Africa | Nigeria | Culture

The fallout from a church rape scandal shows the harsh reality of being a woman in Nigeria

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On Sunday, June 30, Nigerian women organized a protest against sexual violence in the church following recent allegations by the wife of a popular singer that the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA) general overseer pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo raped her when she was 17 years old. Nigerian women have had a lot to protest lately. In May, there were significant protests after mass arrests of women in clubs and bars at night for alleged prostitution in Abuja, the federal capital city. It’s worth noting none of the men who were apparently being solicited shared the same fate. Soon after their
South Asia | Australia | Culture

‘Hear us, see us’: a plea to the UN for Indigenous women

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The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner has used a speech to the UN in Geneva to demand the federal government take action on the rising rates of Aboriginal women in jail. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women represent 2% of Australia’s female population but make up 34% of all women in prison, June Oscar told the Human Rights Council on Friday. “The root cause is that Indigenous women continue to experience disproportionate levels of trauma and intersecting forms of discrimination which cut across lines of race, gender and socioeconomic status,”
South Asia | Australia | Business

50 years after Australia’s historic ‘equal pay’ decision, the legacy of ‘women’s work’ remain

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June 19, 2019 is the 50th anniversary of Australia’s industrial relations system endorsing the principle of “equal pay for equal work”. Yet, five decades on, a gender pay gap remains. The 1969 decision was a breakthrough, but also highlighted the problem of putting principle into practice, given a legacy of past decisions being based on clear notions of “male” and “female” jobs. While various factors contribute to the overall gender pay gap, about 30% is due to gender concentrations by industry and occupation.
Europe | U.K. | Leadership

THE END OF MAY Theresa May RESIGNS and finally admits defeat

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TEARFUL Theresa May today finally admitted her time was up and quit as Prime Minister insisting: "I've done my best". The PM was forced to resign after she failed to deliver Brexit and lost the support of her own MPs - but will continue in office as a lame duck until July. Shortly after meeting Tory "executioner" Sir Graham Brady, she addressed the nation in the spring sunshine of Downing Street - watched by adoring husband Philip - and admitted her time is up. The PM confessed she now has no chance of ever getting her Brexit deal through Parliamentbut insisted "I have done my best" to
Africa | Nigeria | Corruption

Nigerian police arrested 65 women in a raid. Some of the women say officers raped them

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In a sparsely decorated room in Nigeria's capital city of Abuja, seven women are seated in a row, their backs turned to the assembled media to remain anonymous. One after the other, the women recount horrific physical and sexual abuse they say they were subjected to following their arrests on April 27 by officers of a special task force that raided hotels and nightclubs in Abuja. The 65 women who were arrested say they were beaten and harassed by officers, who forced them into their vans and drove them to the police station, their lawyers and NGOs told CNN. The seven women in the vid
North America | United States | Law

Women’s Rights Advocates Condemn DOJ Decision to Not Defend Female Genital Mutilation Law

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On Thursday, April 25th, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) (pictured center) joined elected officials and Equal Rights Amendment advocates to condemn a recent US Department of Justice decision to not  defend a federal law banning FGM/C, to call for Speaker Pelosi to step in to defend the law, and call for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Congresswoman Maloney is the sponsor of H.J. Res. 35, a bill to restart the ratification process of the ERA. While the Trump Administration has decided not to defend the 1996 law banning FGM/C, the House or the Senate could do s
Middle East | Iran | Culture

An Iranian Boxer Won Her First Official Match. Now She Says She Can’t Go Back Home.

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Sadaf Khadem, the first Iranian woman to compete in an official boxing match, won't return home to Iran after learning about an arrest warrant issued against her coach, she announced Wednesday. Khadem was in the western French town of Royan for the fight against boxer Anne Chauvin on Saturday. She won the fight while decked out in a green tank top and red shorts with a white waistband, matching the Iranian flag. Her head was also uncovered while she traded blows, all of which are against Iran's mandatory dress code for women.
Uncategorized | Politics

In Condemning Ilhan Omar, Democrats Have Proved Her Right

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At a time of heightened anti-Muslim discrimination and hatred, the Democratic establishment has taken unprecedented steps to single out a Muslim representative for her criticisms of AIPAC and the U.S.’s relationship with Israel. After first publicly rebuking Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Democratic establishment, led by House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, began drafting a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, amounting to an indirect censure. The move has spectacularly backfired, threatening deep fissures in the Democratic Party as accusations of anti-Semitism tear apart the Labour Party in the U.K
North America | United States | Corruption

AOC, Chief of Staff Reportedly Hid $1 Million in Campaign Contributions – Could Face Jail Time?

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An explosive complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by a non-profit group alleges New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, illegally funneled nearly $1 million in campaign contributions to privately owned companies. The companies, controlled by Chakrabarti, allegedly received cash transfers from a pair of political action committees (PACs) that he personally oversaw. The complaint, filed by the National Legal and Policy Center, alleges that Ocasio-Cortez’ top aide engaged in “an elaborate scheme to avoid proper disclosur
International | Business

Media fawns over Nike ‘empowering’ women ad, forgets about abused women in its factories

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A new Nike ad which busts stereotypes about women in sport is receiving wide praise in the media for “empowering” girls to be the best they can be — but the adoring coverage of the sports giant is missing something crucial. While reaction to the ad has been mostly positive, some have been pointing out some major double standards — most notably, Nike’s treatment of women in its factories across the world. A report released by the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) in 2016 about a Vietnamese Nike factory employing 8,500 people, found that the vast majority of workers are young w
North America | United States | Religion

Inside the horrifying, unspoken world of sexually abusive nuns

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It’s the line from Scripture that stayed with Cait Finnegan for nearly half a century as she tried to suppress the painful memories of the sexual abuse she says she suffered at the hands of her Catholic clergy educator. “God is Love,” Sister Mary Juanita Barto told Finnegan as she repeatedly raped her in classrooms at Mater Christi High School in Queens in the late 1960s. The abuse began when Finnegan was 15 and continued throughout her high school years — on school buses to out-of-town sporting events, at religious retreats in upstate New York, at Finnegan’s childhood home in
Middle East | Syria | Politics

Hoda Muthana ‘deeply regrets’ joining Isis and wants to return home

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An American woman captured by Kurdish forces after fleeing the last pocket of land controlled by Islamic Statesays she “deeply regrets” travelling to Syria to join the terror group and has pleaded to be allowed to return to her family in Alabama. Once one of Isis’s most prominent online agitators who took to social media to call for the blood of Americans to be spilled, Hoda Muthana, 24, claims to have made a “big mistake” when she left the US four years ago and says she was brainwashed into doing so online. Speaking from al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria, while her 18-mon
North America | United States | Corruption

Sheila Jackson Lee Resigns from Head of Congressional Black Caucus

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Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has resigned from the top post of the Congressional Black Caucus following a former employee’s accusation that she was fired for reporting a rape. Recently, a lawsuit was filed by a former aide to Rep. Lee, alleging that she was fired after reporting that an employee of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation raped her. The litigant says that Lee deliberately fired her after she let it be known that she was planning to sue the Foundation.
Asia | Korea | Corruption

South Korea’s Park Geun-hye sentenced to 24 years in jail

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A South Korean court has sentenced former President Park Geun-hye to 24 years in prison after she was found guilty of corruption. The disgraced former president was found guilty of several corruption charges, abuse of power and coercion in a verdict issued on Friday. She was also fined $16m. WATCH: Warrant issued for S Korea’s ex-president on corruption charges (2:13) It was alleged in the trial that Park, 66, colluded with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, and a former presidential aide, in pressuring big businesses to donate to two foundations set up to back her policy initiatives.