Brinda Karat, who accompanied the victim to the court, said: "The court is not a marriage bureau for rapists and criminals. The judge has set a wrong precedent. Every rapist will take it for granted now. He will know he can get away with it. This will encourage a heinous crime like rape." Social activist Ruksana Chaudhary said, "If the accused was remorseful, he should have made the proposal in the beginning and not after two years of trial. This is nothing but a cruel joke." The nurse was attending to a comatose patient when the ward boy raped her. She was found unconscious in a bathroom the next morning.

Her fight for justice continues

A case related to compensation and punishment for the negligent doctors at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, who did not attend to her after the rape, is still pending in the Delhi high court. Madhu Kishwar, editor of the women's magazine Manushi, said: "It is unthinkable. How can a judge accept such a request? This is so cruel. This only reflects our mindset." Lawyer Prashant Bhushan said the marriage proposal could not have saved the rapist from the punishment due to him, which is a minimum of 10 years of imprisonment or a life term. He said the law has been classified as compoundable and non-compoundable offences. "This was not a compoundable offence, so there was no point in entertaining such an application."

She wants to start life afresh

Bhushan said this case was sensitive in the way the woman was raped. Therefore, he felt, there was no reason to summon her to court to reply to such a proposal. Raj Mangal Prashad of the voluntary group Pratidhi said: "The role of the court is to convict an accused depending on the evidence. The court should confine (its role) to that and nothing else. Once the accused is convicted, he should be sentenced." Swati Mishra, a student of Delhi's Kirori Mal College, said: "How can one live with such a person? I praise the woman for her decision. She is a brave woman. I would prefer to stay unmarried for the rest of my life than marrying a rapist."

[  rediff.com

2. MAI 2005

YEMEN

hier ist ein ( konfuser) artikel über gesetz und die stellung der frau in Yemen

New law for freeing Yemeni women from unjust laws

Despite of the Yemeni state’s care about women in all aspects of life which is recently increasing, there are still a great number of obstacles and hindrances attributed to the nature of the Yemeni male community that does not look at women as a weak and marginalized creature. The Yemeni society is dominated with customs and traditions that distance women from the participation in the social life and following the modern life. The Yemeni community has a backward rural and tribal nature, therefore most of the problems a woman faces are the unjust legislations and laws against her because she is considered as one of the weakened classes that need to be legally protected. Especially in the social aspect: she is subject to violence, power against her and the penal laws come atop the list, particularly those items dealing with woman rights whether she commits misdeeds or misdeeds are committed against her. Of those law items is what is included in Penal and Crimes Law No. (12) of 1994 featuring antifeminism; the legislative source of those items are weak and they do not rely on right judgments of the Islamic Shary’ah. This allowed a wider opportunity for judiciary personal judgments while dealing with cases and this may let the judge fall in the wrong.

According to the official statistics, we noticed that the crimes committed by Yemeni women are generally low since Yemeni women are less integrated with men; besides, her participation in the social life is few. That is, as mentioned earlier, ascribed to the fact that the Yemeni community is principally of rural nature more than being an urban. There are some things that prevent women to work and integrate with men, therefore studying the legal status and its relations to Yemeni women should occupy an outstanding position among the various studies that deal with the issues of Yemeni women. Hence any study, which has no concern with this topic, has no value in the shadow of the violations of the woman’s simplest right.

According to crimes statistics, crimes committed by women are to a great extent lower than those committed by men, especially in the Yemeni society. Even the types of crimes women commit are different in quantity and category from those of men. Crimes committed by women are distinguished with a low rate of violence such as murdering, corporal damages, and kidnapping but instead are crimes of immorality like, adultery, prostitution, blender, intentional and unintentional murdering, theft, alcohol consumption …etc. What is more, Yemeni women, similar to men, are subjected to investigations when committing any crime. This takes place when the concerned authorities take a number of legal procedures aiming to limit her freedom either with detention, imprisonment, investigations or trial. In these steps, she faces specific treatment by those authorities: police officers, prosecution members, and judges. This treatment is usually inhumane and savage when practicing psychological and sexual torture, as well as oral insults. The treatment in such cases should have been humane with a reforming feature and managed by a female staff in order to keep the woman’s rights, dignity and humanity. Women in cases who are sentenced to imprisonment should have a reforming prison especially for women and their children under supervision of qualified female staffs.

Women should be subjected to penal treatment that is different in the sense that the implementation of programs of reform and qualification throughout various ways, as mentioned in the Yemeni Law of Organizing Prisons and its executive bylaw. Of the ways are education, discipline, vocational labor, health and religious care that aim at socially reforming and training her.

