-Caveat Lector- : Seems like the Saudis want to go back to their glorious pagan heritage : and hand Islam over to the Paindoos .. : AI raps Saudis over women’s rights : LONDON (Online) - The human rights group, Amnesty International, has : criticised Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women, particularly foreign : domestic workers who, it says, face double discrimination, reports : BBC. : In the latest of three recent reports into alleged abuses in the : kingdom the group says the situation of women is “untenable” by any : legal or moral standard. : Amnesty International is currently on a major campaign against alleged : human rights violations in Saudi Arabia. : Previous reports have criticised the country’s strict punishments, : including the death penalty and flogging, as well as its criminal : justice system. : The latest report focuses specifically on women and what it calls : systematic discrimination against them, including limitations on their : movements. : Amnesty says it is particularly concerned about foreign domestic : workers, most of them Asian, who it says are often locked inside the : homes of their employers, making them vulnerable to assault. : But Amnesty also points to some positive developments. : It says the situation of women is now the subject of public debate in : Saudi Arabia, and quotes a recent magazine article about domestic : violence. : The group also welcomed Saudi Arabia’s recent signature of a UN : convention on eliminating discrimination against women. : The Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister, Prince Turki bin Mohammed, told the : BBC that that demonstrated the government’s commitment to womens’ : rights. : : : : US rally for action against Taliban : Monitoring Report WASHINGTON - A number of Afghan and American : protestors staged a demonstration here to raise their voice against : the US indifference and apathy toward Afghan crisis on the fourth : anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Kabul. : They shouted slogans and read statements asking for a more active : American policy, and denounced the Taliban and Pakistan alleged : support to the student militia, reports Azadi Afghan Radio. : The protestors came from afar and from nearby. : Afghans and Americans, from diverse backgrounds - some expatriates, : others concerned citizens and political activists - braved : Washington’s early fall insistent rainfall, and gathered across the US : State Department to press the Afghanistan cause. : The State Department on the other hand said it is doing whatever it : can to address most of the concerns. : “I came all the way from Miami, Florida, just for this... : to tell the US government to do something about what is going on in : Afghanistan,” said Francia Hurtado. : “This is almost worse than the Holocaust,” said Hurtado, and added, : “don’t wait any longer, do something now.” Chekeba Hashimi, a : representative of Collectif-Liberation-Afghanistan (CLA), a network of : several organizations based in France, told the crowd, “I come here to : tell Mr. Clinton and the future American administration to stop : talking and start doing something constructive and meaningful about : Afghanistan.” A banner carried by an Afghan man read: Clinton, What is : your Afghan Legacy? A State Department spokesman responded to the : protestors’ demands and told AAR, “the US government wants the : restoration of peace, a broad-based government and human rights for : all Afghans as soon as possible.” He added, “we are doing whatever we : can to accomplish that.” Three other issues dominated the rally. : “Gender apartheid” or the institutionalized violation of Afghan women : and girls’ rights by the Taliban regime, the alleged interventionist : role of Pakistan in Afghan affairs in support of the Taliban, and a : call for urgent humanitarian aid to the victims of war and natural : disasters. : Afghan political groups also stressed the need for a concerted : international effort to stop foreign intervention in Afghan affairs, : and guarantee the country’s sovereignty and neutrality at an : international forum that could pave the way for a national political : settlement, reflecting the will of people of Afghanistan. : Talking on behalf of the Feminist Majority Foundation, Jennifer : Jackman called for an end to Taliban’s policy of “gender apartheid,” : which denies education and employment for Afghan women, and imposes : other restrictions that seriously curtail women’s basic rights. : Chanting, “women’s rights are human rights,” Afghan expatriates joined : members of various organizations, including members of the National : Organization of Women, in denouncing the Taliban gender policies. : “We want the restoration of the human rights of all Afghans, but : specially, the rights of Afghan women,” said S. : Naim Alawi. : A woman wearing a rain-drenched all-enveloping head-to-toe cover - : known as burka, said: “We are not against the burka as a choice, but : rather against the edict that forces us to wear it, which takes away : our right to chose.” Other human rights violations were also raised. : Dr. Zieba Shoresh-Shamley, drawing on research and testimonies : gathered since 1996, spoke on behalf of Women’s Alliance for Peace and : Human Rights for Afghanistan. : She told the rally, “the Taliban’s strategy is to systematically : depopulate Afghanistan through gender apartheid, ethnic genocide, : forced displacement of people and other crimes.” She asked that the : United Nations investigate known cases of atrocities committed inside : Afghanistan and in refugee camps in Pakistan. : Reading from the rally’s resolution statement, Hassina Sherjan Samad : warned that in addition to a severe country-wide drought, the current : Taliban military offensives against the internal resistance forces : have “left hundreds of thousands of civilians homeless, grappling with : the dangers of hunger and disease.” She urged the US and others to : provide “adequate and prompt humanitarian assistance to the innocent : victims of warfare and natural disasters.” The rally statement also : asked that the Taliban militia be declared a terrorist group, and : perpetrators of gross human rights violations be brought to justice. : The participants also called upon the world community to impose : sanctions on countries that “feed the war effort with armed fighters, : materiel and money. : At the end of the hour-long rally, the resolution addressed to the US : Secretary of State was submitted to a State Department official, and : another copy was delivered to the Pakistani Embassy in Washington. : <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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