A young Iranian woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, was killed this past Saturday at a demonstration in Tehran in protest of the allegedly fraudulent election results. Her death has sparked further outrage by citizen protesters and she has quickly become a martyr of the movement. A video of the 26-year-old’s tragic and bloody death, caused by a bullet from a rooftop sniper, has been rapidly circulating within Iran and throughout the world.
On Thursday, June 18th, Women’s Campaign International (WCI) hosted 200 guests at the Bridge Theater in Philadelphia for a preview film screening of M Power Productions’ The Stoning of Soraya M. Following the screening, WCI was honored to host the star of the film, Oscar-nominated actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, and University of Pennsylvania professors Dean Richard Gelles, and Professor Susan Sorenson for a post-film discussion panel.
The Inter Press Service (IPS) recently released an article that discusses some explanations of sexual violence in conflict zones. The article specifically mentions Resolution 1820 passed by the U.N. Security Council one year ago, and the ways in which its progress is currently monitored.
An interesting editorial at Christian Science Monitor looks at the implications of Iran’s election fraud allegations on women. Although female candidates were prohibited from running, women in Iran are visibly speaking out and protesting the results of the election in which incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the “landslide winner.”
A recent article by Women’s E-News suggests that continuous battle over natural resources in Congo and its neighboring countries has lead to a disturbing spike in rape and sexual abuse crimes throughout the region. The mining of diamonds, gold and other minerals in the DRC has attracted raids on the region from surrounding countries that seek to profit from the exports. Constant internal upheaval has left displaced populations, particularly women, vulnerable to rape and incessant violence associated with the lack of regulatory action.
Please Join WCI on the evening of Thursday, June 18th for the screening of The Stoning of Soraya M. This event is free and open for the first 200 people to RSVP.
President Obama visited Cairo yesterday to give a speech aimed at mending ties with the international Muslim world. One of the key issues stressed in the speech was the topic of international women’s rights–especially in Muslim regions where some contentious gender issues remain unresolved.
Women in the Frontline: Colombia, documents the work of Esperanza Gonzalez, a judge from the Bolivar region, who aims to combat “the conspiracy of silence” surrounding the gender-based violence and sexual abuse suffered by women and girls in the midst of Colombia’s civil war.
