Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan declares the custom of Swara as un-Islamic and unconstitutional
On 25 October 2021, a three-judge bench of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan (FSC) headed by the FSC Chief Justice delivered the landmark judgement in Sakeena Bibi V. Secretary...
Nadia Naz v President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan: Supreme Court of Pakistan Restricts the Scope of ‘Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010’
On 5 July 2021, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) delivered the judgement in Nadia Naz v. President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and interpreted the...
What Does Turkey’s Withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention Mean for the European Court of Human Rights?
In July 2021, Turkey officially withdrew from the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women. Thousands of women marched against the decision and holding banners that read “We...
Legal Developments to Combat Violence Against Women in Brazil
In March 2021, Law nº.14.132 was enacted, which creates the crime of stalking. The law amended the Brazilian Penal Code to include the crime, defined as repeated persecution, by any...
Why Turkey’s Withdrawal of the Istanbul Convention was Inconsistent with International Law
Turkey was the first State to sign and withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. Turkey ratified the Convention on 24 November 2011. Not long after, on 8 March 2012, the Law...
The Hidden Pandemic of Domestic Abuse: Will Criminalising Coercive Control in Australia Protect the Most Vulnerable?
Globally, organisations supporting survivors of domestic abuse have faced unparalleled challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, with victims confronting escalations of violence while confined at home with perpetrators. Within Australia, strict...
Shaping the Future of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights at Work
Sexual and reproductive health rights are not normally thought of as materialising in the workplace, but there are a numerous hurdles at work to women’s enjoyment of sexual and reproductive...
Shaping the Future of Safe Childbirth
While maternal mortality rates have been decreasing, they have not been decreasing for all types of women. Women in poverty, women with disabilities, young women, women in rural communities and...
How the Prison System is Failing Women and Why it is a Human Rights Issue
While women make up the minority in global prison populations, they are the fastest growing prison population. With this, comes a need to evaluate human rights violations within justice systems...
Sadaf Aziz v. Federation of Pakistan: The end of virginity testing in Pakistan?
Across Pakistan, the two finger test (TFT), also known as the virginity and hymen test is conducted on female survivors and victims of rape and sexual abuse. It is a...
The ‘Death to Asylum’ Rule: United States’ Evisceration of Women’s Rights under the Refugee Convention
The United States’ (‘US’) new Rule on processing asylum applications, which was to take effect from 10 January 2021, has been temporarily halted by a US District Judge on the...
Right to a Better World: Violence Against Women
In this episode of Right to a Better World, experts share challenges they have faced, and tactics they have used to help build a world in which women and girls...
