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Sunday, 5 June 2016

Afghanistan: No Country for Women



Al Jazeera

In war-torn Afghanistan it is not the Taliban that poses the greatest threat to women - it is their own families.

Thirteen years after the fall of the Taliban, women in Afghanistan continue to suffer oppression and abuse.

Research by Global Rights estimates that almost nine out of 10 Afghan women face physical, sexual or psychological violence, or are forced into marriage.

In the majority of cases the abuse is committed by the people they love and trust the most - their families.

While shelters are trying to provide protection and legal help to some, many women return to abusive homes because there is no alternative. Unable to escape their circumstances, some are turning to drastic measures like self-immolation to end their suffering.

Has enough progress been made on women's rights in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban? Share your thoughts with us @AJ101East

By Karishma Vyas

'Mariam' was seven months pregnant the last time her husband almost killed her. She doesn't remember what triggered the attack. What she remembers is being slammed to the floor, and her husband's foot crushing her neck.

"I started bleeding," she said. "All the cushions on the floor were wet with my blood."

Mariam, which is not her real name, has been hiding in a secret women's shelter in Kabul for the past two months. She lives with around 20 women who have travelled here from across Afghanistan, each with their own horrific story of abuse.

Some have left violent husbands. Others have been raped or are fleeing forced marriages arranged by their parents. All of them are terrified that they will be killed by their families.

War-torn Afghanistan is ranked as one of the most dangerous places in the world to be born a woman, according to a survey by the Thompson Reuters Foundation.

Under the Taliban women were banned from going to school and working. They were not allowed to leave their homes without a male relative or be seen in public without a burqa. For defying the regime's repressive laws, women were openly flogged and executed.

But 13 years after the fall of the Taliban, and despite the influx of billions of dollars in development aid, many Afghan women are still living in terror.

A report by Global Rights estimates that almost 90 percent of women experience physical, sexual or psychological abuse or forced marriage. Overwhelmingly, it is their families who are committing these crimes.

"It's a question of control and power," said Sima Samar, a prominent women's rights activist and chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. "You use religion, you use culture, you use tradition, you use gender to keep the power, to keep control."

When Mariam, 25, got married five years ago, she never imagined that she would end up in a shelter.

"When I first saw my husband I thought he was the right man for me," she said, sitting on the floor of the shelter with her head covered in a black scarf.

"I thought I'd have someone to share my pain and my secrets with. I'd have children and live a happy life."

But she says the abuse began almost immediately. Without warning, her husband would erupt into violent rages, at times threatening her with a loaded gun or dragging her by her hair through their home.

When she tried to seek help from the police, they released her husband after a few hours. Even her parents refused to help her, returning her to her in-laws after assurances that she would not be beaten.

Mariam says her husband was diagnosed with a mental illness and prescribed medication. But the torment continued.

"I thought about killing myself but I couldn't go through with it because I was pregnant. I was so tired. Most of the time I didn't even have the energy to defend myself and nobody was there to defend me," she said, showing no emotion.

Mariam and the other women at the shelter are the lucky ones. For now, at least, they are safe. But there are only 14 protection centres across Afghanistan and most are in urban areas. Many women simply cannot reach them.

But even these few shelters are under threat. Foreign governments and donors are cutting back on funding as the international community pulls out of Afghanistan. And the national government is not filling in the gap. There are also powerful leaders within the country who want the shelters to close.

"These so-called 'safe houses' are very bad," said Nazir Ahmad Hanafi, a popular member of Afghanistan's parliament representing the western city of Herat.

"They protect people who are doing wrong things and give them immunity. They open the gates to social problems like AIDS."

Hanafi and other lawmakers have also fought legislation that increases punishment for crimes against women.

The 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) banned and set new penalties for underage and forced marriage, rape, forced prostitution and other abuses. But it was only passed into law through a presidential decree.

"It's a male conservative, selfish mentality," said Samar. "They believe that they have the superiority of being men and having a long beard. They are not there to think that every human being is equal," she said.

