Monthly Archives: August 2021

On a late Friday night in Khartoum, a small crowd of young men and women dances at Al-Sutooh, a newly opened rooftop venue that holds cultural events in the city.

A popular female singer, Mahdia, sings in Arabic to a live band as Samia al-Jalabee, the venues owner, pulls members of the audience to their feet, encouraging them to dance.

Until now, a lot of events happened in closed areas. The rooftop is a new idea, Jalabee explained. Its an idea of a free space a place directly open to the sky.

Related:Two years after revolution, Christians in Sudan evaluate gains

Jalabee opened the rooftop venuethis year, and its one of few places in Khartoum to enjoy live music. The place serves coffee, tea and snacks.

For 32-year-old Jalabee, the rooftop symbolizes the newly gained freedoms that women, in particular, have had in Sudan since the 2019 revolution that saw former president Omar-al Bashir ousted from office after 30 years in power.

Today in Sudan, women can freely wear their hair uncovered in public and wear trousers. Women now hold top positions in leadership and genital mutilation has been banned.

Some women in Sudan say that the new governments changes are a good start for undoing historic, gender-based oppression, but that the country has a long way to go on womens rights.

We were suffering from the old laws for 30 years.

We were suffering from the old laws for 30 years, said Jalabee, who was one of countless Sudanese who took to the streets to reject Bashirs oppressive, Islamic regime.

In particular, the Public Order law of 1991, which said anyone who commits an indecent act in public, or wears indecent clothes can be flogged, fined or both. The morality law was enforced by special police with a broad mandate for interpretation.

Related:Sudans troubled attempt at education reform

At Al-Sutooh, some youngwomentold The World they would have never attended a public event like this with their hair uncovered or danced openly with men out of fear of arrest under the Public Order law.

Its a law that actually that the government put, so as to hinder the movement, hinder the mobility of the women, said Manal Abdulharim, a womens rights activist.

The law was one of the first repealed by the new, civilian-led, transitional government in 2019.

For Abdulrahim, it was the culmination of decades of women-led activism to challenge the strict Islamic laws of the former regime.

Young women, they were actually leading the revolution.

Young women, they were actually leading the revolution, she noted.

Since then, however, Abdulrahim has noted with concern the slow pace of womens rights and gender equality since 2019 and questioned whether the new government will live up to its promises for reform.

Only a handful of women have been appointed to top leadership positions, including the minister of foreign affairs, since 2019, and some, notably two state governors, have faced local opposition to their appointments.

Related:Sudans troubled attempt at education reform

Abdulrahim said the government is not prioritizing gender equality or issues that impact women, like the reform of the conservative 1991 Muslim Personal Law Act of Sudan which governs legal codes about marriage, divorce and the family.

Most of the personal status law comes from Islamic law and is personal jurisprudence of religious scholars, explained Salwa Bassem Youssef Mohamia, a Sudanese lawyer who has worked with the Ministry of Justice to review proposed amendments to Bashir-era laws.

The law, which states that married women must obey their husbands and makes the age of consent for marriage puberty has been criticized by human rights activists for years.

Still, Mohamia notes some positive developments for women's rights. This year, Sudan ratified two international treaties: The Maputo Protocol and the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

But the nearly all-male council that signed the latter pact didnt endorse the parts of the convention that declare women are equal to men at political and social levels or have equal rights in marriage, divorce and parenting.

For many, these reservations were a sign of how remaining representatives of the former regime, conservative Islamists in particular, are resistant to fundamental social and legal changes.

They are there and ready to prevent any changes to religious basics, Mohamia said. So, now, they are working hard to not make any drastic changes.

Still, Mohamia argues that the biggest impediment to change comes from within Sudanese society itself. Even among women, there is little consensus about sensitive issues like inheritance and polygamy, which are shaped not only by religion but also by cultural and traditional practices and norms.

At the Coffee Republic cafin the upscale Riyadh neighborhood of Khartoum, well-dressed young people mingle, hang out and go on dates.

After the revolution ... girls in general, got comfortable, guys got comfortable, you know, going out on dates in public places, explained Rudy Mohammed, a 20-year-old international relations student.

But for Mohammed, the changes in Sudan make her uncomfortable.

I was raised to be religious, and then the whole, staying out of trouble.

I was raised to be religious, and then the whole, staying out of trouble, she said that meant, dressing modestly in public, not hanging out with boys, or staying out late.

She criticized how some young people are taking advantage of their new freedoms to wear inappropriate clothing, drink and smoke. She fears they are setting a bad example for children.

Related:After the revolution, a secular Sudan?

While the old laws were too strict, Mohammed said they also made sense for the country.

I feel like they had they had things under control, Mohammed said. At the end of the day the majority of Sudanese people are religious.

The laws were there to make sure the principles of Islam were followed, she said, and to protect morality in the country.

But shes conflicted about where the line should be drawn between religion and state.

For example, she said the government should encourage people to dress modestly but not force women to cover their hair which is a personal religious decision.

Too many restrictions will always backfire, she said.

Link:

After the revolution, Sudanese women ask whats next? - The World

The Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, on Wednesdayordered a judge-led investigation into the alleged rape, murder and forced cremation of a nine-year-old girl. The girl belonged to the Dalit caste, which has historically endured oppression, deprivation and extreme discrimination at the hands of Indias upper-caste Hindus.

