Study says ban on headscarves violates human rights

Published: 27 Feb 09 12:28 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090227-17703.html
The German state ban on religious symbols and clothing for teachers discriminates against Muslim women who wear a headscarf, Human Rights Watch (HRW) told The Local on Friday.

“A great part of the decision was probably due to fears regarding Islam and fundamentalism and maybe authorities thought to confront these fears with a ban,” said Haleh Chahrokh, author of HRW report "Discrimination in the Name of Neutrality.” Following a 2003 constitutional court ruling that gave states the right to choose their own laws on religious clothing in schools, bans have been introduced in eight German states - Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland. While states say the headscarf threatens neutrality in schools, Chahrokh says the ban violates the rights of Muslim women."These laws in Germany clearly target the headscarf, forcing women who wear it to choose between their jobs and their religious beliefs," Chahrokh said, adding that she found it remarkable that some women had to make the difficult choice after working in the German school system for up to ten years. Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 30 women affected by the ban for the report published on Thursday, but Chahrokh believes the number of women suffering from the ban is much higher. “Apart from the 34 women we spoke to, there are 20 more court cases regarding teachers or teaching positions, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg - no one knows how many women actually go to court and are willing to go through this,” she said.Germany is home to some 3 million Muslims, many of whom have Turkish roots, and the country openly grapples with issues of integration and immigration. While schools in Germany are subject to strict regulations which ensure neutrality on questions on religion and ideology, people directly affected, such as fellow teachers or students, usually don’t mind Muslim women wearing headscarves at work, the report said. “There has never been any bad reaction from other teachers, students or parents in any of the court cases. It was always a matter of the teaching authorities,” Chahrokh told The Local.Some of the teachers Human Rights Watch interviewed said they offered to tie their headscarf in a different way or simply wear large hats, but authorities rejected these proposals.“Because maternity leave regulations for teachers are quite generous, some women who get pregnant simply decide to extend their leave - even though they actually want to return to their job – in hopes that the ban will be reversed or rules will relax,” Chahrokh said. “But a lot of them just migrate to other parts of the country or even leave Germany altogether,” she added.Human Rights Watch has criticised Middle Eastern governments for forcing women to cover themselves in religious garb, but German state bans “run afoul of the same international standards,” the study said, saying it takes away women’s autonomy. The organisation has called for Germany to repeal or revise the laws.

Full Text of Human Rights Record of United States in 2008

Feb 26, 2009
On Civil and Political Rights In the United States, an increasing number of restrictions have been imposed on civil rights.According to a report on the Washington Post website on April 4, 2008, the deep-packet inspection, a brand new surveillance technology, which has been applied, is able to record every visited web page, every sent email and every online search.


Statistics indicated that at least 100,000 U.S. Internet users had been tracked and the service providers had conducted tests on as many as 10 percent of the U.S. netizens (The Washington Post, April 4, 2008). The FBI has been engaged in illegal surveillance launched by the U.S. government

thousands of people's phone records, bank accounts and other personal information by unwarranted means.The Seattle Times reported on July 15, 2008 that President Bush signed a bill on July 10 that overhauls government eavesdropping and called it "landmark legislation that is vital to the security of our people." The new law grants legal immunity to telecommunication companies that take part in wiretapping programs and authorizes the government to wiretap international communications betweens parties outside the U.S. for anti-terrorism purposes without court approval. The U.S.

Department of Homeland Security disclosed in July 2008 that as part of border search policies, federal agents may take a traveler's laptop computer or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing (The Washington Post, August 1, 2008).The New York Times reported on December 8, 2008 that the National Security Agency illegally wiretapped a Muslim scholar named Ali al-Timimi in Northern Virginia and intentionally withheld materials gained through eavesdropping during a 2005 trial, in which the scholar was convicted on terrorism charges. These materials may provide evidences that the U.S. government's eavesdropping program has violated its citizens' civil rights.

