CONFERENCES & OPPORTUNITIES
Call for Papers - Women’s Rights in Egypt & Arab States

NEWS & ARTICLES
WOMEN’S RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
Rabat Call for Support: "Equality Without Reservations"

WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVISM
Legal Support for Embattled Wives in Bahrain
Iran: The Women’s Movement in the 21st Century
Haneen Zoabi Standing up to Fundamentalisms and Apartheid
Hub for Gender Equality Reform in Lebanon

GENDER RIGHTS
Islam without The Veil
Court Sentences 19 Men for Wearing Women's Clothes in Sudan
Obama Chooses Arms Deal over Women's Rights

GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
Keeping Women Tagged by Text in Saudi Arabia
Immigrant Maids Flee Abuse in Kuwait
Lawyer Insists: 'I Had The Right To Defend Sakineh Mohammadi'
Bank To Open Separate Trading Hall For Women in Kuwait
Taliban Stone Couple to Death for Adultery in Afghanistan
Life of Maryam Ghorbanzadeh in Danger, Forced Abortion at Six Months in Iran
Taliban Execute Pregnant Woman for Adultery in Afghanistan
18-year-Old Iranian Facing Imminent Execution on False Charge of Sodomy
IDPs Facing International Neglect in Yemen
Would-Be Woman Suicide Bomber Recalls Failed Mission in Iraq

BOOKS & REPORTS
GENDER IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES
Iran: Women, Islam and...Foreign Policy?
Violence Against Women - Assessing the Situation in Jordan
Early Marriage in Yemen
Women’s Wealth Can Be Catalyst for Social & Economic Change    
GENDER IN ECONOMY
ILO Social Protection Advisors & Policies To Focus On Poor & Vulnerable - Women & Children
Status of Female Farmers Rises During Food Crisis
The Live & Living MDG5 Shadow Report in Asia!

RESOURCES
Women Make Movies – Unveiled Views: Muslim Women Artists Speak Out

CONFERENCES & OPPORTUNITIES
Call for Papers - Women’s Rights in Egypt & Arab States
The Alexandria University Faculty of Law (Alexandria, Egypt), Third Annual Conference, 1-2 December 2010.
The Alexandria University Faculty of Law (AUFL) and The Protection Project at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies are pleased to invite scholars and professionals to submit proposals for the third annual conference, “Women’s Rights in Egypt and Arab States,” which will take place December 1 – 2, 2010 at the Helnan Palestine Hotel in Alexandria, Egypt. http://www.wluml.org/node/6514

NEWS & ARTICLES
WOMEN’S RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
Rabat Call for Support: "Equality Without Reservations"
‘Equality without Reservation’ Campaign aims to urge Arab countries to withdraw reservations to the international Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and ratify its Optional Protocol. Sign Petition Online: http://rabatcall.epetitions.net/

WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVISM
Legal Support for Embattled Wives in Bahrain
BAHRAINI women are losing battles in court due to a lack of awareness of their rights, according to a leading social worker. Their ignorance about Sharia law often allows cases to be ruled in favour of their husbands, said Bahrain Women Union (BWU) family counsellor Hanan Abdulla.
http://www.wluml.org/node/6546

Iran: The Women’s Movement in the 21st Century
Shiva Nazar-Ahari, a journalist and human rights defender who had already spent 9 months in Evin prison, was scheduled to appear in court on May 23, 2010 on charges of propagation against the regime for her work with the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), as well as allegations of acting against national security because of her participation in gatherings on November 4th and December 7th, 2009.
http://www.wluml.org/node/6545

Haneen Zoabi Standing up to Fundamentalisms and Apartheid
During the visit by leaders of the Palestinian community to Libya a few months ago, MK Hanin Zuabi (Balad) stood out in particular - the only woman in the "Arabs of 1948" delegation invited to visit Muammar Gadhafi. “When we met with Gadhafi in his tent in the town of Sert, this remarkable woman showed courage that is rare in these parts. The leader preached to us and advised us to practice one of the tenets of Islam - marry four women and bring many children into the world to fight the Israelis. Zuabi, who is known for her struggle for the rights of Palestinian women in Israel, did not hesitate and pointed out to Gadhafi that his philosophy was not acceptable to her because it oppresses women. http://www.wluml.org/node/6588

Hub for Gender Equality Reform in Lebanon
Lebanon may be used as a regional base for the spread of gender equality, a representative from the Council of Europe (CE), a Europe-wide organization concerned with the promotion of human rights and the rule of law, revealed. “We are hoping to use Lebanon as a hub for stretching out legislation against domestic abuse across the region,” José Bota, chairperson of the Equal Opportunities for Women and Men from the parliamentary branch of the CE, told The Daily Star. http://www.wluml.org/node/6570