In terms of the rate of frequent crimes committed by women, adultery comes on the top of the list especially in the main cities such as Sana’a, Aden, Taiz, and Hodeidah. That is due to poverty and the deteriorated economical status in addition to the family breaking down as well as the weakness in religious and moral values. The spread of temptation means hotels, night clubs, fun cities, prostitution villas and flats. Robbery comes next because of poor living standards especially in the light of the skyrocketing prices and unemployment.

What is strange is that the number of jailed women who committed adultery in the Central Prisons in cities are more than men who committed the same crime. This simply means that the majority of men who committed adultery escape from punishment either because they are not arrested or are not presented to trial. Unlike women who committed the same crime, the man’s high social status or perhaps his denial protected him from punishment.

The difference between men and women’s crimes in terms of quantity and category is related to the natural psychological and physical difference between them. Women have a weaker fitness, therefore she stays away from greater crimes such as violence, murdering, stabbing, beating, robbery, kidnapping, banditry…etc. which requires specific body strength and readiness.

The difference is ascribed to the social status of men and women and the social role each of them play. Women’s social status is represented generally in her educational duties, looking after children and family making her role limited in the society comparing to that of a man, which clearly appears in the Yemeni community. Therefore the average of crimes committed by women (which doesn’t exceed 2%) in Yemen is fewer than those of men. This is due to the nature of the Yemeni society and its strict conventions and customs that is considered a hindrance to the wider participation in the social life. Majority of the people, particularly women who live in rural and tribal communities. The role women should play is limited and this justifies the few average of her crimes.

[  yementimes.com

23. APRIL 2005

AFGHANISTAN

steinigung einer frau wegen "ehebruchs" . lt der afghanistan independent human rights commission wurde die frau von einem dorf mullah verurteilt.

Afghanistan woman stoned to death

A woman has been stoned to death in Afghanistan, reportedly for committing adultery. The killing is said to have taken place in the Urgu district of north-eastern Badakhshan province. A local Afghan government official confirmed the death, and said the government would investigate the case. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said the woman had been sentenced to death by a decree from the local religious scholar. Under Afghan law, cases such as this should go through the local courts. A reporter for the BBC Pashto service in Afghanistan said the woman's husband recently returned from Iran after five years away. The wife asked for a separation on the grounds that her husband could not support her. However, he said she was having improper relations with another man. It is not known if the couple had any children. Correspondents say this is the second time a woman has been stoned to death since the ousting of the Taleban in 2001. Both events happened in the same area. During the Taleban's rule, women were regularly stoned to death for adultery.

[  bbc.co.uk

19. april 2005

JAPAN

ein neuer frauenknast wurde gebaut, nach tokio und aichi jetzt in fuji. dies würde " der erhöhten kriminalität von frauen rechnung tragen."

FUJI, Shizuoka Prefecture/ Nation's 3rd all-female detention facility opens

A long overdue holding facility just for women opened here this month, reflecting a trend of rising crime among the fairer sex.It is only the third such facility of its kind in Japan. The others are in Tokyo and Aichi Prefecture. The three-story Shizuoka Prefectural Fuji Detention Center was built with detainee privacy and other rights in mind, officials said. All the guards are women.Until last fiscal year, women were detained in holding cells at six police stations-two each in eastern, central and western Shizuoka Prefecture. The stations, however, also house male suspects. The new facility, covering a total floor space of about 1,500 square meters, was built on the grounds of the Fuji Police Station at a cost of about 400 million yen. It is run by the prefectural police department. It has 10 six-mat holding cells on the second floor that can accommodate four women each. It is also equipped with high-tech safety gadgetry.

If the cell doors remain open past a certain time or a toilet door remains closed for a suspiciously long period, for example, emergency lamps notify guards. The facility is the first in Shizuoka to use the system. The new detention facility also has solitary confinement cells, which mostly are for people with drug addictions, officials said.Thirteen interrogation room are set aside on the third floor for prefectural police officers. According to statistics, about 20,000 female suspects were confined in holding cells throughout Shizuoka Prefecture last year. That meant an average of 53 women a day, or about twice the figure of a decade ago, officials said.(IHT/Asahi: April 19,2005)

[  asahi.com

AFGHANISTAN

13. april 2005

bericht über häusliche gewalt in afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN: Domestic violence intolerable, say battered women and girls

KABUL, 13 Apr 2005 (IRIN) - The story of Zaynab, (a name adopted to conceal her identity) an 18-year-old mother of five who has taken refuge in a new women?s shelter in the capital Kabul, illustrates how routinely women continue to suffer rights violations in conservative, patriarchal Afghanistan. She fled her home after refusing to put up with any more beatings from her husband, less than three weeks after giving birth to her youngest son.