Back at the shelter, Mariam is torn between standing up for her rights and securing a future for her children. Her one-year-old son still lives with her husband and she is now nine months pregnant with her second child.
Her husband admitted to beating her, and tried to justify it by saying the abuse was never serious.

"My wife is so stubborn," he said. "She was always arguing with my father, my mother and sisters. So one day I hit her."

Without an income or a place to live, Mariam's lawyer at the shelter says a court is likely to grant custody of the children to her husband despite his violent history.

Her parents have refused to take her in, and she has no other options. It is a problem that almost all the women at the shelter face. They may have had the courage to leave their abusive families, but where will they go now?

For Mariam, it is a grim realisation that is only now sinking in.

"I have never lived a good life here," she said. "Not as a girl, not as a woman, not even as a mother."

Squash achievements 2016

The national women’s squash players proved that they are not a one-woman (or two-women) team when they won the Asian Team Squash Championships title for a record ninth time without two of the country’s biggest stars – world No. 5 Nicol David and world No. 37 Low Wee Wern.

The Arnold sisters of Delia and Rachel, S. Sivasangari and Teh Min Jie must be delighted to have proven their critics wrong.

In Sunday’s final at the National Taiwan University in Taipei, the 17-year-old Sivasangari and 30-year-old skipper Delia turned on the style to help third-seeded Malaysia beat second-seeded India 2-0.

Good job for bringing home title number nine, girls!

If you want to know, the other eight titles came in 1992, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2014.

Police: Rape suspect cut himself with blade

SEREMBAN: A rape suspect, who was being taken to court in a police vehicle from the Nilai police station to be remanded, had cut himself with a blade, requiring him to receive 50 stitches.

State police chief DCP Datuk Jaafar Mohd Yusof said the incident was witnessed by 14 other suspects who were being transported in the same Black Maria to be remanded for other offences on May 25.

"The suspect is lying that he had no knowledge how he had sustained the life-threatening cuts to his neck and wrists.

"We have ample evidence to show that he had cut himself up with the blade which he hid in a sling bag," he said at a press conference here Sunday, adding that the incident happened about 1km before the Seremban court complex.

The 25-year-old suspect had lodged a report on June 2 claiming that he had been assaulted by several officials from the Home Ministry after being arrested at a store in Bandar Baru Nilai where he was employed at about 3am on May 25.

He alleged that he lost consciousness after he was assaulted by policemen at the Nilai police station.

The suspect claimed that he only regained consciousness at the high dependency ward of the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital on May 26 and realised that he had sustained injuries, which required him to be given 50 stitches.

DCP Jaafar said one of the cops accompanying the suspects had to stop the accused from further injuring himself.

"The policemen, who was seated at the rear end of the Black Maria entered the enclosure where the suspects sat, and stopped the accused from further injuring himself.

"By then, the accused had lost a lot of blood and was straightaway rushed to the hospital," he said, adding that police were unable to obtain a remand order for him to allow him to be treated.

Police detained the suspect after a 13-year-old girl lodged a report alleging that she had been raped by the suspect. "The girl lodged the report of the alleged rape on April 13,” DCP Jaafar said.

He also denied claims by the suspect that the officers who had arrested him were from the Home Ministry.

"They were from the Nilai station and were acting on a report lodged by the girl," he said.

DCP Jaafar said apart from the alleged rape, the police were now investigating the suspect under section 309 of the Penal Code for attempted suicide.

"We will also investigate him for lodging a false report," he said, adding that police were expected to arrest the suspect soon.

The longer the keris, the more nationalist the party, jibes Dr M

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has chided PAS for trying to be more nationalist than Umno.

He said PAS used to criticise Umno for being nationalist, but now the Islamist party is brandishing a longer keris than the Malay nationalist party.

The recently concluded 62nd PAS muktamar in Kota Baru saw the party president Abdul Hadi Awang wielding a giant replica of a keris to cut a cake made up to look like the party flag.

