Like President Obama, we've been minding domestic affairs at the WeeklyDIVA while checking in on different parts of the world. Of course outside of the new dog Bo at the White House, the big domestic news this week was again mainly focused on the economy.
Otherwise, much of Obama's focus lately has been on international affairs, to include handling the recent hostage situation with modern-day pirates on the seas off of Somalia, while also making appearances around the world.
This week he traveled to Mexico where he urged the U.S. Senate to pass a stalled gun-trafficking treatythat could help stem border violence, and then headed to the Summit of the Americas, where 34 Western states (largely in North and South America) will meet to talk about global and economic issues on the tiny island of Trinidad and Tobago off the coast of Venezuela. U.S.-Cuba relations are expected to be a center focus at this meeting. (Keep up with the meeting here.)
Staying on foreign affairs, there are a number of recent happenings affecting women in the Middle East, and that's where we're focusing this DIVA.
“We want our rights!”
We'll start in Afghanistan, where women marched this week demanding their rights and denouncing a new law that was signed recently by President Hamid Karzai that made it illegal for Shiite women to deny sex to her husband at least once every four days, or leave the house without his permission, among other things. The UN called it legalized rape and after much international pressures, good news: Karzai says thelaw will be repealed.
Sharia law
Meanwhile, in neighboring Pakistan, the video of apublic flogging of a 17-year-old girl by the Taliban has brought to light the horrific treatment women often face there and ignited public outrage over the situation. The Supreme Court there is investigating the incident, which took place in a region where the nation's president recently agreed to allow Sharia law, or traditional Islamic law, to exist in an effort to bring peace with the Taliban—a decision he’s been criticized for.
You can read more about Sharia law here, but it is essentially a strict legal code that provides for harsh repercussions for breaking the law (i.e., adultery), and women must be accompanied by a male relative at all times, fully covered, and aren't treated equally to men in many ways.
Another female journalist in jail
Finally, in a very different situation, but in a country where women's rights are also limited, a female Iranian-American journalist has been charged and tried with espionage. She's 31 years old, grew up in North Dakota, and worked for the BBC and NPR among other news organizations. She was originally picked up for buying wine earlier this year.
While a verdict is still to come, her trial comes during a key point in U.S.-Iran relations and there’s concern because she's being held at Evin prison where several detained journalists and bloggers have died, including a Canadian woman who was beaten to death in the prison.
And lastly, as we've written about before, North Korea is still holding two female Current TV journalists and plans to try them.
We'll wrap it up there for this week. See you next Friday.
Coming soon! We'll be debuting our first book reviews in the next week or so--we have two great summer reads for you!
