Indian girls at school.

NEW DELHI: In a bizarre incident, a 14-year-old girl, was raped by a class teacher who then ordered the school cook to abort the teenager’s 10-week old pregnancy. The girl has been admitted to hospital for severe bleeding and is now in critical condition.

The incident was reported in a school in Unnao, near Lucknow, the capital of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which is known for its lawlessness.

The girl in her complaint has alleged that the school teacher Hari Narayan had raped her over two months ago and had later asked the school’s female cook Anuradha to administer a pregnancy-terminaton pill to her, which caused severe bleeding forcing the girl’s parents to hospitalize her.

“A few days ago the school authorities informed us that she was not keeping well. We brought her home and when the bleeding did not stop, we took her to the local hospital. The doctors here told us about the abortion attempt,” the victim’s parents told reporters in Lucknow, adding that the teacher had threatened her with dire consequences if she squealed about the sexual assault to her parents.

Uttar Pradesh’s minister of state for basic education, Waseem Ahmed, said that a probe had been ordered into the incident, adding that the victim’s class mates would also be quizzed to look for other instances of sexual assaults on them by the teacher.

Hospital authorities claim that the victim is in critical condition.

“The pill given to the girl has damaged her uterus besides causing some internal complications,” Chief medical superintendent of the S M Shankwar of CSM medical university said.

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Australian Luke Pomersbach has been charged with attempted rape.

NEW DELHI: An Australia cricketer playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been booked for attempting to rape a 27-year-old US citizen of Indian origin at a five star hotel here.

27-year-old Australian player Luke Pomersbach has been accused by the victim of trying to rape her in her own hotel bedroom and beating up her fiancé when he tried to intervene.

Pomersback, who plays for Bangalore Royal Challengers has been arrested and charged under sections of 354 of the Indian Penal Code (for outraging modesty of woman), 323 (hurt), 454 (lurking, house trespass) and 511 (attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment).

The victim in her complaint said that Luke “forced” himself over to her flat for drinks, while she was hosting a do with her fiancé and friends.

“When I retired to the bedroom, he slipped inside and tried to rape me. When my fiancé tried to intervene, he hit him badly,” police complaint reads.

Reacting to the incident IPL Chairman and Congress member of parliament Rajiv Shukla said that the IPL organizers could not be held responsible for the incident.

“Let the law take its course,” Shukla said.

Earlier this week, a drunken Shah Rukh Khan, a well known Bollywood actor was involved in a scuffle at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, after he was not allowed to celebrate his team Kolkata Knight Riders win at the venue.

Last week an Indian TV news channel had claimed, naming a few cricketers, that matches were being rigged in the tourney.

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Kate Middleton urged to put pressure on Zara over workers.

Kate Middleton is being urged to press her favorite retailer Zara to stop exploiting the women making its high street fashion.

War on Want called on the Duchess of Cambridge to speak out as the anti-poverty charity launched a new report which shows how western brands are sourcing from south-east Asian factories that exploit female migrant workers.

Young women migrants from rural areas represent almost 90 per cent of garment workers in Cambodia, from where Zara imports many of its clothes. But 10-hour shifts in the peak season earned just 20p an hour, or £50-55 ($80-90) a month.

And amid Middleton’s role as a Team GB ambassador for the London Olympics, the report identifies the Games partner Adidas among other brands exploiting Cambodian workers. It also names three more sportswear brands sourcing clothes from Cambodia – Nike, Puma and Reebok – besides H&M, Gap, Marks & Spencer, Levi Strauss, Timberland and Benetton.

Laia Blanch, international programmes officer at War on Want, said: “Western brands promote themselves as ethical and responsible towards the people who make their goods. But they maximise their profits and minimise costs by exploiting migrant women workers as cheap labour. It is high time the British government stopped this abuse.”

Nine out of ten Cambodian women interviewed for the report told how, despite sharing a room with four or five others, they needed to cut back on essential food in order to send any money home to their families.

Phhoung, 29, a migrant worker in the capital Phnom Penh from her country’s central province Kampong Thom, said: “Our food is not good enough for our health. I live with four other friends who came from the same village as me. It is really crowded for us in the small room, but we have no choice.”

In addition to Cambodia, the report, Restricted Rights, cites Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Levi Strauss, Timberland and Benetton profiting from workers forced to endure exploitative conditions in neighbouring Thailand.

Burmese migrant women in Thailand’s border town Mae Sot received just £1.40 (69 baht) for 10-11 hours’ toil, less than half the minimum wage. About half of the employees interviewed in Thailand lived in dormitories in the factory grounds, where conditions were often overcrowded and unsanitary. Not one of the factories where the women interviewed for this report work had a trade union.

