CONFERNCES & OPPORTUNITIES

Call for Papers - Women & Scriptures in the Arab World
Arab League Committee Of Governmental Experts For Human Rights
Terres Collectives : Conférence de Presse et Sit-in

NEWS & ARTICLES

WOMEN’S RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
Women’s right to nationality || Equality without Reservation Campaign

WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVISM
Women Take Key role in Protests in Iran

GENDER RIGHTS
Saudi Arabia Pledges Positives Changes On Women’s Rights & End To Juvenile Death Penalty - UN – Implementation Important
Women & Driving-Saudi Arabia
Statement by 250 Members of the Women’s Movement in Iran
MCC Welcomes Sarkozy's Comment on Burka in France
Move to Ban Wearing of the Burqa in France
Law Allocates 64 Parliamentary Seats for Women in Egypt
Women want greater political representation in Lebanon

GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
Making the State Protect Women in Turkey
Court grants blood money to dead maid’s family in Saudi Arabia
Woman Killed to "Maintain Family Honor" in Palestine

CITIZENSHIP & SECTARIANISM
Government Postpones Discussion of Draft Law in Lebanon

GENDER & PERSONAL STATUS LAW
Rabbinical Court Pressures US Man for Jewish Divorce; Rabbinical Court's Exit Ban Forces US Man to Divorce Wife
L’Etat marocain remet en question l’identité des femmes Soulaliyates- Au sujet de l’action en Justice visant l’annulation des décisions du Conseil de Tutelle

BOOKS & REPORTS

GENDER & DEVELOPMENT
Households & Sustainable Human Economy
ILO - Gender Equality at the Heart of Decent Work - 2009 Report
Migrant Women Workers - Protection from Exploitative Work
International: Positioning Sexuality in Development
Egypt-Female Circumcision Decreasing Among Young Women
Marriage, Motherhood and Masculinity in the Global Economy
GENDER RESOURCES
Lebanon-Beirut - Photo: Getting Covered for the First Time

CONFERNCES & OPPORTUNITIES

Call for Papers - Women & Scriptures in the Arab World
The Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW), at the Lebanese American University, is in the process of soliciting articles for the forthcoming issue of our quarterly publication Al¬Raida which will focus on ³Women and Scriptures in the Arab World.² for more information on the topics please check this link: Al-Raida - http://www.lau.edu.lb/centers-institutes/iwsaw/raida.html

Arab League Committee Of Governmental Experts For Human Rights
All the literature and previous experience in the field of human rights agreed the fact that a regional system of human rights would achieve its desired goals assumed the availability of a number of criteria, the most important one the existence of regional human rights recognizes a set of basic human rights, obliges States to respect it, working on Dedication and protect it , working to create control mechanisms , and hold the trial on the States to work on respect human rights in its various exercise, and it Constitute indicators of the maturity of the regional system and the justification for its success.
More Information available through this link http://www.wunrn.com/news/2009/06_09/06_22_09/062209_arab.htm

Terres Collectives : Conférence de Presse et Sit-in
L’Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc et le Forum Alternatives Maroc organisent le Jeudi 02 Juillet 2009 à 14h30 au siège de l’ADFM à Rabat une conférence de presse.
L’Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc et le Forum Alternatives Maroc organisent le Jeudi 02 Juillet 2009 à 14h30 au siège de l’ADFM à Rabat une conférence de presse pour tenir informée l’opinion publique de la situation des femmes Soulaliyates et de l’évolution enregistrée dans l’action en justice que ces dernières ont introduite auprès du tribunal administratif de Rabat.
http://www.adfm.ma/spip.php?article849

NEWS & ARTICLES

WOMEN’S RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
Lebanon - Campaign for Women's Right to Citizenship
One can be born in Lebanon and live here all one's life, and still not be a Lebanese citizen. Lebanon is one of few remaining countries in the Middle East where a mother is unable to pass citizenship to her children.
Campaigners have succeeded in securing that right in countries such as Egypt, which amended the law in 2004 to allow women to pass citizenship to their children, and in Algeria, which granted women full citizenship rights in 2005. In Lebanon the struggle continues.
http://www.ipsnews.net:80/news.asp?idnews=47119

Women’s right to nationality || Equality without Reservation Campaign
Arab women are still denied their right to confer their nationality to their children and husbands. Radio Monte Carlo hosted three women activists from Morocco, Lebanon and Bahrain to introduce the nationality laws that discriminate against women.
http://www.rmc-mo.com/rmar/emissions/113/emission_principal_95.asp

WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVISM
Women Take Key role in Protests in Iran
Iranian women have been on the front lines of anti-government protests challenging the official results of the June 12 election, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the victor. The face of a woman has become the symbol of the opposition. Music student Neda Agha Soltan, 27, was captured on video dying of a gunshot wound. The unsettling scene was transmitted around the world, and even President Obama referred to it this week. http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564766

GENDER RIGHTS
Saudi Arabia Pledges Positives Changes On Women’s Rights & End To Juvenile Death Penalty - UN – Implementation Important
Saudi Arabia made important commitments on women's rights, on ending the juvenile death penalty and on other human rights issues during its review by the UN Human Rights Council on June 10, 2009 and should now work to carry out these reforms rapidly, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/06/12/un-saudi-arabia-pledges-end-men-s-...

