Provided by Rationalist International
Afghanistan: Malalai Joya's challenge
At a constitutional convention in mid December, Malalai Joya, a 25-year-old elected delegate from the rural province of Farah, dared to challenge the fundamentalists. She accused the mujahideen or warlords, who are represented as a powerful majority in the Loya Jirga, of being criminals and warmongers, responsible for the bloody civil war 1992 to 1996, which claimed tens of thousands of lives and destroyed much of Kabul. She demanded them to be kept out of the new government and called for them to face trial for their crimes.
The reaction on her speech was furious howling. Her microphone was cut and she was temporarily removed from the meeting. The fundamentalists demand her expulsion. Some threatened openly that she would be killed. The United Nations offered her protection and asylum in their guarded facilities for the duration of the Jirga.
Afghanistan: Silenced song of women's equality
Afghanistan's newly approved constitution guarantees equal rights for men and women - but on paper only. In reality, the old fundamentalists, who are holding many key positions in the new US-backed government, are still wielding religion as a weapon curbing human rights and oppressing women.
On 12 January, a ray of freedom broke through the clouds: Lifting the ban on women singing on television, the State TV in Kabul surprised its viewers with an old recording of the famous female singer Parasto (meanwhile living abroad), who performed some of her popular songs without a veil. "We are endeavoring to perform our artistic works regardless of the issue of sex," said information and culture minister Sayed Makdoom Raheen. But only three days later, in an embarrassing setback for the reformists, the ban was hurriedly reimposed after protest from the Supreme Court, which is dominated by religious conservatives.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, appointed by President Karzai, is the 80-year-old
religious hardliner Fazl Hadl Shinwari, whose decisions openly violate the existing
constitution. He has even reinstalled the dreaded Taliban "Department of
Vice and Virtue" under the name "Ministry of Religious Affairs".
The laws passed during the recent months could be made by the Taliban: banning
of co-education classes, travel restrictions for women, banning of married women
from high school classes, banning of public singing and much more. Women's life
did not change much after the fall of the Taliban. The few improvements are
limited to Kabul. Outside Kabul things are as terrible as they have been before:
Schools for girls are set on fire, male teachers are not allowed to teach women,
male doctors are not allowed to treat female patients, police compel women seen
in male company to undergo chastity tests. The new Ministry of Women Affairs,
internationally celebrated as great success, is looking on helplessly.
Nigeria's Taliban try to seize power
The "Followers of the Prophet" (Al Sunna Wal Jamma), a militant group of Islamic extremists, try to seize power in northeastern Nigeria. On 31 December 2003, 200 armed militants attacked security forces in Yobe state and set fire on government buildings in the capital Damaturu. They ransacked police stations, seized guns and ammunition and occupied the small town Kanamma at the border to Niger state as their temporary headquarters. More than half the population of Kanamma fled the town. The government sent soldiers in support of the local riot police.
Since the attempted occupation, there have been fights between militants and security forces in the area. During the first days, there was an exodus of refugees from the towns Geidam, Babangida and Dankalawa. According to the Yobe State Emergency and Relief Material Agency, the number of displaced has crossed 10,000.
The militants abducted some 30 farmers and forced to carry looted property and arms back to their camp. They tried to convince some of them, to join their movement. The "Followers of the Prophet" emerged about two years ago and are said to have many supporters among the students of the University of Maiduguri. They call themselves the Taliban of Nigeria and try to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state. At least the Taliban of Afghanistan knows two of their leaders for their connection. During the short occupation of Kanamma, they flew an Afghan flag.
USA: Who is aware of the First Amendment?
Most American college students don't know that religious freedom is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights! In a national survey, more than two thirds of the participating students and administrators of colleges and universities in the USA demonstrated shocking ignorance about the moral and legal basis of religious freedom in their country.
There was not much awareness about other civil rights either: One fourth of the participants did not remember that freedom of speech is an essential right guaranteed in the First Amendment. Two thirds did not know about the legal basis of freedom of press. Three fourth were not aware of freedom of assembly and freedom of association and did not know that every citizen has the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Considering that democracy and liberty are as strong as people's awareness of their rights and their readiness to call them in, these results are alarming.
The survey was conducted by the Center for Survey Research and Analysis of the University of Connecticut. During the last year, the institute questioned 1037 students and 306 administrators of 339 private and public colleges and universities about vital issues of democracy and liberty in the USA.
Pakistan: Now women are free to wed whom they want
The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in a landmark judgement that a Muslim woman, who chose her husband by herself and married him against her parent's wishes, had been entitled to do so. The controversial marriage, conducted in 1996, broke with powerful traditions. The father of the woman fought for seven years to get the act invalidated by a court of law, but finally lost the case, when the Supreme Court rejected his final appeal and took the side of self-determination, dignity and equality.
Finland: Record number of members leaving the church
Since last year, the Evangelic Lutheran Church in Finland observes a sharp increase in quitting members. Church authorities are alarmed. In the capital Helsinki alone, 4100 people opted out in 2003, while in 2002 only 2700 did so. The development started in August - with an amendment of the freedom of religion law.
Under the changed law, it has become very easy to leave the church: you need not appear personally at the registry office and fill forms any more, just send a letter. And you need not confirm your decision after a reconsideration period of one month, it's simply 'quit and go'. So many people now do what they wanted to do since long ago.
Another result of the amendment may be contributing to the exodus: Church members have lost their old privilege of reduced burial costs. The last expenses are now the same for everyone. Why then waste money on church taxes?