The Indian government during 2011 failed to hold rights violators accountable or to carry out effective policies to protect vulnerable communities, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012. The government took no action to repeal the widely discredited Armed Forces Special Powers Act, disregarding the recommendations of political leaders and advisers, Human [...]

Many Egyptian political parties, especially dominant Islamist groups, have refused to commit to protecting women’s rights and to abolishing the death penalty, Amnesty International said on Tuesday (Jan 24). “Most of the biggest Egyptian political parties have committed to delivering ambitious human rights reform in the country’s transition, but have either given mixed signals or [...]

MAHALLA EL-KUBRA, EGYPT — Much was made of Facebook, Twitter and the role social media played in lending a sense of youth and modernity to the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule. Then came the ascendancy of political Islam, which seems to be leading Egypt in a different direction entirely. But the real roots of [...]

The year 2011 is ending as it began: with images of thousands of Egyptian women and men standing up against a Western-backed military regime — from a 10,000-strong march of women two days ago (Dec 21), to another mass Friday march today (Dec 23). These make it clear that the Egyptian revolution is ongoing, and [...]

Factory workers in Burma have become the first to test the limits of labour freedoms in the country following new laws that allow union formation for the first time in nearly half a century. An application was last week handed to the labour ministry in Naypyidaw for the creation of a Cotton and Leather Factory [...]

The 11th South Asia Social Forum, Bangladesh 2011 was held at Dhaka University premises from November 18 – 22, 2011 with the urge to work united to build Another South Asia. The theme of the forum was “Democracy for Social Transformation in South Asia: Participation, Equity, Justice and Peace.” On this occasion, Karmojibi Nari (KN), [...]

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Sunday granted women the right to vote and run in future municipal elections, the biggest change in a decade for women in a puritanical kingdom that practices strict separation of the sexes, including banning women from driving, according to the New York Times. Saudi women, who are legally subject [...]

Female protesters were beaten, raped and intimidated in a post-election crackdown by the Iranian authorities. Silenced by stigma and fear, these women are now using social media to bear witness to the horror. A young woman is speaking to the camera, her face obscured to prevent her being identified. Her voice heavy with emotion, and [...]

In detention centers all over Vietnam, some 40,000 men, women, and children are being held against their will and forced to labour for the Vietnamese government. The victims are held without a hearing or a trial in a court of law in drug detention centers on suspicion of using illegal drugs. Most detainees are picked [...]

Local residents and civil servants have been forced to carry out manual labour in Chin State, Burma under the direct order of Chief Minister Hung Ngai, a report by the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) has said. According to the statement released on September 7, CHRO has documented a series of forced labour and portering [...]