?My father forcibly married me to an old man when I was 11 and my husband treated me like a slave over the last seven years,? she said, while sewing a blanket in the shelter, located in an upmarket suburb of the capital. But Zaynab and the 20 other women she shares the facility with are the lucky few out of millions of destitute Afghan women. The small group have managed to find sanctuary from widespread physical violence, forced marriage, honour killings and other violations in ultra-conservative rural Afghanistan.Zaynab?s leg was broken when her husband threw her out of a window. The torment ended when she managed to escape from the hospital where she was being treated, leaving her children behind. ?This is the new pain I must bear, living without my family, but I had no other option. I knew he would never change.??I put on men?s clothes and a turban to hide my long hair and to look like a man, because it is extremely dangerous and difficult for women to travel by themselves,? she added, describing her escape. Throughout the whole country, there are just four shelters, all in the capital, that are home to more than 100 women and girls. Supported by different agencies and the Ministry of Women?s Affairs (MoWA), the confidential centres are designed to give protection, accommodation, food, training and healthcare to women who are escaping violence in the home or are seeking legal support due to family feuds.

?Often they are introduced to MoWA by the office of the attorney general or supreme court, while sometimes they come directly to our ministry,? Shakila Afzalyar, a legal officer at the ministry, told IRIN. All the women IRIN interviewed at the shelter said they had broken no laws, but were fleeing from brutality or forced marriages. Afghanistan?s new constitution guarantees equality before the law for men and women, but the reality, the women point out, is very different.A girl at the shelter, Paikai, just 12 years old, said she was compelled to marry the brother of her fiancé, who died before marrying her.?They paid some money and gave a car to my father, but I did not like the man and escaped,? she said. She added that she had heard from a local radio station that there was a women?s affairs ministry in the capital, which heard the complaints of women, ?that idea helped me make the final decision.?

?Women are used as a means for settling disputes between two families or tribes,? she said, adding that she did not want to return to her village, where they treated women ?like animals?.?I have nowhere to return to, I like it here, because there is a literacy course and at least I don?t see and hear those arrogant men,? she sighed.The statistics are worrying, the ministry says. Afzalyar said that up to 20 women and girls were referred to MoWA?s legal department every day, mostly complaining of physical violations and forced marriages.But space at the specialised shelters is limited. Many of the women who cannot find a place in the four secure hostels in Kabul end up in prison. More than 30 women are currently in jail in the capital, many simply because they have nowhere else to go, women?s rights activists say. ?But I think even being in prison is safer than bearing the misery and punishments of violent men at home, at least in prison? one day you leave,? Zaynab said.

[  irinnews.org

USA

17.märz 2005

eine neue studie "caught in the net: the impact of drug policies on women & families" .
schwerpunkte : die erhöhte inhaftierungsrate bei frauen sowie berichte von frauen die minimal, am rande oder unwissend in drogenaktivitäten verwickelt waren/sind ( "guilty by association" ) durch ihre ehemänner/lebenspartner.

SUDAN

15. märz 2005

wieder wurde eine frau wegen "ehebruch" ( zina) festgenommen. die frau wurde nach § 146 des strafgesetzbuches angeklagt und ist zur zeit in einer polizeizelle in zalingy. falls es zu einem prozeß kommen sollte, droht ihr die steinigung.

VIOLENCE Against Women, Arbitrary Detention/Risk of death penalty

World Organization Against Torture (Geneva)

The International Secretariat of OMCT has requests your urgent intervention concerning the following situation in Sudan.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the OMCT network, that on 11 February 2005, police forces in Zalingy, Western Darfur State, arrested Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw, 26 yrs, a Christian woman belonging to the Dinka tribe, on suspicion of committing adultery (Zina).

According to the information received, Mrs. Fanna's husband Mr. Dominic Abiro Coca, a sergeant working for the armed forces brought the case of alleged 'Zina' against Mrs. Fanna to the police forces in Zalingy. Mr. Dominic alleges that Mrs. Fanna is his wife and that he has been absent from Zalingy for two years and that she had conceived and given birth in his absence. Reportedly the baby is 7 months old.

Mrs. Fanna is currently detained at police offices in Zalingy and is charged with article 146 (Adultery) of the 1991 Penal Code. If convicted, Mrs. Fanna is at risk of execution by stoning.

OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw and stresses that it is strongly opposed to stoning as well as the death penalty which violates human rights in particular the right not to be subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.

OMCT's Violence against Women Programme is concerned that laws that criminalize adultery and sexual relations outside of marriage are often used as mechanisms to circumscribe and control female sexuality and their implementation frequently discriminates against women. In addition, evidentiary requirements that provide that pregnancy constitutes irrefutable "evidence" of adultery or that give less weight to the testimony of women reinforce the gender discrimination in the administration of justice, which results in women being sentenced to corporal or capital punishment in far larger numbers than men.

