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When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi
figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da
qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so
called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali
21-30 Dec
2021
20-13
Dec 2021 read below
10-3
Dec 2021
20-13 Dec 2021
The Guardian
20 Dec 2021
By David Batty
<<Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Women stage global fast to pressure UK over Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe
Participants in women’s fasting relay will demand Boris Johnson repay
£400m to Iran for 1970s arms deal.
Women around the world will take turns to fast for 24 hours in an
attempt to put pressure on the UK government to secure the freedom of
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from detention in Iran. The campaign by FiLiA,
a female-led volunteer organisation working for the liberation of women,
follows the 21-day hunger strike Nazanin’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe,
mounted outside the Foreign Office in London until mid-November.
Photographs of all the participants in the fasting relay, which begins
on Monday, will be published on the group’s website day by day in a
display of solidarity.
Lisa-Marie Taylor, the chief executive of FiLiA, said women from the UK,
India, Morocco and Iran had already signed up to take part in the
fasting relay. <Richard has made it clear he doesn’t want people to get
poorly,> she said. <So we thought we’d organise a chain of women to each
fast for a day to keep the pressure on the government and show Nazanin
how much support she has from women in the UK and globally.>
The action was also inspired by the 89-year-old human rights lawyer
Margaret Owen, who went on a six-day hunger strike last month to take up
the baton from Ratcliffe after he ended his protest, amid concerns about
his health, Taylor added. Owen, who visited Ratcliffe four times during
his hunger strike, said: <Each time I sat next to him, I was so
impressed but also so worried by the third week with the state of his
health. We knew that Nazanin was begging him to stop. So I told him, I’m
going to hunger strike for you.> >>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/dec/20/women-stage-global-fast-to-pressure-uk-over-nazanin-zagari-ratcliffe
Al Jazeera
18 Dec 2021
<<In CAR, desperation grows for mothers unable to feed children
The UN says about 42 percent of people in the Central African Republic
struggle to access food daily as violence continues.
A two-year-old boy bawls as his mother gently lays him on scales at a
health centre in northwestern Central African Republic, where an
unprecedented food crisis looms. <There’s no food at home,> says his
22-year-old mother. <I can tell he’s not well because he cries all the
time and doesn’t play any more.>
Civil war has raged since 2013 in the poverty-wracked nation of almost
five million people, displacing hundreds of thousands from their homes
and sparking a major humanitarian crisis. The president declared a
unilateral ceasefire in October after gains against the rebels, but with
insecurity persisting in the northwest of the country, many still
struggle to feed themselves there.
<It’s linked to poverty and insecurity,> he says. <The conflict prevents
residents from growing crops and it’s difficult to earn an income.> At
the health centre in Paoua, a town some 500km (300 miles) northwest of
the capital Bangui, desperate mothers have brought their children to be
examined. Many hope for some pasta sachets provided by the United
Nations’ food agency, the World Food Programme (WFP). Among the crowd, a
half-starved baby girl cries, but her malnourished mother’s breast milk
is no longer enough to sate her. A nurse measures the arm of
12-month-old Severine – just 1.5cm (0.6 inches) in diameter, and far too
little for an infant her age. Modeste Loyo Motayo, who heads the health
centre in the town of 47,000 inhabitants, says hunger is the most common
ailment among patients.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/18/in-car-desperation-grows-for-mothers-unable-to-feed-children
Opinion by Gino d'Artali: Men in general are just fools. Not only like
to f**ck around without taking the co-responsibility of feeding the baby
(ies) but instead like to go to war instead where on top they rape women
as being war trophees.
The Guardian
Margaret Busby
17 Dec 2021
<<Feminism
bell hooks obituary
Trailblazing writer, activist and cultural theorist who made a pivotal
contribution to Black feminist thought.
A trailblazing cultural theorist and activist, public intellectual,
teacher and feminist writer, bell hooks, who has died of kidney failure
aged 69, authored around 40 books in a career spanning more than four
decades. Exploring the intersecting oppressions of gender, race and
class, her writings additionally reflected her concerns with issues
related to art, history, sexuality, psychology and spirituality,
ultimately with love at the heart of community healing.
Using storytelling as effectively as social theory, she was creatively
agile in a range of genres, including poetry, essays, memoir, self-help
and children’s books, as well as appearing in documentary films and
working in academia. However, her outstanding legacy may be her pivotal
contribution to Black feminist thought, first articulated in her 1981
book Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, which examined both
historical racism and sexism, going back to the treatment of Black women
from enslavement to give context to continuing racial and sexual
injustice.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/17/bell-hooks-obituary
Al Jazeera
16 Dec 2021
By Bilal Kuchay
<<India to raise legal marriage age for women, activists sceptical
Government clears proposal to raise minimum age of marriage for women
from 18 to 21, but rights activists say the move could be a ‘disaster’.
