• Morocco: Girl’s Death Highlights Flawed Laws
    Mar 23, 2012
    Press release
    Morocco should enact a meaningful law on domestic violence and repeal the penal code provision that in practice has allowed men accused of raping or having sex with minors to avoid prosecution if they wed their victims. A 16-year-old girl apparently took her life on March 10, 2012, after entering a marriage under these conditions.
  • Libya: Make Urgent Justice System Reforms
    Dec 22, 2011
    Press release
    Libya’s transitional government should urgently enact desperately needed reform to promote human rights and the rule of law after 42 years of dictatorship and eight months of war.
  • Yemen: Child Marriage Spurs Abuse of Girls and Women
    Dec 8, 2011
    Press release
    Widespread child marriage jeopardizes Yemeni girls’ access to education, harms their health, and keeps them second-class citizens.
  • Tunisia: Government Lifts Restrictions on Women’s Rights Treaty
    Sep 6, 2011
    Press release
    Tunisia’s lifting of key reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is an important step toward gender equality. The Tunisian government should next ensure that all domestic laws conform to international standards and eliminate all forms of discrimination against women.
  • Lebanon: Law Reform Targets ‘Honor’ Crimes
    Aug 11, 2011
    Press release
    Lebanon’s repeal of a criminal code provision that mitigates sentences for so-called honor crimes is an encouraging step to address gender-based violence. The Lebanese parliament should remove and amend other criminal provisions that discriminate on the basis of gender, and enact a law to protect women from domestic violence.
  • Iraqi Kurdistan: Law Banning FGM a Positive Step
    Jul 25, 2011
    Press release
    A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) law that bans female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crucial step in eradicating the practice. The Family Violence Bill, approved by the Kurdistan parliament on June 21, 2011, includes several provisions criminalizing the practice, recognized internationally as a form of violence against women. Several studies by the government and non-governmental organizations estimate that the prevalence of FGM among girls and women in Kurdistan is at least 40 percent.
  • Bangladesh: Protect Women Against ‘Fatwa’ Violence
    Jul 6, 2011
    Press release
    The Bangladesh government should take urgent measures to make sure that religious fatwas and traditional dispute resolution methods do not result in extrajudicial punishments, Human Rights Watch said today. The government is yet to act on repeated orders of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, beginning in July 2010, to stop illegal punishments such as whipping, lashing, or public humiliations, said the petitioners who challenged the practice.
  • Lebanon: Enact Family Violence Bill to Protect Women
    Jul 6, 2011
    Press release
    Lebanon’s parliament should adopt a draft law that would specifically criminalize violence against women, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill, which would criminalize physical, mental, and sexual abuse, marital rape, and so-called honor crimes, was approved by the former Council of Ministers on April 6, 2010, and referred to a special parliamentary committee. It has remained there since May 2010, in part because the country was without a government for months.
  • Saudi Arabia: Free Woman Who Dared to Drive
    May 23, 2011
    Press release
    King Abdullah should immediately order the release of Manal al-Sharif, who was arrested on the morning of May 22, 2011, after she defied the kingdom's de facto ban on driving by women.
  • Europe: Landmark Domestic Violence Treaty Launches
    May 9, 2011
    Press release
    European foreign affairs ministers gather this week in Istanbul to sign a ground-breaking new Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. The treaty, open to all 47 countries of the Council of Europe and also to non-member states, should improve domestic legislation by imposing civil and criminal measures to fight violence against women across Europe.