Tag Archives: women peace and security

5 Steps That Offer the Best Hope For Egypt’s Future

August 16, 2013 at 12:25 PM
A supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi stands among the bodies of dead pro-Morsi protesters on the floor of the Rabaa al-Adaweya Medical Centre in Cairo, Egypt (Photo Credit: Ed Giles/Getty Images).

A supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi stands among the bodies of dead pro-Morsi protesters on the floor of the Rabaa al-Adaweya Medical Centre in Cairo, Egypt (Photo Credit: Ed Giles/Getty Images).

Egyptian security forces can’t break old habits, and now the spirit of the 2011 Uprisings is in disarray.

For the third day in a row, security forces have attacked supporters for deposed President Mohamad Morsi, some of whom are armed and have fired back. Health officials put the death toll on Wednesday at 525, but that number has surely gone higher in the two days since.

The military has imposed a State of Emergency, inspiring memories of the abuses under the Mubarak regime facilitated by the special laws of a 30-year State of Emergency.

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Stand With Malala Yousafzai & the Right to Education at the United Nations

July 10, 2013 at 9:00 AM
In October 2012, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen, but survived. Now, in her first public appearance since the attack, she will stand with the UN in calling for youth around the world to have access to education (Photo Credit: Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images).

In October 2012, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen, but survived. Now, in her first public appearance since the attack, she will stand with the UN in calling for youth around the world to have access to education (Photo Credit: Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images).

By Luka Mutinda, 2013 Ladis Kristof Fellow, AIUSA National Youth Action Committee Co-Chair

Nine months ago, a 15-year-old Pakistani girl named Malala Yousafzai stood up in brave defiance of the Taliban’s ban against female education. She was shot by Taliban gunmen in a senseless act of violence, but her powerful statement drew attention to education rights for millions of young people across the world.

This week, hundreds of youth leaders from around the world will come together at the United Nations headquarters in New York to stand in solidarity with Malala and the millions of young people who are denied access to education.

This Friday, Malala will be making her first public appearance since the shooting last fall. To commemorate her 16th birthday and highlight the urgency of the global education crisis, youth leaders will stand with Malala on July 12th to present the first-ever set of education policy demands drafted by youth.

I will join Emil Gronwall, an Amnesty youth leader from Sweden in representing Amnesty International at this historic event to address the UN youth assembly and deliver the “The Youth Resolution: The Education We Want” to world leaders in a collaborative global UN Youth Takeover.

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Sexual Assaults On Female Protesters Continue Amid Political Turmoil

July 3, 2013 at 11:19 AM
Faced with a spike in sexual violence against female protesters, Egyptian women are overcoming stigma and recounting painful testimonies to force silent authorities and a reticent society to confront "sexual terrorism" (Photo Credit: Mahmud Khaled/AFP/Getty Images).

Faced with a spike in sexual violence against female protesters, Egyptian women are overcoming stigma and recounting painful testimonies to force silent authorities and a reticent society to confront “sexual terrorism” (Photo Credit: Mahmud Khaled/AFP/Getty Images).

By Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Egypt researcher, in Cairo 

While the world is focusing on the political fall-out of millions of people taking to the streets in Egypt, with widespread calls for the resignation of President Mohamed Morsi, and the army taking over, other stomach-turning developments have passed virtually unnoticed: Women and girls protesting in the vicinity of Tahrir Square are, time and time again, being sexually attacked by mobs, with authorities remaining idle.

This is not a new phenomenon.

Testimonies from women caught up in the demonstrations, survivors from previous protests and those trying to help, point to a horrific chain of events: tens if not hundreds of men surround their victims, tearing-off their clothes and veils, unzipping trousers, groping breasts and backsides. Sticks, blades and other weapons are frequently used in such attacks.

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Torture in Mexico: ‘I Still Think It Was a Nightmare’

June 24, 2013 at 8:22 AM


It took Miriam Isaura López Vargas several weeks to piece together what happened to her after she was tortured and raped by Mexican soldiers.

On February 2, 2011, the 30-year-old mother of four had just dropped three of her children at school in the city of Ensenada, located in northern Mexico, when two men wearing balaclavas forced her into a white van and took her away.

Until then, Miriam didn’t know the men were soldiers or that she was being taken to a military barracks. She was blindfolded and her hands were tied.

“I didn’t know who they were or anything, and when I asked them they put a gun to my head and told me to shut up or they would blow my head off,” she told Amnesty International.

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The Girl On The Schoolbus

October 11, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Malala Yousafzai

Pakistanis protest against the assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai in Islamabad on October 11, 2012.© AFP/GettyImages

Malala Yousufzai got on the bus on Tuesday morning to go to school. With her, were two of her school friends, also bound for Mingora, the largest town in Pakistan’s Swat District, where their school is located. It was an ill-fated journey. Before the girls could get to school that morning, Tehreek-e-Taliban gunmen accosted the bus.

One of the girls, Shazia Razaman confirmed that they were specifically looking for Malala. She was easy to find, and when they did find her, they shot her in the head. Hours, later as Pakistanis and the world, watched, aghast and stunned at yet another act of inhumane violence, the spokesperson for the Tehreek-e-Taliban, specifically took responsibility for the attack saying:

“She is a Western-minded girl. She always speaks against us. We will target anyone who speaks against the Taliban.”

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Congress Introduces Legislation to Bring Women to the Peacemaking Table

August 2, 2012 at 4:09 PM
Women Call for Peace in Congo

Congolese women demonstrate for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo on August 1, 2012. (PHIL MOORE/AFP/GettyImages)

Peace is hard to come by. And a peace that is robust and lasting is all the more difficult to secure when a major stakeholder is left out of the peace process: Women.

Today, the US Congress took a big step in recognizing the critical role that women all over the world play in the prevention and resolution of violent conflicts through the introduction of the Women, Peace and Security Act (WPS) of 2012 (H.R 6255, S.3477).
Thanks to the bipartisan leadership of Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO) and Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), the WPS Act will ensure that the US promotes the meaningful inclusion and participation of women in all peace processes that seek to prevent, alleviate, or resolve violent conflict. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Disturbing Video Reported to Show Taliban Execution of Afghan Woman

July 9, 2012 at 3:48 PM

An appalling video has surfaced that shows what news reports have said is the execution of an Afghan woman in Parwan province by Taliban commanders for alleged adultery.  The video shows a woman who has been identified as a 22 year old woman named Najiba, sitting in the dirt as a man walks up behind her and shoots her multiple times.

In the video, a crowd of men has gathered to watch the execution.  As the woman is shot once, then three times, and then eventually nine times, the crowd cheers.

Amnesty International is seeking further information about the facts of the case but multiple news sources have reported that the woman was accused of adultery by two Taliban commanders who staged a fake trial and may have used the charge as a way to “save face” as they fought about the woman.

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The Worst Place to Be a Woman in the G20

June 19, 2012 at 10:42 AM
Indian women protest

According to TrustLaw's latest poll, India is the worst place to be a woman among G20 states (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images)

This week the G20, or the group of the world’s major economies, is convening in Mexico to consider progress and define new commitments toward economic growth and a shared agenda for the world’s wealthiest nations.

Ahead of the meetings, I participated in an expert poll conducted by TrustLaw Women, a project of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, to determine which G20 countries are the best and worst for women.

Our analysis–that reflects the views of 370 gender specialists from five continents and most of the G20 nations–found Canada to be the best G20 country for women. The worst? Perhaps a surprise: Not Saudi Arabia, but India.

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