• Libya: Unacknowledged Deaths
  • India: Hold Police to Account for Sexual and Other Assaults
    Press release
    May 14, 2012
    Indian officials need to immediately open transparent and impartial criminal investigations into recent cases where police have assaulted women. Human Rights Watch called on the government of India to overhaul its policies and response to women, children, and transgender people who experience violence. The Indian authorities should protect victims from police intimidation and discrimination, and prevent police interference in investigations and post-assault medical treatment.
  • India: Joint Letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh
    Letter
    May 14, 2012
    We the undersigned organizations would like to urgently bring to your notice and reiterate our concerns about the treatment and care given to women and children who experience sexual assault in light of a series of disturbing news reports on this issue.
  • Gay in America: Left Out of Family Leave
    Commentary
    May 11, 2012
    If the love of your life had major surgery or a serious illness, you would want to be by their side. You'd want to take some time off work without losing your job, and give them the care they need. But if you're gay in America, you have no such right under federal law.
  • UAE: Proposed Law to Benefit Domestic Workers
    Press release
    May 11, 2012
    A proposed United Arab Emirates (UAE) law on domestic workers holds promise for significant improvements in addressing worker abuse. While a newspaper has reported about the law, its contents have not been made public, and a number of the reported provisions raise concerns.
  • US: House Bill Puts Immigrant Women at Risk
    Press release
    May 9, 2012
    The full US House of Representatives should reject a dangerous version of a bill to renew the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Human Rights Watch said today. The bill would undermine the law and expose immigrant women and families to abuse, Human Rights Watch said. The House Judiciary Committee on May 8, 2012 approved a version that makes multiple changes to VAWA’s existing provisions addressing immigrant victims of domestic and sexual violence.
  • Kuwait: Court Victory for Women’s Rights
    Press release
    May 6, 2012
    A court decision on April 22, 2012, cancelling a ministerial order barring women from entry-level jobs at the Justice Ministry is an important victory against legally-sanctioned discrimination in Kuwait. Human Rights Watch urged the Kuwaiti government to act on the decision, to guarantee women equal access to all public jobs, and to amend or repeal gender-based discriminatory provisions from all its legislation.
  • The invisibility of domestic workers
    Commentary
    May 4, 2012

    Liesl Gerntholtz, the Director of the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, says one of the major problems they have found in their latest research (mainly in Asia and the Middle East) is that labor law does not recognize domestic workers as workers so they are therefore not well protected. 

  • Maternal mortality under scrutiny
    Commentary
    May 4, 2012
    Since the 1990s South Africa has not reduced the number of women who die needlessly each year from preventable and treatable causes linked to pregnancy and childbirth.
  • South Africa: Chance to Cut Maternal Deaths
    Press release
    May 4, 2012
    South Africa’s new campaign to reduce maternal mortality is an important step to address a serious problem, but accountability will be the key to making it work. The campaign is aimed at reducing the number of women who die needlessly from preventable and treatable causes linked to pregnancy and childbirth.
  • Uruguay: First to Ratify Domestic Workers Convention
    Press release
    May 1, 2012
    Uruguay’s move to be the first country to ratify the international Domestic Workers Convention brings long overdue protections closer to reality for millions of women and girls worldwide, Human Rights Watch said today. The treaty, which extends core labor rights to an estimated 50 to 100 million domestic workers, will come into legal force when it is ratified by two countries.