Exploited Burmese migrant women interviewed in Malaysia worked in electronics – supplying firms such as Dell, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and Hitachi – and the garment sector, which featured brands like Adidas, Nike, Reebox, Gap, Eider UK and Levi Strauss.

Workers were so desperate for jobs that they paid recruitment agencies up to $1,000 to find them employment – money which is then deducted from their wages. Most of the women interviewed in Malaysia could only afford cramped homes with many workmates – one lived with 17 others and her room barely measured three square metres.

War on Want is demanding that justice secretary Kenneth Clarke establish a business, human rights and environment commission to protect rights for workers in British retailers’ supply chains.

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Malaysia to host global conference on Muslim women's empowerment.

KUALA LUMPUR: Aisha walks quickly down the sidewalk. She is late for work. So is Samira. The two women appear as complete opposites, one wearing a hijab, or headscarf, while the other is in a slick business suit, a skirt just hitting below her knees, with no leggings.

“This is what we want Malaysia to be for all women,” began Samira, pointing simultaneously to her own hijab and Aisha’s skirt. “We want to be Muslim and have the choices that other women elsewhere in the world have. The ability to live our lives,” she added to Bikyamasr.com.

Both women are friends and are roommates who work at the same law firm as legal consultants. They are Muslim, and proud.

“I find strength in Islam and it gives me the power to live my life with dignity,” said Aisha, as she picks up the pace.

The two women are part of the growing female workforce in Malaysia, which has seen growth in employing women in recent years, the government says. But there is work to be done.

Mercy Mission Malaysia (MMM) is one of the organizations hoping to continue the push to empower women in Malaysia and Muslim women across the globe.

MMM is organizing a women’s only international conference entitled “Being Muslimah Empowered (ME)” which will address the daily challenges facing Muslim women in modern societies.

The conference will feature talks by outstanding women and scholars, a fashion show to showcase Muslimah attire, “Sisters’ Corner” for women to learn and enjoy beauty tips, “Daddy and Me” which allows mothers to enjoy the lectures while their husbands participate in creative activities with their children, “Angel Investors” which is a program that provides women entrepreneurs with the opportunity to pitch their ideas to potential investors, workshops and more.

MMM sponsorship project manager Zainuriah Abdul Rahman said the programs were designed to give “Muslimah an outlet” to express their lifestyles and share accomplishments to inspire others.

“We want to enable women to be dynamic in society and to take positive action to improve the quality of their lives,” she said.

One of the event’s highlights is the Muslimah Awards which are given to ordinary women in recognition of their work to the community.

“The impact of her achievements is among the criteria for the most deserving nominee,” she said, adding that this related to how much change the nominee had brought to the cause.

For Aisha and Samira, it is an opportunity to see how Muslim women across the world are faring and they are hopeful that it will produce positive results for the country, and women.

“Muslim women anywhere are so often treated with the sense they are not fighting for their rights, are weak, but here in Malaysia we are not weak,” continued Aisha.

They arrive at the door of their firm, both with beads of sweat beginning to form on their faces.

“I want to be seen as a woman first, then Muslim,” said Samira. “I don’t think the world understands that we women, especially us who are Muslim, are capable of living a successful life with a job and having a family.”

The conference will aim to push empowerment ideas forward, which Aisha believes is a positive step for all Muslim women in the world.

“Muslim woman like us have a hard time. We are invisible to the West but we are the majority,” she argued.

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Women shopping in Malaysia.

The story of thousands of migrant women workers is revealed in the new report launched by War on Want and the Asian Migrant Center.

The report presents the appalling conditions faced by women who have to migrate because of poverty and political oppression. Despite being important economic drivers for countries’ economic growth, migrant women’s rights are consistently violated by Western companies while their governments turn a blind eye. Exporting cheap labor has become an economic strategy promoted by governments within the neoliberal economic model.

Many Western companies are profiting from the abuse of migrant women workers detailed in this report. High street brands such as Adidas, Nike, Reebok and Levi-Strauss sell goods produced in Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia, while low labor costs have made Cambodia a key source of cheap clothing for stores such as Gap, Zara, Mark & Spencer and H&M. Workers in Malaysia’s booming electronics industry supply market leaders all over the world.

The report also documents the response of grassroots organizations, such as the MAP Foundation (Thailand), Legal Support for Children and Women (Cambodia) and the Workers Hub For Change (Malaysia) which have been working tirelessly to facilitate migrants’ access to justice and their rights in the workplace and society.

War on Want is campaigning for a living wage and decent working conditions for all workers who supply British companies, wherever they are in the world. War on Want is demanding that justice secretary Kenneth Clarke establish a business, human rights and environment commission to protect rights for workers in British retailers’ supply chains.

You can help women workers by calling on the UK government to stop companies profiting from sweatshop labor!

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The Western Indian state of Maharashtra.

