Violence against women

SRI LANKA: පෙළපාලි හා මහජන උද්ඝෝෂණ වල පොලිස් සහභාගීත්වය

නීතිඥ බැසිල් ප‍්‍රනාන්දු නොබෝදා පත්කරන ලද ජාතික පොලිස් කොමිසම විසින් ඔක්තෝබර් මස 29 වන දින විශ්ව විද්‍යාල ප‍්‍රතිපාදන කොමිෂන් සභාව ඉදිරිපිටදී ශිෂ්‍යයන් කණ්ඩායමකට පොලිසියේ කැරලි මර්ධන ඒකකය විසින් පහර දීමේ සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් පරීක්‍ෂණයක් පැවැත්වීම ආරම්භ කිරීම සතුටට කරුණකි. එම පරීක්‍ෂණ කොමිටුවේ වාර්තාව සති දෙකක් ඇතුළත නිකුත් කරනු ලබන බවට ජාතික පොලිස් කොමිසමේ ප‍්‍රකාශකයෙකු විසින් නිවේදනය […]

WORLD: An Overview of Major Challenges in Law and Practice regarding Gender Perspectives on Torture and Ill Treatmen

A Paper – “An Overview of Major Challenges in Law and Practice regarding Gender Perspectives on Torture and Ill Treatment”, by Therese Maria Rytter, Director of Legal Affairs and Advocacy, DIGNITY – Danish Institute against Torture, and Member of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission […]

PAKISTAN: An 8 year old girl was raped by Imam of a mosque – no end in sight for child sexual abuse

An eight years old girl, Miss N (real name withheld), who is the daughter of Meer Muhammud, from Golrachi Village, in the Badin District of Sindh Province has been raped by a religious leader in the mosque. Her Quran teacher, Imam Khameesa, someone who is also a local mosque leader, reportedly raped her on 25 […]

PAKISTAN: Gender discrimination – a stark reality

Amir Murtaza Neglect and discrimination on the bases of gender has been quite common in traditional societies. Such phenomenon is present in all classes of the society and exhibits in several forms. According to Dictionary Online: Gender Discrimination is a situation in which someone is treated less well because of their sex, usually when a […]

PAKISTAN: Gang rapes and videos that circulate

Rape is not merely an offence against the body; it is soul shattering. In a so-called Islamic state like Pakistan, rape is a punishable crime, with a zero conviction rate. The true intentions of the State and its people are exposed in a land where a rape occurs every two hours and a gang rape […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Imminent elections causes spike in politically motivated arrests

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the state of freedom of expression in Burma, at a time when Burma is awash in election campaigns. Rather than allow for the people to air their opinions as befits a democratizing nation, the government has chosen to suppress freedom of expression and Internet freedom and […]

INDIA: Dalit women stripped naked is the fact that matters

Article | India | 09-10-2015

Avinash Pandey It is the Republic and not a Dalit family that stands naked in front of Dankaur Police Station in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, located not more than 50 kilometres from the national capital. There are “conflicting” reports, as well as pictures and videos, which have gone viral on social media about what […]

PAKISTAN: Patriarchal culture amongst the lawyers reaches alarming level

Javeria Younes Women in Pakistan are treated as second class citizens. Denied their fundamental rights, the they are often viewed as property, to be dealt with as their owners deems fit. The chauvinism and patriarchy prevalent in Pakistan ensures systematic gender subordination, which perpetuates violence. In a society where the male ego is inflated at […]

PAKISTAN: Police implicate the brothers of Tahira Khoso in murder case to adversely affect the case of honour killing

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information in the case of honour killing of Tahira Khoso by her husband in presence of her father and brother who were trying to stop him from torturing her. Umrani was later found murdered in Balochistan province. The Jacobabad police under the pressure from […]

SRI LANKA: Brutal Murder of little Seya and the relevance of the OHCHR Investigation Report

The abduction, rape, and murder of Seya Sadewmi of Kotadeniyawa on 12 September 2015 has led many Sri Lankans to react across the country, and provoked many demonstrations by women’s organisations and also by children. Even yesterday, 23 September 2015, demonstrations by school children were reported from the North of the country. Similarly, media reports […]

PAKISTAN: Judicial inquiry demanded in rape and murder of Hindu girl and police botch the investigation

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the gang rape and alleged murder of a Hindu girl from the Meghwar caste by influential people belonging to the ruling party of Sindh Province. The police of District Umer Kot (formerly Amar Kot) have botched up the whole investigation in an effort […]

ASIA: Weekly Roundup, Episode 89

This week’s Roundup begins in Bangladesh, where the breakdown of the rule of law is in an ever-worsening downward spiral. On International Day for Victims of Enforced Disappearances, intelligence agencies in the country threatened family members of the disappeared and 27 out of 35 scheduled meetings were cancelled. Next, AHRC TV reports on the shocking […]

INDIA: Pregnant woman raped by Indian Army soldiers

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Indian Army personnel in Kokrajhar District of Assam have gang raped Mrs. Sarita Devi, who is eight months pregnant, during raids carried out for “Operation All Out” on 8 August 2015. The incident took place when soldiers attached to 10 Bihar Regiment arrived […]

PAKISTAN: Child abuse scandal exposes twisted justice system

The initial shock at the serial sexual abuse committed over a decade in three villages of Punjab Province of Pakistan has unfortunately given way to something even more tragic: an understanding of the true scale of sexual violence committed on children in Pakistan, something that far exceeds what has been unearthed, and something that appears […]

PAKISTAN: Sabeen’s case-Confession of a jihadi perplexes more than it clarifies

The alleged murderer may have been a radical terrorist that he has professed but either he is not divulging the real intention or is being used as an escape goat by the intelligence agencies. Karachi, “the city of light”, witnessed another dark moment when freedom of speech activist and owner of “The Second Floor” (T2F), […]

WORLD: Gross Adulteration of the US TIP Report

A Statement from TENAGANITA Women’s Force forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The U.S Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report has, for the past few years, been seen by many organizations tackling modern-day slavery as a tool for governments to undertake structural changes that would end the trafficking and enslavement of persons in their […]

INDONESIA: Army forcibly sealing off houses in Gunung Sari, ignoring legal procedures

Dear Friends,   The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the sealing off of 37 houses in Gunung Sari, South Surabaya city, East Java province, Indonesia by the military. While the residents have legal documents to prove possession of their houses and land, such as the ownership certificate (SHM), letter seals (surat […]

PAKISTAN: Stay on Asia Bibi death penalty, victory for civil society

Pakistan courts have finally started taking a proactive approach to support religious minorities and safeguard their interest. On 22 July, the Supreme Court of Pakistan suspended the execution of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy. A three-member bench of the Supreme Court granted leave to appeal to Asia Bibi and […]

INDIA: Only an insane police can use a teen rape survivor as ‘bait’

Article | India | 13-07-2015

by Avinash Pandey The police in Maharashtra sent a 17-year-old rape survivor back to her assaulters as “bait”, not once but twice. The insensitivity of placing a minor in this situation is manifest. The girl must still have been struggling with the trauma. But, the police also went ahead and botched up the ploy by […]

NEPAL: Dalit woman beaten for seeking earthquake relief

Dear Friends, The Jagaran Media Center (JMC) has informed the Asian Human Rights Commission that A Dalit woman, who queued up to receive relief materials after suffering loss in the Great Earthquake of 25 April, has been beaten black and blue. The beating by local non-Dalit Deepak Bhattarai’s family members has resulted in Saraswoti Sunar, […]