TheDelhi police arrested four individuals in connection with the heinous crime two days after it was committed amid rising protests demanding death penalty for the accused. The four suspects include an upper-caste Hindu priest, Radhey Shyam, and three of his associatesKuldeep, Laxmi Narain and Saleem.

The girls family alleged that the girl went to the crematorium on Sunday evening to get cold water. Later, the priest summoned the girls mother to the crematorium and informed her that her daughter died due to electrocution. Further, the priest allegedly told the mother not to report the death because the girls organs would be stolen during the post mortem. Thereafter, the accused cremated the girls body without the mothers consent. The funeral pyre was only extinguished after the mothers cries were heard by nearby residents and she shared her suspicions that her daughter had been raped.

However, the medical board constituted to investigate the cause of death informed the police that the cause of death could not be determined because only burned remains were recovered from the funeral pyre. Initially, the police charged the accusedonly with culpable homicide, wrongful confinement and destruction of evidence. However, after protests erupted and the family gave a statement to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, the police added rape charges as well. Kejriwal assured the protestors and the general publicthat top lawyers will be engaged to get the culprits punished.

Meanwhile, theDelhi Commission For Women issued summons to Delhi police to produce the complete case file and report the actions taken by them in the matter. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights also tooksuo moto cognizance of the case and ordered the Delhi police to furnish a detailed report on the matter.

In September 2020, a similar case was reported in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, when a 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped by upper-caste men. After she died in the hospital, the police allegedlyhurriedly cremated her body without the familys consent.

Sexual violence against women in India has been on a rise in recent years. According to a reportby the National Crime Records Bureau in September 2020, crime against women increased by 7.3% in India in 2019, with over 32,000 registered cases of rape. Furthermore, crimes against Scheduled Castes also increased by 7.3% during the same period.

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Delhi government orders judicial investigation into alleged rape and murder of 9-year-old Dalit girl - JURIST

The Feminist Know-It-All: You know her. You cant stand her.Good thing shes not here!Instead, this column by gender and womens studies librarian Karla Strand will amplify stories of the creation, access, use and preservation of knowledge by women and girls around the world; share innovative projects and initiatives that focus on information, literacies, libraries and more; and, of course, talk about all of the books.

Each month, I provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

The aims of these lists are threefold:

Happy Summer!

I hope youve been able to enjoy some time doing things you love and that leave you feeling refreshed and recentered. With all the uncertainty and injustice in our daily lives, we each need to find ways to unplug and recharge. Of course, one way to do this is unwind with a great book. This list gives you 37 to choose from this month, from dark mysteries to feminist fantasies to gripping historical fiction.

As we head into the dog days, take care of yourself, and others.

By Naomi Hirahara (@gasagasagirl). Soho Crime. 312 pages. Out now.

Centering a young woman investigating the suspicious death of her older sister, this immersive true-crime historical mystery novel takes place in Chicago in 1944, at the height of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Written by Sheng Keyi (@shengkeyi)and translated by Shelly Bryant. Restless Books. 384 pages. Out now.

An immersive satiric statement on government oppression and the resistance that often explodes in its wake, this volume is banned in China for its allusions to the Tiananmen Square massacre.

By Cristalle Psalm One Bowen (@psalmone). Haymarket Books. Out now.

In her engaging memoir, legendary hip hop trailblazer Cristalle Psalm One Bowen shares her remarkable story of growing up, making music, battling homophobia and misogyny, and making peace.

By Shugri Said Salh (@shugrisalh). Algonquin Books. 304 pages. Out now.

A natural storyteller, Shugri Said Salh was born in the Somali desert and has endured war, refugee camps, loss and oppressive traditions on her way to finding her home.

By Victoria Lee (@sosaidvictoria). Delacorte Press. 384 pages. Out now.

If youre a dark academia fan, this one is for you. Of course, it has an old boarding school, murders and magic, but its also got thought-provoking depth, bold twists and engaging queer main characters.

By Jadie Jang (@seelight). Solaris. 405 pages. Out now.

Jadie Jangs kaleidoscopic debut is a fresh, original take on the Chinese mythical figure the Monkey King, repackaged in a spellbinding urban fantasy.

By Carolina De Robertis (@caroderobertis). Knopf. 224 pages. Out now.

Always surprising and unique, Carolina De Robertis has written a tale of hope and resilience found within the depths of despair by a Latin American president jailed in solitary confinement except for one thing: a frog.

By Anita Kopacz (@anitakopacz). Black Privilege Publishing. 224 pages. Out now.

In this captivating debut, Anita Kopacz tells a tale of Yemaya, an Orsha of the Yoruban people, during the mid-1800s. From Africa to the Americas, Yemaya makes a harrowing journey to find a man and, ultimately, her true self.

By Kaia Alderson (@kaiawrites). William Morrow. 400 pages. Out now.

Based on the true story of the the Six Triple Eight, the only all-Black battalion of the Womens Army Corps, this engrossing debut historical fiction highlights the bravery, sisterhood and strength of these little-known heroes.

Written by Jamia Wilson (@jamiaw) and illustrated by Aurelia Durand (@4ur3lia). Frances Lincoln Childrens Books. 160 pages. Out now.