GENDER RIGHTS
Islam without The Veil
Since the recent controversy surrounding the French government’s ban on total face coverings (burqa or niqab), the head scarf issue has once again attracted the world’s attention. Indeed, only very few Muslim women cover their face completely, which is a reflection of the attitude preached by Sayed al Tantawi, an imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo, who boldly stated that total face coverings are not in accordance with Islamic teachings. It is therefore not surprising that the education ministry in Syria, a Muslim majority country, has also issued a ban on niqab in all state and private universities. http://www.wluml.org/node/6530

Court Sentences 19 Men for Wearing Women's Clothes in Sudan
A Sudanese court on Wednesday sentenced 19 young Muslim men to 30 lashes and a fine for breaking moral codes by wearing women's clothes and makeup, a case exposing Sudanese sensitivity towards homosexuality. Many of the defendants tried to hide their faces from the around 200 people who watched as they were lashed straight after their sentencing.
http://www.wluml.org/node/6564

Obama Chooses Arms Deal over Women's Rights
Far from calling the Saudi king on his awful record on human rights and women’s issues, the president is pushing a huge arms deal and heaping praise on the monarch. He’s not only continuing Bush’s soft Saudi policy—he’s surpassing it. In the next two months, Congress will be asked to give formal approval to a staggering new arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Valued at $30 billion, the deal includes selling the Saudis state-of-the-art missile technology, jets, ships, and helicopters.  http://www.wluml.org/node/6554

GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
Keeping Women Tagged by Text in Saudi Arabia
Want to know whether your wife, sister or daughter has left the county? Well, in Saudi Arabia, there's an app for that. Reportedly, male guardians or mahrams in Saudi Arabia are now receiving text message notifications when their female charges leave the country unaccompanied. http://www.wluml.org/node/6551

Immigrant Maids Flee Abuse in Kuwait
With nowhere else to go, dozens of Nepalese maids who fled from their employers now sleep on the floor in the lobby of their embassy here, next to the visitors’ chairs. In the Philippines Embassy, more than 200 women are packed in a sweltering room, where they sleep on their luggage and pass the time singing along to Filipino crooners on television. So many runaways are sheltering in the Indonesian Embassy that some have left a packed basement and taken over a prayer room. http://www.wluml.org/node/6543

Lawyer Insists: 'I Had The Right To Defend Sakineh Mohammadi'
"I was the lawyer of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and I had the right to defend her," Iranian lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei says of the case that has drawn international attention. Mostafaei was defending Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery when Iranian officials jailed his wife, her brother, and his father-in-law in an apparent attempt to pressure him to back down. http://www.wluml.org/node/6550

Bank To Open Separate Trading Hall For Women in Kuwait
Accommodating the growing number of Kuwaiti women wanting to trade, as well as Kuwaiti cultural tradition, the Kuwait Finance House is opening a trading hall exclusively for women at the local stock market exchange. “Women’s banking is no longer limited to deposit and withdrawal,” Tahani Saleh Al-Khamis, an area manager with the bank Kuwait Finance House told The Media Line. [Women’s banking] has expanded over and beyond to include the demand for diversified products such as participation in investment funds and portfolios, particularly new and existing [ones].” http://www.wluml.org/node/6552

Taliban Stone Couple to Death for Adultery in Afghanistan
Taliban forces have stoned a couple to death for adultery in a public execution. With Nato and UN officials in Kabul poring over the latest Taliban proposal to establish a joint commission to investigate civilian casualties, officials in the north of the country were detailing a killing that Amnesty International described as the first confirmed stoning in the country since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.   http://www.wluml.org/node/6586

Life of Maryam Ghorbanzadeh in Danger, Forced Abortion at Six Months in Iran
According to Javid Kian, the lawyer for 25 year old Maryam Ghorbanzadeh, in a letter to Judiciary intelligence and security, judicial officials (most notably Saeed Mortazavi) decided that the case of Maryam Ghorbanzadeh needs to be resolved so they could deal with Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s case.  Javid Kian tells Rooz that “all the attention is focused on the Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani case, and in the midst of it all, the life of Ms. Ghorbanzadeh is at risk.  In the wake of protests against Ms. Ashtiani’s stoning sentence, [authorities] changed the stoning sentence for Ms. Ghorbanzadeh to death by hanging. http://www.wluml.org/node/6579

Taliban Execute Pregnant Woman for Adultery in Afghanistan
Taliban insurgents flogged and publicly executed a pregnant Afghan widow for alleged adultery according to reports. The woman, Sanum Gul (also reported as Bibi Sanubar by DAWN), was killed in Badghis province in western Afghanistan, the provincial governor's spokesman said. After being held in captivity for three days and flogged 200 times, Gul -- whose age was given as both 35 and 47 in various reports -- was shot in the head three times, said Hashim Habibi, the district governor of Qades, also located in the province. http://www.wluml.org/node/6575

18-year-Old Iranian Facing Imminent Execution on False Charge of Sodomy
An 18-year-old Iranian is facing imminent execution on charges of homosexuality, even though he has no legal representation. Ebrahim Hamidi, who is not gay, was sentenced to death for lavat, or sodomy, on the basis of "judge's knowledge", a legal loophole that allows for subjective judicial rulings where there is no conclusive evidence. http://www.wluml.org/node/6568

