Action Alert: Afghan Women and Girls Need Our Help

If you are having trouble viewing this email, please read it online.

Support NOW's Work	August 24, 2009	Tell a Friend

Action Needed Background All NOW Actions Continued Threats to Afghan Women Require Support in U.S. and Worldwide		Afghan Women and Girls Need Our Help Tell Your Senators: Support The Afghan Women Empowerment Act After taking action, please support our work! If there is a hell on earth for women and girls, it surely must be found in Afghanistan. Desperate poverty persists and gender-based violence is increasing. Nearly 200 schools have been bombed or set on fire and school girls have had acid thrown in their faces. Illiteracy is over 80 percent among women, and the country has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Many women are still forced to wear the total body cover of the burka and may not leave home without a male escort. There is an epidemic of suicide among young women who set themselves on fire to escape the severe repression and poverty that they face. A new law, criticized as a trade for votes from the Shia religious minority in the presidential campaign, strips away Shia women's recently guaranteed constitutional rights. Action Needed: The Afghan Women Empowerment Act, S. 229, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), would give Afghan women and girls a chance at a better life with more opportunities. Please send a message to your senators asking them to co-sponsor and take a leadership role on passing S. 229. Use our formatted message or write one of your own. Background: Despite the various efforts made by the United Nations and the U.S. government to improve the lives of women and girls in war-torn Afghanistan, little progress has been made. Hospitals and clinics are scarce, poorly staffed and dramatically under-equipped. Women, especially those in the rural areas, do not have access to even the most basic health care services. Currently, Afghanistan has a very high maternal and infant mortality rate; for every six births, one mother will die as a result of inadequate access to medical attention. Even though women were granted certain rights in a new national constitution, Afghan women face violence and intimidation in their everyday lives. Oppression of women has increased recently as a result of the resurgence of the Taliban and other religious extremists. These groups have been responsible for scores of attacks against school girls and teachers to prevent them from obtaining an education. In certain parts of Afghanistan, women must still wear the head-to-toe burka and are constrained from participating in public life. Take action NOW! Bowing to pressure from religious extremists, President Hamid Karzai has backed the Personal Status Law permitting Shia men to deny their wives food and sustenance if they refuse to obey their husbands' sexual demands. The final version of the legislation also grants guardianship of children exclusively to fathers and grandfathers and requires women to get permission from their husbands to work. Further, the law allows rapists to avoid prosecution by paying victims who are injured while being raped! International public outrage as well as an outcry from Afghan women's rights leaders earlier this year caused Karzai to reconsider this barbaric set of proposals. Karzai was criticized for backing the regressive Personal Status Law as being a trade for votes from the Shia minority, which constitutes about 20 percent of the country's 33 million population. But the new law quietly took effect on July 27, with little improvement, according to Human Rights Watch. Other news is somewhat more positive. Thanks to continuing pressure from women's rights activists in Afghanistan and abroad, there has been a positive action in the Parliament that suggests there is some hope for Afghan women. In mid-July, President Karzai signed a bill which would punish those who perpetrate violence against women. Under this bill, men who have prevented women from getting an education, working, or obtaining healthcare can be punished for up to six months in prison. This is a commendable act by the Afghan government, but it is not nearly enough. And, as we have seen in other countries, laws to protect women are often ignored. Passage of the Afghan Women Empowerment Act (S. 229) is crucial. This bill will fully commit the U.S. government in helping advance the rights and well-being of Afghan women. It will provide necessary equipment, medical supplies, and other healthcare assistance in order to reduce maternal and infant mortality. Women and children will have greater access to life-saving immunizations. Constant exposure to violence can have detrimental effects on the mental health of women; this bill will establish programs to provide mental health services. In addition, S. 229 would establish primary and secondary schools for girls that will offer mathematics, sciences, and languages as well as expand technical and vocational training for women to develop skills needed to support their families. Funding would be provided for programs to protect women and girls against various forms of violence such as sexual assault, physical abuse, trafficking, abduction, and exploitation. This includes developing emergency shelters for women and girls who are facing danger and violence. We have an opportunity to make a substantial difference in the lives of Afghan women and girls. Contact your senators and ask them to co-sponsor and help pass the Afghan Women Empowerment Act (S. 229) that will help offer millions of women a chance to live a better life. Read more about the status of Afghan women and then
SUPPORT NOW: Support NOW's Work for Equal Rights Join NOW Monthly Giving Catalog Shop Amazon TAKE ACTION: Get Involved Find Your Nearest Chapter Tell a Friend Learn More LISTS: Unsubscribe, Edit Profile Subscribe All Lists