New Delhi: A police officer in the western Indian state of Maharashtra is in the dock after a woman he allegedly assaulted and locked up on charges of soliciting for sex, was pregnant and suffered a miscarriage.

Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh has been petitioned by a global human rights organization to launch an impartial criminal probe into the incident and some other such cases in India.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), authorities in India must protect the victim from police threats and also ensure no interference in the probe by the police.

According to the detailed account mentioned by HRW in a press release, two sex workers were headed to a hospital to see a friend when the police officer called one over and began to beat her. The officer from the Satara district police, in Maharashtra, latched on to the other woman when she tried to intervene.

According to the first-hand account of the second woman, the officer kicked her when she held his leg pleading him not to assault her as she was pregnant.

After the incident, both women were put in jail on the false charge that they were soliciting for sex, the press release by HRW said.

She was taken to the local civil hospital but not allowed to buy medicines prescribed by the doctor there. The two women were produced before a court which slapped a Rs 1,200 fine and released them.

The pregnant woman again went to the civil hospital where documents reveal she suffered a ‘contusion’. But a few days later, she suffered a miscarriage, the HRW press release said..

No case has been booked as yet against the concerned policeman.

In its appeal to Dr Manmohan Singh, the NGO has also recalled the assault on a school teacher by the police in another state – Chhattisgarh. The police assaulted and tortured Soni Sori, a tribal woman, accusing her of supporting the Maoist rebels.

Cricketer Virat Kohli and actress Genelia D'Souza in a sexy Fast Track accessories commercial.

New Delhi: In a typical illustration of the long winding patriarchal Indian political discourse, the country’s parliamentarians want to stop the “indecent portrayal of women”.

Cut down to basics, Indian MPs now want sexy, pouting women off television, especially in advertisements which they believe reduces woman to a commodity.

Ad film makers and broadcasters in India might just have to scurry and hunt down their chastity belts, what with the entire spectrum of the Indian political establishment geared to clamp down on them.

The Indian Parliament was on Tuesday engaged on the issue of indecent portrayal of women in ads and several MPs were rooting for a complete ban on such ads.

One MP even demanded that some sort of Censor Board be set up to scrutinize and certify all ad-films before they are allowed to be aired.

India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister, Ambika Soni told the agitated MPs that ‘self-regulation’ was being given a chance to work. She however warned, that the government had powers and will not shy away from acting against rogue broadcasting companies, whenever the need arises.

The minister also poked fun at some of the agitated MPs for their hypocrisy in raising the issue of indecent content in the media and sending strong protest letters to her whenever her ministry took action against errant media companies.

According to Soni, India has as many as 15 laws dealing with content in the electronic and print media. Broadcasting companies had either dropped or changed ads in at least 85 of the 105 cases that the ministry had sent notices for in the last one year. In 15 cases, the government is engaged in court with the companies, she informed the MPs.

Opposition MPs, particularly women members had closed ranks to criticize the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and demanded stricter codes for advertisements on television.

Leader of the Opposition, Sushma Swaraj also suggested having a meeting of all political parties to discuss the issue, but Soni shot that down. The Minister said there was no need for such a conclave because she and the government had the matter within its grip.

She said, the government had a ‘group of ministers’ (GoM) in place to oversee different media issues and only after it completes its deliberations would it be prudent to bring the matter before all political parties for discussion.

Wonder how senior Congress leader and union minister for science and technology Vilasrao Deshmukh will have to convince his daughter in law, the vivacious and sexy Genelia D’Souza, against acting in raunchy commercials.

A couple of years back before she married Deshmukh’s son and Bollywood actor Rietesh, Genelia, played a flirty and sexy character in a series of ‘Fast Track’ accessories ads, where she seems to want everything from attention to making out with an in-flight pilot.

Delhi's LNJP hospital.

New Delhi: Delhi is the capital of India is old hat.

The brutal gang-rape of a middle aged woman in a hospital toilet, a public garden and her subsequent murder back at the same hospital is only reinforcing the image of Delhi, as the sadist capital of sex crimes.

Police say they have arrested three persons in connection with the crime, while one is on the run, according to additional commissioner of police Devesh Srivastava.

According to the police the victim had gone to visit a relative at the LNJP hospital in New Delhi, when the four accused, which included a butcher, a vegetable vendor, accosted her and raped her in the hospital’s toilet.

The quartet then forcibly took her to a nearby public garden and raped her again, before trying to gang-rape her once more in the hospital premises.

“When she resisted they murdered her by stabbing her twice and then slitting her throat,” police said.

Police have arrested one Salman, Arif, Mohamed Yahiya in connection with the crime, while they are on the lookout for the fourth assailant Asif, who has fled.

According to statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Delhi accounts for one rape for every four rapes in the country. In 2010 alone, 414 rape cases were registered in the national capital, the highest number in any other Indian urban hubs.