Source TMC news

Egypt unexpectedly frees dissident

Ayman Nour, who ran against President Hosni Mubarak in 2005, was later jailed on widely criticized forgery charges.
Then-President Bush had called for the release of Ayman Nour, a former opposition presidential candidate. The move may be a gesture of goodwill toward the Obama administration.
By Jeffrey Fleishman and Noha El-Hennawy February 19, 2009
Reporting from Cairo -- An Egyptian dissident whose imprisonment had strained relations between Cairo and Washington for more than three years was unexpectedly freed Wednesday in an apparent goodwill gesture toward the new Obama administration.Ayman Nour, who ran against President Hosni Mubarak in 2005 and was later imprisoned on widely criticized forgery charges, was released for medical reasons, the prosecutor's office said. Nour, who has heart and eye ailments, was due to be freed in 2010 after serving a five-year sentence.


Nour's case came to symbolize the relentless campaign by Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party to silence political opponents despite outcries from governments around the world and from human rights groups. Then-President Bush and members of his administration repeatedly urged Egypt to release Nour and stop intimidation and harassment that have for years marred the country's national and local elections."I have no explanation; it was surprising to me," Nour told the Al Jazeera satellite TV channel upon his release. "I was taken in a car without knowing where I was going, but on the way I knew I was heading home. . . . I hope this is a genuine step that goes beyond me and paves the way for a national reconciliation." In Washington, the Obama administration applauded Nour's release and complimented Cairo.
"We welcome the news that Ayman Nour has been released on medical parole," said Laura Tischler, a State Department spokeswoman. "We view this as a positive step on the part of Egyptian authorities." Nour's freedom comes amid talk that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton may visit Egypt in March for a donors conference on reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Nour had reached out to Obama during the U.S. presidential campaign. In August, he wrote Obama from prison, asking that Washington push for a Middle East that "embodies the dreams of Arab reformers for democracy and change." Egypt receives nearly $2 billion annually in U.S. military and economic aid. Bloggers, writers and human rights activists across the region have expressed hope in recent months that President Obama will pressure long-standing U.S. allies to loosen repressive regimes and free hundreds of political prisoners. Cairo is also facing increasing pressure from unions and activists over persistent inflation and corruption."This release is a way to cool things down a little bit because the whole society is really tensed, protests are everywhere," said George Ishaq, a prominent leader of the Kifaya movement, a grass-roots collection of opposition parties and organizations. "It seems that finally [the regime] started to act in a rational way."He added: "The timing also has to do with Mubarak's potential visit to the U.S. They wanted to release [Nour] before this visit so that the decision does not seem like a response to external pressures but purely domestic."The rise of Nour, an eloquent lawyer and member of parliament who founded the Tomorrow Party, posed major political problems for Mubarak's government. Nour, 44, was one of the strongest challengers to the president's rule, and his youthful vigor was seen as siphoning away potential support from Mubarak's 45-year-old son, Gamal, who many analysts suggest is being groomed to succeed his father.Western countries embraced Nour; he offered a secular option to Mubarak, whose main opposition had been the radical Muslim Brotherhood. Nour lost in the September 2005 presidential election against Mubarak and was defeated two months later in a reelection bid to parliament. He was sentenced in December of that year on charges that he forged documents to illegally register his Tomorrow Party.Nour indicated Wednesday night that he would return to politics. It is uncertain whether that will happen. Under Egyptian law, a felon cannot run for office. It is also unclear whether Egypt's disparate secular opposition parties can unify around Nour, who staged hunger strikes and mailed political missives from his cell during his imprisonment."I don't surrender to any pressures and I will pursue my national role as an Egyptian citizen in the Tomorrow Party," Nour told Al Jazeera. "We will rebuild the party and the Egyptian liberal movement, and we will resume our role in the fight for change and democracy with the same zeal as we did during the presidential elections."

jeffrey.fleishman@latimes.com

Christi Parsons in our Washington bureau contributed to this report.

