Disturbing pictures of children at one of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Maiduguri being served food with a shovel
Thursday, 27 August 2015
We can all do something about rape - An Article by Niran Adedokun
I recall that while growing up, guys had
some silly way of explaining away forceful sexual encounters with girls.
Having been brought up to believe that women would naturally turn down
advances even if they were interested, these guys pleaded that they did
not consider forced intimacy with girls a crime. As far as they knew,
the girl desired it as much as they did but since she was too timid to
own up to it, they merely helped her to make up her mind. So they did
not think they did anything criminal.
I do not remember that any of these cases
went beyond some manner of amicable appeasement from the family of the
aggressors to the families of the victims. Certainly, none of these
neighbhourhood incidents got as far being reported to the police. In the
estimation of families in those days, these were issues to lock up in
the cupboard, skeletons never to be exposed to the outside world. They
talked in hushed tones fearing that if anyone outside the two families
got wind of the gist, there would be a lot of stigma surrounding the
victim and her family such that the girl may never find a suitor.
Goats, chickens, books can prevent African child marriage - research
"One of the findings is that you can do a modest, cost-contained intervention that will make a difference," said Annabel Erulkar, lead researcher and Ethiopia country director for the Population Council, which carried out the study.
Read More Here
Saudi preacher who beat his 5-year-old daughter to death because he doubted her virginity has been released
A court in Saudi Arabia has dropped the charges of manslaughter and sexual
assault against the father of Luma, the 5-year-old daughter he had beaten
to death in 2011. His sentence was reduced to only the charge of 'excessive
disciplining that resulted in death'. According to Saudi Daily Al Sharq, the decision was taken after no trace of
semen was found on her body.
Luma’s case became widely known in 2012 when details emerged of how she was tortured
by her father during a visit to him and his new wife. Reports said that the
father used wires and an iron rod to punish his daughter after he had expressed
doubts about her virginity. Luma died after four months in coma and was not
buried for another four months pending the investigation and the autopsy
procedures.
In 2013, a court in Hawtat Bani Tamim, 160 kilometres south of the capital Riyadh, sentenced Al Gamdi to eight years in prison and 800 lashes and his second wife to 10 months in prison and 150 lashes for not reporting the torture inflicted on Luma. However, following an appeal, Al Gamdi’s sentence was reduced to four years and then, after a new challenge, to three years.
Luma’s divorced mother, an Egyptian national, said that her daughter lived with her under a court order and was allowed to visit her father even though he reportedly did not seem to care about her. She added that she had agreed to marry her ex-husband as he appeared to be a gentle and reformed man after spending years of his life as a drug addict. However, following the marriage, he turned into a violent man who often beat her, forcing her to file for divorce.
A court in the Eastern Province city of Dammam ruled in her favour and she was told by the judge that she could have the custody of the daughter until the girl reached the age of seven. The mother said that, following the divorce, her former husband had met their daughter only on four occasions.
“The last visit was when I took
her to see him in Riyadh where he had moved after he lapsed into a long silence
even though Luma was keen on seeing him.” Luma’s mother told Saudi media. “The
agreement was that she spends only two weeks with him, but after 14 days he refused
to let her come back home to me. The last words I heard from her were ‘I love
you, mum and I always pray for you.’ Her father often said that he would make
her forget all about me”
In December 2011, Luma’s mother was informed by the police in Riyadh that her daughter was in hospital where she was being treated for severe burns and bruises, and that her condition was critical.
“It was such a terrible shock to see her frail body in this tragic state. She remained paralyzed for several months before she passed away,” she said.
The mother initially insisted on the death penalty for her former husband and his wife for “torturing” her daughter, but she later changed her mind, saying that she would rather take blood money to help her with the increasingly frustrating financial challenges.
“I have three other children from a previous marriage and a house to look after and I will need the money. There is no interest for the family in the execution of my former husband.”
Amid the public outrage about the case and claims that Al Gamdi would not be given the punishment he deserved because of his religious status, the Islamic Affairs Ministry said he was not on its official list of Islamic preachers.
Al Gambi’s lawyer, Mansour Al Khunaizan told Saudi daily Al Sharq,
“The Court of Appeals has decided to release my client on bail and to refer the private laws case to a lower court to review it,” he said.
The lawyer however warned he would take action against all the media that had tarnished the reputation of his client and the status of the judicial system in Saudi Arabia by misreporting the facts about the case.
Source: Gulf News
Video; 15 Year Old Rape Survivor Shares Her Story on Unsafe Abortions in Kenya
Every year, thousands of Kenyan women and girls are forced to risk their lives to end a pregnancy. Now they’re fighting back to ensure their safety.
This is how Wanjiku found herself doing what hundreds of thousands of women in Kenya are forced to do each year: seeking abortion care from an unqualified provider.
WATCH VIDEO HERE
The Push for a Woman to Run the U.N.
The
United Nations has had eight secretaries general. All have been men.
Each has been selected through back-room dealing dominated by the five
world powers that hold permanent seats on the Security Council.
It’s
time to change that. The appointment of the civil servant who serves as
the next head of the United Nations should be more transparent. It
would be powerfully symbolic to appoint a woman to the helm of an
organization created 70 years ago to tackle the world’s most pressing
problems through diplomacy and global consensus.
TODAY MARKS THE 500TH DAY OF CHIBOK GIRLS ABDUCTION
Today
is the 500th day since 273 Nigerian school girls were kidnapped. We ask
that all of you, from whatever city/country you live, to continue to
march and hold rallies. Continue to call your government leaders and
tell your friends. We will not be silenced.
Everyday the family at the Bring Back Our Girls headquarters in Abuja march and rally by the hundreds.
#BringBackOurGirls
Everyday the family at the Bring Back Our Girls headquarters in Abuja march and rally by the hundreds.
#BringBackOurGirls
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