Requested Action:

Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:

i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw;
ii. order the immediate release of Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards;
iii. ensure women the right to be free from discrimination, including violence, in line with international laws and standards;
iv. ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as well as the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international humanitarian law and human rights standards.

Addresses:

· His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan,
President' s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 783223

· Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General,
Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 788941

· Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Ministry of Foreign Affair, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 779383

· Dr. Abdelmuneim Osman Mohamed Taha,
Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 770883

· His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Mohamed Al- Hassan Ahmed Al-Haj,
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland,
Fax: +4122 731 26 56, +41 22 716 19 70, E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int.

Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.

USA

18. märz 2005

eine meldung von free battered women,nach der zwei frauen, die seit 1986 inhaftiert waren, begnadigt werden.

Valere Boyd is FREE!

Free Battered Women is thrilled to report that Valere Boyd is free on parole after having been imprisoned since 1986 for killing her abusive husband.

On March 16th, 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger approved the Board of Prison Terms' decision to grant Valere parole. This was the third time that Valere had been found suitable. Governor Schwarzenegger reversed the Board's decision in December 2003, and former Governor Davis had reversed the Board's decision in 2002. Valere was convicted at a time when community and law enforcement responses to domestic violence were quite different than they are now. Although she tried to leave her husband many times, she didn't know of any shelters for survivors of domestic violence (Read Valere's testimony in the "Survivors Speak" section).

Valere was among the 34 survivors whom Free Battered Women assisted with filing a clemency petition back in 1992, but then-Governor Wilson never bothered to respond to it. While incacerated, Valere had spoken at legislative hearings about the plight of battered women in prison.Free Battered Women extends our congratulations to Valere and to her legal team at the USC Post-Conviction Justice Project, including law student Brad Armstrong, who represented Valere at her last two hearings.

Pat Caetano is FREE!

Free Battered Women is happy to report that on March 16, 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger approved parole for Pat Caetano, a survivor of domestic violence who has been in prison since 1986 for killing a stranger during a robbery along with a co-defendant.Although her co-defendant initiated the crime and played a more active role, Pat served 18 years of a 15-years-to-life sentence while her her co-defendant served only six years in prison. Even the Monterey County District Attorney who prosecuted her case supported Pat's release.

This was the second time that Pat had been granted parole by the Board of Prison Terms. Former Governor Davis reversed the Board's decision to grant Pat parole in 2003.Thanks to everyone who sent letters and faxes of support to the Governor calling for Pat's freedom!

Free Battered Women (FBW), formerly known as the California Coalition for Battered Women in Prison (CCBWP), is a statewide grassroots coalition that strives to end the re-victimization of incarcerated survivors of domestic violence as part of the struggle to resist all forms of violence against women. We achieve this through policy work, parole advocacy, media campaigns, grassroots organizing, public education, and legal action.

INDIA

10. märz 2005

im indischen bundesstaat andhra pradesh wird familien geld angeboten ($ 2.300 ) um sie „zu ermuntern eine einzige tochter zu haben“ . damit soll “versucht werden, den dramatischen fall in der zahl der geburten von mädchen zu stoppen.“ das geld, eine art versicherungspolice wird dem mädchen an seinem 20. geburtstag bezahlt werden, vorausgesetzt die eltern lassen sich nach der geburt sterilisieren.

Indian State to Pay Families to Have Girl

By OMER FAROOQ, Associated Press Writer

HYDERABAD, India - A southern Indian state is offering to pay $2,300 to encourage families to have a single girl, part of an effort to reverse a dramatic drop in the number of female babies being born. The money, in the form of an insurance policy, will be paid to the girl when she turns 20, provided both parents undergo birth control operations, Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, the top elected official in Andhra Pradesh state, said Tuesday. A large number of Indian parents, especially in villages, prefer boys to girls because boys are believed to work more and help earn money. Marrying off girls also means paying dowries. The preference for boys among parents has skewed the sex ratio in India, a nation of more than 1 billion people. The number of girls per 1,000 boys declined in India from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001, according to the national census carried out that year. The decline in girls being born is attributed largely to prenatal sex-determiniation testing, which allows couples to abort female fetuses.

India's government has outlawed prenatal sex-determination tests and is clamping down on medical practitioners flouting the law. In Hydeberad, Reddy said the insurance scheme "has emerged out of the government's concern for the welfare of the girl child." The Andhra Pradesh government's scheme also includes a monthly scholarship of $29 for schoolgirls studying in grades 9 to 12. This would help and encourage poor parents to send their daughters to school. If either of the parents die, the state will pay the daughter up to $1,167. However, the monetary incentives are scaled down if the parents decide to have two daughters. Every girl who reaches the age of 18 will be paid $700. The state government is also about to launch a publicity campaign to encourage parents to opt for female children. Using rising India tennis idol, Sania Mirza, as a role model, the state government is planning posters and billboards with the slogan: "Your daughter may be the next champion," Reddy said.

