Women’s Rights Matter – Page 8 – Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

Ohio: Christian convert Rifqa Bary fights to stay in US

AP reports: “Ohio Christian convert fights to stay in US”
— AP reports: “A teenage girl who converted to Christianity and ran away from home is being blocked by her Muslim parents from fighting the possibility of deportation, her attorney told a judge Monday in an ongoing custody dispute.”
— “Rifqa Bary, 17, who fled home last year and stayed with a Florida minister whom she met on Facebook, is an illegal immigrant and does not want to be returned to her native Sri Lanka because she fears being harmed or killed by Muslim extremists.”
— “Her attorney, Angela Lloyd, asked a judge to sign an order stating that reunification with her parents is not possible by her 18th birthday in August.”
— “The order would allow Bary, who is in foster care, to apply for special immigration status without her parents’ consent.”
— “Omar Tarazi, an attorney for the parents, objected, telling the judge that he had been unaware of this latest maneuver by Bary’s attorney to apply to an immigration court. He said the parents previously filed an immigration application for the whole family.”
— “Franklin County Juvenile Court Judge Elizabeth Gill declined to issue the order without first holding a hearing next month. She also declined to remove a gag order that prevents attorneys from discussing the case publicly.”
— “Bary and her parents, Mohamed and Aysha Bary, have agreed to follow a counseling plan drawn up by a county child welfare agency to try to resolve the family’s conflict. It requires both sides to work with individual counselors and to try to attend join counseling.”
— “But a face-to-face meeting remains unlikely any time soon.”
— “Jim Zorn, a children’s services attorney, told the judge that Bary continues to believe that a reconciliation with her parents is impossible. Bary’s counselor has indicated that contact with her parents would be premature, he said.”

Rifqa Bary, 17 - reports say she is threatened with death by her family in Ohio for converting from Islam to Christianity

Responsible for Equality And Liberty’s Activism in Columbus, Ohio for Rifqa Bary

Call to Columbus Public to Defend Religious Freedom

Other R.E.A.L. Postings on Rifqa Bary

Rifqa Bary Case: Judge Dismisses Motion for Trial, Motion to Set Aside January 19 Agreement

Ohio — Rifqa Bary to parents: We’re done; Runaway convert says reconciliation impossible

Rifqa Bary Case: Agreement between Rifqa Bary, parents to settle conflict short-lived

Ohio — Rifqa Bary Case: Counseling next for Rifqa, family

Rifqa Bary Case News Updates

Ohio — Rifqa Bary Case: Court Decides Bary to Stay in Foster Care, To Receive Christmas Cards, Next Date January 19

Columbus, Ohio — Rifqa Bary Case: “Runaway convert told to talk religion with Muslim parents”

Columbus, Ohio: November 13 — R.E.A.L. Public Awareness Activities on Religious Freedom

R.E.A.L. Outreach to Public at CNN Washington DC on “Honor Killings”

Why Extremist Honor Killings Represent Ideological Violence Against Women

Ohio: Rifqa Bary returns to Columbus — Bary’s Internet, Phone Usage to be Monitored

Florida: Judge orders Fathima Rifqa Bary to return to Ohio

Rifqa Bary tells Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) she was abused, was supposed to have arranged marriage

Rifqa Bary Case: Runaway Rifqa Bary could be one step closer to returning home

U.S.: Rifqa Bary Case Update

U.S. — CNN iReport Says Rifqa Bary Case Indicative of Human Rights Threats to Thousands

Florida: Court Decides to Return Rifqa Bary to Ohio — 17 Year Old Christian Convert Girl Claims Muslim Parents Threatened to Kill Her

Florida: Updates on Rifqa Bary Case

Press Release: “Former Muslims Call on DOJ, US Commission On Civil Rights to Investigate Hate Crimes and Discrimination Against Apostates from Islam”

Ohio: Columbus Dispatch — “Family of runaway files court complaint” — Rifqa Bary case

U.S.: “‘We need to kill’ Christian girl” — Teen who fled Muslim family gets online threat — Rifqa Bary