Gorgeously illustrated, this volume explains feminism, intersectionality, identity, wellness and more in engaging and accessible prose. Pick up this gem for the budding feminists of all genders in your life who are joiningand reimaginingthe fight against the patriarchy!

By Chandra Prasad (@chandrabooks). Soho Teen. 360 pages. Out now.

When you mix mercury with old daguerreotypes in Chandra Prasads latest YA novel, the boy in the photo will come alive in your dreams. At least thats what happens to Saskia and her friends until things start to unravel.

Written by Zoe Mendelson (@youngzokeziah) and illustrated by Maria Conejo (@maria_conejo). Hachette Go. 432 pages. Out now.

Accompanied by Maria Conejos beautiful illustrations, Zoe Mendelson has written an astonishingly informational volume about the pussy, which they redefine in a new wonderfully gender- and organ-inclusive way.

By Sara Nisha Adams (@saranishaadams). William Morrow. 384 pages. Out now.

This remarkably readable debut is a testament to the connective and comforting power of books.

Edited and translated by Melanie Magidow (@MelanieMagidow). Penguin Classics. 208 pages. Out now.

Tracing Princess Fatimas heroic journey from orphan to legendary warrior, this Arabic classic is available now for the first time in English.

By LaTanya McQueen (@LT_MCQ). Harper Perennial. 256 pages. Out now.

This skillfully constructed debut takes on the attempts to erase violent and oppressive histories of spaces and places when a group of old friends attends a wedding at a former plantation.

By Nafiza Azad (@nafizaa). Margaret K. McElderry Books. 352 pages. Out now.

The Wild Ones are a group of magical teenage girls who are determined to save the life of Taraana in this captivating feminist fantasy.

By DaShaun L. Harrison (@DaShaunLH). North Atlantic Books. 152 pages. Out August 10.

Dont let this slim volume deceive you, for it is a powerful and necessary examination of anti-fatness as anti-Blackness from a fat, Black, disabled and nonbinary trans writer extraordinaire.

By YZ Chin (@yz_chin). Ecco. 320 pages. Out August 10.

Centering a young Malaysian immigrant searching for her husband after his mysterious disappearance, this sharp post-Tr*mp debut explores immigration, relationships and identity.

By Tracy Swinton Bailey. Other Press. 192 pages. Out August 10.

Language and literacy educator Tracy Swinton Bailey has written this part-memoir, part-guide to supporting low-income children in reading, based on her after-school and summer program, Freedom Readers.

By Raquel Vasquez Gilliland (@poet_raquelvgil). Simon & Schuster BYR. 432 pages. Out August 10.

Raquel Vasquez Gilliland returns with a magnetic road trip romance thats as much about self-love as it is about first love.

By Leila Slimani. Penguin. 320 pages. Out August 10.

Set in Morocco during and after WWII, this nuanced and elegantly written story explores themes of colonialism, race, family and belonging.

By Rafia Zakaria (@rafiazakaria). W. W. Norton & Company. 256 pages. Out August 17.

American Muslim woman, attorney and political philosopher, Rafia Zakaria has written this unflinching and necessary indictment of white feminism and demand for a more radical, inclusive, transnational Black and Brown feminism.

By Shannon Price (@spricewrites). Tor Teen. 304 pages. Out August 17.

This epic YA fantasy debut is full of shapeshifters, thrilling adventures and badass warrior women.

By Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint (@thiriimkm). Graywolf. 176 pages. Out August 17.

Winner of the 2018 Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, this is a unique and meditative memoir exploring time, absence, family and the legacy of colonialism.

By Jordan Ifueko (@jifueko). Amulet Books. 336 pages. Out August 17.

Tarasai is back and bound to survive the trials and terrors of being the Empress Redemptor in this remarkably written fantasy sequel.

By Nichole Perkins (@tnwhiskeywoman). Grand Central Publishing. 272 pages. Out August 17.

In this Roxane Gay Audacious Bookclub Pick, Nichole Perkins examines media and its effects on Black womens lives through a series of hilarious, poignant and reflective essays.

By Silvia Moreno-Garcia (@silviamg). Del Rey. 304 pages. Out August 17.

Following up on her massive bestseller Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia has written a slow burn noir mystery about a lonely secretary and a quirky stranger searching for a missing woman in the political unrest of 1970s Mexico City.

By Jennifer C. Nash. Duke University Press. 264 pages. Out August 20.

Duke University professor Jennifer C. Nash presents this essential examination of Black motherhood and its layered complexities of representation, performance, gaze, critique, precarity and politics.

By Tina M. Campt. MIT Press. 232 pages. Out August 24.

In this beautiful volume, Black feminist theorist of visual culture and contemporary art Tina M. Campt disrupts the normative passivity applied to art and artistry to build an (inter)active, intimate, radical and necessary Black gaze.

By Honore Fanonne Jeffers (@BlkLibraryGirl). Harper. 816 pages. Out August 24.

This is the utterly remarkable fiction debut of award-winning poet Honore Fanonne Jeffers, which centers a young girl who explores her own identity through her familys sweeping legacy from slavery, through the Civil War to the present.

By Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (@rdunbaro). Beacon Press. 392 pages. Out August 24.

In this hard-hitting volume, Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz challenges the nation of immigrants narrative and reveals the true intention behind this trope: to mask the truth of white supremacy, settler colonialism and genocide.

