Tag Archives: human rights

Two Young Women Face Up To Three Years In Prison For ‘Lesbian Kiss’

Two teenage girls are to go on trial in Morocco on homosexuality charges after they were caught kissing and reported to polic

They now face up to three years in prison under the country’s strict homosexuality laws, with their trial due to start next week.

According to the Moroccan Times, 16-year-old Sanaa invited 17-year-old Hajar into her house in Daoudiate, Marrakesh on October 26.

The two kissed, but were being secretly filmed by Sanaa’s cousin, who quickly alerted her mother.

The girl’s mother is said to have reported the pair to the police, who subsequently arrested them,

If found guilty, the pair face between six months and three years in prison.

Moroccan law penalises acts of “sexual deviancy” between members of the same sex – a term that police reports and court documents use to refer to homosexuality more generally.

Although many men have been arrested and imprisoned under these laws, this is believed to be the first case of female minors being prosecuted for homosexuality in Morocco.

The girls will be defended by a lawyer appointed by the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, and were due to appear in court on Friday.

Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Morocco, under article 489 of the penal code which forbids “licentious or unnatural acts with an individual of the same sex”.

Homosexuality can be punished with anything from six months to three years imprisonment, alongside a fine of up to 1200 dirhams (£260).

Human Rights Watch have previously urged the government to consider repealing the Penal Code, arguing: “Repealing the ban on same-sex acts among consenting adults would both affirm Moroccans’ right to privacy and help to protect people from hate crimes.”

 

Lesbian Couple Arrested For Hugging In Indonesia And Forced To Undergo “Rehabilitation For Lesbianism”

Human rights campaigners have voiced concerns for the women’s safety, after they were arrested in Indonesia and forced to undergo “rehabilitation for lesbianism”. As yet, it’s unclear what the ‘rehabilitation’ will entail.

The couple, aged 18 and 19 and known only by their initials AS and N, were detained in the country’s Sharia-controlled Aceh province after they were seen hugging.

The area is governed by strict Sharia law, which means the women could face caning, prison, or a large fine.

While Shariah police chief Evendi Latief admitted that the pair had confirmed they were lesbians during four days of questioning, he denied their human rights had been violated.

They will undergo rehabilitation which involves psychologists from local Social Ministry office.”

However, Graeme Reid from Human Rights Watch claimed the arrest and subsequent treatment of the girls exhibited an “outrageous abuse of power”.

The arrest of two women in Aceh for everyday behaviour is an outrageous abuse of power that should be considered a threat to all Indonesians. The Indonesian government needs to press Aceh to repeal its discriminatory new bylaws.”

LGBT people are regularly targeted by authorities in the area – just last month, ten trans women were arrested for ‘cross-dressing’, before being forced to leave.

Aceh is the only province in the Muslim-majority country that operates strict Sharia law.

Since last year, gay sex is punishable by punished a 100 months in jail, 100 lashes, or a fine equivalent to 1,000 grams of gold.

Homosexuality is legal in the rest of Indonesia, though the age of consent for gay sex is higher than for straight sex.

Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population – but outside of the Aceh, most practice a more moderate form of the faith.

Don’t Measure A Woman’s Worth By What She Wears

Terre Des Femmes, a Swiss human rights organisation has a brilliant ad campaign out. It was created to focus attention on gender equality and feminism; reminding us that the worth of a woman should never be measured by the clothes she wears.

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To some, heels of a certain height or skirts of a certain length denote that the wearer must be promiscuous. These “measuring sticks,” however, show just how absurd these measurements seem when removed from their context – regardless of what you think about someone’s clothes, the person wearing them is still a person and should be treated as such.

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The ad was design by Theresa Wlokka and students at the Miami Ad School in Hamburg, Germany.

More info visit terre-des-femmes.ch