Florida: Fathima Rifqa Bary Case — Judge keeps girl in Florida, orders mediation

Florida: Rifaq Bary Case — Additional Reports

Florida: Judge says 17-year-old Christian convert Rifqa Bary must stay in Florida

Florida Governor’s Office Replies on Rifqa Bary Case

Florida: Human Rights Group Calls for Florida Social Services Not to Return Christian Girl (Rifqa Bary) to Ohio

Florida: Human Rights Group Urges You to Contact Florida Governor, Florida Dept of Children and Family on Rifqa Bary Case

Florida: Ohio Girl Says Family Threatens to Kill Her for Converting from Islam to Christianity

R.E.A.L. at Ohio State University on “Honor Killings”

R.E.A.L.'s Jeffrey Imm Discusses Threats to Religious Freedom in America With Ohio State Students and Why the Rifqa Bary Case is a Concern

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Saudi Citizen’s Appeal on Sexual Abuse, False Imprisonment Conviction

Court won’t give Saudi citizen new trial — Homaidan Ali Al-Turki
— AP reports that Saudi Arabian citizen Homaidan Ali Al-Turki appeal to Supreme Court rejected; Al-Turki blamed anti-Muslim sentiment for his conviction
— AP: “He was convicted of false imprisonment, conspiracy, criminal extortion, theft and unlawful sexual contact.”
— “Al-Turki was convicted of sexually abusing his Indonesian housekeeper and paying her less than $2 per day.”
— “He complained that he wasn’t allowed to question a potential juror about potential anti-Muslim sentiment.”

— “Supreme Court refuses Muslim’s case about possible juror bias”

— Saudi Arabian government files amicus curiae brief in Al-Turki’s defense
— PDF file on Homaidan Ali Al-Turki’s case
— Saudi Arabian amicus curiae brief (PDF)

— Wikipedia report

— Homaidan Ali Al-Turki’s Web Site

Homaidan Ali Al-Turki (Photo: homaidanalturki.com)

Arizona: Noor Almaleki “Honor Killing” – New Report with Additional Interview, Facts

Arizona – Noor Almaleki “Honor Killing”: “Honor Thy Father: A Muslim man in Phoenix ‘honor killed’ his Americanized daughter”
— Riverfront Times: “The writer obtained unreleased police records for this story. The narrative also is based on interviews, court documents and Internet comments.”

Pakistan: 25 Hindu girls abducted every month; forcibly converted to Islam

Pakistan’s The News reports: “25 Hindu girls abducted every month, claims HRCP official”
— “As many as 20 to 25 girls from the Hindu community are abducted every month and converted forcibly, said Amarnath Motumal, an advocate and council member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.”
— “‘There is no official record to support this statement, but according to estimates, in Karachi alone, a large number of Hindu girls are being kidnapped on a routine basis,’ Motumal told The News. “The families of the victims are scared to register cases against the influential perpetrators as death threats are issued to them in case they raise their voice. So, the victims choose to remain silent to save their lives,’ he said.”
— “Motumal said the word ‘Hindu’ had become an insult and a kind of abuse for the Hindu community. ‘Almost 90 per cent of the Hindu community comprise poor and impoverished families whose needs and rights have been neglected by the ones at the helms of power,’ he said, adding that since a majority of the people feel helpless, only a few families come to him with their cases.”
— “A former MPA, Bherulal Balani, said that the Hindu girls, especially the ones belonging to scheduled castes, were mostly being abducted from the Lyari area. “Once the girls are converted, they are then sold to other people or are forced to do illegal and immoral activities,” Balani said. He added the perpetrators were very powerful and that was the reason that no cases were being registered against them.”
— “The number of attacks against the Hindu community has increased in the interior Sindh during the last three months. At least nine incidents have been reported which range from forced conversion of Hindus to rape and murders.”
— “In one incident, a 17-year-old girl ‘K’ was gang-raped in Nagarparker area. In another incident, a 15-year-old girl ‘D’ was allegedly abducted from Aaklee village, Tharparkar, and was forced to convert. About 71 families migrated from the village in protest against the girl’s abduction.”
— “Moreover, the Hindu communities were not even spared on the occasion of their joyous festival of Holi as two girls, Anita and Kishni, were kidnapped in Kotri. Moreover, two Hindu boys, Ajay and Sagar, were abducted from another place on the same day.”
— “One Amir Gul was murdered in the beginning of March in Tando Haider, Umerkot, allegedly by a landlord. Later in the month, a boy, Kishan Kumar, was kidnapped from Kandhkot, Jacobabad.”
— “MPA Pitamber Sewani told The News that these acts were being done by certain elements who believe that these minority communities might support the government in the upcoming local bodies’ elections, and these elements want to harass them.”
— “However, President Pakistan Hindu Council Ramesh Kumar criticised the minorities’ representatives for not raising their voice at relevant forums. He said that they were simply representing their respective parties and not the poor people. He added that poor economic conditions had led to an increase in kidnapping cases in the province, especially in the Kandhkot and Jacobabad areas.”
— “Coordinator HRCP Task Force Sindh Dr Ashothama Lohano told The News the according to their one fact-finding report, the most affected persons of violence belonged to Hindu and Christian communities. He said that various reasons have been cited for this. ‘The recent wave of extremism is one reason, which has destroyed the harmony of the land of Sufis. Another reason is the destruction of the agriculture sector and small markets that has led to frustration and lawlessness. Yet another reason is that the elected representatives are working only for the party and not for the community,’ Dr Lohano added.”
— “He further said that minority communities were easy targets as the Hindus were generally hesitant to raise voice against the injustices. ‘When the Hindu communities become politically active, they are blamed for having Indian connections,’ doctor Lohano said.”