“Before this, they condemned Umno for being nationalist. Now they are more nationalist, because their keris is longer than Umno’s keris.

“See, you measure nationalism according to the length of the keris. If this is longer, then it is more nationalist.

“So they have come back. They have suddenly realised that they are Malays,” Mahathir told reporters at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur this evening.

PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad had defended the use of the giant mock keris, saying that it makes the event more colourful.

Meanwhile, to a question, Mahathir said PAS and Umno are now in a marriage of convenience.

“PAS has lost its own supporters, and Umno is looking for supporters. So they work together,” he said.

Just prior to the press conference, Mahathir was launching the Malay edition for Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali’s autobiography ‘Perjuangan Tanpa Noktah’, while the former premier’s wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali launched the English edition ‘The Misunderstood Man’.

When the Perkasa chief was asked about the party’s stance on PAS’ ‘Hudud Bill’ at the press conference, Ibrahim said Perkasa would normally support anything related to Islam.

“But we want to make sure that our support must go according to the true teachings of Islam, and the hudud must be fair for everybody - not only the Muslims but also for the non-Muslims,” Ibrahim said.

At this point, Mahathir interjected to explain that in the Quran, there are 43 verses that stress on the importance of being fair in meting out justice.

“If two people - one Malay, one Chinese - goes to steal things, you chop off the hands of the Malay and the Chinese gets two months’ jail.

“You can’t get your hand back any more, but two months’ jail? He’d come out happy.

“Is that justice? If that is not justice, it is not Islam,” he said.

The key to stopping breast cancer returning: Scientists identify 'Achilles heel' of condition in landmark discovery

The 'Achilles heel' of breast cancer cells has been identified, according to scientists.

A study has shed light on why the disease can return years after women appear to be free of it.

Many invasive forms of breast cancer have too much of the protein HER2 on the surface of the cancerous cells, which leads to uncontrolled growth.

HER2 is present in all human cells, but unusually high levels are found in about one in five breast and stomach cancers, known as HER2-positive types.

The cancer drugs Herceptin and Perjeta – the brand names for trastuzumab and pertuzumab, respectively – recognise HER2 but they do not kill off the cancerous cells. Instead, they only render the cells dormant, which means they can become active again at any time.

This means many women can appear to be 'cured', only for their cancer to re-awaken years later.

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from Zurich University aimed to find out why these drugs merely slow the growth of tumours, rather than destroy them.

HER2 uses several signalling pathways at the same time to inform a cell that it should grow and divide. Currently available drugs block only one of those signalling pathways, while others remain active.

But now scientists believe they have developed a method to switch off all the signals, using a protein compound that binds to HER2 and changes its structure.

This prevents any growth signals being transmitted to the cell's interior, causing the cancer cell to die.

Crucially, the technique targets only cancer cells, leaving healthy ones unharmed.

Professor Dr Andreas Pluckthun, of Zurich University, said: 'Now that we have identified the Achilles heel of HER2-positive cancer cells, new opportunities are opening up for treating invasive tumour types like breast cancer more effectively in the future.'

Meanwhile, separate research has shown that up to 1,200 patients with one of the deadliest types of cancer could survive for at least five years using a different method of treatment.

It reveals that offering a combination of two chemotherapy drugs for pancreatic cancer is far more effective than one on its own.

Scientists from Liverpool University studied 732 patients who underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy at hospitals in the UK, Germany, Sweden and France.

About half were offered the standard chemotherapy of gemcitabine alone and half were offered a combination of gemcitabine and capecitabine.

The study – which will be presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology cancer conference – shows 29 per cent of patients given the combined drugs lived at least five years, compared with only 16 per cent of patients given just gemcitabine. It suggests about 1,200 patients a year could benefit from the technique.

The findings were so compelling they have prompted experts to change the treatment guidelines for pancreatic cancer. From now on, doctors will be told to offer both chemotherapy drugs.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms and there are 9,400 new cases and 8,800 deaths in the UK each year.