The Delhi government earlier this week had announced a compensation package of $ 6000 for victims of rape in the capital.

Indian Army's women expedition to attempt Everest summit this week.

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Army Chief General CMS Gurung on Tuesday said he would assist all possible help to Indian Army’s women Everest summit expedition team.

The team, which is currently in Nepal, is hoping to summit the world’s highest peak between Tuesday and Sunday, the team said in a statement.

Gurung also said that he would like to see Nepal and India’s militaries join together in future expeditions to the tallest peaks of the Himalayas as early as next year.

“I bring greetings from the Nepal Army, the Indian people and the Indian Army,” he told the team members.

Gurung was accompanied by the Indian Ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad and the Indian Defence Attaché to Kathmandu Col Ajay Pasbola.

Motivating the team, which has been training at Everest Base Camp in Nepal for the past two months, he said, “Physical fitness can get you here, but it is mental strength, drive and determination that will get you to the summit of Everest.”

As a display of magnanimity towards the team, he extended all help to them and said that a helicopter is available to the team and a smaller aircraft is on standby at all times for any exigencies that may arise during the expedition.

Citing the 2003 Joint Indo-Nepal Everest Expedition and the recently-concluded Eco-Annapurna Trek 2011, the Army Chief recalled the past joint expeditions between the armies of the two nations.

He also revealed the plans of holding joint expeditions between the two armies in India and Nepal in 2013.

The 22-member Indian team comprising seven women officers had left Delhi for Kathmandu on March 22 and are making summit attempts between 15-20 May. It is being led by Colonel Ajay Kothiyal.

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Singapore Airlines gives women more years on the job.

SINGAPORE: Singapore women wanting to enter the flight attendant sector received positive news this week, allowing them to work longer, highlighting what women’s rights advocates say is a step in the right direction.

“It makes women have more power in their professional careers and no longer is flying and working on a plane the right of only a certain look,” said one activist, telling Bikyamasr.com that there “remains many hindrances for women in the country, but we are on the right path.”

Under the new agreement signed by Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the Singapore Airlines Staff Union, junior stewardesses – who usually start working at 23 – can fly for up to 20 years from 17 years previously, SIA said.

Those promoted to leading and chief stewardess rank can serve for up to 25 and 30 years respectively, up from 23 and 28 years previously.

The new rules also apply to male cabin crew who joined after 2004. Men who signed up before 2004 are allowed to work until they are 62.

The new agreement, which came into effect on May 9, “allows us to offer longer employment terms for all our employees,” the airline said in an email to AFP. “At the same time, it will also help us to retain experienced cabin crew.”

The airline’s flight attendants, who it has referred to as “Singapore Girls” since the 1970s, have long played a central role in the airline’s advertising campaigns, despite critics labeling the marketing as outdated and sexist.

Frequent winners of travel industry awards for cabin crew service, the flight attendants are recruited from several Asian countries and wear distinctive uniforms with batik prints.

“People are living longer and starting families later, so the aim is to make sure our people stay employed longer,” the Straits Times newspaper quoted SIA staff union president Tony Sim as saying.

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Thailand's army faces massive criticism over sex video.

BANGKOK: Thailand is in a frenzy over a video showing Thai army soldiers having sex with a woman. The anger grew this week after the government reported the woman was autistic.

A number of women’s rights activists and groups are demanding that the government prosecute the soldiers for possible rape, arguing that the woman may not have known what was happening until it is too late.

“It is appalling that this sort of thing continues to happen in Thailand, and to make matters worse, the woman involved may not have had all her faculties to decide whether or not to participate,” said Thai women’s rights advocate and former consultant to the military Kiniti Thaksim.

She told Bikyamasr.com that “the use of sex within the armed forces here is horrible and by filming it and showing it to people, it shows the horrid state for women in this country.”

Others supported Thaksim’s claims, with many lashing out at the army online, saying the military should be held accountable for the violations of women’s rights “no matter what their excuse.”

Investigation of the video revealed the woman in question was autistic, National Army Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha told senior officers in a meeting Monday, The Bangkok Post reported.

The incident took place three years ago and while the 6 soldiers have been dismissed, Prayuth said their superior will face a penalty, along with the person who shot the video. He said the six soldiers acted thoughtlessly, and also said the woman should not have given into them, the Post reported.

But online calls for the soldiers to be charged with a crime continues to grow on Wednesday, with activists demanding the army take further action.

“Dismissal is not enough. What needs to happen is a criminal case against the soldiers,” wrote one Thai commentator on Twitter.

Prayuth said he is working to determine the unit responsible for releasing the video, and intends to impose the maximum penalty.