By Margo Tamez (Lipan Apache) (@indigifem). Turtle Point Press. 152 pages. Out August 31.

By experimenting with form and fusion of Indigenous knowledges of time, memory and tradition, Margo Tamez recreates understandings of identity bound by generations of violence, trauma and genocide.

By Kathryn Bond Stockton. MIT Press. 256 pages. Out August 31.

In this slim volume, the latest in MITs Essential Knowledge Series, Stockton presents an accessible, witty and contemporary examination of the true queerness of genders and gendering.

By Krystale E. Littlejohn (@drklittlej). University of California Press. 184 pages. Out August 31.

This is a well-researched and much-needed historical and contemporary exploration of the unjust (cis)gendered aspects of birth control, pregnancy and reproductive autonomy.

By Kia Corthron. Seven Stories Press. 592 pages. Out August 31.

In her absorbing and original second novel, Kia Corthron examines racism, family and identity through the eyes of Theo, a young biracial orphan growing up in mid-19th century New York City. You wont soon forget this one.

By Teresia Kieuea Teaiwa. University of Hawaii Press. 288 pages. Out August 31.

The untimely passing of Dr. Teresia Kieuea Teaiwa (Banaban/I-Kiribati/Fiji Islander/African American) in 2017 devastated those who knew and admired her. In tribute to an extraordinary life cut short, this volume presents fifteen of Teaiwas most influential works in Pacific, Native and gender studies as well as four of her poems.

By Jo Hamya. Mariner Books. 208 pages. Out August 31.

Focused on a young woman who longs for a room of her own, this debut is a sharp statement on Millennial disenfranchisement and poverty.

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Read the original here:

August 2021 Reads for the Rest of Us - Ms. Magazine

On July 27th, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to India, where he met with key leaders in the nation and discussed the close relationship between the two countries. The following day, Blinken and Indias Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, held a meeting over the international security partnership shared by both states, monetary relief for the coronavirus pandemic, global democracy, and the future of Afghanistan.

These conversations succeeded in furthering the connection between India and the United States, building upon their mutual goals of peace and stability. However, one pressing issue of freedom escaped meaningful discussion: human rights within India itself.

In recent years, India has come under scrutiny for the human rights concerns that prevail in the country. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, so-called anti-terrorist laws have marred Indian civil society, and governmental actions that incite religious discrimination have left minority groups in dangerous positions. According to the 2020 India Report on Human Rights Practices from the U.S. Department of State, issues in the region consist of extrajudicial killings, torture, political prisoners, restrictions on freedom of the press and expression, child labour, and further national offences.

Religious intolerance on a governmental level, combined with internal corruption, has shaped much of the violence that has been seen under the Modi administration. Muslims, the countrys most significant minority, have been targeted by legislative restrictions, including a religion-based citizenship law, and subject to discriminatory attacks due to Hindu nationalism. Additionally, in a report from the Human Rights Watch, problems in India have been detailed to include punishment for political opposition, the use of internet shutdowns to control social protest, and attacks on reporters and human rights organizations.

Concern over the increasing absence of human rights in India has been raised many times. Multiple international actors have called upon the Indian government to treat its citizens more acceptably. However, these external responses to the South Asian countrys humanitarian abuses lack substance. Almost every major nation and organization has failed to push past verbal criticism in addressing the issue. As a result, Indias injustice has received replies deficient of strength and efficacy.

These empty condemnations come from even the biggest proponents of democracy and human rights in the world. Despite the promise Antony Blinken gave to discuss Indias human rights record, the shallow conversation remained in line with the objective of the United States, which was to keep India as a close ally. Criticism from the European Union, the United Nations, multiple NGOs, and other international powers have been met with hostility. The situation is aggravated by the fact that Prime Minister Modis government continues to deny wrongdoing. According to Reuters, in reference to Blinkens plan to confront Indian leaders about the humanitarian concerns in the country, the foreign ministry of India said that nation was proud of its pluralistic traditions and happy to discuss the issue with the U.S. Secretary of State.

Attempts to deal with problems in India are consistently obstructed by political dealings, which result in ineffective responses that are seen from around the world. The relationship between India and the United States is an example of this. Antony Blinken stated that there are few relationships in the world that are more vital than one between the U.S. and India. We are the worlds two leading democracies and our diversity fuels our national strength.

Indias current condition, however, challenges this assertion. The blatant attacks and disregard for fundamental aspects of democratic systems and values do not demonstrate much credibility. According to Amnesty International, critics of the government, journalists, students, and human rights activists have all faced severe maltreatment, including arbitrary arrests and harassment from police. The human rights violations that have transpired, especially regarding political opponents and restrictions on universal freedoms, dispute the idea that India is indeed a reliable democratic institution. Despite these occurrences, there is an apparent lack of consequences for the South Asian country, much of which has political grounds.

Inconsequence is where the problem lies in addressing Indias human rights record. The hollow pressure placed upon Modis government has not worked and is unlikely to in the future. There is no significant determination to resolve the issuethat absence of repercussions only threatens to cause further damage to human rights in India. With no real consequences, Prime Minister Modi and his party can persist in abusing Indian citizens. While countries and organizations worldwide condemn India and its prejudicial activities, there is little effort upon outside actors to encourage lasting change in the country; they have other priorities.

