Afghanistan - Taliban have torched a Girls school in Loger province.

Afghanistan - Taliban have torched a Girls school in Loger province. (pajhwok).


PUL-I-ALAM (Pajhwok): Unidentified gunmen have torched a girls’ school in Pul-I-Alam, the capital of central Logar province on Wednesday morning, an official said.

Mohammad Shahpur Arab, the governor’s spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News the attackers set aflame the Haji Glon Secondary School before dawn.

He said around 500 girls were attending the school that lost all its rooms, including the administration block. The record room containing student documents was also destroyed.

“We would open another area for students to continue their education until this school is reconstructed,” Arab said, adding security forces had launched an investigation into the incident.

A resident of Haji Glon area, Syed Ahmad, told Pajhwok Afghan News that unknown men torched the school around 3am.

“We extinguished the fire when we came to the school in the morning and then reported the arson attack to the education department,” he said.

He added most parts of the building were completely destroyed. The Haji Glon Secondary School was established in 1993. A boys’ school was also torched by unknown gunmen in the Purak area of the provincial capital earlier in the year.

#Taliban have torched a Girls school in #Loger province. Local officials #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/CDnbLm57st

— Pajhwok Afghan News (@pajhwok) October 28, 2015

Rape[Istan] India Blocks 857 Websites for 'Porn'.

Rape[Istan] India Blocks 857 Websites for 'Porn'. (NDTV).

Since Saturday, Indians have been unable to access more than 800 websites, blocked by a government order on the grounds that they host porn, though that is not against the law in India. Here is your 10-point cheat-sheet to this story:

1) The ban has provoked a furious debate online about extreme and unwarranted moral policing by the government.

2) The sites that are banned include some of the world's biggest porn sites like Pornhub and Xvideos.

3) But also included in the lengthy list are torrent sites, video sharing sites, as well as comedy and dating sites.

4) A copy of the government's order, which has been marked as 'restricted', has been leaked by the Centre of Internet Studies.

5) Dated Friday, July 31, the order is issued by the Ministry of IT's Department of Telecom (DoT), and is addressed to all Internet service providers (ISP) like Airtel and BSNL.

6) The order calls for "disablement of the following URLs under the provision of section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 as the content hosted on these websites relate to morality, decency as given in the Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India."

7) The order is a result of PIL pending before the Supreme Court, which seeks ban of child porn and other such sites. During the previous hearing of the case, the Court had asked government what action had been taken.

8) "We had given names of 800 websites," said Vijay Panjawani, lawyer of the PIL petitioner. As a counter to those who said the government has no business deciding what an adult does in the privacy of his home, the lawyer said, "How can one say fundamental rights are violated? If I sleep with a prostitute or a boy within the four corners of my room, it is an offense."

9) The Supreme Court recently refused an interim order to block porn websites in India. "Somebody may come to the court and say look, I am above 18, and how can you stop me from watching it within the four walls of my room. It is a violation of Article 21 [right to personal liberty]," Chief Justice HL Dattu reportedly said last month.

10) On Twitter, author Chetan Bhagat and film-maker Ram Gopal Verma are among those campaigning against the ban."Don't ban porn. Ban men ogling, leering, brushing past, groping, molesting, abusing, humiliating and raping women," Bhagat. 

Hmmm.....I don't know if the ban was imposed for 'religious' (Islam) reasons, but banning porn won't stop the rape epidemic in India, there is a rape 'culture' present and it needs re education.

Video - Women Institutionalized Against their Will in India - "Treated Worse than Animals"

Over 70 million ppl in India w psychosocial disabilities, yet only 43 state mental hospitals 4 them. Treated worse then animals

Women and girls with disabilities in India are forced into mental hospitals and institutions, where they face unsanitary conditions, risk physical and sexual violence, and experience involuntary treatment, including electroshock therapy. The Indian government should immediately order inspections and regular monitoring of all residential facilities – private and government-run – for women and girls with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities. India should also take steps to ensure people with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities can make decisions about their lives and receive treatment on the basis of informed consent. Read the full interview here.

 HT:

What women forced into mental institutions in #India face, interview w @HRW's #disabilities expert Kriti Sharma @ks7s http://t.co/ep0IKsgjkW
— Peter Bouckaert (@bouckap) December 3, 2014

Delhi Father Tortures and Kills Daughter's Alleged Rapist, Then Turns Himself In.

Delhi Father Tortures and Kills Daughter's Alleged Rapist, Then Turns Himself In. (NDTV).

A man who tortured and killed his daughter's alleged rapist before turning himself in wanted to send a message that those who commit such crimes cannot escape justice, his wife has said.

The 36-year-old father of six turned himself into police last week and confessed to strangling his neighbour after the man allegedly admitted raping the 14-year-old.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the police he acted after discovering that his daughter was pregnant.

