Sunday, September 20, 2015

My Body My Rights: "Magdalene Sisters" and "The Vessel" - Movie Recommendations

Amnesty International

The Vessel, 2012:
     Vessel begins with a young doctor who lived by the sea, and an unlikely idea.  Rebecca Gomperts, horrified by the realities created by anti-abortion law around the world, felt compelled to challenge this.  Her method: to provide abortions on a ship in offshore waters.
Her project, Women on Waves, begins as flawed spectacle, a media frenzy, faced with governmental, religious, and military blockades.  But with each setback comes a more refined mission, until Rebecca has the revelation that she can use new technologies to bypass law – and train women to give themselves safe abortions using WHO-sanctioned protocols with pills. Click here for more information about this movie.



Magdalene Sisters, 2002:
 A stirring, must-see motion picture critics called one of the best films of the year, THE MAGDALENE SISTERS is the triumphant story of three extraordinary women whose courage to defy a century of injustice would inspire a nation! Abandoned by society and cast out by their families for crimes they did not commit, these women found themselves stripped of their liberty and dignity and condemned to indefinite sentences of manual labor. Within the church-run Magdalene Laundries, these women were forced into unbearable institutional servitude in order to cleanse themselves of the @#sins@# of which they had been accused. From acclaimed director Peter Mullan, this award-winning powerhouse not only reveals the truth behind one of the great tragedies of our time, but celebrates the bravery that would bring it to an end!! Click here for more information.

 
 

Saturday, September 19, 2015

United Arab Emirates - Ahmed Mansoor, Human Rights Defender and Blogger, Banned from Travel - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International
     The UAE authorities have prevented prominent human rights defender and blogger Ahmed Mansoor from going to an award ceremony, by arbitrarily imposing a travel ban. He is a finalist for the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, and has been invited to attend the award ceremony in the Swiss city of Geneva on 6 October.
     The UAE authorities have refused to return his passport, which they confiscated when he was arbitrarily arrested in 2011, so he will be prevented from attending the award ceremony in Geneva. They have given him contradictory reasons for failing to return it. Both the travel ban and the confiscation of his passport violate Ahmed Mansoor’s right under international human rights law to freedom of movement, as these measures were taken to punish him for his peaceful human rights activism. He is one of the few people in the UAE speaking out about human rights violations in the country. 
Click here for more information and addresses.

Amnesty International Daily URGENT ACTIONS - Sept 18 to Sept 25, 2015


Click here for entire list of URGENT ACTION for the week of September 18 to September 25. (This post is updated daily.) 
   
     Countries for this week's Urgent Actions include: Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Kenya, Israel/OPT, United States, Tajikistan, India, Hungary, Egypt, Myanmar, Russian Federation, and Turkey.

  Note: Most Urgent Actions require a written letter. See our guidelines for writing letters.  Countries are added to this list during the week. The link contains all Urgent Actions for the week.

Friday, September 18, 2015

AI Madison Group #139 Weekly Update - September 18, 2015

 Greetings Everyone!
     Many of us sign online petitions. Some of us write letters. Others donate money. We might wear t-shirts and join demonstrations (see video). We might use our professional skills as human rights lawyers, investigators, or writers. All of us feel the passion. All of us feel the urgency to act now... this very minute... for human rights. What an amazing group we have! Can you feel the energy that connects us!!!

    What is the My Body My Rights (MBMR) Campaign? What are Sexual and Reproductive rights? What is the Fall 2015 focus for MBMR? Have you marked the 28th of September on your calendar? Find out more about these Amnesty International issues and take action. Click here for a short powerpoint presentation (9/16/2015), here for the Action Toolkit, and here for the MBMR website.
     This week, we would also like to recognize the 20th Anniversary of the "The Beijing Platform for Action." Check out the UN Women website for more information about the progress women have made since 1996 and current initiatives. Click here for the UN Women YouTube Channel for videos.

     In solidarity,
    
     -Debbie, Weekly Update Editor
Click here for ENTIRE WEEKLY UPDATE.

Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion - September 28, 2015

 Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights

The September 28 Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion has its origin in Latin America and the Caribbean where women’s groups have been mobilising around September 28 the last two decades to demand their governments to decriminalise abortion, to provide access to safe and affordable abortion services and to end stigma and discrimination towards women who choose to have an abortion. 

Join Amnesty International's campaign, My Body My Rights, and support women's sexual and reproductive rights on September 28th. 

Click here for Amnesty International Toolkit for Action.
Click here for Amnesty International's My Body My Rights website.
Click here for more information about WGNRR.
Click here for Actions from WGNRR on September 28th. 

United Nations Women: 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women - NEWS & VIDEOS

from He for She
September 16, 2015

"TODAY is the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most progressive blueprint for women's rights! In September 1995, 47,000 people streamed into Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women with a single purpose in mind: gender equality and the empowerment of all women, everywhere. Much has been achieved since, but much more needs to be done and can be done."
Also see UN Women YouTube Channel (videos).

India: Akhilesh Yadav: Ensure Dalit family lives in safety and with dignity - UPDATE & ONLINE PETITION

Amnesty International India
      Over 500,000 people around the world signed our petition in August calling for the Uttar Pradesh Government to provide protection to 23-year-old Meenakshi Kumari and her family after they fled their village in Baghpat district.
Meenakshi’s family feared violence after her brother eloped with a married woman from a Jat (dominant caste) family. Her family said they had faced several human rights abuses by local police and dominant caste members in their village, including an order by a khap panchayat- an unelected all-male village body- that she and her 15-year-old sister be raped and paraded naked as ‘punishment’. A case of alleged rape has been filed against members of the family, who say that it is fabricated.
      The Supreme Court of India, responding to Meenakshi’s call for justice, has now ordered the Delhi Police to provide them with protection, as they are currently living in Delhi and are fearful of returning to their village.
      Now we need the Uttar Pradesh Government to ensure the family receives adequate remedy, including justice and reparation. If the family is unable to return to their village, they must receive the support they need to live elsewhere in safety and with dignity.

Click here for more information and ONLINE PETITION.