Category Archives: Violence Against Women

A Beating for a Phone: Women Struggle to Access Mobile Technology

Posted on July 12, 2011 | 5 Comments

People are always shocked to learn how widespread and easily available mobile technology is in “developing nations” like Bangladesh, Kenya, and Afghanistan. When my husband visited my city of birth, Dhaka last year he could not believe how many people had cell phones in a country where more than half of the population cannot access clean drinking water.

Non-profit organizations are using mobile technology to spread development, allowing rural populations more access to their programs and basic health services. The advantages of having a mobile phone are endless, but how easily are these advantages available to women?

Beyond Making a Call: Mobile Technology Gives Women Access to More Freedom in South Asia. Image Credit: Flickr

Not without serious difficulties as a news story by Bloomberg News reports. The title of the news story, “Afghan Women Tolerate Beating for Wireless Phones in a $4 Billion New Market,” pretty much says it all, reflecting the barriers women in some countries in South & Central Asia, and Africa have in accessing technology that can increase their mobility and give them an income.

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Starting the Engine: Saudi Women Drive for Their Rights

Posted on June 17, 2011 | 6 Comments

Women in Saudi Know the Right to Drive is the Start to Gaining Their Basic Rights. Image Credit: Flickr

The spirit of the Arab Spring broke the steel gates of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today as one by one Saudi women started their engines, defying the country’s notorious ban on women driving, the only place  in the world where women are not permitted to drive.

Today’s protest is the culmination of an online campaign that started last month when IT security consultant Manal al-Sharif posted a YouTube video of herself behind the wheel. She was arrested and jailed for ten days. Her detention sparked an international outcry from rights groups, demanding Saudi’s rulers remove the driving ban on women.

Religious edicts by the Kingdom’s senior clerics claim the ban “protects against the spread of vice and temptation.” In reality the restriction forces families to spend a significant amount of their income hiring foreign drivers.

Chairwoman of the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Virginia, Farzaneh Milani explains the real fear behind the ban:

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Virginity Tests: Time to Let Gender Out of Revolution’s Closet

Posted on June 6, 2011 | 3 Comments

A Thin Line Between Sex & Politics: Mona Eltahawy Asks What Revolution is Not About Gender? Image Credit: Flickr

There is no doubt that the recent revolution in Egypt got the wheels of the Arab Spring rolling. But just as quick as women were to flood the corners of Tahrir Square and the streets of Cairo in the hopes of a democratic Egypt, their voices were soon sidelined.

This is nothing uncommon. Even in conservative countries, we frequently see women come out in full force during political protests with little to no objection from the men. And this was not a first for Egyptian women who were heavily involved in Egypt’s 1919 revolution.

It is after the euphoria fades, after the dictator is placed under house-arrest when the political blueprint of a country is being determined that women are nowhere to be heard. We repeatedly see this. From Bangladesh’s ’71 War of Independence, to Iran in ’79, to Libya, Syria, and all over the Middle East today, where are the women at the decision-making table? Where are the women when it comes to forming the new government?

Bangladeshi Female "Freedom Fighters" Were Front & Center in the 1971 War of Independence. Image Credit: Flickr

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Strauss-Kahn: Powerful Men & the Women Who Defend Them

Posted on May 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

Former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn Has Admitted to a "Woman Problem." Image Credit: Flickr

Very little surprised me about IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn‘s attempted rape of a New York hotel maid, and even less shocked me about his sketchy record on harassing women. Hello, can we say rich-white-male-power-entitlement-issues?

Apparently Strauss-Kahn’s “woman problem” was an open secret amongst journalists, especially female ones. His reputation was even celebrated and excused in France where he is known as the “Great Seducer.”

What is shocking as lurid details keep surfacing are not only the women coming out with new allegations, or confirming old ones against the embattled IMF Chief, but the women who are coming to his defense.

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Three Empty Tea Cups? Possibly

Posted on April 19, 2011 | 1 Comment

Just when you thought there could be no more bad PR for the war in Afghanistan, a crippling “60 Minutes” investigation about celebrated author and humanitarian, Greg Mortenson’s best-selling works, Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools is casting doubts not only on the books themselves, but aid organizations in the region.

On Monday author and adventurist Jon Krakauer, who once funded Mortenson’s non-profit Central Asia Institute with thousands of dollars of his own money, added fuel to “60 Minutes” by releasing Three Cups of Deceit, alleging Mortenson of telling beautiful stories, and beautiful lies:

There May Be No Tea, or Truth, in Mortenson's Memoir After All. Image Credit: Flickr

“Mortenson has lied about the noble deeds he has done, the risks he has taken, the people he has met, the number of schools he has built,” Krakauer told “60 Minutes.”

The Three Cups of Tea scandal could potentially do significant damage to how people feel about investing in a region they are already hopeless about. One of the great things that Mortenson’s stories demonstrate is the significance of  education and being able to access it, especially for girls. Ironically his books make people feel empowered and hopeful about giving. The Daily Beast’s Michele Goldberg explains that it may not be the author who has the most to lose from from the backlash against his books:

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Sex & Crime in Indonesia: Why We Punish Women & Not Men

Posted on April 18, 2011 | 1 Comment

Two Indonesian women, Selly Yustiawati and Melinda Dee are making headlines in the Indonesian press for their alleged involvement in a scam across several cities in the country involving millions of rupiah. One of the women, Inong Melinda, 47 who went by the alias of  Melinda Dee, is a former Senior Manager at Citibank.