UK

9.märz 2005

artikel über einen vorschlag der gruppe the howard league for reform nur frauen die schwere oder gewalttätige delikte verübt haben zu inhaftieren.in uk hat sich die zahl der inhaftioerten frauen seit 1993 verdreifacht. in schottland stieg die zahl der inhaftierten gefangenen von 179 im jahr 2002 auf 313 frauen 2004.

Only jail females who are danger to public

DAVID BARRETT

ONLY women who commit serious or violent offences and are a danger to the public should be jailed, a prison reform charity has said. The Howard League for Penal Reform said just 10 per cent of the women currently locked up would receive jail terms if such a policy were introduced. It said offenders should be encouraged to change, with those making amends being given community penalties. Across the UK, the number of female inmates has almost trebled since 1993. Frances Crook, the head of the charity, said: "Women are being sent to prison in unacceptable numbers and are suffering disproportionately when they are inside." The number of women being sent to jail in Scotland rose from 179 in 2002 to 313 in 2004. A quarter of deliberate self-injuries are committed by women inmates even though they make up 6 per cent of the prison population, the charity said.

8. März 2005

HOW VIOLENCE AFFECTS WOMEN?

by amnesty international

From birth to death, in times of peace as well as war, women face discrimination and violence at the hands of the state, the community and the family. Every year, millions of women are raped by partners, relatives, friends and strangers, by employers and colleagues, security officials and soldiers. Women are the overwhelming majority of victims from violence inflicted in the home. During armed conflicts, violence against women is often used as a weapon of war, in order to dehumanize the women themselves, or to persecute the community to which they belong. However, violence against women is never normal, legal or acceptable and should never be tolerated or justified. It's time to recognize that violence against women is a global human rights scandal that affects us all. Across the world, Amnesty International activists are working to work towards making women's human rights a reality.

ACT NOW

Mexico: Lydia Cacho Ribeiro and Other Human Rights Defenders Under Threat
Lydia Cacho Ribeiro, president of the Women's Assistance Center (CIAM), and staff at three CIAM shelters around Mexico, have received multiple death threats as a result of their work to protect the rights of women and girls. The threats are reportedly from men whose wives and/or children found refuge from domestic violence at the shelter and want them to return home.

Iraq: Disappearance of Huda Hafez Ahmad al-'Azawi's, Businesswoman
At 4 a.m. on February 17, US soldiers and members of the Iraqi National Guard forced their way into the house of Huda Hafez Ahmad al-'Azawi, a businesswoman in Baghdad. They handcuffed and blindfolded her, and beat, handcuffed and blindfolded her two daughters, Nura aged 15 and Sarah aged 20. Her whereabouts are unknown and Amnesty International is concerned for her safety.

India: Women Facing Violence in Gujarat
During the large-scale violence in Gujarat in 2002, some medical professionals were reported to have participated in violence against members of the Muslim minority and disregarded reports and obvious signs of sexual assaults of women in their care. Victims could not count on receiving medical assistance and cannot rely upon medical/forensic evidence when pursuing justice for the crimes perpetrated against them.

Sudan: Violence Against Women By The Janjawid Militia
Urge the Government of Sudan to protect the women of Darfur from violence by the Janjawid militia. Ask that the Government to halt to attacks on women, bring perpetrators of sexual violence -- in particular members of the Janjawid militia -- to justice, and ratify international laws that protect women from sexual violence in conflict and publicly condemn all forms of gender-based violence in Darfur.

Kosovo: Rights of Trafficked Girls
Since the July 1999 deployment of an international peacekeeping force to Kosovo and the establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK), Kosovo has become a major destination country for women and girls trafficked into forced prostitution. It has been estimated that many hundreds of women and girls have been trafficked, including some as young as 12 years old.

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

8. märz 2005

neuer human rights watch report über vergewaltigungen im osten des landes.

Tens of Thousands Said Raped in East Congo

Militiamen and renegade soldiers have raped and beaten tens of thousands of women and young girls in eastern Congo, and nearly all the crimes have gone unpunished by the country's broken judicial system, an international human rights group said Monday.

