With the passing of the Women Farmers’ Empowerment Bill, Maharashtra has introduced legislation guaranteeing equal access to financial support and public services for millions of women workers. Until now, they had been excluded because they did not own the land and were considered labourers.
The interim government commission led by Yunus is drafting laws to promote “equal opportunities” in inheritance, labor, and family matters. For fundamentalists, these proposals “hurt religious sentiments.” The fight for rights continues among political parties and civil society, against the backdrop of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s return to the country.
The latest case in recent days, a 30-year-old woman killed by her husband for wanting to leave over constant domestic violence. Another young woman shot by her father and brother while she was holding her small child in her arms. According to some studies, more than 130 women have been killed since last March. At least 74,000 reports of abuse and violence have been filed, but the real number could be 100 times higher.
Despite being officially prohibited in Bishkek polygamous marriages proliferate, facilitated by shadow agencies that function on Islamic principles. Their activities are also supported by celebrities. But human rights activists also tell the other side: the increase in appeals from women who have fallen into this trap.
In villages still dominated by householders, women who marry an ‘outsider’ lose access to local services and compensation for expropriated collective land. With increasing levels of education and greater social connections, more and more of them are taking these kinds of disputes to court. But the road to their protection remains an uphill one.
The initiative in response to the latest case of the killing of a baby girl. It was reported by the child's grandfather, who was suspicious of the explanation for the death given by his daughter. Catholic doctor applauds initiative: ‘urgent’ to promote ‘value and dignity’ of women from conception.
The Taliban's repression of women's rights is even more evident for those of a different ethnic origin. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Turkmen live in the northern regions of Afghanistan, and no one is concerned with the defence of their rights, not least because of the frosty relations with Ashgabt.
Rediscovering the techniques of their grandmothers, which have remained unchanged for hundreds of years, a small farming village in northern Tajikistan has set up a business where women are the protagonists. They produce handmade silky woven carpets that are among the most expensive and valuable in the world.
Arbitrary arrests, humiliating body searches, and denied pre- or post-natal care are the focus of a briefing paper by the International Commission of Jurists, a Geneva-based NGO, with testimonies and complaints from members of a group "targeted" by the military three years since the coup. More than 1,500 women are languishing in Myanmar prisons for political reasons.
A video released on the Caucasian republic's official website about ‘beating’ his wife has caused a stir in Russia. Despite 90% of Russians calling for a law to protect women, the bill remains blocked in the Duma.
The country's Churches have been pushing for this measure to counter the problem of early marriages, often linked to abductions. “We hope the government will take further steps to criminalise forced religious conversions," the Bishops' Conference said.
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