With the unsuccess of spoken disapproval becoming evident, finding a practical solution is increasingly necessary. Due to the complexities of global politics, this is not a simple endeavour with a straightforward answer. As is recognized by the international community, India holds significant power in the modern world. With the rise of China and the United States attempts to counteract their gain, India presents itself as a critical ally. Furthermore, despite the flaws that their system holds, India still has the largest population of any democracy. This status makes confrontation difficult. Anything more than verbal disapproval puts vital international relationships at risk.

For there to be improvements in human rights in India, an alternative approach is required. Promoting the genuine acceptance of diversity and countering the Modi governments violent policies will need something more than vague phrases. Monitoring and reporting on human rights in India, and the subsequent large-scale presentation of those findings, can help improve the situation. Although this is important, it is not enough. Among other incentives to develop human rights, requirements built into trade deals can address the dilemma. Using a more direct manner to confront the issues within Indias government, like that of monetary and political punishments, is another strategy that could prompt change. However, these options run the risk of economically and physically damaging the citizens of India, the very people these actions intend to protect. Therefore, a different solution is needed to create a situation in which possible change will occur.

One option is to discredit Indias standing as a stable democracy. Losing that status, even informally, is dangerous and holds more political risks for the administration than it does for the Indian population. Accountability is then placed on the abusers, the current government, as opposed to people, who should not endure added suffering for the humanitarian crimes of their leaders. It does not threaten peace or stability to an exceptional degree and only creates an environment of subversive shame that carries the potential to advance Indian human rights. If enacted by a considerable number of world authorities, this might have the power to push India into stability. When aligned with international organizations that address other societal concerns, like Hindu nationalism, reducing the human rights offences in India is an attainable ideal.

Undertaking the problem of human rights in India is crucial. People continue to be hurt by aggressive policies and governmental actions, and the lack of a substantial response by international actors only amplifies the issue. The violation of human rights is not limited to being an immediate danger, eitherthese abuses can be gateways to further violence and insecurity. Whether the result is destructive government oppression or a civil uprising, infractions on human rights can imperil the nations future. Thus, protecting human rights is as much a current affair as it is a preventive one. The government must take it seriously, and that means acting beyond empty and ineffective words.

Originally posted here:

The Concern Over Human Rights In India The Organization for World Peace - The Organization for World Peace

Mehbooba Mufti and PDP have been very vocal in their opposition to the abrogation of Article 370.

On the second anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti said, "When unbridled oppression is unleashed and gross injustice heaped there is no other choice but to resist to exist."

"No words or pictures are enough to depict the pain, torment & upheaval inflicted upon J&K on this black day two years ago. When unbridled oppression is unleashed & gross injustice heaped there is no other choice but to resist to exist," Mehbooba Mufti said in a tweet.

"Today is a day of mourning for J&K. BJP government started oppression, barbarism in 2019. It is unfortunate that BJP is celebrating while Kashmir is mourning. We will resist this. We will force the government to speak to Pakistan to address external dimensions," Mehbooba Mufti said.

"August 5 will always be a negative milestone in the history of J&K. It was a political and psychological setback for the people of J&K," Khursheed Alam of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference said.

Other mainstream political parties also have taken a public stand against the revocation of the special status but have given more importance to the restoration of statehood.

Read: 2 years without Article 370: How it changed Jammu and Kashmir, 5 points

The Gupkar in a statement also said since the last two years, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have suffered the most.

"August 5 marks the completion of two years since the unprecedented assault on the Constitution of India. By demolishing the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, the Government has crossed all the limits of constitutionality," Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, spokesperson of the Gupkar alliance said.

On August 5, 2019, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced a proposal in Parliament for ending the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and its bifurcation into two Union Territories.

Mehbooba Mufti and PDP have been very vocal in their opposition to the abrogation of Article 370.

Read: Mood sombre in Srinagar on anniversary of Art 370 abrogation

Click here for IndiaToday.ins complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Continued here:

No other choice but to resist to exist: Mehbooba Mufti on anniversary of Art 370 abrogation - India Today

Police officers request entry to a mosque in Changji outside Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China on May 6, 2021.

THOMAS PETER/Reuters

Christopher White is the minister at Kedron United Church in Oshawa, Ont., and a writer for Broadview Magazine.

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston is a senior fellow with the Graduate School for Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa.

Canadians are now quite familiar with the many dimensions of the horrific repression of the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang region of China including brainwashing, torture, rape, forced sterilization and even deaths in the so-called re-education camps. And yet the organized churches in Canada have been strangely silent. Their voices in the face of ongoing injustices against religious and cultural minorities in China are needed now.

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The mass transportation of Uyghurs to factories all over China as forced labour implicates any countries whose companies have products made there. Parliament unanimously recognized that these acts constitute genocide and our government, acting with the U.S., U.K. and EU, imposed sanctions against four senior officials and an infrastructure corporation involved in the repression in Xinjiang.

Buddhists have known similar repression in the country for decades. Practitioners of the spiritual movement Falun Gong are routinely imprisoned, and often face torture and death in unthinkable circumstances. Muslims from the Hui ethnic group in Chinas Gansu province and Ningxia region have seen the domes on mosques demolished, and public use of Arabic script banned.