IDPs Facing International Neglect in Yemen
 Yemen - Following intermittent clashes between Al-Houthi groups and the Yemeni government in July 2009, the situation in Sa’ada governorate escalated into open conflict in the sixth round of hostilities since 2004. Tens of thousands of people were displaced from Sa’ada and Amran governorates, adding to those displaced by previous rounds of fighting. For many, it was their second or third displacement over the last few years. http://bit.ly/biJxBQ

Would-Be Woman Suicide Bomber Recalls Failed Mission in Iraq
Young Iraqi woman tells of how she was enlisted by insurgents to carry out attack in marketplace. Before sending her off with a suicide bomb strapped to her waist, Rania al-Anbaki’s husband made a wish. "you’ll be a martyr and we’ll meet in heaven. I hope you’ll choose me,” she recalls him saying.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/would-be-suicide-bomber-recalls-failed-missi...
 
BOOKS & REPORTS
GENDER IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES
Iran: Women, Islam and...Foreign Policy?
Early July pulsed with reports of Iranian mother Sakineh Ashtiani's impending execution, which, at the time, was to be carried out by stoning. Her alleged crime was zina, adultery or fornication, a moral transgression for which more women are punished than men. Because stoning is defended on religious grounds (in Articles 86 and 105 of the Iranian penal code), its champions afford themselves the authority to acquiesce rarely, if ever, to external demands for clemency. So while diplomatic pressure, international offers of asylum, and a Western media push constitute the most visible efforts to "free Sakineh," a new book suggests that "Islamic feminists," or individuals working within Islamic discourse to promote women's empowerment, constitute a more potent activism over the long term. http://www.wluml.org/node/6595

Violence Against Women - Assessing the Situation in Jordan
This report contributes to the joint programming of Jordan as one of the selected pilot countries. It presents the findings of Jordan country assessment in relation to active stakeholders working in the field of Violence against Women (VAW); and summarizes the results of the gap analysis in legislation and policies, services provided and capacities available at the national level to combat violence against women. Full report:
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/ianwge/taskforces/vaw/VAW_Jordan_baseline_a...

Early Marriage in Yemen
Yemen Observer has shed light on the subject and raised awareness about child marriage which is illegal under Yemeni law and a rights abuse against children.  What are the motives, problems, and social and economic complexes that make parents sacrifice their daughters. The percentage of child marriages in Yemen amounted to 65 percent, according to a Sana’a University study. It is due to poverty, culture, mistaken beliefs and the social complexes that are rampant among individuals that are not easily dissolved, especially in rural areas and villages. The phenomenon is widely spread throughout the country especially the marriage of 9-12 year old girls in Thamar Governorate. Does the parents’ greed continue to destroy their minors’ innocence?
http://www.yobserver.com/reports/10019224.html

Women’s Wealth Can Be Catalyst for Social & Economic Change    
A large portion of the Kingdom’s wealth is in the hands of its women who are believed to be sitting on cash totaling $ 11.9 billion.
 “The Kingdom has a veritable treasure trove of human and financial capital in the form of its women who control a large portion of the country’s wealth,” said a report released on Monday by the Cayman Islands-based asset management firm Al-Masah Capital.
http://www.gulfinthemedia.com/index.php?id=529527&news_type=Economy&lang...

GENDER IN ECONOMY
ILO Social Protection Advisors & Policies To Focus On Poor & Vulnerable - Women & Children
 Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet presided over the first meeting of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group, held in Geneva on 11 and 12 August and convened by the ILO Director-General, Juan Somavia.The social protection floor is a set of basic social security rights and transfers, as well as essential services in the area of employment, health, water and sanitation, nutrition, education and family-support, to protect and empower poor and vulnerable people to work out of poverty.
These social policies must be combined in a coherent and integral life cycle approach and have a special focus on the most vulnerable groups of society, including women, children and youth.
http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Pre...

Status of Female Farmers Rises During Food Crisis
Women produce between 60 and 80 percent of the food in poorer countries.
(WOMENSENEWS)--The women who grow more than half the world's agricultural produce have gained international recognition and aid since the start of the global food crisis in 2007.
http://www.womensenews.org/story/environment/100810/status-female-farmer...

The Live & Living MDG5 Shadow Report in Asia!
The Live & Living MDG 5 Shadow Report is an interactive, web-based report on the progress of the Millennium Development Goals 3 & 5 in twelve countries in Asia. The countries covered include the South Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan; the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines; the Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam as well as the East Asian country of China.  View the MDG5 Shadow Report at: http://www.mdg5watch.org

RESOURCES

Women Make Movies – Unveiled Views: Muslim Women Artists Speak Out
http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c781.shtml
Link to Film Segment: http://www.wmm.com/advscripts/wmmvideo.aspx?pid=80