UK: Forced Marriage by Extremists

(UK) Muslim mother who sent her school age daughters to Pakistan to marry their cousins is jailed for 3 years
— “The woman then altered documents to make it appear her daughters were
18 and then forced her daughters to marry.”
— “During the girls’ ordeal their mother from Manchester told her eldest daughter that unless she consumated the marriage, she would ‘tie her to the bed, blindfold her and strip her’ and watch to make sure she had sex with her new husband.”
— “The grooms-to-be then tied the knot with the two terrified sisters in a
joint ceremony as their mother looked on before the girls were forced to become their new husbands’ sex slaves.”

May 17, 2009 – R.E.A.L. Challenges Extremist “War on Women”

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) held a human rights public rally at the Washington DC Capitol Reflecting Pool on May 17 to address the global human rights challenge to equality and liberty and the extremist war on women in America and around the world.  We demanded that our legislators acknowledge this supremacist threat to our freedoms and call for action to fight it.  We believe that the first step is to broaden public awareness and concern about this growing human rights problem.

At the May 17 rally, we addressed the ongoing global problem of radical extremism that abuses Muslims, non-Muslims, and people around the world.   We reject an ideology opposed to the universal human rights of equality and liberty.  Furthermore, we addressed a “war on women” which takes place around the world, resulting in the demeaning of women, the oppression of women, attacks on women, and killing of women.

We addressed recent attacks around the world and so-called “honor killings” in the United States, Canada, UK, Europe, Iraq, India, Israel, Pakistan, Jordan, and throughout the Middle East.   It is estimated that 5,000 women are murdered in “honor killings” every year.  We read the names of women who have been known to be killed in such “honor killings.”

We addressed this problem of  “honor killings” in the United States and around the world.  We also spoke about the upcoming movie to be released “The Stoning of Soraya M.” about a stoning of a woman in Iran.   We encouraged the public and especially other women to see this movie “The Stoning of Soraya M” that is scheduled to be released on June 26, 2009, and she had posters regarding the movie.

One of our supporters recently saw a pre-release of this film, and she urged the public to visit the web site for this movie at http://www.thestoning.com. We also pointed out that such “honor killings” are an ongoing global problem; we addressed the case of a 13 year old girl who was stoned to death in Somalia at the end of October 2008 for her “crime” that she was gang-raped.  We further urged women to become educated on this ongoing repression and attacks on women around the world, including in the United States.

Other rally attendees sought to reach out to the public on this problem of attacks on women, and they distributed pamphlets regarding the upcoming movie “The Stoning of Soraya M.” out to the public.

Jeffrey Imm addressed that this issue is not unlike the unpopular issue of white supremacism that human rights groups needed to bring to the public’s attention in the 1960s.  He also addressed the issue of the war on women, including attacks that have been continuing in the United States, and indicated that R.E.A.L.’s concerns on this are for protecting both the safety and human rights of women both in America and around the world.  He then played the movie trailer for “The Stoning of Soraya M.” for the public with a portable computer linked to our sound system.

This is the third R.E.A.L. public rally in the past three months regarding the war on women, and R.E.A.L. plans to continue this public campaign in defense of women’s safety and inalienable human rights of equality and liberty.  We also plan to have a public rally in June to address the planned June 26 release of “The Stoning of Soraya M.” as it is representative of the continuing, global problem in the war against women.   More information on this planned June rally will be available soon.

One of our supporters is planning to continue to speak publicly on this issue of the “war on women.”   Jeffrey Imm is scheduled to speak on blogtalkradio on this subject on Wednesday, May 20 at 9:30 PM ET; the call in number is 347-838-8011.   You can find out more about the Wednesday blogtalkradio show online at:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FreeMeNow/

We note that, while the recent mainstream news media has saturated news coverage on swine flu deaths, there has been minimal to non-existent reporting on the issue of continuing, weekly “war on women” around the world.   We refuse to accept silence and indifference on the  “war on women.”