Pakistan: 12 year-old girl Nadini abducted and missing since December 2009 (Pakistan Daily Times)

Buffalo News reports “Aasiya Zubair Hassan’s tortured, manipulated life”

Buffalo News reports “Aasiya Zubair Hassan’s tortured, manipulated life” – “Beheaded woman left statement detailing years of torment, tragedy”

Aasiya Zubair Hassan - Suspected Victim of "Honor Killing" in Buffalo, NY

“When Aasiya Zubair Hassan was finally ready to leave her husband, she prepared herself. She gathered copies of her police reports, photos of her beaten face, images of her ransacked house, scripts her husband made her memorize.

Then she painstakingly chronicled her years of torment in a 21-page court statement that painted her husband as not just a batterer, but a cruel, manipulative monster.

She detailed how he deprived her of sleep to “improve her personality,” made her sign memos authorizing him to punish her if she talked with the police and Child Protective Services, and threatened her with the loss of her children whenever she tried to break free.

Toward the end of her statement appealing for divorce in February 2009, she reflected on how furious her husband would be when he saw the document: “I am afraid of what he might do.”

One week later, she was dead. Her husband, Muzzammil “Mo” Hassan, led police to her stabbed and decapitated body in the Bridges TV studio they founded in Orchard Park.

None of this has apparently stopped Hassan from continuing — in letters to reporters and in his defense in court — to try to paint himself as the victim and his wife as the abuser.

“He was the abuser. He was the perpetrator. Now, he’s the manipulator,” said Afshan Qureshi, an advocate of domestic violence victims who knew both Aasiya Zubair Hassan, Hassan’s third wife, and Sadia Hassan, his second wife. “Those who are good at emotional abuse are good manipulators.”

From the Erie County jail, Hassan has sent handwritten letters to The Buffalo News and others portraying himself as an abused and battered spouse. In each case, he signed his mother’s name to the documents.

“If you are a mother like me, would you like to see your son being abused and cannot even turn to the system for help?” stated one letter.

It is clear that he wrote the letters, not his mother. Hassan, 45, has neat and distinctive penmanship. The News found the handwriting in all these letters match that of other documents signed under his own name. The postmarks are from Buffalo; his mother lives in Texas.

Hassan seems to have no reservations about manipulating people by assuming other identities. In numerous cases, he appeared to have secretly authored documents that re-created reality and/or portrayed his wife as a dominating, mentally unstable woman.”