Posted by,
Jerin Alam
National NOW Young Feminist Task Force
NOW – NYS Young Feminist Task Force Chair
National Organization for Women (NOW)

GOOD NEWS: NY Governor Signs Legislation Protecting Domestic Violence Victims

Assemblywoman Paulin and Senator Johnson Usher in Legislation that will Protect Victims of Domestic Violence. Governor Signs Legislation Into Law. Thank Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and Senator Craig Johnson for Protecting the Rights of Domestic Violence Victims The National Organization for Women-New York State thanks NYS Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and Senator Craig Johnson for their leadership in passing crucial legislation for victims of domestic violence. Legislation A.755-A/S.958-B has passed both the NYS Assembly and NYS Senate. The Governor has signed it into law. This law prohibits an employer or licensing agency, because of the actual or perceived status of an individual as a victim of domestic violence or stalking, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment an individual or to discriminate against such individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment CONTACT INFORMATON: Assembywoman Paulin's office: Email: http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=088&sh=contact District Office: P: 914-723-1115 Albany Office: P:518-455-5585 Senator Johnson's office: Email http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/craig-m-johnson/contact District Office: P: (516) 746-5923. Albany Office: P: (518) 455-2622 Posted by: Jerin Alam National NOW Young Feminist Task Force National Organization for Women (NOW)

Action Alert: Help Pass National hate crimes legislation now!

On the one-year anniversary of Luis Ramirez's death, the families of hate crime victims ask you to join their call for justice. On July 14, 2008, Luis Ramirez died after a group of teenagers hurled racial epithets and brutally beat him in Shenandoah, PA, ending with a fatal kick to his head. The Luis Ramirez family would like to thank you for your support and actions you've taken to seek justice for this loving father, son, partner, friend, and hard-worker. His family continues to deeply suffer their loss. Exacerbating the Ramirez family's anguish is the miscarriage of justice in Luis' case. Despite the evidence of a hate-driven attack, two of the assailants accused of beating Luis were found not guilty of murder, ethnic intimidation and other serious crimes, and were sentenced to only six months in prison for simple assault. Luis is not the only victim and will not be the last, unless we all continue to take action. Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate will begin debate on the hate crimes legislation aimed at strengthening federal laws protecting against hate-motivated crimes. The Ramirez family requests that, in commemoration of Luis Ramirez, you contact your Senator to demand that they vote "yes" on the Mathew Sheppard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. CONTACT YOUR U.S. SENATOR! The wave of hate crimes against Latinos includes young and old, citizens and non-citizens, women and men, and a spectrum of national origins - the victims are selected on only one basis - their Latino appearance. Do not wait to take action until the next victim is your brother, aunt, father, abuelita, or other relative or friend- the time to act is now! CONTACT YOUR U.S. SENATOR! Why the urgency? Hate-driven crimes against Latinos have risen 40% across the country since 2003. One year ago, 17-year-old Robert Cantu was attacked with a noose wrapped around his neck by a group of teenagers in Ohio who said they were "going fishing" for "n******". Robert lives in Ohio, is a U.S. citizen, and is Mexican-American. Last November, 37-year-old Marcelo Lucero was ferociously beaten and fatally stabbed in Long Island, New York by a group of teenagers who claimed they were going "beaner jumping." Marcelo lived in New York and was Ecuadorian. Only one month later, we mourned the murder of Jose Osvaldo Sucuzhañay, whose life was violently taken by a group of people whose crime was motivated by hate-filled bigotry. Jose was a businessman of Ecuadorian decent with established roots in Brooklyn, New York. Recently, two Chilean college students were shot to death in Miramar Beach, Florida, where they worked as part of an international foreign exchange program. The killer had reportedly told a neighbor to get "ready for the revolution to begin" and to get rid of "any immigrants inside [her] house." On the morning of this past 4th of July, Maria Guadarrama, a 45-year old woman of Orange County, CA was stabbed and robbed by two men with swastika tattoos who yelled racial epithets during the attack. How many more deaths and victims does the Senate need to pass this critical, common-sense legislation? This is a national epidemic whose growth is spurred each day by hate speech, distortion of facts, and anti-immigrant sentiment expressed through the media and irresponsible politicians. CONTACT YOUR U.S. SENATOR! Please join the Ramirez, Sucuzhanay, Lucero, and Cantu families in calling upon the Senate to pass national hate crimes legislation now! Sincerely, Gladys Limón Staff Attorney MALDEF Make sure you receive MALDEF email updates. Add info@maldef.org to your approved senders list. Click here to unsubscribe from email sent by MALDEF. © 2009 MALDEF Design by Plus Three | Powered by ARCOS MALDEF NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS Los Angeles Regional Office 634 S. Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90014 Tel: 213.629.2512