Professor John Neoptolemos of Liverpool University said: 'This important trial shows that this drug combination could give pancreatic patients valuable extra months and even years and so will become the new treatment for patients with this disease.

'The difference in short-term survival may seem modest, but improvement in long-term survival is substantial for this cancer.

'Although pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat, finding drugs that will shrink the tumour enough to make it suitable for surgery will help in the fight against this disease.

'We've learnt a lot about pancreatic cancer from our clinical trials and now this drug combination will become the new standard of care for patients with the disease.
'
Cancer Research UK's Professor Peter Johnson said: 'Nearly 10,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year in the UK and it remains a very difficult disease to find and treat. Despite this we are making steady progress through trials like this one, where the use of better chemotherapy after surgery was able to increase the number of people surviving the disease.'

Umno to brief BN partners on Hadi’s Bill next week

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Umno will brief Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition component parties on political foe PAS’s controversial Bill to strengthen the Shariah courts’ powers next Wednesday, the Malay nationalist party’s information chief said today.

Datuk Annuar Musa added that Islamic religious experts and constitutional lawyers will be present to explain the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Bill 2016, The Star Online reported.

“Whoever is in Barisan Nasional, don’t be emotional. We have to sit down and discuss and not come up with hasty statements — that’s not the BN culture.

“Let’s discuss this issue as brothers and sisters. There have been lots of misunderstandings on this issue and we will iron this out during the meeting,” the Keterah MP was quoted saying.

Annuar said the June 8 briefing will be held at the BN headquarters here at 11am.

Several BN party leaders and ministers have objected to the Bill which they see as clearing the way for hudud to be introduced into the country.

The presidents of MCA, Gerakan and MIC have pledged to quit their government positions if hudud kicks in.

The Bill appeared on the Dewan Rakyat’s agenda last week when the government fast-tracked the opposition lawmaker’s proposal, last on the list, through the Order Paper.

Several non-Muslim ministers have claimed surprise, saying they had been kept in the dark that it would be tabled on the last day of the lower House’s meeting this season. Hadi however, has asked for it to be deferred to the next meeting in October.

The Bill seeks to lift the cap for state Shariah courts to punish Muslims convicted of Islamic offence from the current prison term, fine and whipping formula of three: RM5,000: six strokes to unlimited other than the death sentence.

Critics of the Bill assert that the law violates the Federal Constitution and will weaken the powers of the civil justice system.

Caught on video: Woman rails at 'deaf and mute' cleaner at Singapore foodcourt


SINGAPORE: A woman seen railing at a cleaner and his manager at the Jem foodcourt was criticised by netizens after a video of the incident was posted online on Friday (June 3) evening.

The woman was apparently provoked after the cleaner tried to clear away her food before she finished her lunch, said Euphemia Lee, who witnessed the incident and posted the video on Facebook.

The woman shouted at the cleaner and at the manager who came to apologise on behalf of the cleaner.

Most of the unnamed woman's angry words could not be made out in the video lasting almost three minutes but she raised her voice at times, shouting things like: "Go and be a beggar, I don't care, you took my food!"

Lee posted the video at around 7.30pm on Friday, and it was viewed 734,000 times and shared close to 20,000 times by Saturday afternoon.

Lee, a 30-year-old business owner, was having lunch at the Jurong East shopping mall foodcourt when she came across the incident.

She told The Straits Times she turned around when the woman raised her voice at the cleaner.

"I didn't see what happened at first, but probably the uncle was just trying to do his job. People were waiting and he may have been a little too enthusiastic."

On Facebook she wrote: "She abruptly exploded into cursing and violent upper body actions. She then told him that he should go and die and should not be given a coffin."

Lee said the cleaner walked away when the woman shouted at him, and she appeared to calm down and continued eating. But when her husband returned, she insisted that her husband bring the cleaner to their table so he could apologise to her.