Women & Driving-Saudi Arabia
'Shariah Does Not Bar Women from Driving'
Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, a professor of Comparative Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and a former judge at Hail court, has called for women to be allowed to drive, saying that there are no objections to it in Shariah and that "customs and traditions in our society must not rule us absolutely."
http://www.wunrn.com/news/2009/06_09/06_01_09/060109_saudi.htm

Statement by 250 Members of the Women’s Movement in Iran
Zhila Bani-Yaghoub and her spouse, Bahman Amouiee, are among the undersigned but have since been arrested and are currently among the detainees. This statement was circulated among women’s rights activists in the current conditions of a near complete communication shut-down. Therefore, many women’s rights activists [interested in signing] might not have yet seen this statement at this point. http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564729

MCC Welcomes Sarkozy's Comment on Burka in France
The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) applauds French president Nicholas Sarkozy for his clarity in condemning the burka as a tool of oppression against Muslim women. The MCC believes the burka is being disingenuously marketed to Muslim women as an act of faith and a religious precept. MCC president Sohail Raza said "Islamists arguing for its continuance in the public sphere have only one objective in mind, which is to exercise control over the lives of women, reducing their chances to make positive and meaningful contributions to society". http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564760

Move to Ban Wearing of the Burqa in France
Five years after France prohibited the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in public schools, a movement is gathering momentum for a more radical measure: outlawing the wearing of the burqa in public. A group of 58 law-makers introduced a parliamentary resolution calling for the creation of a committee of inquiry into the wearing of the burqa and niqab on French territory. A burqa is the most concealing of all Islamic veils as it covers the entire face and body, leaving only a mesh screen to see through. The niqab is a face veil that sometimes leaves the eyes clear and is sometimes worn with a separate eye veil. http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564748

Law Allocates 64 Parliamentary Seats for Women in Egypt
This law allocating seats for women in the People's Assembly has come after more than 25 years of women's numbers decreasing in the parliament. Women's greatest presence in the parliament was in 1984 when the participation reached to 35 representatives in comparison to 2005, which witnessed only 9 representatives, including four elected and five appointed. Although article No. 40 of the Egyptian constitution emphasizes absolute equality between men and women, the reality of equality is shaped primarily by customs, traditions and direct interests, which is reinforced by the per capita electoral system. This law comes as compensation for women's many years of marginalization by political powers. http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564726

Women want greater political representation in Lebanon
While Lebanese women today enjoy senior positions in the private sector; political appointments have all but eluded them. Lebanese women were granted suffrage in 1953, yet to this day they face considerable obstacles entering politics in a country where political dynasties and patriarchy rule. Most women who do enter politics do so "wearing black", filling a position made available by a deceased male relative. Two such examples are Myrna Boustani, who became the first Lebanese woman in parliament upon her father's death, and Nayla Mouawad, who entered parliament after becoming a widowed former first lady of Lebanon. http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564700

GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
Making the State Protect Women in Turkey
The state's duty to protect the right to life has been applied in a domestic violence context for the first time in Turkey. The European Court of Human Rights made an important ruling against the government of Turkey (which is a signatory to the European convention on human rights) for failure to protect Nahide Opuz and her mother against Opuz's violent ex-husband. http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564733

Court grants blood money to dead maid’s family in Saudi Arabia
A Saudi court has authorized the payment of SR200,000 in blood money to the family of Suryati Bint Dulbari Nurisman, an Indonesian maid in her 20s the authorities say was tortured and beaten to death by a Saudi housewife. “This is a case of brutal murder because Dulbari’s sponsor and his wife have been periodically beating her,” said Wishnu Krisnamurthi, a spokesman of the Indonesian Embassy. http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564696

Woman Killed to "Maintain Family Honor" in Palestine
On Wednesday, 10 June 2009, Sahdia Abu Sa'ad, from Deir al-Balah refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, was killed allegedly "to maintain family honor." Investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) indicate that at approximately 17:40 on Wednesday, 10 June 2009, the body of Sahdia 'Abdul Rahman Abu Sa'ad, 21, from Deir al-Balah refugee camp, was brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Police examined the victim’s body and the scene of the crime. Police sources revealed that the victim's father issued a confession to the police. http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564680