Distraught, the teen's mother told news agency AFP her husband was a gentle man.

"I only had the chance to see him briefly and he told me he wanted to warn potential rapists that they can never escape justice," said the 32-year-old as she wiped away tears. Her husband remains in police custody.

According to the police report, the teenager told her father she had been raped by the family's trusted neighbour and tenant, who had threatened to kill her if she told anyone. A doctor's report confirmed the assault, said the police.

"I was shocked because we treated the tenant just like our family member. He breached my trust," police quoted the father as saying.

The father, who made around Rs. 200 a day selling snacks on a hand-cart, told his wife he was influenced by the gang-rape of a college student on a moving bus in Delhi in December 2012.

"He said the convicts in the (December 2012) case were yet to be hanged. He felt our daughter may never get justice, so maybe that's why he decided to take things in his own hands," she said.

According to the police report, the girl's father confronted the tenant, becoming enraged when he showed little remorse.

"He then attacked the tenant, gagged and strangled him. After that, he heated a steel spatula on the stove and burned the man's genitals," investigating officer Arvind Pratap Singh told AFP at the local police station.

Rape[Istan] - Sexual Assault on Women 'Beyond Menopause Age is Not Rape' New Delhi High Court.

Rape[Istan] - Sexual Assault on Women 'Beyond Menopause Age is Not Rape' New Delhi High Court. (IBTimes).

The New Delhi High Court has acquitted a 49-year-old man charged with raping and killing a woman, on grounds that the victim was "beyond the age of menopause."

The verdict sparked outrage in India as it suggests that intercourse with women, who are going through the menopause, cannot necessarily be considered as rape, regardless if it they were taken by force.

"As regards the offence punishable under Section 376 IPC the deceased was aged around 65-70 years, thus beyond the age of menopause," read the judgement, delivered by a bench comprising Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Mukta Gupta. 

"We find force in the contention of the learned counsel for the appellant that even if the sexual intercourse was forceful it was not forcible and contrary to the wishes and consent of the deceased."

The victim was found dead in her house in December 2010. Investigations and post-mortem exams, which showed the woman had sustained injuries on her vagina, led to the arrest of Achey Lal, who was originally sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The court ruling was not welcomed by some lawyers and activists who argued that the use of the word "menopause" in the verdict is "erroneous".

"The injuries on the victim's vagina proves that there was forced penetration, and the inference will lead to the criminal case of rape," lawyer and activist Vrinda Grover was quoted by news agency DNA as saying.

"On what grounds has the court arrived on the judgement that the case was not one of rape? And where does menopause factor in here? Menopause is a medical condition, and the mention of the word is extraneous and erroneous." Hmmmm.......Delhi is the rape capital of India.....geeesh i wonder why?

Tehran Municipality's Gender Segregation Campaign Sparks Public Debate In Iran

Tehran Municipality's Gender Segregation Campaign Sparks Public Debate In Iran. (Memri).

In mid-July 2014, the Tehran municipality, under mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, began implementing gender segregation in its institutions.

Its move is part of the power struggle over Iran's cultural character between the ideological camp, which is headed by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and to which Qalibaf belongs, and the pragmatic camp, headed by Expediency Council chairman Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

The issue surfaced on the public agenda after a secret memo circulated by the Tehran municipality was leaked to the press. In it, the municipality instructed its senior officials to remove women from posts such as bureau chiefs, secretaries, typists etc.[1]

Responding to public criticism, Qalibaf clarified that this did not mean dismissing female employees but separating women and men in public spaces in order to avoid a situation where women spend more daytime hours with unrelated males than with their husbands and children.

The gender segregation plan in the Tehran municipality touched off a sharp media polemic reflecting the gap between the ideological and pragmatic camps. Members of the ideological camp, including Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) officials, senior ayatollahs, Majlis members, Iran's broadcasting authority, officials in the judiciary, and others praised the Tehran municipality's measure and urged that it be adopted throughout the country.

In contrast, senior officials of the pragmatic camp, chief of them Hashemi Rafsanjani, President Hassan Rohani, and ministers in Rohani's government, as well as female human rights activists, jurists and journalists, voiced firm opposition to the gender segregation plan and claimed that it contravened Islam and the opinion of the revolutionary regime's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The position of the ideological camp was expressed by Tehran deputy mayor Morteza Talai in a press conference with journalists, in which he got into a heated argument with several journalists who objected that the plan contravened both the Iranian laws and public opinion.

An opposing view was expressed by women's rights activist Fakhr-Al-Sadat Mohtashemipour, the wife of political prisoner Mostafa Tajzadeh, who argued that the policy is an insult not only to women but also to men, because it assumes they are unable to control their impulses.