By BRYAN MEALER, Associated Press Writer

KINSHASA, Congo - Militiamen and renegade soldiers have raped and beaten tens of thousands of women and young girls in eastern Congo, and nearly all the crimes have gone unpunished by the country's broken judicial system, an international human rights group said Monday. Hundreds of new rapes are reported every week, but only 10 soldiers and militants have been convicted of rape in relatively lawless eastern Congo since the end of the country's devastating war in 2002, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report. "Perpetrators of sexual violence are members of virtually all the armed forces and armed groups that operate in eastern Congo," according to the 52-page report. "The Congolese justice system has to date failed to address the egregious problem." Rape is often a preferred weapon of armed groups fighting the east's myriad battles, as it was during the 1998-2002 war — Monday's report quotes a World Health Organization (news - web sites) study that documented over 40,000 rapes in two eastern provinces during the conflict. Marauding gunmen gang-raped children as young as 3-years-old, and often raped women and young girls — some to the point of death — as their families helplessly watched, the report said.

At least 10 women were being raped every day in the tiny, embattled town of Bunia as recently as October 2004, according to the report. Warring ethnic Hema and Lendu militia continue to terrorize Bunia — kicking down doors in the night and snatching girls in the fields — despite the presence of thousands of U.N. peacekeepers based there. Peacekeepers in Bunia have also been accused of raping young girls living in the town's sprawling camp for those displaced by fighting, or trading sweets and pocket change for sex. The United Nations (news - web sites) reported Saturday that Lendu militia in the northern Ituri province had kidnapped thousands of people and used many of them as sex slaves. In some cases, even boys and men were being raped by armed groups. In all, the report states that "tens of thousands" of rapes had been reported, and many more are believed to have gone unreported. Despite the creation of a transitional government in 2003 that ended Congo's five-year war, the long arm of the law has yet to reach the troubled east.

Outdated rape laws, lack of police and criminal courts, and widespread failure to see rape as a crime make it impossible for the few prosecutors to pursue rapists, said Juliane Kippenberg, researcher and spokeswomen for Human Rights Watch. "Prosecutors rarely have the support or the funds to properly do their jobs," said Kippenberg. "Most of these cases eventually get thrown out. The justice system is failing these people." Kippenberg said many young girls are also too afraid or embarrassed to report rape to their parents, or to military authorities in the region. Many die from lack of medical attention after being raped, and some commit suicide rather than seek help.

human rights watch report

USA

4.märz 2005

in dem artikel ,der als aufhänger die entlassung von martha stewart hat, steht: von den 177 frauen (die an diesem tag aus us knästen entlassen werden ) -- im durchschnitt sind sie 35 jahre alt - sind 57 weiß, 28 afroamerikanerinnen und 29 latinas. 44 sind verheiratet, 118 haben minderjährige kinder. von denen die kinder haben, werden 26 alkoholabhängig sein und 37 werden eine diagnostizierte „mentale krankheit“ haben. 74 werden keinen schulabschluß haben und mehr als die hälfte waren arbeitslos vor der inhaftierung. von denen die arbeiteten, hatten 58 einen verdienst von weniger als $ 600 im monat und 53 bezogen sozialhilfe. die statistik sagt, das innerhalb von 3 jahren 101 ein weiteres delikt begangen haben wird und 69 werden wieder im knast sein.

Time to End Recidivism

by RICHARD M. ABORN

When Martha Stewart walks out of the Federal Correctional Institute in Alderson, West Virginia, on March 6, she can look forward to returning to her luxurious $40 million, 153-acre home in Bedford, New York. She already has a job lined up with her company at a salary of nearly $1 million per year. She is planning a TV reality show in the fall, and there is talk of a potential multimillion-dollar book deal in the works. In short, she will have very little trouble putting her criminal past behind her and reintegrating into society. But what about the other 177 women who will be released from US prisons that day and every other day of the year? Will society be as willing to embrace them? What about their housing and employment? What will be their reality show? Most women released from incarceration face tremendous hurdles as they set out to rebuild normal lives, including such basic needs as finding housing and a job; re-establishing ties with children, family and friends; and rebuilding self-confidence and self-esteem. These difficulties can be better understood after considering the background and experiences of the average woman in prison. Of these 177 women--on average, they will be 35 years old--fifty-seven will be white, eighty-two will be black and twenty-nine will be Hispanic. Fewer than forty-four will be married, and 118 will have minor children. Of those with children, twenty-six will have an alcohol dependence problem and thirty-seven will have a diagnosed mental illness. Seventy-four will not have finished high school, and more than half were unemployed before arrest. For those who were working, fifty-eight had incomes of less than $600 per month and fifty-three were on welfare.

