Women's rights

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the abuse experienced by a 23-year-old Indonesian domestic worker in Hong Kong. The victim, Erwiana, was allegedly assaulted by her employer during her eight month stay in Hong Kong. She did not receive any salary for the eight months in which she worked […]

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and its sister organisation the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) are pleased to announce the online edition of a new publication: “The Law, Patriarchy and Religious Fundamentalism: Women’s Rights in Pakistan”. The publication counts a total of 254 pages which include the research conducted on the topic, a selection […]

Whether fully or partially responsible for a crime, whether involved or not in an offence, women in Pakistan frequently come off worst when it comes to punishment. Gender-biased practises and discriminatory attitudes have become social norms which have even gained the status of religious dictates. Islam, in its original doctrine and essence, promotes equal recognition […]

Guwahati:  January 13, 2014 Interim Report: Introduction The insanity of the vicious and tragic violence over the years in India has always been masked and at the best ‘managed’ (read suppressed) by brute force and fear. There is no dearth of evidence to speak of the grave consequences on women and children in particular. The […]

Press statement 9 January 2014 New laws to protect women bring no hope to victims of sexual violence in Assam exclaimed a shocked panel of Jury members at the Public hearing on sexual violence A two day State level Public hearing on sexual violence was organized by Women in Governance [WinG-India] in Guwahati on January […]

Press Release 6 January 2014 Following the unprecedented outbreak of riots in the rural areas of Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut and Saharanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh in the first week of September, tens of thousands of Muslim families have been living in relief camps for the last four months. However, over the past week, the […]

Each year, in South Asian communities, thousands of young brides lose their lives over dowry disputes. They are burnt, killed or maimed by husbands and in-laws whose material demands remain unfulfilled. Religions including Islam have always been interpreted and applied in favour of men and power structures.  Thus, it is not surprising to notice that   dowry […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission is pleased to announce the release of the 12th episode of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. We start this episode with a special AHRC report on the sham Bangladesh national elections which were boycotted by the main opposition party. The elections were marred by violence and the lack of legitimacy […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the National NGO Child Rights Coalition and local journalists about children housed in prison in Kokrajhar, Assam. The AHRC is concerned, as such an arrangement is denying children their basic rights. The children are being housed in prison not for any delinquency on their part […]

As I wanted to discuss many things, and as I found no one else to discuss these things with, I was happy to see you on a branch of a tree in our garden. I told myself, “Ah, here is someone I can talk to.” As I approached and greeted you, you nodded to me […]

Sabita Lahkar, a Guwahati based female journalist called for a press conference on September 10, 2003 demanding justice publicly for sexual harassment at workplace. She was working as the Chief Sub-editor at a vernacular daily Amar Asom. She alleged that her senior, editor in chief and a well known literary figure in the state of Assam […]

In the early morning of December 27, the authorities addressed a large crowd of people protesting outside Badureliya District Hospital. They had come to support a Member of Parliament who was staging a hunger strike demanding the reopening of the hospital. The authorities announced to the crowd that the hospital would be reopened the next […]

The open debate about the denial of equality between men and women may be seen as historically recent. However, the reality of gender imbalance has been a factual data for centuries and unfortunately, when we look at countries like Pakistan, the journey towards gender equality appears to be a long and insidious odyssey. The relationship […]

The AHRC condoles the death of Mr. Khurshid Anwar, a writer and activist reputed for his life-long struggle for upholding the rights and dignity of the downtrodden, not only in India but the whole subcontinent. Unable to cope with the mental torture of relentless social media trial over a case of an alleged rape which […]

Mr. Ban Ki Moon Secretary General of the United Nations Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General United Nations S-378, New York, NY 10017 USA Fax: +1 212 963 7055 or 2155 An Open Letter to the UN Secretary General by the Asian Human Rights Commission Your Excellency, the Secretary General of the United Nations, […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day Sinhalese The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-006-2013.pdf/view International human rights day is a day for the celebration of human dignity. It is an appropriate date to take stock of what progress, if any, has been made in the promotion and protection […]

English The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-006-2013.pdf/view අන්තර්ජාතික මානව හිමිකම් දිනය මානව අභිමානය සමරන දිනයකි. එහිදී, ශරී   ලංකාවේ මානව හිමිකම් පර්ත වර්ධනය හා ආරක්ෂාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් යම්කිසි දියුණුවක් ලබා තිබේ නම් එම දියුණුව කුමක්දැයි සලකා බැලීම සඳහා මේ දිනය යොදාගැනීම සුදුසු ය. අවාසනාවකට මෙන් මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් පරුසුගමනයක් දැකගත නොහැකි අතර ඒ වෙනුවට පැහැදිලිවම […]

The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-003-2013.pdf/view Human Rights Day commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, which declares freedom and equality for every human being in the world. The Indian constitution, adopted by the people of independent India a year later, guarantees each Indian citizen right […]

The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-005-2013.pdf/view A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day AHRC releases its Report on the State of Human Rights in Pakistan, 2013 In 2013, the people of Pakistan have remained at the mercy of state and non-state actors who resort to violence as a […]

The culture of women’s movement often set it root in motherhood as symbol or a weapon to create space. The notion of motherhood proved instrumental for women struggle for justice world wide. Patriarchal values existing in the society portrays women as inferior, however, this portrayal raises their presence and accessibility in public life as evident […]