The UN's accusation that Israel used white phosphorus shells

The UN's accusation that Israel used white phosphorus shells in its attack on its headquarters in Gaza was the first direct charge by an international body and, in effect, accuses the Israeli government of lying over its repeated declaration that its forces adhere to international laws in the use of arms.
The attack on the UN headquarters in Gaza City has been internationally condemned. Any proof that white phosphorus shells were used would add to the call for Israel's military forces to be charged with war crimes.
Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), claimed within hours of the attack that three such shells were responsible for injuries to three of its employees. While it is not illegal to use different types of white phosphorus shells as a tactical weapon – usually to create a smokescreen ahead of advancing troops or for illumination at night – the Geneva Treaty of 1980 specifically bans it use in densely populated areas because it can cause severe burns.

Kim Sengupta
The independent

مؤسسة الحق الفلسطيني

-- مؤسسة الحق الفلسطيني

What You Can Do To Stop War This WeekTake Action

What You Can Do To Stop War This WeekTake Action

1. Signt the Petition to Eircom to Boycott Israeli firm AmdocsEvents 1. DUBLIN 28/01/2009 17:00 Protest at Israeli Embassy 2. DUBLIN 29/01/2009 20:00 Forum Will US Foreign Policy Change? 3. GALWAY 31/01/2009 Collection of humanitarian aid for Gaza.Section 1 Take ActionDownload the Petition(http://www.irishantiwar.org/files/IAWM%20Eircom%20Petition.pdf)Eircom are actively considering awarding a multi-million euro contactfor a new computer billing system to a multinational consortium, whichincludes Israeli company Amdocs.Amdocs is an Israeli based company, employing about 4000 people in Israel,and admits on its own web-site that most of its employees serve in theIsraeli army.For the consortuim that includes Amdocs to recieve this contract could bea major boost to the Israeli economy.On the other hand, if Eircom refuse to give this contract to the consortiumthat includes Amdocs, it would be a powerful boost to the Internationalcampaign to boycott Israel because of its treatment of the Palestinianpeople.We appeal to all those appalled by the recent Israeli massacare in Gaza andwho wish to support the suffering people of Palestine, to sign thispetition and circulate it widely for others to sign.We also encourage you, particularly, if you are an Eircomcustomer, to contact Eircom and make it clear to them thatyou will have to reconsider remaining an Eircom customer ifthis contract is granted to the consortium that includes Amdocs.The Eircom executive who will recommend to the Eircom board which consortiumshould be awarded the contract is Eircom's IT Director, Gerry Quinn.Letters or calls on this issue should be directed to him.Section 2 List of EventsProtest at Israeli Embassy - Make Israel Pay for War Crimes in GazaDate: Wednesday January 28thTime: 5.00pmLocation: Israeli Embassy, Pembroke Road, Ballsbridge DublinWill US Foreign Policy Change?Date: Thursday January 29thTime: 8.00pmLocation: Central Hotel, Exchequer St (off George’s St).Speakers: * Dr Ghada Karmi - Palestinian Academic & Author * Julien Mercielle - UCD Academic & US Foreign Policy Expert * Robert Ballagh - Artist * Richard Boyd Barrett - Irish Anti-War MovementCollection of humanitarian aid for Gaza. GALWAY, POSTPONED until Sat 31/1Humanitarian Aid for GazaPlease support the collection of humanitarian aid for Gaza that GalwayPalestine Children’s Charity is organising for Saturday 31st January.The intention is to fill a 40ft container with a wide range of goodsthat are desperately needed. We are hoping the Gardaí will give consentfor the main collection point to be at Eyre Sq..Galway City.Financial donations would also be welcome: they can be made toGalway/ Palestine Solidarity Children’s Charity account,AIB Tuam Rd, Galway, Sort Code: 937452A/C Number: 03910029.We are also going to need volunteers to assist with theloading of the container, the collection of the goods andgoing to different large shops and even to local chemiststo see if they can donate something worthwhile.Anyone who wishes to give a hand should text 087-9159787.We will be in contact.