UAE: Victims of Rape in Dubai Face Jail

Epoch Times reported on the case of an Australia woman Amanda who was raped, and then was convicted of “adultery” and jailed for 12 months. The report quoted another National newspaper interview with a UK rape counselor that “there was ‘no bigger deterrent’ to coming forward to make a rape allegation than the fear of a potential prosecution.”

1,100 Killed in “Honor Killings” in Turkey

Turkey: 17 women killed, 26 commit suicide in 2 months
— Report also references “honor killings,” stating “More than one thousand one hundred women were killed in this way during the five-year period 2003-2007”

Pakistan: 12-Year Old Hindu Girl Abducted, Missing Since December – Nandini; Members of Court Suggested Minor Should Marry Rapist and Convert to Islam

The Pakistan Daily Times reports: “Lamentable attitude of law enforcers : No trace of 12-year-old Hindu girl abducted in December”

“A 12-year-old Hindu girl missing since December has not been traced by the Karachi police so far.”

“According to Roshni Research and Development Welfare Organisation (RRDWO) President Muhammad Ali, the kidnapped minor Nandini was allegedly abducted by an influential individual named Younas.”

“Despite hectic efforts and meetings with Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Investigation zone West-II, and letters to the concerned authorities in Sindh, the girl has not been recovered and the accused has not been arrested though an FIR No 242/2009 has been registered against him under section 365B in Police Station Super Market Karachi.”

“It is not the only such case as dozens of similar cases are pending and awaiting justice to be dispensed to the victims and their families. It has been observed in such cases that police only provide lip service and do not seriously hunt down the criminals. In case they are arrested, they are released from the courts as the police present a weak case and no potential evidence before the courts.”

“Expressing his concerns and giving reference of the kidnapping case of a 17-year-old Hindu girl, Ali said the Asian Human Rights Commission has also expressed its serious concern that four men, who allegedly assisted on January 24, 2010 in the kidnapping and rape of the girl have been granted pre-arrest bail by a session court. Rape is a non-bail able offense in Pakistan and this is against criminal procedure and the law, he said.”

“Instead of giving justice to the victim’s family, the police later arrested the victim’s father on a false offense, and have obstructed attempts by the family to file an FIR and obtain a medical report, disclosed the RRDWP president.”

“Moreover, members of an illegal tribal court have reportedly proposed that the victim should marry her rapist and convert to Islam. Whereas, the victim has threatened public self-immolation if the perpetrators are not arrested and brought to justice by the authorities, he said.”

“‘Not arresting the rapists and rather forcing a Hindu girl, who is a rape victim, to convert to Islam and be the wife of the culprit could be double trauma for the victim. It is another form of further victimising a woman,’ said Ali.”

“He appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to take suo moto notice of the gross human rights violations of the poor and the marginalised minorities in the Sindh province at the hands of police and lower judiciary, who are predominantly influenced by the feudal and local elite.”

“Ali said the Sindh police reportedly support perpetrators instead of victims. The organisation undertakes a project Roshni Helpline that rescues and tracks down missing children.”

“He demanded the Sindh police authorities instead of just pleasing feudal lords and political influential elite, they should give protection to the poor and the marginalised communities.”

Pakistan: Police turn blind eye to rampant kidnapping and rape of Hindu girls in Pak’s Sindh province

ANI reports:

“A 12-year-old Hindu girl, Nandini, is still missing as police officials have failed to recover her even after four months of her being allegedly picked up by an influential individual of the city.”

“Officials have no information regarding Nandini’s whereabouts, who was kidnapped in December last year, and the accused named Younis has not been arrested despite the fact that there is a first information report (FIR) registered against him.”

“It is not an isolated case where Hindu families have been left with little choice than to lament over their fate, with no help in sight from the authorities.”

“Several Hindu families, which are at the receiving end of the government’s apathy, are awaiting justice for years but there’s no one to listen to their plight.”

“According to Roshni Research and Development Welfare Organisation (RRDWO), a non-government organisation (NGO), a research has shown in majority of cases involving the minority community, police only provide lip service and do not seriously hunt down the criminals.”

Category: Women’s Rights Matter