With little more than the proverbial bus ticket and pocket money, the women will be released from prison and told to stay out of trouble. Not surprisingly, the net result is that within three years of leaving prison, 101 will commit a new offense and sixty-nine will go back to jail. But this doesn't have to be. Recidivism is a significant issue, and if we want to achieve long-term reductions in crime it must be addressed. Nationally, the recidivism rate is 67 percent. For women--a fast-growing segment of the prison population--the rate is 58 percent. A 2002 federal study showed that the recidivism rate of prisoners released in 1994 was 5 percent higher than of prisoners released in 1983. While we have made enormous gains in reducing crime on the street, we have not progressed at all in stopping those who are released from prison from committing new offenses. This result is not surprising. One of the unfortunate aspects of the "tough on crime" attitude of the 1990s was a severe cutback in prison-based programs to prepared inmates for re-entry into society. These cuts affected rehabilitation measures like drug treatment programs, as well as vocational and educational classes. By mid-decade, just 6 percent of the $22 billion that states spent on prisons was being used for in-prison programs like vocational, educational or life skills training, according to an Urban Institute study. Most funding for prison college programs was eliminated, leading to the closing of some 350 such programs nationwide. Many states, including New York, barred inmates from taking college extension courses. The 1994 federal crime bill made inmates ineligible to receive federal Pell Grants to fund the costs of college study. Even secondary education programs suffered. In California the number of prison teachers actually fell by 200 during the 1990s even as the number of prisoners jumped from 30,000 to 160,000. As a result, by the end of the decade only 9 percent of inmates were participating in full-time job training or education programs, and 24 percent remained completely idle.

While strong on rhetoric, the results were predictably weak on crime. Severe underfunding of pre- and postrelease education and job placement programs runs counter to what we know about proven interventions to reduce recidivism. Studies have clearly shown that participants in prison education, vocation and work programs have recidivism rates 20-60 percent lower than those of nonparticipants. Another recent major study of prisoners found that participants in education programs were 29 percent less likely to end up back in prison, and that participants earned higher wages upon release. The idea of forgiveness is deeply entrenched among the American people. Witness any number of public figures who have erred, only to be accepted back into mainstream society. The issue is that while we are willing to accept the errant ways of noted figures, are we similarly willing to accept the errant ways of those not notable? Support for quality education, job training and employment cuts across the political spectrum. The self-esteem and self-confidence that flow from quality education and employment are society's best deterrent against crime. Providing tools to ex-offenders so they can remove themselves from the cycle of crime is no less worthy than providing those same tools to those who needed to escape the cycle of welfare. And in doing so, we not only help ex-offenders become productive, law-abiding citizens, but we can further reduce crime--a goal all should support.

It is time to end recidivism as we know it.

PAKISTAN

März 2005

mukhtar mai wurde 2002 von mehreren männern vergewaltigt. ihr 12 jähriger bruder war beschuldigt worden sex mit einer frau eines “ ranghöheren clans” gehabt zu haben , und eine jirga ( dorfgericht) ordnete als “bestrafung und zur herstellung der ehre ” die vergewaltigung an.

im selben jahr wurden 12 männer freigesprochen ,4 der vergewaltiger und zwei “dorfälteste” zum tod verurteilt.fünf dieser urteile wurden jetzt vom obersten gericht in lahore revidiert und die männer “wegen ungenügender beweislage” freigesprochen, ein urteil in lebenslang umgeändert. mukhtar mai wird das urteil vor dem supreme court anfechten, obenso die regierung.

3.märz 2005

Pakistan's justice system in spotlight

By Aamer Ahmed Khan

Reversal

'Cheat modes'

Reality check

EGYPT

1.märz 2005

menschenrechtsgruppen u.a. das committee of female prisoners’ babies fordern die aussetzung der strafe bei schwangeren frauen bis die kinder 2 jahre alt sind. nawal mustafa ,die sprecherin des committees sagte, daß es kein geld für essen, kleidung oder medizin für die im knast geborenen kinder gibt, da sie „nicht als eingeliefert in den akten sind.“ es gibt um die 150 geburten in den knästen jährlich. nach ägyptischem gesetz kann eine gefängnisstrafe vorübergehend ausgesetzt werden vom 6.monat der schwangerschaft an bis 2 monate nach der geburt. ist sie vor dem sechsten monat inhaftiert worden, soll sie „ eine spezielle behandlung bezüglich der arbeits - und schlafregeln erhalten“ - vom 6.monat der schwangerschaft bis 40 tage nach der geburt. die mutter kann mit ihrem kind bis zu dessen 2.lebensjahr zusammenleben. falls sie dies nicht will wird das kond entweder zu angehörigen die sie aussucht, zum vater oder in ein heim gegeben.

SOUTH AFRICA

19.februar 2005

freispruch für eine frau die ihren mann ,der sie jahrelang mißhandelte, 2002 getötet hat.