Measures are now expanding to other religions and cultures across the country in a campaign of Sinicization of all aspects of religion, giving the state and Communist Party control. It is now prohibited to transmit religion to anyone under the age of 18, and formal schooling in minority languages the cultural glue of many religions has been curtailed on the basis that it is unconstitutional, resulting in protests, teacher strikes and arrests in Inner Mongolia.

In addition to these injustices, people running the informal Christian house churches across China Protestant and Catholic groups with a few members meeting in someones home have been detained in transformation facilities in basements with no windows, ventilation or time allowed outdoors. Those who do not admit their mistakes are kept in solitary confinement with the objective of making them renounce their faith. Christians are often held in these facilities for nine months or more, subjected to beatings and mental torture. Ministers of these house churches have been detained with no charges for up to ten years.

The so-called official Christian churches are permitted to exist for now on sufferance, but they too are going through changes imposed by the state. Authorities control appointments, publications, finances and seminary applications. Ministers walk on eggshells when it comes to what they are permitted to say, with some detained and charged with inciting subversion. Crosses have been torn off churches, the Ten Commandments replaced with quotes from Chinas leader Xi Jinping, and photos of him have been placed strategically in church sanctuaries.

With mounting evidence concerning the repression of Uyghurs, the Canadian Muslim organization Justice for All Canada wrote a letter demanding action from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It was signed by individual Christian churches, but not by the Canadian Council of Churches, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada or denominations such as the United Church, the Anglican Church, nor the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Vaticans limited role in China appears to come at the cost of silence in the face of human rights abuses.

The organized churches in Canada are normally very engaged around issues of persecution and injustice, and now with both Muslim and Christian religions affected, they have an important role to play in speaking out before their affiliated churches in China are gone. This is a discussion that each congregation across Canada should be having. Remaining silent will not protect churches in China or cause the Beijing regime to cease their Sinicization of religion. Rather, it empowers them to move forward.

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Churches should also join the Muslim community in speaking out about the Uyghur genocide. It is critical that all Canadians, including Christian organizations, speak out in support of our Muslim friends, families and neighbours. Taha Ghayyur, executive director of Justice for All Canada, maintains that churches and faith institutions have a vital role as important allies in the fight to end the Uyghur genocide.

During the 1930s and 1940s, many Christians spoke up when there were disturbing stories about what the Jews and others were enduring in Nazi Germany. Other Christians chose to remain silent. Further, churches were silent for too many decades about residential school atrocities in our own country. With the chilling stories now coming out of China, the choice of silence is the choice to support the oppressor.

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Canadian churches shouldnt remain silent on religious oppression in China - The Globe and Mail

Women who cross internal provincial borders and migrate across international borders are largely driven by deeply entrenched inequalities and systemic unemployment. (Photo: UN Photo / Albert Gonzalez Farran / globaljustice.or.uk / Wikipedia)

Sharon Ekambaram is head of the Refugee and Migrants Rights Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights.

The architecture of apartheid and its twin brother, white colonisation, was crafted and designed with racism and sexism woven into the very fabric of society. There is an urgent need to build an international anti-racist movement that prioritises the dismantling of patriarchy.

Exploitation and discrimination based on race, class and gender are opportunistically used to fuel the excessive drive for profits through the commodification of life, spearheaded by the likes of the extraction industry and finance capital, in collusion with states.

One piece of this puzzle is the experience of women who migrate. The International Organization for Migration reported that 272 million people 130 million of them women were living in a country not of their birth in 2019.

It is critical that we speak about the triple oppression of black African women. This article focuses on the plight of women who migrate and locates it in the broader struggles of black African working women in South Africa.

Missing data

Women who cross internal provincial borders and migrate across international borders are largely driven by deeply entrenched inequalities and systemic unemployment. The reason policy is not informed by this critical fact relates to the failure of states to produce disaggregated data on migration a particularly severe oversight in South Africa, where this data should help address poverty and eradicate inequality.

We do not know why and how many people are migrating. We do not know how many are women and what compelled them to leave their places of birth to move to another country, often exposing themselves and their children to harsh conditions where they can be victims of heinous crimes and acts of violence.

Yet the very act of moving reflects agency and requires taking a stand. Research reflects that in recent decades, women are migrating to wealthy countries to become breadwinners themselves, rather than to join family. Women are also migrating to leave abusive relationships or oppressive conditions in their communities. If we had readily available disaggregated data we would be able to develop appropriate responses and allocate resources to alleviate their indignity, suffering and pain.

Governments scapegoating

The lack of such data is an opportunistic oversight on the part of the South African government and in particular the Department of Home Affairs. It feeds the narrative that South Africa is flooded with migrants who come to the country to give birth and are the cause of the overcrowded conditions in our public healthcare facilities.

Dr Aaron Motsoaledi made this statement when he was still health minister:

The weight that foreign nationals are bringing to the country has got nothing to do with xenophobia its a reality. Our hospitals are full, we cant control them. When a woman is pregnant and about to deliver a baby you cant turn her away from the hospital and say you are a foreign national. And when they deliver a premature baby, you have got to keep them in hospital. When more and more come, you cant say the hospital is full, now go away they have to be admitted, we have got no option and when they get admitted in large numbers they cause overcrowding [and] infection control starts failing.

Not once did the minister refer to the exact numbers of foreigners accessing public healthcare facilities in South Africa. This is a clear example of the scapegoating of migrant women. There is no mention that posts in public healthcare facilities have been frozen, going back to 2016, because of budget cuts. The ratio of patient to healthcare provider is increasing exponentially in these conditions.

