Afghans Angry Over ‘Racist’ Iranian TV Series titled Forbidden
Afghans Angry Over ‘Racist’ Iranian TV Series titled Forbidden
An Iranian television series has prompted outrage for its allegedly racist depiction of Afghan migrants living in Iran. In one episode of the TV series titled Forbidden.
the heroine is forced to marry a poor middle aged Afghan migrant as punishment for her disobedience. The man a member of Afghanistan’s Hazara minority is depicted as unattractive and submissive. The character whose shaved head is broken up by large bald pact Some Afghans have said that the episode is racist and feeds stereotypes of Afghan migrants as poor uneducated and inferior.
The estimated 1 million Afghan migrants and refugees who reside in the Islamic Republic of Iran have long complained of mistreatment and discrimination. Many Afghans work in menial jobs and are blamed for crime and drug trafficking. This TV series reflects the truth, which is that Afghan migrants in Iran are insulted and humiliated Jan Khan Ali a shopkeeper in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif, said in a Facebook post on March has is seen kissing the hand of the woman’s father who patronizingly pats him on the head.
Iran: Serious Rights Violator to Lead Judiciary
Ebrahim Raeesi Oversaw Mass Executions in 1988
The appointment of a former judge responsible for mass executions to be head of Iran’s judiciary reflects the deteriorating human rights situation in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 7 2019, Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Ebrahim Raeesi, who served on a four-person committee that ordered the execution of several thousand political prisoners in 1988, to lead Iran’s judicial branch.
“It’s disturbing and frankly frightening that Ebrahim Raeesi will be overseeing justice and accountability in Iran,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Raeesi should be investigated for grave crimes, rather than investigating them.”
The Iranian authorities extrajudicially executed thousands of political prisoners during the summer of 1988. Most were serving prison sentences for their political activities after unfair trials in revolutionary courts. The authorities have never acknowledged these executions, nor provided any information about the number of prisoners killed.
But in August 2016, the family of Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, the former deputy supreme leader, who died in 2009, released an audio file online in which he is recorded harshly criticizing the executions in a conversation with the committee that included Raeesi, calling it “the biggest crime in the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us.”
On November 27, 2016, following the release of the audio file Iran’s Special Court of Clergy sentenced Ahmed Montazeri, Montazeri’s son, to 21 years in prison, but subsequently reduced the sentence to six years. The charges included “acting against national security” and “revealing state secrets.” Authorities then arrested the younger Montazeri on February 23, 2017 but released him after eight days. Zahra Amleshi Rabbani, Montazeri’s wife, told the Center for Human Rights in Iran that Raeesi, the prosecutor in Iran’s Special Court of Clergy, played a role in her husband’s trial and arrest.
Raeesi has had a long career in Iran’s judiciary, an institution that has not acted independently of the government. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly documented abuses by the judiciary against the citizens whose rights it is supposed to protect. Raeesi served as a first deputy to the judiciary during the crackdown that followed the 2009 presidential elections, in which authorities arrested thousands of activists and protesters, torturing and harassing many and imposing long prison terms after unfair trials.
Christina Aguilera will be honored by Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign will honor Christina Aguilera with its Ally for Equality award.
Human Rights Campaign hails the 38-year-old singer for raising funds in the battle against HIV/AIDS, advocating for marriage equality and fighting against anti-LGBT bullying.
“Christina Aguilera is a living legend and a true LGBTQ icon who consistently uses her global superstar platform to share a message of hope and inspiration to those who have been marginalized simply because of who they are,” HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement. “Through her powerful music and her tireless efforts for positive change, she is making a real difference in the lives of countless people while bringing greater visibility to the LGBTQ community. HRC is proud to honor Christina Aguilera with the HRC Ally for Equality Award at the 2019 HRC Los Angeles Dinner.”
Aguilera will be honored at HRC’s dinner in Los Angeles on March 30 along with LGBTQ advocate Yeardley Smith, who will receive the HRC National Leadership Award.“Christina Aguilera is a living legend and a true LGBTQ icon who consistently uses her global superstar platform to share a message of hope and inspiration to those who have been marginalized simply because of who they are,” HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement. “Through her powerful music and her tireless efforts for positive change, she is making a real difference in the lives of countless people while bringing greater visibility to the LGBTQ community. HRC is proud to honor Christina Aguilera with the HRC Ally for Equality Award at the 2019 HRC Los Angeles Dinner.”Aguilera will be honored at HRC’s dinner in Los Angeles on March 30 along with LGBTQ advocate Yeardley Smith, who will receive the HRC National Leadership Award. HRC is proud to honor Christina Aguilera with the HRC Ally for Equality Award at the 2019 HRC Los Angeles Dinner.”
Noura Bendali: The Muslim Dane fighting against Islamophobia
Noura Bendali: The Muslim Dane fighting against Islamophobia
Noura Bendali was leaving her workplace one evening when she saw the Danish People’s Party’s new campaign.
The leader of the far-right party had been putting up placards around Copenhagen, reading: “Take off your veil. Join Danish society.”
A Muslim woman who chooses to wear the veil, Bendali decided to express her outrage online in a video that was viewed 350,000 times.
Bendali is a midwife, mother of five, and divorced.
