Keep up to date on our activities! You will find all the statements, publications, actions and documentation of our international events and campaigning activities of our local partners here.
Welcome to Shirkat Gah’s 2nd E-Newsletter! This covers most of the happenings at Shirkat Gah and elsewhere that we have been a part of during July 2011 - March 2012. It also highlights our efforts at national, regional, and international levels. We hope you will enjoy this snapshot of our work towards accomplishing women’s empowerment.
We, the Violence is not our Culture Campaign, stand in solidarity with the US-based Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) who has been the target of an unprecedented crackdown by the Vatican. The LCWR is a world-renown highly respected organization of women religious individuals and groups who has a track record spanning decades in promoting human rights and social causes in the United States and abroad. The Vatican subjected the LCWR to a long-drawn investigation and is now using its findings to justify asserting control over the organization. The LCWR leadership said that the move by the Vatican has taken them by surprise.
Join VNC for two events on 21 April 2012, at the AWID Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. We'll be hosting a talk show on "The Nexus between Culture, Gender and Other Identities: Resisting Discrimination and Reclaiming Space", as well as a workshop on "Visioning Cultures Free from Violence: Transnational Advocacy and Communications using Visual Arts and Digital Media". Full details below.
The Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) international solidarity network and Violence is Not Our Culture Campaign (VNC) strongly condemn the imprisonment of women and girls in Afghanistan (approximately 400 of them) for so-called “moral crimes”, including running away from home. The new study released by Human Rights Watch (HRW), “I Had to Run Away”: The Imprisonment of Women and Girls for “Moral Crimes” in Afghanistan[1] documents the phenomenon of these “crimes”, which often involve flight from early forced marriages or domestic violence.
نحن الموقعون أدناه، مؤسسات وأفراد من جميع أنحاء العالم، نشعر بالقلق وخيبة الأمل أن لجنة الأمم المتحدة المعنية بوضع المرأة فشلت في اعتماد قرارات متفق عليها في دورتها 56. إن هذا الفشل يمحو العمل، والطاقة، والوقت، والتكاليف التي استثمرتها النساء من جميع أنحاء العالم استثمرت في الدورة 56 للجنة وضع المرأة. فلا ينبغي أن يتم تأجيل النهوض بحقوق الإنسان للمرأة بسبب المعارك السياسية بين الدول. ونحن نرفض إعادة فتح المفاوضات بشأن الاتفاقات الدولية القائمة بالفعل في مجال حقوق الإنسان للمرأة، وندعو جميع الحكومات لإثبات التزاماتها لتعزيز، وحماية، وإعمال حقوق الإنسان، والحريات الأساسية للنساء
Nous, les organisations et individus du monde entier soussignés, nous sentons vivement préoccupés et déçus devant le fait que la Commission de la condition de la femme des Nations Unies (CSW) ait échoué à adopter les conclusions concertées à l’occasion de sa 56ème session. Cet échec est un coup dur porté au travail, à l’énergie, au temps et aux coûts considérables que les femmes partout dans le monde ont investi dans la 56ème session de la Commission de la condition de la femme. La promotion des droits humains des femmes ne doit pas être mise en suspens en raison de batailles politiques entre États. Nous disons NON à toute réouverture des négociations sur les accords internationaux déjà établis relatifs aux droits humains des femmes, et nous appelons l’ensemble des gouvernements à faire preuve de leur engagement pour la promotion, la protection et le respect des droits humains et des libertés fondamentales des femmes.
We, the undersigned organisations and individuals across the globe, are alarmed and disappointed that the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) failed to adopt agreed conclusions at its 56th session. This failure has diminished the considerable work, energy, time and costs that women all over the world invested on the 56th session of the CSW. The advancement of women’s human rights should not be put on hold because of political battles between states.
The 8th of March of every year is a day set aside by the United Nations as International Women’s Day (IWD). It is a day to recognise, celebrate and honour women’s struggles and achievements in the past years and to call attention to other areas of concerns that are critical to women’s life in particular and the society in general.
There has never been a clear and uncontroversial definition of religious fundamentalism and there is no consensus as to whether religious fundamentalism is a phenomenon, a movement, or a process. Nevertheless, having been exposed to religious fundamentalism in its fullest meaning after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian women and an analysis of their experience might offer a proper definition. This resource provides an overview of the discourses around the issue of stoning in Iran, and the strategies of the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign.
