Stories about Human Rights from August, 2019
22 August 2019
Netizen Report: The shutdown in Kashmir continues
Kashmir's communications blackout continues, Russia goes after 'illegal' protest videos online, and Google re-opens its office in Egypt.
Reducing carbon footprint and waste generation is the need of the hour, says Indian environmentalist
Global Voices talked with lawyer and environmentalist Afroz Shah, prominently known for launching the world's largest beach clean-up drive in India's financial capital, Mumbai.
21 August 2019
Remembering the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
Over a third of young Czechs are unable to make a link between the date of August 21, 1968 and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
20 August 2019
In São Paulo’s outskirts, mothers’ face challenges to access ‘humanized childbirth’
Obstetric violence, absence of birth centres, professionals without training in humanised delivery: how can women have a safe and humanised birth in the outskirts of Brazil's biggest city?
Mozambique pushes for SIM card registration, raising privacy concerns
The measure would make it easier for the authorities to identify the owners of registered SIM cards.
19 August 2019
Pakistan's government suspends relations with India in show of solidarity with Kashmiris
After Narendra Modi's government in India scrapped Article 370, many Pakistanis asked the ruling party to take action.
18 August 2019
China inspects Hongkongers’ mobile phones for protest photos and chats at border checkpoints
In the face of border searches, Hong Kong protesters are picking up new technology tactics to mitigate their risk.
Cinema and new laws bring greater acceptance and visibility for Vietnamese transgenders
LGBTQ+ identities are gaining legal and social recognition in Vietnam, as a documentary illustrates.
16 August 2019
Vitriolic response to art exhibit tests the limits of freedom of speech in Japan
A controversial art exhibition at an arts festival in Japan has led to government criticism, threats, at least one arrest, protests by artists and questions about freedom of expression.
Indian government asks Twitter to remove accounts ‘spreading rumours’ about Kashmir
With the communication blackout inside Kashmir, netizens elsewhere resorted to Twitter to speak out against India's revocation of the region's autonomous status.
Apprehension rises over the abduction of a Nigerian government critic
Dadiyata, a fierce critic of Kano State Governor Umar Ganduje, was abducted on August 1 and nothing has been heard of him since.
Indian-administered Kashmir is like an ‘open prison’, says observers
"What is happening in Kashmir is 'normal' in the sense that state-backed violence, deceit and lies, gag on civilian voices, and govt propaganda have always been a 'normal' in Kashmir."
Refugees in West Java, Indonesia have no access to education so they established their own school
Refugees can spend many years in Indonesia without possibility of permanent settlement.
15 August 2019
On activism and the self
"Behind the instagrammable image of the fierce-looking individual with a clenched fist is a person who is constantly rationalizing and reaffirming their fidelity to radical politics."
13 August 2019
Malaria has affected over 5 million people in Burundi so far this year
In Burundi, so far this year, malaria has affected 5,738,661 million people — that's about half its population. Yet, the government hesitates to declare an epidemic.
12 August 2019
Withheld in Turkey: How the government exploits removal requests to silence critical and independent voices
For years, Turkey has been exploiting tools offered by social media platforms to restrict illegal content in a particular jurisdiction, to silence critical voices.
9 August 2019
Nigerian activist arrested for calling for a nationwide #RevolutionNow protest movement
Omoyele Sowore was detained and charged under Nigeria's 2011 counter-terrorism law. He could face life imprisonment.
Netizen Report: Journalists are under fire from Cambodia to Cuba — and beyond
Across the globe, journalists are facin charges of everything from espionage to tax evasion.
UAE frees activist Osama al-Najjar after 5 years in detention
Despite serving his three-year sentence in March 2017, al-Najjar remained in arbitrary detention.
8 August 2019
Kenyan MP and her baby ordered out of parliament: ‘What was I supposed to do? Miss my duties?’
"I had an emergency, so what was I supposed to do? Miss parliament and my duties — just because I have a baby?"