The Indian government has cleared a proposal to raise the minimum age of
marriage for women from 18 to 21, according to media reports, as women’s
rights activists fear the move could lead to a <real disaster>. The
decision to raise the age was made during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday,
the reports said. Currently, the minimum age of marriage for men is 21
and 18 for women.
Following cabinet approval, the government is likely to introduce an
amendment to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and
consequently bring amendments to the Special Marriage Act and personal
laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
During his Independence Day speech in August last year, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi mentioned the proposal, saying the government <is
constantly concerned about the health of daughters and sisters>. <To
save the daughters from malnutrition, it is necessary that they are
married at the right age,> Modi had said.
Earlier this year, hundreds of girls from the northern state of Haryana,
which has one of the lowest gender ratios of females to males among
Indian states, had written to Modi, urging him to raise the marriage age
from 18 to 21.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her federal budget speech in
February last year said the decision was important and will be looked
into. <As India progresses further, opportunities open up for women to
pursue higher education and careers,> she had said.
<There are imperatives of lowering MMR (maternal mortality rate) as well
as improvement of nutrition levels. The entire issue about the age of a
girl entering motherhood needs to be seen in this light,> she said as
she appointed a task force to look into the matter.
The high-level task force – which had officials from health, law, and
women and child development ministries – backed the proposal,
recommending that a woman must be at least 21 at the time of her first
pregnancy.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/16/india-women-legal-marriage-age-activists-disaster
And read also this related article published by Al Jazeera on 3 Sep 2021
<<Indian girls write to Modi demanding marriage age be raised to 21
Hundreds of girls write to Indian PM, who himself promised last year to
review the minimum age of marriage for women.>>:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/3/indian-girls-write-to-modi-demanding-marriage-age-be-raised-to-21
The Guardian
15 Dec 2021
Rights and freedom is supported by
Humanity United
Ruth Michaelson
<<‘If I’m not on social media, I’m dead’: Qatari feminist activist
feared killed or detained. Rights groups warn 23-year-old Noof
al-Maadeed is at imminent risk, despite reassurances from Qatar
authorities.
Human rights groups are demanding Qatari authorities show proof of life
for a feminist activist, amid growing fears that she has been killed or
detained.
Noof al-Maadeed has been missing since mid-October after returning to
Qatar from the UK. The young activist fled the Gulf kingdom two years
ago, documenting her escape on social media, after alleged attempts on
her life. She had recently returned to Qatar after being given
reassurance by the authorities that she was safe.
Before abruptly breaking her pattern of posting daily updates to Twitter
and Instagram on 13 October, the 23-year-old told her followers to fear
for her safety if she fell silent. Concerned supporters quickly began
using #whereisNoof, demanding to know why she had disappeared.
A Qatari official told the Guardian that al-Maadeed is safe and in good
health, but said they were unable to speak publicly due to a request for
privacy.
“She said that if she is not posting on social media then it means she
is dead. So we are just acting based on what she told us to do,” said
Khalid Ibrahim, head of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), a
Beirut-based organisation which tracks violations in the Middle East.
“The Qatari government can easily prove to the international community
that she is alive. They have no proof, and that is of concern for us.”
GCHR said they had received multiple reports that the Qatari authorities
handed al-Maadeed to her family on 13 October.
Ibrahim and other supporters of al-Maadeed have said it is the
responsibility of the Qatari authorities to prove that the activist is
alive and safe.
<What we know for sure is that she is at imminent risk at the moment.
She was either killed or detained, there is no doubt about it,> said
Ibrahim. Ibrahim accused the Qatari authorities of reneging on their
private assurances to al-Maadeed that she would be protected on her
return. As a result of those assurances, al-Maadeed rescinded her
application for political asylum in the UK and returned to the Gulf
nation to stay in a hotel under the watch of security officials.
Al-Maadeed tweeted in early October that her father had accessed the
hotel and that her life was put at risk, after three alleged previous
attempts to kill her by members of her family. On 12 October she tweeted
<Sheikh Tamim is the only one who can prevent the danger to my life,> a
reference to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
She tweeted <still not safe>, and later <a bit more OK>, the following
day, followed by a thumbs up emoji. She has not spoken publicly since.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/dec/15/if-im-not-on-social-media-im-dead-qatari-feminist-activist-feared-murdered-or-detained
Read also this related article publisched by Al Jazeera on
29 Mar 2021:
<<‘We’re treated as children,’ Qatari women tell rights group
This article is more than 8 months old
Gulf state’s male guardian rules deny women right to wed, travel, work
or to make decisions about their children, report says>>
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/mar/29/were-treated-as-children-qatari-women-tell-rights-group
Al Jazeera
13 Dec 2021
<<Nassar sexual abuse victims reach $380m deal with USA Gymnastics.