Below are excerpts from their statements, and some others:

Senior Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani said: "There is no doubt that free interaction between women and men, girls and boys – even if and they are highly devout and appropriately dressed – has repercussions that will never prove beneficial to society, the individual and the family unit." He regretted that "instead of being met with praise and encouragement, this revolutionary measure provoked criticism by interested parties."[4]

On August 8, 2014, President Rohani declared that, "from the government's standpoint, there is no distinction… between men and women, and posts should go to the most qualified [candidate]. Is it feasible to make half of Iranian society – namely women – unemployable based on various excuses? Our women are modest, and Iranian society is Islamic and moral. Iranian women are leaders in the field of morality.^[9] 

On September 7, 2014, Rohani added: "At the start of the [Islamic] Revolution, when the universities [re]opened, some wanted to erect walls at Tehran University's classrooms to separate girls from boys. When the Imam [Khomeini] got wind of this, he was irritated and rebuked them, [saying] 'What is the meaning of this?' Such measures will only disgrace Islam and weaken religious directives."[10]

Culture Minister Ali Jannati said: "Gender segregation does not go hand in hand with our religious values… I instructed senior ministry officials to inform me of any infraction committed in this domain so we can take care [of it]."^[11] 

"The following are some of the explanations that Tehran's deputy mayor provided yesterday in defending the municipality's action to journalists...

"Morteza Talai: 'In principle, this gender segregation plan responds to the atmosphere in society. No senior [regime] official seeks to separate women from men. The measures are performed out of respect [for women and for the sake of their] well-being and peace of mind. We in the municipality placed three women together [in the same room]. Is this segregation? It could also happen that, at a musical performance, men would be required to sit on one side and women on the other. The important point is that even raising this issue [i.e., questioning segregation]  is a deviation. We must not undermine such valuable measures intended to ensure women's safety. These things [namely the criticism] are political.'

"Talai asked one of the women journalists present: 'Would you be willing to enter a room where 100 men would shove you?' The journalist responded: 'I would prefer that nobody either prohibit me from entering this room nor force me to.'

Tailai said 'as a devout man, I will not let a girl be sent to a place where anybody can look at her as he wishes. I told my wife, I'm going to work, and there are three girls there, two of them divorced. Are you ok [with that]?' And she said: 'I'll break your legs. As a woman, I want my husband to be safe.' You want to impose your mistakes [on society] due to your mistaken assumptions, but my devoutness does not permit me to allow this, and I don't care what others [think].'

"A journalist remarked, 'That is your personal opinion', and Talai answered: 'Your opinion is also your personal opinion, and you have no right to impose it on others.'

Female Human Rights Activist: The Gender Segregation Program Is Intended To Send Women Back To Their Homes.

A plan like gender segregation in the workplace contravenes the approach of the Imam [Khomenei], who firmly opposed gender segregation in the universities and adopted an intellectual approach befitting the circumstances of the time and place. I hope some people who are ostensibly faithful to the Imam [Khomenei]  pay closer attention [to this].

"From the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, women had an active social role. For example, they marched ahead of the men in the demonstrations of millions [in the Islamic Revolution of 1978-79]. Gender segregation will not make the workplace better, but will deflect society from its natural course and will have [negative] repercussions. We are an Islamic country and therefore we must respect... human dignity.

"Who said that we have to surround women with a fence? If those who introduced the gender segregation plan at the workplace [think they] are right, let them conduct a survey to establish what the people's opinion is.

"Such plans have already proven themselves [bad]. We must fight them, because they are a prelude to sending women back to their homes, which is at odds with social conditions, since Iran has progressed and many of the women are highly educated. The female Majlis members should come out against this program…"^[13] Read the full story here.

Iran’s supreme leader khamenei: 'Western clichés about women should be entirely disregarded'

Iran’s supreme leader khamenei: 'Western clichés about women should be entirely disregarded'(Taz).

Western clichés about women should be entirely disregarded, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

"If we want to be free from faults in dealing with women, we should entirely clear our minds from western clichés about women," Khamenei said in a meeting with educated women in Tehran, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on April 19.

"We should not get involved in secondary issues regarding women. Employment of women is a secondary issue," he said. "We should see what issues disrupt women's tranquility in homes. This is the main issue."

Ayatollah Khamenei then criticized West’s allegations about “gender equality between men and women,” saying, “Equality is not always the same as justice; justice is always right, but equality is sometimes right and sometimes wrong.”More here.

Know your place

Human Rights Watch - Iraq: Security Forces Abusing Women in Detention.

Human Rights Watch - Iraq: Security Forces Abusing Women in Detention.HT: HRW.

(Baghdad) – Iraqi authorities are detaining thousands of Iraqi women illegally and subjecting many to torture and ill-treatment, including the threat of sexual abuse. 

Iraq’s weak judiciary, plagued by corruption, frequently bases convictions on coerced confessions, and trial proceedings fall far short of international standards. Many women were detained for months or even years without charge before seeing a judge.

