Violence against women

SRI LANKA: Horrible military crimes at Rathupaswala necessitate the arrest of the commanding officers

The horrible military killings at Ratupaswala are nothing but mean and horrible killings. Nothing in the military terminology or strategic manuals could ever justify the horrible acts that happened at Rathupaswala. If there is some decency left in the military establishment in Sri Lanka, the first step that should be taken is to arrest the […]

NEPAL: Victim and human rights activist assaulted and forced to drop charges in a case of attempted rape

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that after reporting a case of attempted rape to the police station, the 23 year old victim was assaulted by a mob to prevent her from pursuing the charges. An activist who had helped her register the case was assaulted by the mob as […]

PAKISTAN: World’s concern about minorities in Pakistan

The issue of minority rights in Pakistan is discussed often around the world these days, in parliaments, human rights groups like Amnesty International, religious freedom departments, foreign affairs committees and international organisations like the Commonwealth and the UN. By contrast, the Pakistani government hardly mentions it and pays very little attention to the repression minority […]

SRI LANKA: Rape and other crimes against women on the increase

Every ninety minutes a woman is raped in Sri Lanka, said Women for Rights at a press conference held in Colombo on July 14. The organisation further said that Sri Lanka is 5thon a list regarding domestic violence. Crimes causing violence relating to women and children is on the rise. In Sri Lanka the citizens […]

PAKISTAN: A young woman stoned to death for having a cell phone after ruling by a Panchayat

Arifa, a mother of two, has been stoned to death on the orders of Panchayat (a tribal court) for possessing a cell phone. She was executed on 11 July in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab province. The victim was stoned to death by her uncle and relatives on the orders of Panchayat […]

CAMBODIA: Civil Society Organizations call for political parties to further promote women’s and children’s issues

(Phnom Penh, 10 July 2013) On 3 July 2013, a group of civil society organizations (“CSOs”) jointly organized a national political platform debate on “Special Measures to Solve Women’s and Children’s Issues” (the “Debate”).  CSOs were pleased to welcome to the Debate representatives from seven of the eight political parties who are contesting the National […]

PAKISTAN: Sister of the slain women’s rights defender also murdered by the same police constable

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the murder of Ms. Shamim Akhter (50), who worked for the Social Welfare organization in Tando Jam, Sindh province. She was brutally chopped to death by her husband Mr. Sajid Mahmood and Police Constable Usman Lodhi on 4 June 2013 (For further […]

PAKISTAN: A women’s rights defender has been brutally killed by her husband and a police official

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a women’s rights defender has been killed by her husband, who acted with the connivance of a police head constable. The local police held an internal inquiry and exonerated the police constable, going so far as to say that there was no such […]

ASIA: Thorough police reform a prerequisite to end the culture of torture

Statement | Asia | 25-06-2013

Click here to watch our video presentation The following is a series of reflections by experts, of what has gone wrong in Asia, that despite attempts, torture continues to exist in most Asian states. The response is released marking the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, June 26. Question 1: Is […]

CAMBODIA: Rights to Justice and Rehabilitation of Tortured Victims

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Cambodia (TPO) and the Dignity-Danish Institute Against Torture on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (Click here for Khmer version) As part of their concerted attempt to combat […]

SRI LANKA: A young girl was denied justice by the Peradeniya Police

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning the attack on Ms. Ashcharya Tashini Iddamalgoda. Ashcharya (13) is a brilliant student with a pleasant personality. When she rebuffed the advances of a male student she was attacked during a school interval. Despite the hospital records showing that her injury was the […]

PHILIPPINES: Manila mayor tortures rape suspect in full view of the public

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is demanding an explanation as to why the police did nothing to prevent Manila Mayor, Alfredo Lim, from interrogating and torturing a rape suspect in full view of the public. In this report by the GMA News, about five policemen in uniform, including a senior police officer, were present in front […]

PAKISTAN: Christian women were attacked and paraded naked by a mob with the support of the ruling party

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that three Christian women were severely beaten and paraded naked in the village of Kasur, Punjab province, by armed men and a local landlord on the excuse that goats owned by the women entered the landlord’s fields and claimed that they damaged the standing […]

NEPAL: A victim of gender-based violence needs immediate medical support

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the critical situation of Anita’s (name changed) health after her ex-husband stabbed her five times in an attempt to kill her. The attack came after the court had given Anita a favorable divorce settlement. The perpetrator is now absconding. Anita, 45, from Kailali […]

PAKISTAN: “It was her destiny to die this way…..”

“It was in her fate to die this way”, these shameful words were said by a mother after she threw acid on her own daughter. These are the words used commonly by many families in Pakistani society in order to justify their actions and take shelter in this orthodox society. This incident took place in […]

PAKISTAN: Do women have the right to live in Islamic societies – when the protector becomes the violator

From the early ages in Pakistan women have lived in a society which is anti-women where they are treated as unwanted creatures. Pakistan is a country where violations against women are the highest and conditions become even more alarming as women are discriminated against on the basis of gender even before birth. Women in Pakistan […]

PAKISTAN: A poem in solidarity with Kainat Soomro – a victim of frayed justice

Kainat Soomro was violently gang-raped by four men in the rural village of Dadu in southern Pakistan in 2009 when she was 13 years-of-age. As typically happens in Pakistan, rather than rush to the young girl’s defence the village elders decreed that she had brought shame upon the village and ordered her family to kill […]

SRI LANKA: Vesak Greetings – Let us end the Angulimala Complex

On the Vesak Celebration for this year, the Asian Human Rights Commission offers the following greetings.

BANGLADESH: Collapsed criminal justice system compounds violence against women

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and Odhikar on the occasion of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women’s visit in Bangladesh Two female Members of Parliament of the Opposition were ill-treated by Police on 7 March 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh Introduction: 1. Bangladesh has been ruled alternately by two women […]

BURMA: Act on courts, police covering up child rape-AHRC

(Hong Kong, May 8, 2013) The Asian Human Rights Commission on Wednesday condemned ongoing efforts by the courts and police in Burma to thwart prosecution of an influential person accused of abduction and rape of a child. On April 24, the Eastern District Court hearing a charge of rape against U Myint Aung, a businessman […]