“The colonel will not receive his pension and the conscript trainer will be penalized for allowing the incident to take place in a military camp,” Prayuth said.

The Post reported screen captures of the video have been making rounds on the Internet. The army is investigating whether or not they can prosecute whoever dispersed the pictures under the Computer Crimes Act, on grounds they tarnished the army’s image in doing so.

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Malaysia to "crackdown" on LGBT groups.

KUALA LUMPUR: Suzie* is a lesbian. A Malaysian lesbian. Yet she struggles with her daily life. When she speaks openly about her life, many accuse her of trying to “convert” other girls to being gay.

“It’s daily, people will ask me what it is like to be a lesbian in Malaysia and I tell them,” she began, sitting in her recently pressed business attire ready for work. “But then they accuse me of trying to convert other girls, just so I can sleep with them. It is ridiculous,” she told Bikyamasr.com.

But the Malaysian government agrees with the naysayers and for the 27-year-old manager at a local advertising company, it is making life difficult.

“It is hard to be open when all eyes are on us all the time,” she added.

Making matters harder for the LGBT community and the likes of Suzie is The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM), which has announced it is monitoring organisations that are trying to influence teenagers towards free sex and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual (LGBT) activities.

It said that it would ensure that “appropriate actions can be taken” against the community.

“It’s a bunch of hate and lies. We are regular Malaysians and it is time for people to understand this. We aren’t out to sleep with your girlfriends, or your daughters. Come on, this is crazy,” added Suzie.

JAKIM director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha, disagreed, saying the organisations were using social media including blogs to “influence teenagers to support the LGBT movement in the country.

“Based on our initial investigation, there are blogs that are trying to influence youngsters to get involved in LGBT activities. About 3,000 fans are surfing such blogs,” he told reporters at the “Ramah Mesra” program with the Orang Asli community in Sungai Rual, and was launched by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

He added that JAKIM would be collaborating with other relevant authorities including the police, State Islamic Religious Departments and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on the matter.

Othman also advised teenagers to stay away from LGBT activities and urged parents to monitor their children’s movements to ensure that they would not be trapped in the negative culture.

For Suzie and her friends, the moves are yet another in a long line of prejudice toward the LGBT community, and based on misunderstandings.

“The people that make these statements and threats probably never ever met a lesbian or a gay person, or worse, they are scared that their sons or daughters might be gay. Oh no!” she added sarcastically.

* Not her real name

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Indian women choosing clothes.

Nasik, India – It is the day after Holi, the Hindu festival of colours celebrating the Spring season and a good harvest. Coloured powder from the previous day’s events still adorns downtown Nasik, a city of 1.5 million about three and a half hours east of Mumbai.

A group of youngsters, all dressed in traditional Indian long shirts and trousers, are working hard to collect the rubbish left over from the celebration, placing it in black plastic bags which they haul to a nearby truck.

The women are wearing a more traditional outfit – pants and a long shirt, or shalwar kameez, which reaches down to their knees. Across the street, a young boy yells out for Aisha and a young girl turns and waves back. From my years in the Middle East, I know that Aisha is predominantly a Muslim name.

As I investigate further through conversations, I learn that this group of young people is a mix of Muslims and Hindus. They all celebrated the festival together, dousing each other with multi-coloured pigments.

“Here in Nasik, we like to think we are all Indian first and then [a member of] our faith [group]”, said university student Shankar, 22, after noticing my gaze – and camera – a few meters away. “You will find that in this city, we all wear the same clothes, from trousers to shirts, and this helps make the city a better place.”

What makes Nasik unique is that, as one traverses this city of Hindu pilgrimage, the call to prayer emanates from a nearby mosque, while on the next corner a Hindu shrine plays chants over a loudspeaker.

Sunitra is a 21-year-old engineering student at the nearby university. She and her group of friends are typical university students. But, they say, unlike students at other universities in large cities, “we all hang out together and have become quite close.”

Sunitra is referring to the mix of Muslim and Hindu friends in their close-knit group of friends. At first glance, it’s impossible to tell them apart – and the same holds true for a group of Muslim and Hindu men.

“We are not afraid of our faith and we don’t have to hide behind what people [expect] us [wear],” Sunitra continues, herself a Hindu. “For many decades here in Nasik, it just became a way of living. We are a middle-class society and there is no need to differentiate between who is a Hindu and who is a Muslim.”

A former Professor of Anthropology at Nasik University and current resident of the city, Rajeev Kadesh, told me that in the 1960s the youth in Nasik began to change how they dressed.

“India was not as city-focused in the past, so you have to understand that people from rural areas, where they had predominantly mixed with their [co-]religionists, had a certain way of dressing. That all changed, at least here,” he said.