The 105-page report, “‘No One Is Safe’: Abuses of Women in Iraq’s Criminal Justice System,”documents abuses of women in detention based on interviews with women and girls, Sunni and Shia, in prison; their families and lawyers; and medical service providers in the prisons at a time of escalating violence involving security forces and armed groups. Human Rights Watch also reviewed court documents and extensive information received in meetings with Iraqi authorities including Justice, Interior, Defense, and Human Rights ministry officials, and two deputy prime ministers.

“Iraqi security forces and officials act as if brutally abusing women will make the country safer,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “In fact, these women and their relatives have told us that as long as security forces abuse people with impunity, we can only expect security conditions to worsen.”

In January 2013, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki promised to reform the criminal justice system, beginning with releasing detained women who had judicial orders of release. A year later, the brutal tactics of security forces remain essentially the same and hundreds of women remain in detention illegally.

Many of the 27 women who spoke with Human Rights Watch described being beaten, kicked, slapped, hung upside-down and beaten on their feet (falaqa), given electric shocks, and raped or threatened with sexual assault by security forces during their interrogation. 

They said security forces questioned them about their male relatives’ activities rather than crimes in which they themselves were implicated. Security forces forced them to sign statements, many with fingerprints, which they were not allowed to read and that they later repudiated in court, they said.

One woman entered her meeting with Human Rights Watch in Iraq’s death row facility in Baghdad’s Kadhimiyya neighborhood on crutches. She said nine days of beatings, electric shocks, and falaqa in March 2012 had left her permanently disabled. The split nose, back scars, and burns on her breast that Human Rights Watch observed were consistent with the abuse she alleged.
She was executed in September 2013, seven months after Human Rights Watch interviewed her, despite lower court rulings that dismissed charges against her following a medical report that supported her alleged torture.

Human Rights Watch found that Iraqi security forces regularly arrest women illegally and commit other due process violations against women at every stage of the justice system. Women are subjected to threats of, or actual, sexual assault, sometimes in front of husbands, brothers, and children. Failure by the courts to investigate allegations of abuse and hold the abusers responsible encourages the police to falsify confessions and use torture, Human Rights Watch said.

The vast majority of the more than 4,200 women detained in Interior and Defense ministry facilities are Sunni, but the abuses Human Rights Watch documents affect women of all sects and classes throughout Iraqi society.

Both men and women suffer from the severe flaws of the criminal justice system. But women suffer a double burden due to their second-class status in Iraqi society. Human Rights Watch found that women are frequently targeted not only for crimes they themselves are said to have committed, but to harass male family or members of their communities. Once they have been detained, and even if they are released unharmed, women are frequently stigmatized by their family or community, who perceive them to have been dishonored.

Iraq’s broken criminal justice system fails to achieve justice for victims either of security force abuses or of criminal attacks by armed groups, Human Rights Watch said. Arrests and convictions Human Rights Watch documented appeared often to have been predicated on information provided by secret informants and confessions coerced under torture.

“We don’t know who we fear more, Al-Qaeda or SWAT,” said one Fallujah resident, referring to the special forces unit that carries out counterterrorism operations. “Why would we help them fight Al-Qaeda when they’ll just come for us as soon as they’re done with them?”

Human Rights Watch reviewed a video in which a man representing himself as a leader of Al-Qaeda asks a crowd of onlookers in Ramadi, “What are we supposed to do when the army is raping our women? What are we supposed to do when they’re imprisoning our women and children?” Peaceful protesters posed these same questions to Iraqi authorities in mass demonstrations that began over a year ago, but Maliki’s promises to address these issues remain unfulfilled.

Women detainees, their families, and lawyers told Human Rights Watch that security forces conduct random and mass arrests of women that amount to collective punishment for alleged terrorist activities by male family members. Authorities have exploited vague provisions in the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2005 to settle personal or political scores – detaining, charging, and trying women based on their association to a particular individual, tribe, or sect, Human Rights Watch said.

In the vast majority of cases Human Rights Watch examined, women had no access to a lawyer before or during their interrogation, contrary to Iraqi law when security forces presented them with statements to sign, or at trial, either because they could not afford one or because lawyers feared taking on politically sensitive cases.

In every case Human Rights Watch documented in which women told the investigating or trial judge about abuse, the judges did not open an inquiry. Some dismissed the allegations, saying that they observed no marks on the defendant’s body or that the woman should have made the allegations earlier.

Iraqi authorities should acknowledge the prevalence of abuse of female detainees, promptly investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment, prosecute guards and interrogators responsible for abuse, and disallow coerced confessions, Human Rights Watch said. They should make judicial and security sector reform an urgent priority as a prerequisite for stemming violence that increasingly threatens the country’s stability.