Internet TIP

freebatteredwomen ist eine us-amerikanische frauengruppe, die für die begnadigung von frauen, die sich gegen ihre mißhandler wehren und deshalb wegen mordes verurteilt wurden, einsetzt.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

31. januar 2005

mind. 40.000 mädchen und frauen wurden in den letzten 6 jahren vergewaltigt. weiter steht da:

„1/10 der patientinnen (in einem krankenhaus das viele vergewaltigte frauen und kriegsverletzte behandelt) wurden bei hiv test als positiv eingestuft aber es wurde ihnen nicht gesagt. das personal fürchtet um das leben der menschen denen eine solche schlechte nachricht gesagt wird......“

Pakistan

28. januar 2005

in der provinz balochistan kam es nach einer vergewaltigung ( am 3. januar 2005) zu einem angriff auf eine gasraffinerie und pipelines. jetzt wurden 3 mitarbeiter der gas - firma wegen „verbergen und zerstören von beweisen“.

die balochistan liberation army soll den anschlag am 11. januar auf die gasleitungen als rache für die vergewaltigung ausgeführt haben.dabei kamen 8 menschen um und die fabrik sowie 3 gaspipelines wurden zerstört. nach dem angriff hat die regierung mehrere tausend paramilitärische soldaten als wachen nach balochistan geschickt. die regierung hat angekündigt alle bewohnerinnen im umkreis von 15 km der erdgasanlage zu vertreiben um „die versorgung zu schützen“. dies wird wahrscheinlich 500 häuser betreffen. dazu soll noch eine neue armeekaserne gebaut werden. aus sui, 350 km südwestlich der bezirkshauptstadt quetta, kommen 18% der erdgasversorgung von pakistan.

seit einiger zeit gibt es dort kämpfe um mehr autonomie und einen größeren anteil des geldes aus den bodenschätzen der provinz sowie mehr investitionen in entwicklung und arbeitsplätze.

NEPAL

1.februar 2005

kellnerinnen, meist idps, die in den sog: „cabin“-restaurants arbeiten müssen, werden sexuell mißbraucht durch die gäste; sie werden oft festgenommen und durch polizisten beleidigt. jetzt haben sich einige zu einer gruppe zusammengeschlossen. aber auch die jungen frauen die in fabriken oder haushalten arbeiten, sind sexuellem mißbrauch und vergewaltigung ausgesetzt.

MALAYSIA

28.januar 2005

Suhakam, die malaysische menschenrechtskommission, hat einen bericht über frauen und kinderhandel (‘Trafficking in Women and Children’) veröffentlicht und fordert darin ein gesetz gegen menschenhandel. dem zeitungsbericht nach soll es zum schutz der menschen die aus der sklaverei fliehen sein. z.b. landen frauen die vor ihren zuhältern fliehen im knast. auch sollen sextouristen bestraft werden.

USA

27. Januar 2005

justizminister john ashcroft hat es abgelehnt zu entscheiden ob rodi alvarado ,eine frau aus guatemala die von ihrem mann verprügelt wurde, asyl bekommt.
statt dem erhofften urteil ,das es für andere frauen, die wegen geschlechtsspezifischen gründen wie z.b. „ehrenmorde“ asylanträge gestellt haben, gab ashcroft das verfahren an das erstinstanzliche gericht zurück.

TANSANIA

27.Januar 2005

die regierung von sansibar, eine autonome insel in tansania , nahm ein gesetz aus dem jahr 1985 zurück nachdem nichtverheiratete schwangere junge frauen mit bis zu 2 jahren knast bestraft wurden. ersetzt wird das ganze jetzt durch strafen von bis zu 6 monate gemeinnütziger arbeit für schülerinnen und frauen zwischen 18 - 21. nicht betroffen sind die teile des gesetzes , der Spinsters, Widows and Female Divorcee Protection Act (Unverheiratete frauen, witwen und geschiedene frauen schutzgesetz) die bis zu 5 jahre knast vorsehen für männer über 18 die schülerinnen und in dem gesetz genannte frauen schwängern.

SÜDKOREA

9.Januar 2005

ein anwalt hat eine petition an das verfassungsgericht eingereicht indem er eine überprüfung der verfassungsmäßigkeit des gesetzes beantragt, welches ärzte verbietet den eltern das geschlecht des kindes mitzuteilen. ärzte die gegen dieses gesetz verstoßen können bis zu 3 jahre haft oder w10 millionen geldstrafe kriegen.das gesetz war eingeführt worden um die abtreibung von mädchen zu verhindern.

Zambia

4.januar 2005

artikel über die diskriminierung von frauen ,die sich vor Gericht gegen mißhandlungen wehrten.
wie in den meisten ländern werden auch in sambia frauen fast immer wegen mordes verurteilt, während männer wenn überhaupt, wegen todschlag oder affekthandlungen verurteilt werden. der artikel basiert auf informationen von women in law in southern africa ( wilsa) einem regionalen netzwerk von anwältinnen.