According to Kadesh, the youth in the city let go of their parents’ traditional attire and donned a hybrid Western-Indian style, which he says was an attempt to separate from their parents older, more caste-laden society, which the next generation of Indians hoped to change. Out went the long robes of the Muslim community and in came trousers and shirts. For women, the traditional sari gave way to the more modest trousers and long shirt. Muslim women dropped the head coverings.

Today, that movement continues and has breathed new life into a country where ethnic and religious strife in other communities have driven wedges between communities and friends. The youth who carry on the tradition of tolerance say that it informs how they dress.

“If we do not look different, then people will not treat someone differently and this helps us to just be friends and be Indian,” said Shankar.

It may be a naïve prospect to think that what one wears determines how one is dealt with and treated by others. From my own experience, living most of my adult life in the Middle East, dress does impact how we see others – something that also holds true in the West. Maybe it is time to look at what truly diverse communities are doing to ease the tensions that clothing can symbolise in today’s world – while maintaining their cultural and religious integrity. Nasik’s residents are a heartening example of transcending difference – one that other communities can learn from.

###

* Joseph Mayton is Editor-in-chief of the Egypt-based news website Bikyamasr.com. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

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Women walk on a street in Yemen.

SANA’A: Police officers in Yemen’s capital Sana’a told Bikyamasr.com that a group of 7 drunk Yemeni youth attacked a 13-year-old orphan girl.

After raping her, the young men beat up the orphan so badly that she succumbed to the blows of her attackers.

Residents told our correspondent that they felt utterly disgusted, stressing that never before they had witnessed so much violence and lawlessness.

“Despite what people may say about the former regime at least we did not live in fear for our daughters. Now even the police cannot enforce the most basic laws,” said Ahmed al-Mosawa.

The victim was attacked on Wednesday morning as she was buying bread at the local bakery. Eye witnesses said they saw a car drive by and grab the young girl.

“They just sped away with her screaming, we could not do anything,” said a local resident who preferred not to reveal his identity.

The police revealed that the prime suspect of their investigation was Ali Abdel-Kareem Hamid, the son of a powerful tribal leader, who is now using his influence to keep his son out of prison.

Local residents expressed their outrage when they heard the Sheikh had proposed to pay the girl father, her only relative, for damages, even offering to marry her off post mortem to one of the attackers as to wash the shame.

The Sheikh who is facing mounting pressure warned that he would kill whoever dared try to take his son into custody, prompting widespread condemnation across Yemen, where rape and drunkenness are offenses one cannot so easily run away from.

Clerics already called on the authorities to make an example out of the boy, saying that rape was a capital offense.

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A still from Yash Chopra's 'Silsila'. Amitabh Bachchan is flanked by Rekha on the left and Jaya Bachchan on the right.

New Delhi: Two feminine ends of what was once India’s most poignant love triangle saga, finally find themselves under one roof; that of the Indian Parliament.

The smoldering-forever Rekha Ganesan and the once-bubbly-now-dogged Jaya Bachchan, both renowned actresses of Indian cinema, shared space under the grand dome of the Indian Parliament’s Upper House, the Rajya Sabha for the first time on Tuesday.

As Rekha Ganesan was sworn in as a member of the Rajya Sabha, Jaya Bachchan, a Samajwadi Party MP for sometime now, we presume watched on. Scope for presumption however ended, when it was obvious that the two did not exchange pleasantries in parliament. Colleagues in filmdom, the two have also acted in Yash Chopra’s 1981 blockbuster film ‘Silsila’, where the chemistry between the two actresses, sent the entire nation into a phase of sparking static.

Why? Here’s where one brings in the third and the masculine end of the love triangle.

Married to Jaya Bachchan, India’s greatest filmstar Amitabh Bachchan’s much speculated affair with Rekha was stuff legends are made of. The kind of a story which has been whispered, reported, analyzed, commented on, decoded, through the decades since the late 1970s.

What perhaps added to the aura and a weighted sense of suspense that the triumvirate exuded was a masterly coup by Yash Chopra to make a film on adultery using the three actors to play characters, which perhaps loosely resembled their real life roles and dilemmas.

Amitabh as Amit, living through an obligatory marriage with Jaya as Shobha. And Chandni, Amit’s former flame, who re-enters his life and has a longish fling with him.

The Indian Parliament in recent times has been extremely accommodating to film stars who add the glamour quotient to the parliamentary proceedings, if not anything else. Amitabh Bachchan, among many other Bollywood actors, has already had a parliamentary stint in the Lok Sabha, after he won the Allahabad parliamentary seat in 1984. The presence of Rekha and Jaya in the House of Elders, will further that tradition some more.

A seat shuffle at the request of Jaya Bachchan, has perhaps put paid to hopes of those salacious few, or perhaps many, who would have loved to see the two actress-parliamentarians sit in close proximity. Originally allotted seat number 91, Jaya Bachchan has moved to seat number 143, once it became clear that Rekha, nominated by the central government had been allotted seat number 99.