“The abuses of women we documented are in many ways at the heart of the current crisis in Iraq,” Stork said. “These abuses have caused a deep-seated anger and lack of trust between Iraq’s diverse communities and security forces, and all Iraqis are paying the price.”Hmmmm......Obama: If We Work Hard, Afghanistan Could Be a Success...Like Iraq!

Oh Canada - Martial arts class separated by gender to accommodate Muslim man.

Oh Canada - Martial arts class separated by gender to accommodate Muslim man.HT: Sun NewsNetwork.

HALIFAX -- Politicians are scrambling to put a brave face on an ugly situation at a Halifax recreation centre.

Sonja Power, 17, was on the cusp of earning her black belt in Aikido at a Halifax dojo when a new man joined the class. He refused to be in contact with women or to spar with any of the female students.

Power and the other women were told to stay on one side of the room and not to approach the Muslim man to respect his faith.

"I felt like a second class citizen, that I was so disgusting and unworthy that this man doesn't even want to interact with me," Power told QMI Agency. "It doesn't make any sense, why would something you choose, your religion, trump something I'm born with, my gender, we wouldn't let a religion trump someone's race."

The incident happened more than a year ago and Power's mother, Michele Walsh, said she has contacted every level of government but was ignored. She said the sensei told her to "get used to" gender separation in Canada. Read the full story here.

'Moderate' IRAN: Female political prisoners in Evin prison stage hunger strike.

Largest 'faculty' in Iran.

'Moderate' IRAN: Female political prisoners in Evin prison stage hunger strike.(INU).

Nine female political prisoners in ward 350 of Evin prison staged a hunger strike to protest at a savage assault by the prison’s security unit. The assaulting force composed of around 20 female torturers physically searched and battered the political prisoners and psychologically tortured them.

Twenty-six political prisoners of Gohardasht prison in Karaj have issued a statement in protest at the brutal assault against political prisoners in Evin. Part of this statement reads: “We, the political prisoners, declare our protest at this inhumane and illegal treatment and express our concern for the safety of prisoners in the female section of ward 350 of Evin prison who are on a hunger strike.”

Saudi survey shows men blame women's excessive make up for rising cases of molestation.

Saudi survey shows men blame women's excessive make up for rising cases of molestation.(E24/7).

Saudi men believe women are to blame for the rising cases involving molestation of females on the grounds they are seduced by women’s excessive make up.

The findings were included in a survey conducted by the Riyadh-based King Abdul Aziz Centre for National Dialogue and involved 992 males and females.

The survey, carried by Saudi newspapers, found that 86.5 per cent of the men polled believe that women’s exaggeration in wearing make-up is the main cause of the rise in molestation cases in public places in the conservative Gulf Kingdom.

About 80 per cent of the total persons polled believe lack of deterrent penalties and the absence of specific anti-molestation laws are also to blame for the phenomenon.

The report said 91 per cent of the respondents, all aged above 19, believe another key factor is the “poor religious sentiment” while nearly 75 per cent said the problem is caused by lack of awareness campaigns and warning notices at most public places.

Turkey - 'Violence against women' increased by 50% since Parliament passed a law to address the issue

Turkey - 'Violence against women' increased by 50% since Parliament passed a law to address the issue.(TZ).

The number of female victims of domestic violence increased by about 57,000 in the 19 months since Parliament passed a law to address the issue in March 2012, compared with the 19 months before passage of the legislation.

The National Police Department has taken an inventory of domestic violence cases from 2010 to 2013 and found that a total of 98,079 incidents of domestic violence were reported in the 19-month period between September 2010 and March 2012, when Law No. 6284 on the Protection of the Family and the Prevention of Violence Against Women was passed.

That period saw 94,313 female victims of domestic violence and 21,039 male victims, and 162 women and 131 men were killed in domestic violence incidents.

The report shows that the incidence of domestic violence rose by around 50 percent in the 19 months following the law's passage on March 8, 2012.

A total of 153,031 domestic violence incidents were reported from March 2012 to October 2013.

A total of 151,088 women and 30,448 men were exposed to domestic violence in that period, when 171 women and 128 men were killed in domestic violence incidents.

In a Monday report, the Bugün daily attributed the increase in domestic violence cases reported since the new law was passed to improved awareness among women about the issue.

The number of women seeking state protection against domestic violence has increased fivefold since March 2012, according to a report by the Hürriyet daily in June 2013. Under the law, women have the right to demand police protection or request that their husbands or partners be removed from the house.

Hmmm.....Please God for the women their sake, keep Turkey out of the European Union!

Related: 

Violence against women still rampant in Islamist Turkey, 802 women have died over the last five years. 

Turkey’s religious head refuses UN fund for violence against women project. 

