Female Genital Mutilation Gets Up To Life In Prison In Uganda

There's good news out of Uganda regarding female genital mutilation (FGM)- one of the most barbaric, backwards and abusive practices forced on young females in parts of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere. The Ugandan parliament has just passed a law banning female circumcision, a traditional right of passage performed on young girls under the age of 15, without their consent. An horrific cultural, and sometimes religious practice, which predates Islam and Christianity, the genitalia of the child is wholly or partially removed.

Sometimes the remaining flesh is stitched closed, a practice called infibulation, leaving only a tiny opening for urination and menstruation, and making intercourse and childbirth painful.

It's estimated 2 to 3 million mutilations are performed per year, and there are anywhere from 130 to 140 million women worldwide who have been tortured through female genital mutilation; at least those still living, since it's common for girls to die during the procedure or from complications, including infection. And it is torture in many instances where anesthesia is not used, and the methods can be very primitive-

“I have never been traumatised my whole life,” reported MP Margaret Muhanga as she testified to her witness of FMG. “They used a sharp stone and cut off the girl’s clitoris…Imagine your daughter being treated like that.”

“The Lord was not stupid to put it the way he did,” said Ngora MP Francis Epetait. “All those accessories had their purpose. It is very stupid for man to claim to be wiser than God.”

The sentencing structure varies depending on certain factors
- 10 years for those caught performing FGM.
-Life in prison if the child dies, contracts HIV or is eventually disabled. It seems the risk of HIV AIDS is much higher for those who have been circumcised.

The Bill passed unanimously, although stopping the practice will be very difficult. Though it has been banned in other African countries, Egypt and elsewhere, it is still far too prevalent. Old habits die hard, and unless you start a massive re-education programme the horrific practice will continue. At least this is a step in the right direction.

URGENT: Stop The Execution Of Farzad Kamangar

"On 25 February 2008, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Farzad Kamangar to death on charges of "endangering national security" and "enmity against God" (moharebe). The death penalty was confirmed by the Supreme Court on 11 July. "

A teacher, former member of a Kurdish teacher's union (until outlawed) and human right's activist, Farzad Kamangar was scheduled to be executed today! Thankfully, according to one source (International Campaign For Human Rights In Iran), he was not, although 10 others (including a woman) were, and there is still the likelihood that Kamangar will be hanged, at some point.

In a letter from prison, Kamangar describes the details of his arrest, and the torture he has endured while incarcerated:

In July of 2006 I came to Tehran to follow upon my brother's medical treatments. My brother is a Kurdish political activist. Upon my arrival in Tehran I was arrested and taken to an unknown place, it was a very small, dark basement. The cells in this place were empty, there were no blankets or rugs or sheets. They took me to a room and as they were interviewing me they asked me about my ethnicity. When I told them that I was of the Kurdish Ethnicity they lashed my entire body. They also lashed me because of the Kurdish music which I had saved on my mobile phone. They would tie my hands, make me sit on a chair and put pressure on the sensitive areas of my body. They would also strip me naked and threaten me with rape by various objects such as wood.

His trial was a farce. According to Khalil Bahramian, Farzad’s lawyer:

“Nothing in Kamangar’s judicial files and records demonstrates any links to the charges brought against him.” He described the trial as “lasting no more than five minutes, with the judge issuing his sentence without any explanation and then promptly leaving the room.” {snip} the closed-door trial violated the Iranian legal requirements that such cases must be tried publicly and in the presence of a jury.

Please send an email to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad requesting, at the very least, that Kamangar get a fair trial. You can email him directly at: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir

or via the Education International website by clicking here, which has a pre-written letter

Being sentenced to death for being Kurdish, a human right's activist or trade union member, or all of the above, is outrageous.

Please take a moment to do this. That moment could save an innocent man's life.

China, Censorship and The Olympics

China just doesn't get it. It has clear goals of becoming a major superpower, has introduced market based economic reforms and is now considered to be the fourth largest economy in the world, and yet it still falls pitifully behind in terms of its political and social reforms. Who cares how much money you have in your pocket if you have no freedom, if you continuously fear what you say might land you in jail, if you have little access to information other than what your government deems appropriate. I'd rather be a pauper with freedom, than a rich person with none. The Chinese government would like the world to think they are evolving as a nation, but other than their economy, not a damn thing has changed.