Rekha’s entry into Parliament has triggered a kind of ‘Bigg Boss’ inspired voyeuristic interest in the proceedings India’s house of democracy, even if for a day. And guess, what Member of Parliament Sachin Tendulkar is still to make his debut.

On Twitter, micro-blogger Tania Ameer Khan says

@tania85khan: As Rekha walks into parl & takes oath. Jaya Bachchan’s expression – Priceless!

Noted political commentator Rajdeep Sardesi predicts in his tweet, that he expected the attendance to rise.

@sardesairajdeep: Rekha to take oath in parliament tomorrow. Expect attendance to rise!

India’s affair with the trio continues.

Tunisian woman are fighting to maintain their civil rights through governmental transition.

Tunis – There are currently 59 women in the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly (NCA), out of the 217 deputies elected last fall to draft a new constitution. These 59 women were able to run in the elections as part of a political party either because they had demonstrated leadership in the past or because they negotiated with a particular party to be included on their list. The law governing the electoral process mandated that all candidate lists had to include an equal number of men and women, thereby establishing a baseline of equality.

Without the law on gender equality, however, would women have run for the NCA? The answer, I believe, is yes. It seems that Tunisian women are increasingly interested in actively entering the political sphere.

The final election results were mixed: 27 per cent of the members of the lower house of the NCA are women. This number is higher than many countries, but disappointing in light of Tunisians’ expectations about equality. Of the 1500 candidate lists, only 7 per cent had a female at the top, with men occupying the remaining 93 per cent top places. The head of the list was most likely to win a seat as Tunisia’s system is a proportional one – the more votes a party receives, the more seats it gains in the NCA. However, the high number of parties running in the election resulted in the failure of many parties to win a spot for their head candidate at all, or in only winning a few seats. And because most female candidates didn’t lead party lists, many found themselves squeezed out, despite their hard work.

But women are involved in the public sphere. Last February, for example, the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) held a short conference for women, where the attendees prepared and delivered a list of recommendations to Mustapha Ben Jaafar, president of the NCA. The ATFD requested, among other things, enshrining gender equality in the constitution. They also provided proposals for bettering several aspects of women’s lives – including increasing their presence in public life and politics; improving their access to health care, education, and job opportunities; and protecting them from violence.

Other women’s projects have also emerged, including the Collectif 95 Maghreb Egalité, a group of 40 associations and NGOs focusing on gender equality. All these projects share the common theme of promoting women’s rights to create a more just society.

Faiza Skandrani, president of an organisation called Equality and Parity, which advocates for these principles in Tunisia, held a contest on Facebook a month before the October elections. It was titled “1,000 Women’s CVs for the Constituent Assembly”, designed to show Tunisian women’s active interest in politics. Skandrani received 800 resumes from women in many parts of the country who were interested in her project. The contest provided an opportunity for interested political parties to learn about potential female candidates as they created their candidate lists for the elections.

Women are also taking positions as political leaders. For instance, Maya Jribi, who was Secretary General of the Democratic Progressive Party (PDP) in 2006, was the first Tunisian woman in charge of a political party and is currently a member of the NCA. She says that she has never seen being a woman as a problem in the political world, nor has she considered it an asset. She simply positions herself as a labour activist and a politician. She is an inspiration to many who see her achievements as proof that women can succeed in politics through their own talent and skills.

Finally, women from different groups are starting to work together. The Vice President of the NCA, Meherzia Labidi, has proposed establishing a committee made up of women from different political backgrounds in order to draw on its members’ diverse perspectives to find solutions to problems facing women.

Gradually, Tunisian women are making their debut on the political scene, which is helping solidify their hard-won gains. And as these new realities help shape the expectations of future generations, it is likely that these committed women will pave the way for young women who may someday become policymakers without facing any obstacles because of their gender.

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* Sana Sbouai writes for the blog Nawaat, with a particular focus on social issues. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 8 May 2012, www.commongroundnews.org

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A pregnant woman walks by along an Indian street.

NEW DELHI: More than half of the pregnant and lactating women in the South Indian State of Kerala, lack both nutrition and support from the anganwadis, a government institution meant to provide precisely that.

A survey has revealed that anganwadis, local centers meant to give nutritional and healthcare support to infants, pregnant women and lactating mothers, cater to just 210,000 of Kerala’s 436,000 lakh pregnant women and mothers who are breast-feeding their infants.

In fact, records indicate that the number of lactating mothers catered to by these centers fell from 227,000 to 197,000 in the last five years.

While government officials responsible for these centers were quick to attribute this scenario to improvement of the general living standards of women, activists and civil society members think otherwise.

