Tag Archives: Civil Liberties

Gender, Religion + Belief

France News | Muslim Women

Cannes and Villeneuve-Loubet mayors ban burkinis on public beaches
  • Cannes Mayor David Lisnard said the hooded full-body swimsuits “create risks of disrupting public order,” with another municipal official elaborating that such garments display “allegiance to terrorist movements.”
  • The measure falls in line with the French government’s antagonism of public displays of religious affiliation, which have discriminated against observant Muslims—particularly women—in the country.
  • Following in Cannes’ footsteps, Mayor Lionnel Luca banned burkinis in the coastal town of Villeneuve-Loubet, stating such garments aren’t “hygienic” or in line with the ideological principle of laïcité, or enforced public secularism.

Read more:
“The Mayor Of Cannes Has Banned Burkinis On The Riviera’s Beaches” (BuzzFeed News)
“Cannes, Citing Security Risks, Bans Full-Body ‘Burkinis’ From Its Beaches” (The New York Times)
“Après Cannes, Villeneuve-Loubet interdit le burkini” (Le Monde, in French)

(Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images, via BuzzFeed News)

Health + Ability, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Japan Feature | Transgender

The Ambivalence of Pathologizing Transgenderism

Bucking the trend in many developed countries to depathologize the mind-body incongruence at the heart of trans identity, Japan has seen resistance to international efforts to eliminate medical classifications of transgenderism as a disorder. A medical diagnosis of gender identity disorder (GID) has at times been necessary to secure the rights to the myriad legal and medical changes necessary to confirm an individual’s gender identity in the eyes of the state.

Much as disability advocates have fought to secure recognition, acceptance, and accommodation of those with disabilities and chronic illnesses in society, some Japanese trans activists and medical professionals have advocated for the continued recognition of GID and the accommodations necessary for trans people to live healthy lives. BuzzFeed News takes a look at the modern history of transgender visibility in Japan, the ambivalent reaction to declassification attempts, and the broader shift in medicine from corrective to adaptive approaches to addressing “illness” in society.

Read:
“Why Transgender People In Japan Prefer To Be Told They Have A ‘Disorder’” (BuzzFeed News)

Related:
“First GID doctors certified in Japan” (The Japan Times)

(Image Credit:  Kate Ferro/BuzzFeed News)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Uganda News | LGBT

Police raid Uganda Pride event, arrest more than a dozen
  • After attendees reported some 10 officers stormed the nightclub where the Mr. and Miss Pride pageant was being held in Kampala.
  • Reports of those arrested ranged from 15 to 25, including prominent Ugandan LGBT activist Frank Mugisha, and some witnesses reported that police beat some attendees and undressed trans participants.
  • The Pride march was postponed indefinitely after a senior government official threatened to bring a mob of opposition to protest the event.

Read more:
“Ugandan police storm Gay Pride event, arrest at least 15 – activist” (Reuters)
“Ugandan Police Storm Gay Pride Event, Arrest More than a Dozen People” (NBC News)
“Uganda’s Pride Parade Has Been Cancelled” (BuzzFeed News)

Religion + Belief

ClimateWatch | France

ClimateWatch
France, Post-Attacks

In the wake of the attack that left more than 80 dead during Bastille Day festivities in Nice, French Muslims have expressed fears of scapegoating for the violent crime and others that have erupted over the last two years in France. An attack that left a Catholic priest dead in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray further inflamed tensions in the country as the nation responded to its fifth terrorist attack in 2016. Fearing the ongoing state of emergency and retaliatory attacks against their communities, many French Muslims, who have been among the victims of these attacks, have made large public condemnations of the attackers and expressed solidarity with non-Muslim French neighbors and the counterterrorism efforts. Observers and commentators have offered analysis on what the recent attacks mean for Muslim relations in France and how the country can move forward as the country battles inequality at home and threats from abroad.

Nice Aftermath
Community Response
Political Response
France and Islam
Ideology + Affiliation

Zimbabwe News | Political Dissidents

Police violently break up protest against Mugabe government in Harare as anger swells
  • Peaceful protesters and journalists were attacked with batons during a demonstration against President Robert Mugabe’s handling of the economy in Zimbabwe.
  • Protesters have been rallying against the government’s economic policies, with ire having ballooned over proposals to introduce local bank notes into the economy.
  • Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party also expelled nine senior leaders, including four war veterans linked to a statement denouncing him.

Read more:
“Zimbabwe police use batons to break up anti-government protest” (Reuters)
“Zimbabwe police violently break up anti-Mugabe protests” (Al Jazeera)
“Zimbabwe’s Mugabe faces rising tide of protest” (AP via News24)

(Image Credit: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters)

Gender, Ideology + Affiliation, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

ClimateWatch | Turkey

ClimateWatch
Turkey’s “Purge”

The recent attempted coup by a faction within Turkey’s military has left the country in the throes of uncertainty, further increasing citizens’ and human rights watchdogs’ already pronounced concerns about the future of civil liberties in Turkey. Ground zero for the attempted overthrow of the government were Ankara and Istanbul, home to journalists overrun on the air by military forces and ordinary citizens called into the streets by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan via FaceTime.