Impact of corruption

No mention is made of the impact on the quality of healthcare due to the scourge of corruption, which is endemic in the Gauteng health department.

Currently under investigation is the allegation that a R139-million contract was awarded to Thandisizwe Diko, the husband of suspended presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko. Patronage politics and the mismanagement of funds are causing the crisis in the public health system, not an influx of foreigners. Money is being stolen and redirected, as opposed to being invested in improving the quality of care for predominantly black African people who use the system.

South Africa is more than two decades into democracy, but inequality remains high in many sectors, with the health sector the most affected.If politicians admitted the truth they would undoubtedly lose votes. It is much easier to blame foreigners and conceal their own failings.

Saving her own life

Women come from neighbouring countries to give birth in our public hospitals because many risk dying during childbirth back home. Every day about 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, and 99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Malawi, for example, has one of the highest maternal death ratios globally an estimated 439 per 100,000 live births.

According to the World Health Organizations Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2019, Zimbabwe has a maternal mortality ratio of 462 deaths per 100,000 live births, and a neonatal mortality rate of 32 deaths per 1,000 live births. The number of women dying in childbirth is astronomically high in the Southern African Development Community region.

This is what the South African government should be addressing, instead of making xenophobic statements scapegoating the tiny minority of our sisters from the region for burdening our public health facilities.

The crisis, including high maternal mortality, speaks to the social invisibility of black African women because they have been condemned as undeserving of the dignity and respect afforded other human beings. This invisibility is informed by deep race, class and gender prejudice.

Gendered response to migration

More than ever, we need to have a gendered response to the movement of people in the Southern African Development Community region one that takes into account the plight of women fleeing countries like Democratic Republic of the Congo, where rape is used as a weapon of war.

Are we as a country ensuring that we are providing protection for people who are persecuted and risk being killed because of their sexual orientation? South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, including a Bill of Rights that stipulates the rights of all people living in the country, not just citizens.

The equality clause states under Section 3:

The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.

The values enshrined in our Constitution speak to a sacrosanct respect for the human rights and dignity of all who live in South Africa. This is what should inform the letter of policy and its implementation. The improvement of the quality of life for black African women should be prioritised because this significant portion of our countrys population continues to suffer triple oppression.

Bearing the brunt of Covid-19

As humanity deals with the Covid-19 pandemic, it is timeous that we use this catastrophe to reflect on its gendered impact.

Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing has produced research on informal work in the context of the pandemic, which confirmed there is a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable in society who do informal work to survive. It accounts for more than 60% of all global employment and 90% of employment in developing countries, the International Labour Organization reported in 2018.

The sectors severely affected by Covid-19 are those that mostly employ women in a supportive and caring capacity, a role historically assigned to them. The research findings show that in cities across the world, home-based workers and domestic workers were severely affected, with many losing already precarious work and others put at greater risk of Covid-19 infection.

What is needed is systemic change. The current response is inadequate and fails to address the core problem. There is an urgent need to flip the script and frame the global crisis to expose the core problems of racism and socioeconomic inequalities as they affect black African women. DM/MC

Sharon Ekambaram is head of the Refugee and Migrants Rights Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights. This op-ed is part of the Liliesleaf and the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences launch of Women in the Struggle: 1950-1965, an online exhibition commemorating the significant role of South African women in the struggle for freedom and democracy.

As we mark Womxns Day on 9 August 2021, we remember all those who lost their lives prematurely in the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected our global community. The high price we are paying as a society was made real to me with the loss of Vanessa Jane Merckel, one of my closest friends. She was a sister to me, as well as a comrade and a formidable leader in our struggle for social justice. I pay tribute to her life and her legacy as a beautiful, loving and caring mother, an incredible human being and a strong fighter for womxns rights. She was a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg and in the week of her Covid-19 diagnosis in June, she received news that her PhD had been accepted. As a lecturer, she spoke about the values that we need to embrace for social equality, respect in our diversity and the critical need for community participation. May her soul rest in peace and in power.

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SAs mistreatment of migrant women highlights the triple oppression of black African women everywhere - Daily Maverick

Political fallout from the exposure of government use of the Israeli-based NSO Pegasus spyware continued last week as protesters rallied to demand the resignation of the right-wing government in Hungary.

On July 26, approximately 1,000 people organized by opposition political parties demonstrated at the House of Terror museum in Budapest in response to revelations that the Hungarian government had been using the spyware to monitor the activity of journalists, businesspeople and politicians. The House of Terror museum is housed in the building where individuals were interrogated, tortured and murdered and contains exhibits about the victims of both the fascist and Stalinist regimes in the twentieth century.

The protesters demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Viktor Orbn and Justice Minister Judit Varga, who has the authority under Hungarian law to sign off on secret surveillance without judicial oversight.

The events in Budapest were touched off by investigative reporting two weeks ago from a consortium of 16 media outlets called the Pegasus Project that analyzed leaked documents showing that more than 50,000 individuals had been targeted by the software and potentially had their smartphones hacked and transformed into 24-hour per day surveillance devices. Among the countries these individuals come from are Hungary, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Azerbaijan, India and France.