The settlement ends a five-year legal battle for victims sexually abused
by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
Athletes who were sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry
Nassar have reached a $380m settlement with the organisation, the US
Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and their insurers, a lawyer for
some of the victims said.
The settlement – described as one of the largest ever for victims of
sexual abuse – ends a five-year legal battle for victims of Nassar, 58.
According to court filings, more than 500 victims have sought
compensation.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/13/sexual-assault-victims-reach-380m-settlement-with-usa-gymnastics
Al Jazeera
13 Dec 2021
<<Canada defence leaders apologise for sexual abuse in the military
Earlier this year, Canada’s military reported more than 500 cases of
sexual assault have taken place since 2015.
Top Canadian officials have apologised for the government’s failure to
do enough to stop widespread sexual abuse in the military.
Newly appointed Defence Minister Anita Anand said on Monday that far too
many people in uniform had suffered sexual assault or discrimination
based on sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.
<We must acknowledge the pain and trauma that so many have endured
because the very institution charged with protecting and defending our
country has not always protected and defended its own members,> Anand
said during a news conference.
<I am apologising to you on behalf of the government of Canada … This
misconduct and abuse of power led to a crisis of broken trust in the
defence team.>
The apology was part of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed
against the government by almost 19,000 serving and retired members of
the military, as well as civilian defence workers.
It comes after several senior officers faced sexual misconduct
investigations, including former Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan
Vance, who has since been charged with obstruction of justice in that
probe.
Current Chief of the Defence Staff, General Wayne Eyre, noted in remarks
on Monday that among soldiers, <trust can mean the difference between
life and death – and we betrayed that trust>.
Women soldiers have complained that the Liberal government of Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau, a self-described feminist, has not done enough
to address an issue highlighted in a landmark 2015 report. Canada has
tasked a former prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal,
Louise Arbour, with helping clean up a culture within the military.
Anand last month accepted Arbour’s recommendation that investigations
and prosecutions over sexual misconduct in the military be handed over
to civilian authorities because of <serious mistrust in the military
justice system>.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/13/canada-defence-leaders-apologise-for-sexual-abuse-in-military
The Guardian
13 Dec 2021
Opinion
<<Violence against women and girls
As a women’s rights lawyer, here’s my manifesto for fixing Britain’s
broken system.
By Harriet Wistrich
The attitudes of prosecutors and judges towards women are as bad as
ever. We need radical change – and we need it now.
fter the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer earlier
this year, a dam burst. Women came out on to the streets of Britain to
protest against male violence, only to be met with police violence.
That dam is still flooding: at least 133 women in the UK have died at
the hands of a man in 2021 so far. Countless more will have taken their
own lives as a consequence of male violence. Women are tired of reading
the names of the women killed by femicide each year, they are tired of
reading about the increase in the reports of sexual violence and
domestic violence, and they are tired of the failure of the criminal
justice system to tackle the problem – as the virtual collapse of rape
prosecutions over the past three years shows.
But perhaps for the first time in living memory, tackling the pandemic
of violence against women and girls (VAWG) is high on the political
agenda. I have been working in this area since the 1990s – as a lawyer
and founder of the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ), which aims to
change the structural disadvantage women and girls face across the
criminal justice system. In the past five years alone, I have
represented survivors of the serial rapist John Worboys in their action
against the Metropolitan police, which failed to investigate him;
represented Sally Challen and other women who killed abusive partners;
and am currently involved in a super complaint about the failure to
address police-perpetrated domestic abuse. However, in my experience,
the attitudes of prosecutors and judges towards women are as bad as
ever.
While initial announcements from the government were kneejerk and ill
thought through – such as undercover police officers in nightclubs or
apps to track women’s routes home – there may be substantial changes
coming. This month, the government announced legislation that will put a
new legal duty on local public bodies to tackle domestic abuse and
sexual offences and has just announced plans for a new victim’s law.
Meanwhile, there is growing pressure to make VAWG part of the strategic
policing requirement – which would bring it in line with other serious
crimes such as organised crime and terrorism.
Increasing the resources of police and other criminal justice agencies
and making the tackling of VAWG a national strategic priority would
certainly go some way to reversing the impact of austerity. A decade of
underfunding has brought the criminal court system to its knees, with
fewer specialist policing units, a dismantled probation service, fewer
support services for women, and significant reductions in legal aid.
However, the comparison with the policing of terrorism may strike a
chilling chord for black, Asian and minority women and men who have been
adversely affected by the government’s Prevent strategy, aimed at
identifying and disrupting potential recruits to terrorism, which has
helped mainstream discrimination against them. Such cynicism about
government intentions is further embedded by the discriminatory
exclusion of migrant women from the protections offered in the recent
domestic abuse bill, the attack on the right to public protest in the
police, crime and sentencing bill, and the curtailing of routes to
refugee status for women fleeing abuse under the nationality and borders
bill.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/13/women-trust-police-britain-domestic-abuse-policing
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