Daylight illuminated the deaths of nearly 300, the wounds of the 1,400 injured, and the beginning of a so-called “purge” that has further endangered groups already vulnerable under Erdogan’s regime: political critics, journalists, and intellectuals. Women, too, found themselves targeted amidst the instability, and Turkish Kurds worry that the aftermath will further heighten anti-Kurd sentiment.

But the coup attempt and retaliation are only the latest in Turkey’s security woes. Terrorist attacks in Istanbul and Ankara, conflict with Kurdish militants and pro-Kurd advocates, ongoing intimidation and blackouts of journalists and political dissidents, and a regional refugee crisis have upended the tenuous stability in the country secured through a 2013 ceasefire with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). While the restoration of Erdogan’s government was seen as a victory for democracy, Turks and observers alike fear what measures Erdogan, already intolerant of dissent, will take in its wake.

Here is a look at coverage of the destabilizing security situation for at-risk communities in Turkey: Continue reading ClimateWatch | Turkey →

Ideology + Affiliation

Zimbabwe News | Political Dissidents

Largest protests in years bubble up in Zimbabwe as anger over economy grows
  • Protests against government corruption, unpaid salaries, and a generally failing economy led to a general strike and street protests, prompting a government response that included violent attacks on and intimidation of citizens.
  • A prominent religious leader who called for the strike was arrested then released on technicality after having been charged with inciting public violence and later with conspiring to overthrow the government.
  • The protests have been the largest challenge in a decade to the rule of President Robert Mugabe, who has held power in the country since its independence from Britain in 1980.

Read more:
“Zimbabweans suffer ‘savage’ police abuse as anti-Mugabe movement grows” (Reuters)
“Zimbabwe shutdown: What is behind the protests?” (BBC)
“Zimbabwe Court Frees Pastor Detained Over Protests Against Mugabe” (The New York Times)

(Image Credit: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters)

Religion + Belief

Pakistan News | Blasphemy Laws

Shopkeeper arrested for selling shoes with sacred Hindu symbol
  • The shoes contained the “Om” symbol, a spiritual icon in Hinduism, prompting protests and leading to the man’s arrest in the town of Tando Adam in Sindh province, home to most of Pakistan’s Hindu minority.
  • Though strictest for crimes insulting Islam, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws allow for the arrest of those accused of offense to any religion, including Hinduism.
  • Police indicated no offense had been intended and a shift in focus to the shoes’ suppliers, but if convicted, the shopkeeper faces up to 10 years in prison.

Read more:
“Pakistani man charged with blasphemy over shoes with Hindu symbol” (Reuters)
“Hindus in Pakistan protest sale of Om-inscribed shoes” (The Hindustan Times)
“Man selling ‘Om’ inscribed shoes in Pakistan arrested for blasphemy” (The New Indian Express)

Additional:
“What are Pakistan’s blasphemy laws?” (BBC, November 2014)

(Image Credit: via The Hindustan Times)

Ideology + Affiliation

Turkey News | Press Advocates

Three press rights advocates arrested in Turkey
  • Erol Onderoglu (Reporters Without Borders), Sebnem Korur Fincanci (Human Rights Foundation of Turkey), and Ahmet Nesin (author) were charged with spreading terrorist propaganda.
  • Now held in pre-trial detention, the three guest-edited an edition of Ozgur Kundem, a pro-Kurdish rights newspaper subjected to multiple investigations and lawsuits as part of the government’s crackdown on Kurdish separatist groups and their supporters.
  • President Tayyip Erdogan has come under international fire for his campaign against critical journalism in Turkey, which has seen journalists imprisoned, television stations taken off the air, and publications seized and shuttered.

Read more:
“Turkey arrests raise further concerns over press freedom” (AP via The Guardian)
“Reporters Without Borders representative, two others jailed in Turkey” (Committee to Protect Journalists)
“Turkey arrests three prominent press-freedom campaigners” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images, via The Guardian)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Turkey News | LGBT

Istanbul LGBT and transgender marches banned following threats
  • The Istanbul Governor’s Office revoked organizers’ assembly permits following threats from conservative groups, particularly Turkish ultranationalists.
  • Organizers criticized the government response as kowtowing to anti-LGBT parties rather than increasing security and protecting the LGBT community’s right to assemble.
  • Coinciding with Ramadan, Pride Week in Istanbul is scheduled to take place from June 19-26, with the main LGBT parade originally planned for the final day.

