Members of Congress Pen Letter on Women’s Rights in Egypt
Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), and twelve other co-signers issued a letter to Egypt's Ambassador Sameh Shoukry today, stressing their concerns about the treatment of women in Egypt after the January 25 revolution. In the letter the congressmen stated that "we are extremely disturbed by violent scenes of soldiers' abuse against women activists", and that "events of the last month are only the latest in a string of developments which ...
Yemen: Transition Government Sworn in
On Saturday, Yemen's transition government was sworn in as part of the GCC backed deal for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. The new administration consists of 35 members of both the opposition parties and loyalists, nine ...
December 10, 2011
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Category: Featured, Government, Political transition, Reform, Rule of Law, Women, Yemen
POMED Notes: “Women and the Arab Spring”
On Wednesday, the subcommittee on international operations and organizations and the human rights, democracy, and global women’s issues subcommittee on near Eastern and South and central Asian affairs held a panel discussion titled “Women and the Arab Spring.” The first panel included Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues at the United States Department of State, and Dr. Tamara Wittes, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs and Deputy Special ...
November 6, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Government, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Justice, Libya, Political transition, Public Opinion, Reform, Rule of Law, Tunisia, Women, Women's Rights
Clinton Visits Tripoli, Meets with Jibril
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Tripoli Wednesday as the first cabinet-level official to visit Libya since 2008. Senior level State Department officials outlined three main goals for Clinton's visit: first, to offer congratulations on behalf of ...
October 19, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Diplomacy, Featured, Foreign Aid, Libya, Political transition, Women, Youth
Oman: Woman Elected to Shura Council
In Oman's Majlis al-Shura elections on Saturday, 77 out of 1,133 candidates were women. Neema Jamil al-Bussaidi won in the Seeb district of Muscat, making her the only woman who will serve in this council. The previous council included no ...
POMED Notes: “Bahrain: The Forgotten Uprising in the Arab Spring”
On Tuesday, the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center hosted Maryam al-Khawaja, Head of Foreign Relations at the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. Al-Khawaja discussed the human rights violations that have accompanied the Government of Bahrain's crackdown on popular protests. Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, moderated the event. For full event notes, continue reading. Or, click here for the PDF. Al-Khawaja began her presentation ...
October 5, 2011
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Category: Bahrain, DC Event Notes, Foreign Aid, International Law, Political transition, Protests, Reform, UN Human Rights Council, US foreign policy, Women
Saudi King Gives Women Right to Vote in 2015
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud announced on Sunday that women will have the right to vote and stand in elections. However, women will not be able to participate in next week's elections, but have to wait until 2015 to exercise ...
POMED Notes: Women and Democratic Transition in the Middle East
On Tuesday, the Women’s Learning Partnership cohosted an event entitled “Women and Democratic Transition in the Middle East” with the Woodrow Wilson Center. The discussions addressed the challenges faced by women in the MENA region and how to achieve viable democracies, given that women’s position is a barometer for the success of democratic transition. For full event notes, continue reading. Or, click here for the PDF. Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Middle ...
POMED Notes: SFRC: Nomination Hearing for Ambassador to Bahrain
On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing to present Ambassador-designate to the Kingdom of Bahrain The Honorable Thomas C. Krajeski, Ambassador-designate to Luxembourg Robert A. Mandell, Ambassador-designate to the People's Republic of Bangladesh The Honorable Dan W. Mozena, and the nominee for Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Michael A. Hammer. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) presided over the hearing, and John Barrasso (R-WY) and James ...
September 21, 2011
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Category: Bahrain, Congressional Hearing Notes (Senate), DC Event Notes, Diplomacy, Political transition, Protests, Technology, US foreign policy, Women, Youth
Clinton Emphasizes Women’s Political Participation at UN Event
At the end of yesterday's UN Women event on Women's Political Participation, representatives signed a joint declaration affirming that "women’s political participation is fundamental to democracy and essential to the achievement of sustainable development and peace. " The declaration also ...
September 20, 2011
Category: Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Featured, Freedom, International Law, Libya, Political transition, Reform, Tunisia, United Nations, US foreign policy, Women, Women's Rights
Iran: Political Prisoners Granted Furlough Despite Additional Arrests
Three reformist political prisoners, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Ghorbanali Behzadannejad and Javad Emam, were granted three-day furloughs in Iran. Tajzadeh was a senior member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front and was arrested for participating in protests during the 2009 presidential elections. He was sentenced to six years in prison. Behzadannejad was sentenced to five years in prison for aiding presidential candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi. Emam was sentenced to one year in prison for ...
