Best of Dispatches: Top News Posts This Week

A horrific assault in Afghanistan; Ethiopia in a tense calm; and blasphemy charges against a propsal that protects girls in Pakistan - these were among the most popular posts to Dispatches, our daily forum for breaking human rights news and commentary.

Dispatches: A Law Ignored and Another Horror in Afghanistan

Heather Barr
The photo is shocking. A young woman – 20 years old – lies in a hospital bed, cradling her infant. Where her nose should be is instead a ragged bandage. Her eyes gaze out from over the bandage, looking far away and numb...

Dispatches: Government Backs Down, But Will Protests End in Ethiopia? 

Felix Horne
Nine weeks after bloody protests broke out in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, the government has made a major concession to the protestors...

Dispatches: Protecting Pakistan's Girls Isn't 'Blasphemy'

Heather Barr
A female member of Pakistan’s parliament recently introduced legislation to set the minimum age for marriage at 18 for women as well as men...On January 14, her proposal was withdrawn...

Dispatches: Ukraine Praising Russia's Rights Record?

Yulia Gorbunova
Ukraine’s migration authorities apparently believe Russia is a safe and democratic country – which does not only sound odd in the current political context of the relationship between Kyiv and Moscow but will also greatly surprise those who have been following events inside Russia...

Dispatches: Prevent More Bloody Repression in DR Congo

Ida Sawyer
One year ago today, demonstrations began in Kinshasa and other cities across the Democratic Republic of Congo to protest attempts by President Joseph Kabila to stay in power. When security forces cracked down on demonstrators, peaceful protests turned violent...