Ad shows Syrian girls being sold in Kingdom Saudi Arabia

Ad shows Syrian girls being sold in Kingdom Saudi Arabia.(PressTv).

A controversial advertisement promoting Syrian girls for sale has been published in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, reports say.

According to reports on Wednesday by Iran’s Arabic-language news networkal-Alam the detailed advertisement even embodies a telephone number belonging to someone enlisted as being a “family counselor.”

Al-Watan reported that some social network activists have called the advertisement a form of trade, taking advantage of the crisis in Syria and the basic needs of Syrian refugees.

According to the ad, the asking money for every Syrian girl is 10,000 Saudi rials.( $ 2,666)

Following the rise of foreign militancy and violence in Syria, many Syrians have fled to neighboring countries in search of security and safety.

On November 27, Human Rights Watch (HRW) voiced concern about the safety of female refugees fleeing the violence in Syria. The organization said they had been sexually abused in Lebanon.

According to the United Nations, more than 800,000 Syrians either have registered or are awaiting registration as refugees in Lebanon alone.
Lebanese officials say the figure may be much higher.The UN has also said that Syrian refugees have been abused in Jordan.

Turkish Men able to justify domestic violence and abuse with trivial excuses.

Turkish Men able to justify domestic violence and abuse with trivial excuses.(HD).

A local NGO has revealed the results of a long-running research investigation into how men justified domestic violence, based on interviews conducted with over 20,000 female victims of abuse, between 1995 and 2013.

The report prepared by Şefkat-Der, a civil association founded to help marginalized segments of society, showed that men would use a variety of excuses to justify both physical and psychological abuse toward their partners.

According the report quoted by daily Taraf, victims said that reasons ranged from them wanting to have an abortion to the defeat of the football team supported by the husband.

The report also cited “going outside without asking permission,” “calling the national domestic violence hotline,” “asking to continue their studies,” “refusing to give the salary to the husband” and “the meal not being prepared at fast-breaking time during Ramadan” as other frequent reasons used by men to justify violence against their wives.

Violent acts towards women included beating, strangling, burning with boiled water, burning with cigarettes, cutting with blades or wounding with knives. Psychological violence, including insults, threats and blackmail, was also frequently used.

Domestic violence remains one of the most salient social problems in Turkey as, according to the data released on Nov. 25 for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 802 women have been killed by their husbands in the past five years. More than 50,000 women have been protected from their husbands or partners with precautions such as restraining orders, mostly in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir.

Experts also warned that official numbers only reflected the tip of the iceberg as thousands of women did not report violence for fear of the reactions of their families and relatives.Hmmmm....Keep Turkey out of Europe.

Female genital mutilation a 'huge problem' in U.K.

Female genital mutilation a 'huge problem' in U.K.(Yahoo).

Britain’s reputation for turning a blind eye on the illegal practice of female genital mutilation may be about to change after British doctors, nurses and midwifes decided to take a stand and demand it be treated as child abuse. 

Earlier this month, leading British medical groups delivered an extensive report to Parliament, recommending aggressive steps to eradicate the practice, which is still being carried out on young girls from certain African, Middle Eastern and Asian cultures.

The report revealed tens of thousands of cases of FGM in Britain (as many as 66,000 by some estimates). And while the practice was outlawed in 1985 and carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment, the country has never seen a single prosecution.

‘’It’s a huge problem in Britain,’’ says Dr. Deborah Hodes, a London community paediatrician and chair of child protection with the Royal College of Paediatrics, outlining that more than 24,000 girls are at risk of FGM and more than 66,000 women are living with the consequences. Hodes regularly gets referrals for young girls who underwent cutting — a common term for the practice in the U.K.— or who are at high risk of being cut.

Britain's medical community now wants all front-line health professionals to be better trained in detecting FGM and responding to it, and to report female patients who have had their sexual organs mutilated to police and other services. FGM, sometimes called female circumcision, involves removing all or part of the clitoris as well as, often, the labia, the "lips" that surround the vagina, to make young girls more virginal and therefore attractive to future mates. An estimated 140 million girls and women are living with the consequences of the practice, according to the World Health Organization, and in countries like Britain it is often done on young girls who are sent back to their ancestral homelands to have the procedure done.

Leyla Hussein, a British woman, was once one of these girls. She was taken away to Somalia to be cut when she was seven. She’s now campaigning to end the practice.

During her own pregnancy, she recalls, "I was shaking, having panic attacks, my body remembered the trauma. That’s when I decided there was no way my daughter was going through that. But I needed the right information to defend my decision to my community.’’

In Britain, anti-FGM campaigners are saying that an overzealous cultural sensitivity has led to authorities being slow to react on the FGM front, with some even questioning whether FGM is actually a British problem. ‘’It’s not so much that I’ve encountered resistance, but there’s a lot of silence," says Hussein. "For me when you’re silent, you’re consenting.’’

