Tag Archives: Western Subcontinent

Gender

Afghanistan News | Women

Afghanistan’s first female nominee to Supreme Court rejected by Parliament
  • Beyond a capitulation to conservative opposition, the rejection signals a deepening challenge to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s political agenda.
  • While women’s rights advocates hope for another female nomination, others fear more general rollbacks of rights and protections for women following the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

Read the full story at Reuters.

Gender

Afghanistan News | Women

First woman nominated to Supreme Court in Afghanistan

  • President Ashraf Ghani put forth Anisa Rasooli for parliamentary approval to join the nine-member court.
  • Rasooli has had a distinguished career in the juvenile court system and as director of the Afghan Women Judges Association, but clerical opposition has been swift to protest the nomination.
  • President Ghani has been vocal in his advocacy for more women in government, having appointed two female governors and called for all ministries to appoint female deputy ministers.

Read the full story at Public Radio International.

(Image Credit: Sayed Salahuddin/Reuters)

Gender

Afghanistan News | Women

Afghan president appoints second female governor despite vocal opposition
  • President Ashraf Ghani appointed Seema Joyenda to the governorship of the Ghor Province in central Afghanistan, the second of three female governor appointments promised by the administration.
  • The first, Massoma Muradi, has been marooned in Kabul, unable to take her post in the Daikundi Province due to demonstrations against her appointment.
  • Provincial leaders and community members opposed to the appointments claim a woman will be unable to navigate the complex security terrains of the provinces, which see continuing conflict between tribal groups, including the Taliban.

“This is not new to me. As their former representative, I traveled the province, I know my people’s pain.”

Read the full story at the New York Times.

Gender
Officials report 8 of the 10 alleged attackers of Malala Yousafzai have been freed.
  • A Regional Police Officer and a spokesperson for the Pakistani High Commission in London support claims reported in the Daily Mirror, indicating that only two of the convicted attackers will now be serving life sentences because of lack of evidence against
  • The abrupt turnaround has drawn suspicion that the initial reports of ten convictions were an attempt to divert media attention away from the results of the case.
  • The trial was closed to the public, allowing for claims of misreporting of the judge’s actual ruling back in April.

More on this story at The Express Tribune.

(Image Credit: AFP, via The Express Tribune)