I am still grappling with the question of why China was awarded the honour of hosting the 2008 Olympic Games, given the government's continuing penchant for flagrantly violating the rights of its citizens. Sure, back when they were bidding to host the games, 7 years ago, government officials assured news organizations that they would have complete freedom to report the games, as they have during past Olympic Games. Right. Easy to pay lip service when you have no intention of complying. Did anyone truly believe those promises? I guess not because, we come to find out, the International Olympic Committee (although they deny it) secretly brokered a deal which allows China to, yes, block certain sensitive websites, even for foreign journalists, who are already complaining they've encountered blocked access to various sites. So much for promises. Then again, did people expect anything different from a government that has exercised such suffocatingly tight control over its own people, for decades. And as for all their assurances they'd improve their human rights record, as a condition for hosting the games- empty promises.

If tourists think they will have carte blanche over there, think again. It's been confirmed that they too will be subject to censorship, and who knows what else. International hotel chains have been ordered to install software that will monitor the Internet activity of their guests, and there will be punishment for those who do not comply. So not only do they subject the Chinese people to censorship, they are forcing those same restrictions on visitors to their country. How's that for a warm welcome.

What I find most appalling is that they blatantly lied to ensure they would win the bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, and that the IOC and the world was stupid enough to believe them.

UPDATE: Due to international pressure, as of 8/1/08, the Chinese government has lifted the ban on some sites, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF), although others continue to be banned, including any sites relating to Tibet or The Falun Gong. Some progress, but not enough!

HBO'S "China's Stolen Children": The Bad Karma Of China's One-Child Policy

"As you sow, so shall you reap". Some call it Karma, but whatever you choose to call it there are consequences for our actions, whether we like it or not. It's a law of nature, and we have no control over the results. Negative actions elicit negative re-actions. It applies not only to individuals but to nations as well, and we can witness this happening in many countries including Burma, Zimbabwe and China where the people, sadly, are often the ones to suffer the consequences of their government's actions, or inaction, in the case of Burma.

I just watched a compelling HBO documentary entitled "China's Stolen Children", which sheds light on the dark side of their one-child policy. After 3 decades of enforcing the planned birth policy, things have turned ugly, particularly for the poor in China. Instituted in 1979 by Deng Xiaoping to control the threat of a projected population explosion which would have taxed the economic resources of the communist country, the Chinese government implemented a birth control policy that effectively paved the way for forced abortions and sterilizations, and human trafficking. The latter is what the documentary focuses on.

What happens when you force couples to give birth to just one child, or face a huge fine that most can ill afford? They resort to either aborting or selling their children. According to the British Society For The Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC)

It has been calculated that between 1971 and 1985 alone there were some 100 million coercive birth-control "operations" in China, including forced sterilisations and forced abortions (Dr John Aird, Slaughter of the Innocents, AEI Press, 1991). In 1983 a massive campaign of compulsory birth control surgeries was carried out, which reportedly produced 14 million abortions, 21 million sterilisations and 18 million IUD insertions. This campaign was directed by the then minister-in-charge of the State Family Planning Commission (SFPC), Qian Xinzhong.

And what happens when the cultural preference is for male children? Although female infanticide occurred prior to the creation of the People's Republic of China, and prior to establishing the one-child policy, after almost 3 decades of selective birthing (i.e. let's abort this baby girl, because we want a boy) there is a dearth of marriageable women. And what happens when there aren't enough women to marry? You create a need, and human traffickers have now taken to kidnapping young women to be sold as brides.

"China's Stolen Children", which was filmed undercover, shares the heart-breaking stories of various people who have come face to face with what happens when a government chooses to enforce a policy that goes against nature. One young couple had their 5 year-old son Chen Jie kidnapped while in the care of his grandmother. Hiring a detective, who dedicates his time to tracking down stolen children, they have yet to find the boy, and the likelihood is very slim. We witness a daring rescue of a young kidnapped teen, by Detective Zhu, but success is rare, and Zhu talks about giving it all up. They also follow the exploits of a trafficker, who sold his own son, who brokers deals between mothers and potential buyers. One couple, who are not old enough to marry (women must be 20 and men 22), decide to sell their newborn baby girl because they do not have the money to pay the requisite fine, and children born out of wedlock have no identity or rights. And although buyers prefer male babies, there are those who will settle for a female. In some cases, they will opt for a girl to raise as a wife for their son.

Although it was only intended as a short term remedy, the Chinese government plans to continue with the one-child policy until at least 2012, and seems more intent on keeping the problem of human trafficking quiet, according to Detective Zhu, than helping to stop the illegal practice. And so more children will be stolen or aborted.

It is estimated that by the end of this decade, 40 to 60 million girls will have been abandoned or aborted.