Equality Now – Saudi Mirror http://www.saudimirror.com News On-line Wed, 23 Nov 2022 07:02:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.3.2 Sex discrimination in violence laws are putting women at risk, Reveals New Report by Equality Now http://www.saudimirror.com/sex-discrimination-in-violence-laws-are-putting-women-at-risk-reveals-new-report-by-equality-now/ Wed, 23 Nov 2022 07:02:00 +0000 http://www.saudimirror.com/?p=214894 BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — To prevent gender–based violence and hold offenders to account, a strong and well–implemented legal and policy framework is essential. And yet, in many countries, including in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), women and girls are denied the same legal rights as men and boys. A new policy briefing by Equality Now "" Words & Deeds: Holding Governments Accountable to the Beijing +30 Review Process "" Sex Discrimination in Violence Laws "" highlights laws relating to violence against women and girls, and how violations are being perpetuated due to inequality written within the law, resulting in a lack of deterrents and impunity for perpetrators.

Equality Now has been tracking and reporting on a sampling of explicitly sex–discriminatory laws. For International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25, we are advocating for the immediate amendment or repeal of all sexist legislation.

The WHO estimates 30% of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non–partner sexual violence in their lifetime. This staggering number is exacerbated by inequality, discrimination, and permitted violence found within some laws.

In the MENA, Iraq gives husbands a legal right to punish their wives within certain limits prescribed by law or custom. While Egypt allows a lesser punishment for men who kill their wives on discovering them in an act of adultery.
Rape laws discriminate when they deliberately make exceptions for certain circumstances, such as rape within marriage, or when they allow rapists to avoid criminal prosecution by marrying their victims. Kuwait and Libya are among countries that provide "marry–your–rapist" legal loopholes.
Many countries still have legal definitions of rape based on force, or the threat of force, instead of a lack of consent. Victims often have to prove they physically resisted an attack, and this commonly requires submitting evidence of additional injuries caused by the assailant. Such an approach fails to understand the varied ways that victims respond to rape. It leaves many cases unpunished and fosters a culture of abuse.

Violence against women and girls also occurs online, but there is no universal standard for ending online sexual exploitation and abuse. The patriarchy and misogyny that flourishes in the physical world are being replicated and exacerbated online and laws must address this in the digital realm.

On a positive note, some laws highlighted in our 2020 report have been repealed or amended, or bills are in the works for new or better laws. For example, a law in Syria that completely exempted from punishment men who killed female relatives for "honor" has been repealed, removing the mitigating excuse for crimes of "honor" which sanctioned a much lesser penalty.

Equality Now's Antonia Kirkland says, "A strong, comprehensive legal and policy framework and environment is essential to protect women and girls from violence. Laws need to be drafted from a universal, intersectional feminist understanding of the power dynamics and inequality that underpin gender–based violence and lack of access to justice for victims."

TARA CAREY
GLOBAL HEAD OF MEDIA
Equality Now
Email: tcarey@equalitynow.org
Telephone: +44 (0)7971 556 340 (available on WhatsApp)
Twitter: @tararaecarey
Website: equalitynow.org


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Nationality laws discriminate against women across the Middle East and North Africa, Reveals New Report by Equality Now http://www.saudimirror.com/nationality-laws-discriminate-against-women-across-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-reveals-new-report-by-equality-now/ Thu, 07 Jul 2022 07:34:03 +0000 http://www.saudimirror.com/?p=212927 LEBANON, Beirut, July 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A quarter of countries worldwide still have discriminatory nationality laws that deny women the same nationality rights as men, reveals a report by the international human rights organization Equality Now. Women are being prohibited from passing their citizenship onto their children and foreign spouses, and face restrictions on changing or retaining their nationality after marriage. Those affected are at higher risk of a range of human rights violations. Campaigners are calling on governments to dismantle sexist nationality laws and ensure full legal equality in citizenship.

The State We're In: Ending Sexism in Nationality Laws highlights how sex discriminatory nationality laws remain in 49 countries "" accounting for 25% of United Nations member states.

The Middle East and North Africa region has 17 countries that deny women equal nationality rights. These are: Bahrain; Egypt; Iran; Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Libya; Morocco; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; and Yemen.

Comparing different parts of the world, MENA has the highest ratio of countries with nationality laws that discriminate against women.

Globally, women are prevented from passing their nationality onto their children on an equal basis with men in 28 countries. While in 46 countries, women are barred from passing nationality to their spouses on an equal basis.

There has been some progress over the last decade. Significant declarations have been made by various governments and 19 countries have carried out partial or full legal reforms to achieve equality in nationality laws. However, many governments have failed to translate commitments and policy into action, causing suffering to millions.

Harm caused by sexist nationality laws can be grave. Individuals may encounter restrictions on their right to marry or be unable to obtain a birth certificate for their child, rendering their offspring stateless.

A woman can be trapped in an abusive marriage when her or her child's citizenship is dependent on her spouse, and it can be difficult for a mother to claim child custody or gain access to her children if her marriage ends.

People without citizenship are commonly not entitled to publicly–funded medical services or schooling. Access to jobs, economic opportunities, and financial services is curtailed.

Curbs on freedom of movement and ineligibility for a passport makes traveling abroad difficult. Many are subjected to the trauma of forced separation, or live in fear of family members being deported.

Equality Now's Antonia Kirkland says: "Denying women equal nationality rights to men is a clear form of discrimination based upon sex, and is a human rights violation that contravenes international law. All women and men should be equally able to pass citizenship onto their spouse, and children wherever born".

"Equality Now is calling for all governments with sex discriminatory legal provisions on nationality to review, amend and harmonize legislation by 2030 to ensure consistency between relevant laws and regulations, with all women and men treated equally and fairly."

Media inquiries: Tara Carey, tcarey@equalitynow.org, +447971556340

A PDF attachment accompanying this release is available at http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/12e9be35–c363–4870–b28b–ed9657f568d5


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