In contrast, neighbouring France has adopted a much less tolerant approach to tackling FGM. Its systematic examination of young girls has led to some hundred prosecutions.

‘’I think England is very tolerant because they put cultural relativism first," says Isabelle Gillette-Faye, a French sociologist. "So if in your country of origin, you cut your girl, then it’s possible in England as well.’’ Gillette-Faye suspects many French girls are sent to "easier" Britain to have the procedure done. ‘It’s easier to take the Eurostar to go to London, to a private clinic, and have someone cut the girl. It’s just easier, it’s less money than to go to another country,’’ she says.

For her part, Hussein likes France’s attitude towards FGM, but allows that an approach like that of the Netherlands’ might be more effective.

"What the Netherlands have done really well," she says, "is implement that work in sexual education classes. It’s compulsory. Front-line staff working with women and children, every new nurse, every new doctor, every new teacher, has to be trained on FGM.’’

In Britain, the ministry of education has so far refused to make FGM training mandatory for teachers, though in a statement it said that "schools can choose to teach about FGM as part of their curriculum.’’ That is not enough for some. ‘’We’re talking about girls who are British citizens, and this is against their right to be safe," says Dr. Hodes. "So I don’t really think it’s a debate.’’

As a result of the report, parliament's home affairs committee is considering an inquiry into why there hasn’t been a prosecution yet in Britain. The Crown Prosecution Service is reportedly looking into a handful of cases that it may bring to trial. To date, there are not definitive studies of the number of girls at risk of FGM in Canada, but immigration patterns and human rights groups in Canada indicate that the figures could be substantial.

‘The biggest Somali community in the diaspora is in North America, that’s a big alarm for me,’’ says Hussein. ‘’A lot of Canadian women contact us. They suffer in silence, they don’t know where to go.’’

New clampdown on 'improperly veiled' women in 'moderate' Iran.

New clampdown on 'improperly veiled' women in 'moderate' Iran.(NCRI).

The Iranian regime is launching a tough new clampdown on 'improperly veiled' women in 200 towns and cities across the regime.

It is the latest in a series of increasingly draconian restrictions of basic human rights under Hassan Rouhani's new 'moderate' rule.

Rouhani pledged during election campaign speeches that he 'would not allow any agent to question anyone in the street' and that 'girls should feel secure'.

But only four months later, the Headquarters for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has announced improperly dressed women will be issued with official warning.

Cleric Hayder Zahraei, who is in charge of the nationwide plan, said: "This grand plan will be implemented in some 200 cities across the country. The plan will be expanded and fully implemented in society."

Brig. Genral Ahmadi Moghadam, commander of the State Security Forces, also said on August 12: "With Rouhani there will be no changes with regards to the veil."

On September 8 then issued an order to 'intensify dealing with women who are not properly dressed'.

Pakistan: Sharia law is back - Adulterers may face stoning in Afghanistan under new law.

Pakistan: Sharia law is back - Adulterers may face stoning in Afghanistan under new law.(ET).

KABUL: Afghanistan is considering bringing back stoning for adultery, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the justice ministry said on Monday, possibly restoring a punishment in force during the Taliban regime.

The penalty for married adulterers, along with flogging for unmarried offenders, appears in a draft revision of the country’s penal code being considered by the ministry of justice.

Ashraf Azimi, the head of ministry’s criminal law department, confirmed to AFP that stoning to death is included in the draft. The draft provisions state that the “implementation of stoning shall take place in public in a predetermined location”. If the “adulterer or adulteress is unmarried”, the sentence shall be “whipping 100 lashes”.

“It is absolutely shocking that 12 years after the fall of the Taliban government, the Karzai administration might bring back stoning as a punishment,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “President Karzai needs to demonstrate at least a basic commitment to human rights and reject this proposal out of hand.”

Azimi told AFP the new law was less than halfway finished. “The ministry of justice is working on a law to punish those who commit adultery, robbery and alcohol-drinking according to Sharia law,” he said.Hmmm.....My heart go's out to all these women and children the West once gave hope and now abandon them to the dark ages.

"Moderate" Iran's repression of women places it 130th in world gender equality.

"Moderate" Iran's repression of women places it 130th in world gender equality. (NCRI).

Iran under mullahs' rule has been ranked a lowly 130th in a new international survey of gender equality in society.

The regime was placed almost bottom out of the 136 nations assessed in the 2013 Global Gender Gap report by the World Economic Forum.

The study measures the access and opportunities for women in four key areas of health, education, economics and politics.

At the top of the table were the northern European nations of Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
But Iran was ahead only of Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Syria, Chad and Yemen in the study which has again highlighted the repressive measures against women in Iranian society.

The survey comes after a separate report last week ranked Iran 94th in world index of 'skilled and productive' workforces.