This “war on women,” which claims at least hundreds of victims every month, is a direct assault on nothing less than the human rights and lives of half of humanity itself.   R.E.A.L. believes that this existential human rights crisis must get the public and media coverage that this crisis deserves.

As one of the figures telling a French reporter in “The Stoning of Soraya M.” states “I want you to take my voice with you.”   We must continue to be the voice and the  defense for those women abused, oppressed, and murdered around the world who live in helpless and hopeless situations.  R.E.A.L. and all those human rights activists who defy this war on women” will continue to be that voice.  We view the lives of every woman as precious and unique, and we will continue to fight for their universal human rights as human beings.   “They cannot get away with this.”

Thailand: Youth Say NO to Violence against Women in Thailand

Thailand: Youth Say NO to Violence against Women in Thailand
— May 19, 2009 – “Following the collection of over three million signatures in Thailand for the Say NO to Violence Against Women campaign, UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha on 18 May launched the school-based Youth Say NO to Violence Against Women programme, organized by UNIFEM in collaboration with the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice.”

“The Stoning of Soraya M” – Theater Listing for June 26 Premiere

Initial Listing of Nationwide theaters where “The Stoning of Soraya M.” is scheduled to be shown, premiering June 26, 2009:

Boston – Norfolk County
Chestnut Hill/Brookline CFB W Newton Cinema 6
Boston – Middlesex County
Cambridge LNDMRK Kendall Square Cinema
New York – NY-Manhattan
East Side JACOBS Beekman
Village LNDMRK Sunshine Cinema
Philadelphia
Philadelphia LNDMRK Ritz 5 Movies
Washington DC
Union Station LNDMRK E Street Cinema
Fairfax Va JACOBS Cinema Art Theatre
Falls Church Va AMC Shirlington 7
Chicago
Near North LNDMRK Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema
Detroit
Art LNDMRK Main Art Theatre
Minneapolis/St Paul
Edina (S) LNDMRK Edina 4
Dallas – Houston
Angelika CITY Angelika Film Center
Denver
Southeast LNDMRK Chez Artiste
Los Angeles – LA-Westside
Santa Monica Art LEMMLE Monica 4 Plex
Los Angeles – LA-West Hollywood
West Hollywood Art LEMMLE Music Hall
Los Angeles – LA-San Fernando Valley
Encino LEMMLE Town Center 5
Los Angeles – LA-Glendale/Pasadena
Old Town 1 LEMMLE Playhouse 7 Cinemas
Los Angeles – LA-Orange County
Irvine – West Park REGAL Westpark 8 Cinemas
San Francisco
Art LNDMRK Embarcadero Center Cinema 5
San Francisco – SF-San Jose
San Jose Art NYBLOM Camera 3
San Francisco – SF-East Bay
Berkeley LNDMRK Shattuck Cinemas 10
San Francisco – SF-Marin County
Marin County Art PFR Smith Rafael Film Center

(Iran) Stephen McEveety produces ‘Stoning of Soraya M.’

(Iran) Stephen McEveety produces ‘Stoning of Soraya M.’
— “Producer Stephen McEveety’s new film depicts a modern stoning in Iran”
— “adapted from the 1994 nonfiction of the same name by the French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam, who traveled to a small Iranian village in the mid-1980s and came across the story of an innocent woman stoned to death over concocted charges of infidelity”
— “The fabricated charge was adultery, which under the town leaders’ judgment was a crime not only against her husband but also Islam. The penalty was death by public stoning, and nothing Zahra or Soraya could do or say would stop it. ‘It is God’s law,’ one person says, while the local mullah says, ‘With each stone you throw, your honor will return.'”
— “Director and co-writer Cyrus Nowrasteh spares little in depicting the execution, in which Soraya is buried to her chest with her arms bound, and pelted with heavy rocks from close range until she bleeds to death.”

— Web Site for ‘The Stoning of Soraya M.’

— The Stoning of Soraya M. (Hardcover) – by Freidoune Sahebjam (Author)

— The Stoning of Soraya M. [Theatrical Release]

— The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009) Final Trailer 1