"When Sexy and Pretty Women Are Criminal Suspects." Image Credit: Reuters

While this story already has the makings of  a daytime telenovela the Indonesian press added their own dramatic flair with their sexist sensationalizing of the  two prime suspects, labeled by the media as “femme fatales” and “pretty deceivers”:

…Terms such as “beautiful”, “pretty” and “sexy” are often used to describe women who become criminal suspects. Sexist language and gender-biased media may best describe how the Indonesian media portrays women. In the case of Selly and Malinda, the media tends to have presented facts about crimes that are based more on the sex of the offenders than the crime itself.

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Eman al- Obeidi: One Woman Embodies Libya’s Struggle

Posted on April 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

The unbelievable story of Eman al-Obeidi, the Libyan woman and lawyer, who is accusing embattled Libyan leader Gaddafi’s soldiers of gang-raping her, continues to develop in horrifying detail.

After al-Obeidi famously stormed into the hotel in Tripoli where foreign journalists were staying to let the world know about her assault, she disappeared for more than a week, with Libyan authorities telling conflicting stories of her whereabouts while her parents defended their daughter’s reputation and story.

The government failed to produce al-Obeidi as planned on a scheduled press conference earlier this week, but NPR managed to secure an interview with her followed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

I am including the interview below because this woman’s bravery, strength and courage not only speak for itself, but her fight for her dignity and rights has become a larger metaphor for the ongoing struggle of both Libya and her people. I cannot stop thinking about how brave she is for constantly refusing to be silenced in the face of such torture and intimidation.

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Honoring International Women’s Day

Posted on March 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

What Does Women's Empowerment Mean to You? Image Credit: IWD Website

Today the world commemorates the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, but how many of us actually know what this day means or more importantly, where it originates from?

International Women’s Day began in the early 1900′s, during a time when American women were becoming more vocal about their oppression, socially and legally, and organizing to bring about change, most notably by the suffragists.

In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding the right to vote and better pay. Two years later,  an International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen, Denmark where the idea to hold a day around the world where women demand their rights was proposed. International Women’s Day was born.

Women Still Make 75cents to Every Dollar a Man Earns. Image Credit: Flickr

For me this day not only is a day to reflect on how far women have come around the world, but how far we have to go. Women still make up the majority of the world’s poor, uneducated, unhealthy, hungry, sold into the global multi-billion dollar sex-trafficking business, unable to control their reproductive health or rights. Women still make less money than men, get fired for becoming pregnant, and struggle to balance both family and work life with almost no societal support.

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Bangladeshi Rape Victim Flogged To Death

Posted on February 7, 2011 | 7 Comments

**This is a developing story and has been updated**

Hena Begum, a 14-year-old old Bangladeshi girl, was publicly flogged recently in Shariatpur, 35 miles outside of the capital, Dhaka after being accused of having an affair with her 40-year-old old married cousin.

According to the BBC, a village court made up of Islamic clerics and elders sentenced Begum to 100 lashes under Islamic Sharia law. The girl lost consciousness after 80 lashes and her family, who were also ordered to pay 50,000 taka (approximately $700), took her to the hospital where she died six days later.

What Sort of Justice? 14yr old Hena Begum. Image Credit: Daily Star

“What sort of justice is this?” Begum’s father told the BBC.  “My daughter has been beaten to death in the name of justice. If it had been a proper court then my daughter would not have died.”

As for the “affair” accusation, Bangladesh’s Daily Star suggests that Begum was actually raped by the cousin.

Four people, including a Muslim cleric, have also been arrested in connection with Begum’s death and the police are looking for an additional 14 people who were involved.

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Getting Over Eve: Lebanese Murder Exposes Society’s Double-Standards

Posted on December 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

Two years ago, when Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim was found dead with her throat slit open in her apartment in Dubai, few could have imagined that her ex-boyfriend, wealthy married Egyptian tycoon, Hisham Talaat Moustafa would not only be the prime suspect, but pretty much get away with murder. Literally.

The Tycoon & the Superstar. Image Credit: Flickr

So how does the story go? According to the New York Times something like this:

An Egyptian real estate tycoon falls in love with a Lebanese pop star. After three to four years, she decides to leave him. He pays another man $2 million to kill her. She is found dead, with her throat slit. He is found guilty of inciting and ordering the murder.

Police believe that Moustafa hired a retired Egyptian security officer to go to Dubai, knock on Suzanne Tamim’s residence dressed as a building employee, and slit her throat. Tamim and Moustafa split for good when the tycoon failed to deliver on his promises of marrying her. Rumors say Moustafa arranged to have Suzanne killed because she refused to take him back.

You would have been forgiven for thinking that Moustafa was still behind bars for his role in the murder of Suzanne, but in a dramatic turn last month the powerful real estate and politician, who is a leading member of the ruling party in Egypt, had his sentence reduced from life to 15 years in prison.

Suzanne Shot To Stardom When She Was 24years Old, and Was Killed Six Years Later by Her Lover. Image Credit: Flickr

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