The silver lining however is that these anganwadis are functioning efficiently in most rural parts of Kerala, where pregnant women and lactating mothers are prescribed and given a fixed daily diet. But in sub-urban areas and cities, the centers have stopped dispensing medicines and food.

According to Omana, who has two children, the centers used to formerly give a wheat-based breakfast and a glass of milk everyday, but the practice was discontinued five years ago.

Another mother Shanthakumari said even medicines offered to lactating mothers and pregnant women were abruptly stopped.

An official of the Social Welfare Department, which oversees the functioning of these centers, said he suspects siphoning or diversion of funds. The officer, who did not wish to be named, claimed that local self-governing bodies under whose direct control these centers work, have all been disbursed funds for the scheme.

According to him, the state had set aside and distributed $ 12 million for this scheme in 2011 and has disbursed $ 7million so far this year.

Egypt struggles with FGM.

CAIRO: A number of Egyptian medical associations and human rights organizations issued a joint statement on Monday condemning reports on the mobile medical convoy for circumcision of girls in Minya governorate, organized by the Muslim Brotherhood`s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP).

They expressed their shock from the attempts to tamper with guarantees of the “bodily rights ensured by the Egyptian law for children through an amendment to the law for decriminalization of female genital mutilation, which coincided with the statement by some political movements,” which was described by the statement as “backward” on the law, and would “encourage and allow people of villages in Minya governorate to undergo female genital mutilation, as it is psychological and physical and sexual violence against girls.”

The statement called for the need to respect the Declaration of Human Rights and the conventions of children’s rights and “stop discrimination against women, and mainstreaming the right to bodily integrity and to stop violence and sexual violence against Egyptian girls, and to consider the human rights conventions and agreements binding and a source of legislation which cannot be ignored,” as well as considering the practice of female genital mutilation “a crime of deliberate congenital deformation as it meets all forms of violence against girls, which should be punishable by law, and cannot be condoned.”

The statement stressed that the practice of female genital mutilation is “a non-scientific practice” and is not taught in medical science, and causes “psychological and physical and sexual damage for young girls,” explaining that it was “subjected to jurisdiction by Al-Azhar, when discussing the children’s law, so does not need to re-discuss what by has been the consensus of specialists in this regard.”

The signatories of the statement stressed they will continue their efforts in tracking down those who violate children laws and anyone who commits “deliberate genital deformation, for girls, with tracking outlaws through all legal means and resort to the judiciary and the punishment prescribed by law, with the continued efforts of communication and community dialogue with the masses of male and female citizens to confirm the rejection of these harmful habits and prejudice the safety of the body, rejecting any attempt to resist the continuing diminution of any rights, including children right to dignity.”

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Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

New Delhi: A young Australian woman was date-raped by an Indian male, in what is being referred to as a ‘Facebook rape case’ in this part of the world.

The Indian police are on the lookout for one Sammy Sidhana, who had established contact with the 22-year old Australian woman on Facebook months ago, before spiking her drink and raping her Saturday in a hotel room in the tourist hub of Kullu, in the northern Indian Himachal district.

Sidhana’s home in Chandigarh, in the Punjab state, was raided by the police, but the accused is still at large, police said.

“The incident happened on Saturday, when she felt giddy after a party she had attended with Sidhana. When she woke up in the morning she discovered that she was naked and had been raped,” police said, adding that Sidhana had met her two days ago at a local festival.

The Australian victim had landed in India had met Sidhana for the first time after being in touch with each other on Facebook for several months.

Four of the seven nurses, who are mostly from the southern Indian state of Kerala, which produces the highest number of nurses in India, had first arrived at the Aghsan Aliwy hospital located in the the Hafr Al-Batin area five years ago, but their sponsor had abruptly refused to renew their residential permits now.

“In the first case, four Indian female nurses – Ashley, Bindu, Aasha and Shely – came to the Kingdom five years ago to work in Aghsan Aliwy Hospital in Hafr Al-Batin,” an Indian embassy official told reporters.

“The sponsor neither renewed the residence permits (Iqamas) of the workers nor did he allow the nurses to leave during vacations as per the provisions of the work agreements,” the official further said.

In case of the three other nurses, namely Saramma Varghese, Subadhra Kuttan and Sree Nair, the medical clinic they worked in had closed down without any notice of closure leaving the Indian nurses stranded there.

The Indian Embassy established communication with the hospital officials and involved some local Indian community leaders, once they learned of the plight of the Indian nurses. But it was only when Hafr Al-Batin deputy governor and the Director General of Health Mutlak Al-Khemyali, were informed about the matter that the latter, took up the issue with the sponsor to ensure that the nurses were allowed to exit the country.

Indian states like Kerela, Goa have a high rate of migration especially to the Gulf region seeking employment in the services, hospitality and the healthcare sector.