The manager then came to apologise on behalf of the employee. The online video shows her scolding the manager, who is in a white t-shirt.

The cleaner, who is not in the video, was an elderly man who looked to be in his 70s and walked with a limp, Lee said.

The manager told the woman that the cleaner was deaf and mute and so could not apologise, but the woman was relentless, Lee said.

Lee, who was disgusted by the woman's behaviour, said no one intervened as the manager seemed to be handling the situation.

But she decided to put the video online as "the things she said were... too much for us to turn a blind eye and forget about it".

The video has been widely shared, and some netizens have suggested that the irate woman is a grassroots leader at Nee Soon GRC, but the Residents' Committee (RC) for Nee Soon Central Zone 1 has denied this.

The RC wrote on its Facebook page: "We note there is a post on facebook going around that the lady in the picture is a member of our committee. We would like to clarify that she is neither a member nor volunteer of our committee."

The Straits Times has reached out to the foodcourt operator Koufu for comments. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network

Mahathir speechless over middle finger-flaunting 'D for diktator' likeness

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was uncharacteristically rendered speechless when he was confronted with an activist's protest artwork depicting his likeness giving the middle finger and labelled dictator.

While launching a new Dubook Press book "Apa Habaq Orang Muda" at the Arts For Grabs event in Publika Mall Kuala Lumpur, the ex-premier was approached by activist cum artist Fahmi Reza who went up to the stage bearing gifts.

He presented the ex-premier with a copy of his #KitaSemuaPenghasut T-shirt depicting the clown likeness of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, which probably reasonated with Mahathir's anti-Najib stance.

But his second gift probably hit too close to home for the ex-PM.

"During the launch of Mahathir's latest book, I went up the stage to give him a copy of my colouring book. This is the Malaysian Politikus ABC Coluring Book, I told him.

"At first he smiled. But when I handed him the book, I opened the page to 'D untuk diktator' which is decorated with the picture of him giving the middle finger.

"He was speechless, but I heard a grunt of disapproval from him," wrote Fahmi in a posting on his Facebook page.

The colouring book, which is available for download online, mocked politicians from all sides including the prime minister with the word "corruptor" and Umno cyber warefare chief Ahmad Maslan in a clown suit with the word "clown".

One of the page also depicted Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng giving two middle fingers with the word "hypocrite" while another depicted PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang putting a finger to his lips with the word "god".

It also featured PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail with the word "nepotist".

In the foreword of the book, which was published last year, it said: "This colouring book is specially for youths who are interested in politics but do not like politicians (politikus)".

Fahmi also popularised the image of clown-faced Najib, which he is expected to be charged with next week.

He will be charged under Section 233(1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1988 for hurting the feelings of other people.

Dr M: Malay hands chopped but Chinese get short jail terms under PAS' hudud

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said PAS' proposed hudud will see Malays losing their hands while the Chinese will only go to jail for a short time for the same crime.

"If a Chinese man and a Malay man steal something together, according to what they (PAS) are proposing now, the Malay's hand will be chopped off, but the Chinese will only go to jail for two months," he told a dialogue during the book launch of " Apa Habaq Orang Muda" in Kuala Lumpur today.

The event was streamed 'live' on Kelab Che Det's Facebook page.

Mahathir used the example in trying to emphasise laws are only truly Islamic if they were just.

"Is that (duality of punishment) justice? I don't think you will say it is justice.

"Justice can only be achieved if the punishment is the same for both.

"In this case, the punishments are different, they are not just, and therefore not Islamic," he said.

Mahathir said just because we are an Islamic state doesn't mean we have to be extreme.

"Claiming a country to be an Islamic state doesn't mean we have to be extreme or not take into account the multi-racial and multi-religious character of our country," he said.

He said the country is governed by both common law and syariah law and in both instances, justice takes precedence.

"There are 42 verses in the Quran that says when you judge, judge with justice.

"That is the principle we hold on to when we use conventional or syariah law," he said.