EGYPT: The Giza prosecution office has ordered the release on bail of a 15 year old girl who was arrested after stabbing a microbus driver who attempted to rape her. In July, Amira was lured to Al-Ayat by a microbus driver, her boyfriend and another man and then offered a lift home by the driver after the other commuters got out. The driver attacked Amira with a knife and attempted to rape her so she stabbed him 14 times in self-defence. Reuters has stated that Egypt is the worst place in the world to be a woman – women who do speak out about sexual harassment are often punished by authorities – in 2018, Amal Fathy was sentenced to prison after posting a video on FB calling out sexual harassment.
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: 25th November – marks the start of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. AI advocates for the full decriminalisation of sex work because if offers a better framework to protect the human rights of sex workers.
UK – DOMESTIC ABUSE BILL – not fit for purpose. Supposed to ‘transform’ our approach to domestic abuse’, it leaves some of the most marginalised women behind. Migrant women are often already isolated in society. They can face language barriers, racial discrimination and many are on low-income jobs. Help support migrant women and join call on the government to make sure the new Domestic Abuse Bill doesn’t discriminate against migrant women. (ON-LINE PETITION)
ON-LINE ABUSE: widespread in the UK with one if five women having suffered online abuse or harassment, latest research has discovered.
ECUADOR: Amazonian Women Patricia Gualinga, Nema Grefa, Salome Aranda and Margoth Escobar are putting their lives on the line every day protecting the world’s largest rainforest. In doing so, they are taking a stand against climate change, while defying huge political and economic interest linked to extractive industries in Indigenous territories. In 2018, unidentified attackers targeted them in a series of attacks and death threats. For more than a year Ecuador’s authorities have failed to protect them or identify their attackers. In Ecuador, dozens of Amazonian Women work together to defend the Amazon, home to hundreds of Indigenous communities, thousands of species and half of the world’s rainforests. Large-scale economic activities such as oil, mining and logging often pose a threat to the environment and to people’s rights.
GOOD NEWS – TEP VANNY IS FREE!
Amnesty International Taunton Local Group 