Stories about Human Rights from October, 2009
Hungary, Serbia: Tragedy At The Border
A group of 19 Kosovo Albanians tried to cross the Hungarian-Serbian river border illegally on Oct. 15; fifteen of them are now reported missing; three bodies have been found by divers. Marietta Le reports on some of the reactions in the Hungarian blogosphere.
Palestine: IDF Torches Palestinian Vehicles
At Do Unto Others, Samuel Nichols writes that Israeli military patrols have started setting fire to cars which are caught trying to cross the border from the West Bank into Israel. He posts a video here.
Bahamas: Homosexual Rights
Catch a fire and Wishful Thinking discuss homosexuality in the Bahamas.
Azerbaijan: Video blogger trial postponed… again (updated)
In what many consider to be a politically motivated trial to stifle dissent in Azerbaijan, video blogging youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli once again appeared in court in Baku today.
Nepal's Dalit Women: Fighting For Dignity
The constitution of Nepal guarantees equality for the dalits or the 'untouchables'. But in the real world, outside long winding provisions of the constitution and legalese, the dalits are still openly treated as less than human.
Cuba: Feeling the Disconnect
Cuba's Generation Y feels like a nomad in cyberspace, but is confident that “one day my blog will be found on a server on this Island and, believe me, it will not be because it has performed an ideological pirouette.”
Peru: The Abortion Debate
The abortion debate in Peru has reemerged due to a bill that has been approved in the Special Committee of the Penal Code in the Peruvian Congress, which would decriminalize abortion in cases of rape or congenital disorders in the fetus.
Bhutan: Perspective On Child Labor
“The malignant hypocrisy hangs in the air when a rich official’s wife ill-treats her maidservant, who is only a child, while her husband attends international conferences and speaks to people about GNH (gross national happiness). It happens in Bhutan,” reports Di at On The Job blog.
Bangladesh: Conference On 1971 Genocide
Mash attended the 2nd conference on the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide organized by the Human Rights Institute and the Bangladesh Genocide Study Group at Kean University and posted about it in his blog Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying. “The focus was on eyewitness accounts, documentation and memorialization of the...
Turkmenistan: Trafficking in human beings
Annasoltan writes about the problem of human trafficking in Turkmenistan against the background of persistent economic hardship, porous borders and the regime's attempts to demur and defer the issue.
Morocco: A Lenient Sentence
In September, we learned about Zineb Chtit, the young Moroccan girl who was severely beaten while working as a maid. Last week, it was announced that Zineb's attacker Nawal Houmin, the wife of the couple who had hired her, was to be punished for the crime with a sentence of 3 years imprisonment and a $13,000 fine. Jillian C. York shares reactions from the blogoma.
Iran: A leading cartoonist arrested
Several bloggers such as Nikahang reported [fa] that Hadi Heydari, a leading Iranian cartoonist was arrested last week in Terhan.
Pregnancy and Prisons: Women's Health and Rights Behind Bars
It is still a struggle to ensure human rights for pregnant women worldwide, and it seems that in the process, pregnant women in prison are many times overlooked. What have been some of the steps made to ensure that they are also treated humanely, with respect to the life they carry?
Syria: 80 Year-Old Human Rights Activist Arrested
Omar Mushawah reported [ar] the arrest of Haytham al-Maleh, a Syrian lawyer and human rights advocate who also spent 6 years in prison in the period between 1980 and 1986 for demanding constitutional reforms. Al-Maleh is also a co-founder of the Syrian Human Rights Society.
Trinidad & Tobago: 350 Action
“Trinidad and Tobago is a wealthy small island developing nation rich in oil and natural gas. But we are also seeing the damaging effects of aggressive industrialisation on our islands. This is an opportunity for women’s voices to be heard”: Attillah Springer is getting involved in 350's climate action tomorrow.
Haiti: No Justice?
As an ex-priest is extradited to Canada to face charges of sexual abuse of minors in Haiti, The Haitian Blogger says: “The international community has evidently concluded that there is no justice in Haiti. Sexual predators who have been operating with impunity in Haiti are being extradited to their countries...
Adoption: Securing the Rights of Mothers and Children
Women speak out from all sides of the issue: adoptees, natural mothers and adoptive mothers try to make sense of the legal, reproductive and human rights issues behind adoptions.
Activism and Motherhood in Asia
What does a woman sacrifice for the cause she fights for? How are her children affected by persecution taken against her? This post explores briefly the lives of women activists in Asia who are also mothers.
Russia: Soviet Legacy and Street Names
A few weeks ago, it seemed as if every single Russian blogger took the time to write something about the re-naming of Anti-Soviet Shish Kebab Restaurant in Moscow, a dissident journalist's protest article and a pro-Kremlin youth movement's counter-protest activities. One blogger alluded to the scandal in a post about street names that kept on preserving the questionable Soviet legacy.
India: Life As A Single Woman
“Even in this day and age, even in urban India, people find it difficult to accept that a woman can choose to remain single and lead a healthy, happy and full life,” tells Ramapriya Gopalakrishnan at Ultraviolet. She explains the difficulties a single woman face in India.
Sri Lanka: Should We Believe Our Eyes?
Dan Verderosa at The Hub critically examines the alleged doctored video from Sri Lanka that shows eight men, stripped nude, bound, and blindfolded, coldly executed by soldiers on a muddy field.