September 1, 2011
Category: Freedom, Government, Human Rights, Iran, Journalism, Protests, Reform, Women, Women's Rights, Youth
Syria: Gunmen Attack Political Cartoonist
According to human rights activists, Syrian gunmen attacked anti-regime cartoonist, Ali Ferzat, on Thursday in Damascus and left him bleeding in the streets. Ferzat, who is in his 60s, was hospitalized after being "heavily beaten and physically abused." Wall Street Journal reported that security forces also broke both his hands as a "warning to stop drawing" after Ferzat had released a cartoon comparing President Bashar al-Assad to former Libyan Leader ...
Iran: Call for the Release of Persecuted Lawyers
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported that the Iranian Central Bar Association "should come to the aid of embattled lawyers subjected to harassment, unfounded criminal charges, or prison sentences for defending prisoners of conscience and advocating ...
Bahrain Releases Nurse From Prison
Bahraini authorities released Rola al-Safar, the country's top nursing official, after detaining her for five months during crackdowns on Shiite-led protests. Authorities also released a teachers' union official, Jalila al-Salman, after several jailhouse meetings with the head ...
Egypt: SCAF Summons Activists to Military Court
Esraa Abdel Fatah, a political activist and the head of the Egyptian Democratic Academy, reported that Egypt's Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) summoned representatives for August 18 for interrogation. The summoned representatives include staff members, Hossam Ali, Ahmed Ghoneim, Basem Samir and more. According to Abdel Fatah, the subpoena did not specify why the representatives of the academy are under investigation, but she believes that it may be related ...
August 17, 2011
Category: Egypt, Elections, Government, Human Rights, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, Women, Youth
National Press Club Outraged at Imprisonment of Journalist in Iran
National Press Club (NPC) President Mark Hamrick expressed outrage at reports of the recent imprisonment of Iranian Blogger Kouhyar Goudarzi and his mother. Last year, the NPC awarded Goudarzi with the 2010 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award after he "had been incarcerated for months for the 'crime' of speaking his mind." A month later, Goudarzi had been released from prison. In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in ...
The “Post-Gadhafi” Kingmaker
Doug Saunders writes on the Islamist movement in Libya specifically citing Mohammed Busidra as the "post-Gadhafi kingmaker." Busidra is an "Islamist ringleader who escaped the 1996 one-day massacre of 1,200 of his fellow inmates and survived a decade in solitary confinement." Throughout the protests against Libyan Leader Muammar Gadhafi, Saunders writes that Busidra has "brought together Libya's disparate moderate Islamist leaders into the country's only united political force." Additionally, Busidra ...
August 7, 2011
Category: Freedom, Government, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Libya, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Reform, Women, Women's Rights
Bahrain: Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike
Two Bahraini women activists, arrested by authorities for participating in pro-reform demonstrations, began a hunger strike protesting against their imprisonment, according to Amnesty International. Roula al-Saffar, the head of the Bahrain Nursing Society, and Jalila al-Salman, the vice president of the Bahrain Teacher's Association (BTA) have been imprisoned for several months near Manama and are the only women who are still in prison as they wait for their trials. Both women ...
Egypt: Islamists Dominate Tahrir Square, Debate Continues on Election Guidelines
Thousands of protesters gathered in downtown Cairo on Friday in one of the largest Islamist demonstrations, which was an effort to show political unity among Muslim groups. Islamist groups participating in the demonstration called for the establishment of Islamic law in Egypt and protested against secularist politicians that have been working to prevent them from participating in the drafting of the new constitution. Protesters chanted, “The people want to implement ...
July 30, 2011
Category: Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Government, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political transition, Protests, Reform, Women
Iranian Activists Decry Violence Against Women
Over 500 Iranian women's rights activists and supporters released a statement calling on authorities to intervene and put an end to the violence against women, as a response to the sixth reported gang rape in recent months. The statement says, "the gang rapes represent the height of misogyny and irresponsibility of the military, security, and judicial authorities in Iran" and urges concern for the safety of women. Several examples ...