The report measured the skills and capital that reside in people and that are put to productive use.
Iran highest ranking was 68th for the level of education of workers, followed by 87th for the physical and mental health of the employed population and 88th the state of environment in which they work.
But the regime was in 119th place - third from bottom across all 122 countries - for the quantity, talent and knowledge of the workforce.

Erdogan's 'Morality police' strikes - Student house in İstanbul raided by police following PM's remarks.

Erdogan's 'Morality police' strikes - Student house in İstanbul raided by police following PM's remarks.(TZ).

The first instance of a police raid of a student house took place in İstanbul's Tophane neighborhood one day after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said dormitories and houses where students from opposite sexes live together will be inspected, according to a story in the Radikal daily on Friday.

Özge Altın, a student at İstanbul-based Şehir University, told Radikal that her house in Tophane, which she is sharing with another female friend from the university, was raided by police the day after Erdoğan made the statement on student housing.

She said since she and her friend were at school, a group of policemen asked neighbors questions about her and her friend, including personal questions such as how frequently they visit their families and whether they have any problems with the neighbors.
Altın also said the incident even frustrated her landlord, who is a strong supporter of Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

“How can they file complaints against you? We are neighbors. You have been living here for five years. We are like a sister and brother. … What kind of a mentality is this? How can police come here?” Altın quoted her landlord as saying.

In the meantime, according to a report in the Radikal daily on Friday, the problem of accommodations for students in the western province of Denizli is not related to male and female students living together; rather, it is the fact that due to insufficient available housing, students are often forced to live in the approximately 2,500 “unregistered” apartments in the province that are subject to no oversight.

The accommodation difficulties of students in Denizli came to public attention early this week when Prime Minister Erdoğan complained about the lack of dormitories for students and said there will be inspections of dormitories and houses where male and female students stay together, citing the accommodation problems of students in Denizli as an example.

Radikal obtained a copy of the report submitted to Erdoğan by the Denizli Police Department concerning the accommodation problems of the students in the province. Some of these apartments are rented daily and used for prostitution or by drug dealers, according to the report. The complaints made to police by the people living in the surroundings of these apartments have nothing to do with the students, according to the daily.

According to this report, there are around 2,500 “unregistered” apartments in the province. They are considered unregistered because their owners do not inform the police about who has rented them out nor do they pay any taxes on them. There are 45,000 university students in Denizli; the state-run dormitories in the province have the capacity to house only 5,000 students.Real estate agents in Denizli also have complaints about these apartments.

In the meantime, students from Boğaziçi University criticized the government plans to inspect dormitories and students' houses where female and male students stay together, according to a story in the Milliyet daily on Friday.

A.T., a male student who studies literature at the university, said the government's plan is completely polarizing and critical of female students.
“When the prime minister describes himself as a social-democrat, he needs to keep in mind that I may not be so. … This is an open violation of personal life,” he said.

A female student, B.I., who studies in the English language department, said that at a time when there are various problems for students such as insufficient accommodation, high tuition fees and a lack of equal opportunity access to education that await to be addressed, the prime minister's interference in dormitories is terrifying.
“The problem is not inside the houses or dormitories. What the government wants to do is to meddle in our lives,” she said.Hmmm.....The 'man' Obama consults for tips how to raise his two daughters.

Saudi 'Mutaween' religious police.

Turkey : "40,000 women were victims of domestic violence in the first nine months of 2013."

Turkey : "40,000 women were victims of domestic violence in the first nine months of 2013."(TZ).

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen had harsh words for the perpetrators of domestic violence, a bleeding wound in Turkish society that has worsened in recent years.

Gülen commented on the issue in a recent speech broadcast on herkul.org. “If I could, I would first ask for forgiveness from God and say astaghfirullah [God, forgive me] 1,000 times and then give such a strong [Ottoman] janissary slap in the face to those who treat their spouses violently that they couldn't stand back up,” Gülen said, expressing his anger with perpetrators of domestic violence.

Domestic violence is a growing concern in Turkey. According to data from the Interior Ministry, 40,000 women were victims of domestic violence in the first nine months of 2013. Of these, 105 were murdered. On average, a woman was subjected to violence every 10 minutes, and 69 women and their 50 children had to change their identities over safety concerns.In the same period more than 2,000 women were hospitalized after being attacked with weapons, knives or blunt objects.

These incidents continued despite some promising steps Turkey has taken to address the issue of domestic violence, which has attracted more media attention and a greater reaction from the public in recent years.In March 2012, Parliament introduced a new law to protect women from domestic violence.

The new law provides protection not only for those exposed to violence but also for those who are under the threat of violence. Courts now grant protection orders shortly after the victim's request, without first looking for evidence to verify the claim, to avoid delays that might allow violence to occur.Hmmm......40,000 more reasons to keep Turkey out of Europe.