CITIZENSHIP & SECTARIANISM
Government Postpones Discussion of Draft Law in Lebanon
The members of the National Alliance for Legalizing the Protection of Women from Family Violence did not get the result they were expecting when the bill for the Protection of Women from Family Violence was listed number 1 on the Cabinet’s agenda. The disappointing decision stated the referral of the bill to a ministerial committee for further examination and deliberation. However, the four member of the committee had all previously expressed their support to the bill, and already examined and explicitly approved it”, said Mrs. Zoya Rouhana, Director of KAFA (enough) Violence & Exploitation during the press conference held by the organization Wednesday morning at the Press Association.
http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564677

GENDER & PERSONAL STATUS LAW
Rabbinical Court Pressures US Man for Jewish Divorce; Rabbinical Court's Exit Ban Forces US Man to Divorce Wife
In a groundbreaking ruling, the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court had the final say this week in the divorce case of a Jewish American couple that has dragged on for six years, as the husband has refused to grant his wife a get (Jewish divorce).
After three nights in jail and a ban preventing him from leaving the country, however, the wanton husband - who is not an Israeli citizen - finally succumbed to the demands of the Rabbinic Court Administration (RCA) and agreed to free his wife from their marriage. It was the first time that Israel's religious court system has ever flexed its muscles in a case involving Jews from abroad.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull...

L’Etat marocain remet en question l’identité des femmes Soulaliyates- Au sujet de l’action en Justice visant l’annulation des décisions du Conseil de Tutelle
L’Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc et le Forum Alternatives Maroc, expriment leur surprise et indignation suite à la réponse du représentant de l’Etat dans le cadre de l’action en justice introduite par les femmes Soulaliyates de la région du Gharb devant le tribunal administratif de Rabat visant l’annulation des décisions du Conseil de tutelle. En effet, le conseil de tutelle présidé par le Ministère de l’Intérieur a presque systématiquement reconnu et dédommagé les hommes comme des ayant droits à l’exclusion des femmes.
http://www.adfm.ma/spip.php?article847

BOOKS & REPORTS

GENDER & DEVELOPMENT
Households & Sustainable Human Economy
This paper is an effort to present shortly a picture or the sketch for a global household or the sustainable human economy, within which we should integrate the private households, the cultivation economy and the market and make them to operate harmoniously and sustainable.

ILO - Gender Equality at the Heart of Decent Work - 2009 Report
This report has three aims: reviewing the ILO’s progress in assisting constituents to achieve gender equality in the world of work; highlighting its current efforts to implement International Labour Conference (ILC) resolutions and Governing Body decisions on promoting gender equality and mainstreaming it in the Decent Work Agenda; and providing background for constituents to chart a strategic course for future work. For more information please go to the Direct Link to FULL REPORT - 263 Pages:http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_105119.pdf

Migrant Women Workers - Protection from Exploitative Work
More and more women, especially Asian women, are migrating legally or illegally for overseas employment. These women are among the most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, mainly because they are outside the legal protection of their home countries and because they work in jobs - as domestic servants, prostitutes, entertainers, contract manual labour - which are not covered by labour legislation.
http://www.wunrn.com/news/2009/06_09/06_01_09/060109_migrant.htm

International: Positioning Sexuality in Development
while one could think that aspects relating to sexuality would come into this debate as one of the key dimensions of human development, main obstacles remain, which make it difficult to more fully incorporate sexuality as development priority.
http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564762

Egypt-Female Circumcision Decreasing Among Young Women
While over 90% of Egyptian women age 15-49 have been circumcised, the 2008 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) indicates that female circumcision rates are declining and that support for the practice is waning. For more information:
http://www.wunrn.com/news/2009/06_09/06_22_09/062209_egypt.htm

Marriage, Motherhood and Masculinity in the Global Economy
The feminisation of labour markets around the world is having new and often unpredictable effects on the family and the social economy alike, finds Naila Kabeer.
The processes of globalization sweeping across the world today are being driven by neo-liberal ideologies which celebrate untrammelled market forces, the free movement of capital and the sovereignty of the citizen-consumer. Labour remains subject to many more restrictions than capital, but it too has become a global resource. As governments are increasingly forced to pursue competitive advantage in the global economy through the construction of flexible labour markets, in which workers can be hired and fired with impunity, women have emerged as the flexible labour force par excellence.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/5050/marriage_motherhood_and_mascul...

GENDER RESOURCES
Lebanon-Beirut - Photo: Getting Covered for the First Time

Photo of Young Muslim Girl Getting Covered for the First Time-Lebanon
Women of Islam is a Photo Series by the photographer RANIA MATAR
http://www.raniamatar.com/portfolio/women/index.html