She decided to enter politics a few years ago to underpin the voice of Muslims in her community.
“We feel the discrimination more and more,” said Bendali. “Muslim women are being yelled at for wearing a veil.”
House Resolution to Condemn Anti-Semitism, Anti-Muslim Discrimination, and White Supremacy
House Resolution to Condemn Anti-Semitism, Anti-Muslim Discrimination, and White Supremacy
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on a resolution Thursday condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination, and bigotry following Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s controversial comments about the role of pro-Israel activists in the U.S. government.
“This is an opportunity once again to declare as strongly as possible opposition to anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim statements,” and “white supremacist attitudes,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to the New York Times.
The resolution addresses the growth of hate crimes over the past few years, stating, “whether from the political right, center, or left, bigotry, discrimination, oppression, racism, and imputations of dual loyalty threaten American democracy and have no place in American political discourse.”
US Top Diplomat, First Lady Honor ‘Women of Courage
US Top Diplomat, First Lady Honor ‘Women of Courage
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and first lady Melania Trump have presented the State Department’s
International Women of Courage Awards lauding women from Burma Djibouti Sri Lanka and Peru among other nations .In remarks Pompeo said the awards are for “standing tall in the face of extraordinary adversity Among the award-winners are Razia Sultana, a Rohingya lawyer who fights for the rights of her people in Burma; Olivera Lakic an investigative journalist from Montenegro who writes about corruption and organized crime Flor de Maria Vega a Peruvian official who oversees environmental prosecutors and Sister Orla Treacy an Irish nun who helped start a boarding school in South Sudan.Women of courage are everywhere Pompeo said. “Most will never be honored.
Melania Trump, who helped hand out the awards, told her audience”I believe courage is one of the qualities we need most in society. It is what propels us forward. Courage is what divides those who only talk about change from those who actually act to change. Thursday’s event was the thirteenth annual presentation of the International Women of Courage awards. The awards have recognized more than 120 women from around the globe for their courage in the fight for human rights On Friday Melania Trump is expected to join her husband, President Donald Trump in traveling to Alabama to look at tornado damage in the southern state of Alabama.
International Women’s Day: 2019 theme, history and why we celebrate
International Women’s Day: 2019 theme, history and why we celebrate
International Women’s Day is celebrated across the world every year on March 8.
It’s a date to mark the social economic and political achievements of women in history and in present day
International Women’s Day is the time for millions of people to stand up for women’s rights, female empowerment and gender equality. International Women’s Day 2019 is Balance for Better. Its campaign theme aims for more gender balance in the world. The campaign also aims to celebrate achievements raise awareness against global biases and take real action for gender equality.
International Women’s Day history
The first National Woman’s Day, as it was originally named, was celebrated in the US on February 28, 1909.
The national date was formed to honour women who protested the year before. The protest occurred in New York City in 1908, led by a Ukrainian suffragist named Clara Lemlich. 15,000 female garment workers went on strike. They demanded better pay, shorter working hours and improved working conditions.In 1910 National Woman’s Day became recognised as an international celebration after German women’s rights activist Clara Zetkin made the suggestion at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Councillors and candidates must stand against anti-Traveller and anti-migrant prejudice
Councillors and candidates must stand against anti-Traveller and anti-migrant prejudice
We saw the signs in the presidential election. The punching down of a billionaire against a scapegoated indigenous minority has sparked a furious debate around racism on our little island.
Dog-whistle politics has crept back in with some of our current city councillors making sweeping statements about communities connected by ethnicity or social class. This rhetoric is harmful and a distraction. It incites hatred against the target minority and deflects attention away from the real cause of our social and economic woes. We must take a stand in advance of Election 2019.
The last census revealed our city to be the most multicultural in the country – 20 per cent of our residents are non-Irish. It is something we embrace and something we hope is celebrated through our European Capital of Culture status. I am a candidate in the upcoming Local Elections. My ethnicity is mixed – my father is from Galway, my mother is from Pakistan. Our current sitting council, and even the majority of declared candidates, do not accurately represent the diverse city Galway has become.
Bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ community stalls in unicameralRead More
Bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ community stalls in unicameral
A bill to ban workplace discrimination against the LGBTQ community stalled in the Legislature. After three hours of debate, supporters failed to get enough votes to overcome a filibuster.
“This is atrocious. This is disgusting. There is no reason in the world that we shouldn’t pass this wholeheartedly, 100%,” Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said during her testimony in support of the bill, “History will not look kindly upon you, gentlemen. History will not look kindly upon you. There is no room for hate in this state.”
Supporters said Nebraska needs to move forward with these protections to keep talented, young workers in the state.
School climate success offers a way forward for Rochester students
School climate success offers a way forward for Rochester students
With controversies claiming most of the headlines, it’s easy to overlook successes in the Rochester City School District. Last month, the Children’s Agenda, in collaboration with Citizen Action and the Alliance for Quality Education, released a major report on the impact of our school climate work on academic performance. The recommendations presented in this report offer a clear path forward for a district in crisis.
When faced with a deteriorating school climate, members of our community stepped up and formed a task force that led to major reforms in the district, including a new code of conduct, restorative justice training in over 20 schools, the establishment of Help Zones for students, and the Victorious Minds Academy anti-racism initiative.