Women's rights

This week Just Asia focuses on International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8. The day is an opportunity to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women in the development of their communities. In Indonesia, women rights activists from various civil society organizations […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) about the following local, human rights activist, Ms. Ambaya Khatun. She was born on 19 June 1975 and is a permanent resident of Gaur Municipality Ward-8 (Purenwa village). On 24 February 2018, a female Police Officer […]

A supplement to the Asian Human Rights Charter launched in Gwangju, South Korea on 17 May, 1998 This declaration is to be launched on the 20th anniversary of launching of the Asian Human Rights Charter (A People’s Charter) The Asian Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong) and the May 18 Memorial Foundation(Gwangju, South Korea) are presenting herewith the […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where police shot dead a 24-year-old rickshaw driver while allegedly chasing terrorists. The driver was later found to have nothing to do with any terrorists or gangs. Although the police officers have been arrested, no charges have been filed yet. This is the fourth police killing seen in […]

By Javeria Younus Gender inequality is structural and deeply entrenched in the patriarchal mind-set. According to research conducted by various NGOs throughout the world, a whopping 90% working woman face sexual harassment of various forms. In most of the harassment incidents, the oppressor takes advantage of women’s helplessness, vulnerability and the fact that they don’t […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, which has been engulfed by a wave of agitation after the rape and brutal murder of seven-year-old Zainab Ansari in Punjab Province. Zainab’s body was found dumped on a rubbish heap days after she was abducted. Zainab was the 12th victim of child abuse and murder in the […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) that a Dalit woman was beaten after she rejected a demand to have an illicit sexual relationship with a non-Dalit man in Siraha District of Nepal. The woman has been receiving treatment at the local hospital […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the CIVICUS spoke with Ms. Rajkumari Upadhaya about her experiences as a Woman Human Rights Defenders (WHRD) in Nepal, changing societal attitudes towards women and hope for the future. The interview has also been published as an article by openDemocracy, an independent global media platform. Women in Nepal face […]

Pakistan is a signatory to several international human rights conventions. The country has in its constitution a good set of fundamental rights. Yet, the human rights situation in Pakistan is deteriorating. All human rights are violated in Pakistan with impunity. Rights of women and children; access to justice; labour rights; rights to: housing, life and fair trial, education, […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Shahri Mazdoor Sangthan about a continuous harassment by Police. They forced Indramal Bai, a tribal woman from the Pardhi community, (earlier listed by the British as a habitual criminal tribe), to commit suicide by immolating herself. The cops, identified as Rameshwar Yadav, Sandeep […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, which has been called on by the UN Security Council to end the violence in Rakhine state and allow hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya to return. In a unanimous statement backed by China, the Council strongly condemned the violence forcing more than 600,000 Rohingya to flee across […]

by Javeria Younes  Despite lacking legal framework on disappearances Pakistan’s constitution prohibits illegal and arbitrary detention and under article 10. Though the phenomenon of disappearance has been ongoing incessantly for two decade to make matters worse the LEA officials have now adopted the tactic of picking up and disappearing innocent women and children of wanted man as […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) had previously reported on the illegal confinement and subsequent discharge of Sabi Giri from the Indian Navy. Sabi, who transitioned from male to female after seven years of service, has challenged her discharge before the Delhi High Court. While the High Court accepted the Navy’s argument that Sabi’s status as a woman rendered […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the following information from the Terai Human Rights Defenders’ Alliance (THRDA). On 29 October 2017, a 17-year-old Muslim girl, a resident of the Parsauni Rural Municipality-4, Sakhuwa of the Parsa District, had been gang raped. Mukhtar Ansari, 22, son of Ward Chairperson, Jumadin Ansari, and […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Countercurrents and other media regarding the demolition of more than a thousand houses in Kathputali Colony in New Delhi. The demolition rendered thousands of people homeless just before the onset of winter. Also, the use of brutal force by the police during the […]

This week Just Asia begins with Nepal, where a 14-year-old Dalit girl was raped by a 19-year-old youth. After raping the girl on October 28, the non-Dalit Santosh Shrestha tried to kill her by slashing her with a sickle, and gouging out her left eye. The delay in receiving treatment cost the girl her left […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely disturbed by the mysterious death of 16-year-old Priyanka Yadav in police custody on October 29, 2017. The Area Police Office (APO), Mirchaiya arrested Priyanka and 14-year-old Sanjay Sah on October 28 for the murder of Bhavesh Yadav, Priyanka’s 13-year-old cousin brother. The next day, Priyanka was found […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about a 14-year-old Dalit girl who had been raped. It was carried out by a non-Dalit male named Santosh Shrestha (19). He is an eighth-grade student at the local Saraswoti Secondary School. After raping the girl, Santosh tried to kill her by slashing her […]

This week Just Asia begins with Sri Lanka, where a man was shot dead Monday by the Special Task Force of the police while travelling with his friends in a car. The police later claimed that they only began firing after the vehicle fired on them first, but there is no evidence to support this […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where the Supreme Court ruled that sex with a wife younger than 18 is rape. This is a much needed legal development for child rights, and will help in the fight to end child marriage in the country. Sadly, the fight against marital rape for adult women continues. […]