Read more:
“Governor’s Office bans LGBT Pride march in Istanbul” (Hürriyet News Daily)
“Turkey bans Istanbul gay pride due to ‘security fears’” (Al Jazeera)
“Istanbul authorities ban transgender and gay pride marches” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: via Hürryiet News Daily)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Kenya News | Gay & Bisexual Men

Kenyan court upholds legality of anal examinations as evidence in homosexuality prosecution
  • The presiding judge dismissed a challenge to the state’s subjection of men accused of homosexuality to anal exams, widely decried in the medical community as unscientific and invasive.
  • The ruling comes as part of a case against two men charged with “unnatural acts,” “indecent acts between adults,” and “trafficking in obscene materials.”
  • Though being appealed by Kenya’s main LGBT advocacy group, anal exams can now be used as evidence of “unnatural acts,” whereas historically they were most often used in same-sex rape cases.

Read more:
“Kenyan Court Upholds Anal Exams For Homosexuality Charges” (BuzzFeed News)
“Two Kenyans in gay sex case lose bid to outlaw anal examinations” (Reuters)
“Kenya court rules anal tests on ‘gay suspects’ legal” (AFP via Capital News)

Nationality + Migration

Poland News | Foreigners

Polish parliament expands government surveillance powers ahead of major international events
  • The lower house passed legislation expanding the government’s surveillance and detention capabilities, subjecting foreigners to increased monitoring in the country.
  • Drafted in the wake of the Brussels attacks, the new law allows intelligence agencies the ability to conduct surveillance for three months without court approval, detain suspects for two weeks without charges, and expedite deportation of suspects.
  • In July, Poland will host a NATO summit and World Youth Day, a Catholic event attended by the Pope.

Read more:
“Poland approves closer surveillance of foreigners ahead of NATO summit, pope visit” (Reuters)
“Panel: Poland’s New Police Law Allows Privacy Infringement” (AP via ABC News)
“Watchdog says surveillance powers in Poland too broad” (Radio Poland)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

South Africa News | Hate Speech

South African woman slapped with $10,000 fine for racist remarks
  • The woman faced charges from the African National Congress (ANC) for comparing black South Africans to “wild monkeys” in a Facebook rant about beaches in the country.
  • The Umizito Equality Court ordered her to pay the 150,000-rand fine to charity within 60 days.
  • South African hate speech laws stem from constitutionally guaranteed protections against the incitement of hatred and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000.

Read more:
“South African woman fined $10,000 for racist comments” (Reuters)
“Racism: Penny Sparrow fined R150K, community service for Theunissen” (News24)
“SA’s laws are set against hate speech” (Times Live, January 2016)

Additional:
The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000

Gender, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief, Sexual + Gender Minorities

ClimateWatch | The Philippines

ClimateWatch
The Philippines

The Philippine Congress recently confirmed Rodrigo Duterte as the 16th president of the Philippines, ushering in a new government fueled by populist disaffection and characterized by uncertainty. A lightning rod of controversy, the tough-talking former mayor of Davao City in the south of the country has supported vigilante justice in crime-riddled cities (including against those suffering from addiction), the reinstatement of capital punishment, and paternalistic policies on smoking, alcohol consumption, and youth curfews. His unfiltered style has been likened to U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for both his casual misogyny and penchant for offensive jokes.

But Duterte, the Philippines’ oldest president, has also expressed support for minority representation and protections, backed by a record of gender and minority inclusiveness during his time as mayor. His election has already been celebrated for breaking political regionalism in the country: Duterte has become the first president from the historically marginalized island of Mindanao. Now having to scale his leadership from the local to the national level, he inherits a range of difficult issues impacting historically disadvantaged communities, including land and environmental rights for indigenous peoples, reproductive healthcare for women, and political autonomy for Muslim groups in the south.

With international observers and diplomats concerned by Duterte’s unpredictability, his record with and plans for vulnerable communities have been scrutinized as political analysts attempt to predict what the next era of Philippine politics will look like under his leadership. Here is an overview of recent local and international commentary on the impact of Duterte’s election:

Continue reading ClimateWatch | The Philippines →

Nationality + Migration

UAE News | People of Libyan Descent

UAE acquits Libyan-Americans and Libyan-Canadian of militancy charges
  • Two Libyan-Americans and a Libyan-Canadian have been detained in the country since their 2014 arrests carried out in the wake of the passage of the UAE’s Anti-Terrorism Law, initially accused of supporting Libyan terrorist groups.
  • The men had been held in secret for months, with reports indicating torture and deteriorating health during their more than 500 days of detention without a trial.
  • The three businessmen had reportedly traveled in and out of the UAE without incident for decades, but the UAE’s zero-tolerance policy towards extremism has made many with even tenuous connections to countries with designated terrorist groups vulnerable.

Read more:
“Two American businessmen acquitted in the United Arab Emirates of supporting militants” (The Washington Post)
“UAE acquits two Libyan-Americans and Canadian of militancy charges” (Reuters)
“‘Nowhere close to a fair trial’: pressure to aid Americans and Canadian in UAE” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: Family photo, via The Washington Post)