The software firm NSO Group developed Pegasus ostensibly as a tool for stopping terrorists and criminals, but instead the leaked information showed that the numerous government customers of the Israeli firm were using the malware to spy on major political figures including sitting president and prime ministers and monarchs.

Headed up by the Paris-based Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International, the Pegasus Projectwhich also includes the Washington Post and the Guardian performed forensic analysis on the smartphones of some of the individuals on the Pegasus target list and showed that their devices exhibited evidence of either hacking attempts or successful spyware installation.

While the leaked information included the phone numbers of approximately 300 Hungarian citizens, the forensic analysis demonstrated that Pegasus had been used to break into the smartphones of at least five Hungarian journalists. According to InsightHungary, for example, the smartphones of Szabolcs Panyi and Andrs Szab of investigative reporting outfit Direkt36, had been broken into. The phones of opposition politician Gyrgy Gmesi who leads the New Start Party and Jnos Banti of the Hungarian Bar Association president were also on the leaked list of Pegasus targets, but these devices did not undergo the forensic examination to confirm that they had been breached.

While the journalistic investigation points to the involvement of the Hungarian government in a spyware operation, InsightHungary reported on July 22 that government officials have neither confirmed nor denied the use of Pegasus. They did, however, state that covert surveillance in Hungary occurs only in accordance with relevant laws.

Speaking in Brussels more directly on the subject without confirming the use of Pegasus, Justice Minister Varga said, Lets not be ridiculous, every country needs such tools! Its an illusion if anyone tries to make an issue out of it. Additionally, Prime Minister Orbns chief of staff told the press that the cabinet did not discuss the issue and had no plans to conduct an investigation into the spying allegations, according to InsightHungary.

The political crisis in Hungary follows close behind that of the far-right regime of Narendra Modi in India, where approximately 1,000 people were targeted by the Pegasus tool, including journalists, activists, lawyers and academics. Among the mobile numbers found on the leaked data list were two devices used by Congress leader Rahul Ghandi along with five of his close personal friends.

While NSO Group continues to absolve itself of any responsibility for the deployment of its hacking software by governments around the worldthe company has refused to disclose a list of its 60 accounts within 40 or more state clientsthe company has moved to block several governments from using Pegasus pending an investigation of the allegations.

An anonymous NSO Group representative told NPR on July 29, There is an investigation into some clients. Some of those clients have been temporarily suspended. The source added that NSO, will no longer be responding to media inquiries on this matter and it will not play along with the vicious and slanderous campaign. The Washington Post reported that the clients that have been suspended include Saudi Arabia, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and some public agencies in Mexico.

Cyber-security experts have identified Pegasus as one of the most powerful spyware tools developed and deployed to date. As opposed to previous techniques, which require a user to click on something contained in a text message or email in order to install the malware on the device, Pegasus is a zero-click hack that penetrates the security of a smartphone simply by sending a text message to it that does not even need to be opened by the user to infect their system.

Dr. Tim Stevens, director of the Cybersecurity Research Group at Kings College London, explained the nature of zero-day vulnerabilities to BBC Science Focus magazine, It is a fact that all very large pieces of software, like an operating system like Apples iOS or Android or any other, including open source operating systems, have bugs. None of them are perfect. They present openings or opportunities for people to use to gain access.

Its like locking up all the doors and windows, but leaving the kitchen window open overnight. If the burglar is going to recce the whole house, they will find it eventually, no matter how large your house. And thats exactly what goes on with software. ...

Pegasus effectively jailbreaks your phone, it unlocks all this kind of administrative functionality that it then uses to position itself and hide itself and have access to everything thats going on in your phone. Its a very novel and impressive technical feat.

Once the spyware is on a smartphone, it can be used to monitor all activity within both the apps such as email, browser activity, text messaging and photo images as well as the hardware such as the microphone, speakers and front-facing and rear-facing cameras.

In response to the Pegasus leak revelationswhich he called the story of the yearwhistleblower and former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden published a blog post on Substack on July 26 entitled, The Insecurity Industry. In it, Snowden wrote that prior to the Pegasus revelations, most smartphone manufacturers along with much of the world press collectively rolled their eyes at me whenever I publicly identified a fresh-out-of-the-box iPhone as a potentially lethal threat.

He went on to say that despite years of reporting that implicated NSO Groups for-profit hacking of phones in the deaths and detentions of journalists and human rights defenders and despite evidence that smartphone operating systems are riddled with catastrophic security flaws, that he has often felt like someone trying to convince their one friend who refuses to grow up to quit smoking and cut back on the boozemeanwhile, the magazine ads still say Nine of Ten Doctors Smoke iPhones! and Unsecured Mobile Browsing is Refreshing!

Snowden, who has been living in asylum in Russia for more than eight years, exposed in 2013 the existence of a massive surveillance operation being run by the US National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency that was monitoring the electronic and phone activity of everyone on earth.

Of the Pegasus spyware, Snowden wrote in his blog post that he considered the leak and revelations about it to be a turning point and added that NSO Group and the global commercial hacking industry involves cooking up new kinds of infections that will bypass the very latest digital vaccinesAKA security updatesand then selling them to countries that occupy the red-hot intersection of a Venn Diagram between desperately craves the tools of oppression and sorely lacks the sophistication to produce them domestically. Snowden has called for this industry to be dismantled.

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More political fallout from the Pegasus spyware revelations - WSWS