A UNICEF commissioned report says there is an increase in child marriages in Sri Lanka. UNICEF commissioned a qualitative inquiry to better understand why children were marrying young and what could be done about it. The inquiry was based on a 2009 desk review, which suggested that early marriage and statutory rape might be on […]

A human rights organisation based in the UK has scheduled a fundraising event in support of a campaign that aims to protect a 16-year-old from deportation – a relocation that would put her at risk of being forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM). Refugee and Asylum Seeker Participatory Action Research (RAPAR) hopes that the event, which takes […]

Swedish women have been posting photos of themselves in traditional Muslim headscarves in solidarity with a woman attacked apparently for wearing a veil. Among the protesters from various faiths were politicians and TV hosts. The “hijab outcry” campaigners urged the government to “ensure that Swedish Muslim women are guaranteed the right to… religious freedom”. The victim was […]

Female genital mutilation (FGM) has long been associated with communities in Africa such as Mali, Somalia and Sudan and some parts of the Middle East.But authorities in the UK say practitioners are being brought to Britain as part of Europe-wide cutting tours, largely driven by families who can no longer afford to send their daughters […]

Mara — CHILDREN’S Dignity Forum (CDF) is implementing an ambitious project aimed at saving schoolgirls from the menace of female genital mutilation (FGM), early marriages and HIV/AIDS in Mara Region. The project dubbed Strengthen Girls Network and Clubs in Response to Child Marriage, FGM and HIV Prevention Strategies is targeting public schools in Tarime, Rorya, Musoma […]

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Indonesia should stop allowing doctors, midwives and other health workers to carry out female genital mutilation (FGM) on children and babies as young as six months, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (OHCHR) has said. The committee also urged the country to pass legislation banning any form of FGM and to […]

LONDON, England — As Britain puts airport staff on alert to spot potential victims of forced marriage, one campaigning group says the trick of putting a spoon in their underwear has saved some youngsters from a forced union in their South Asian ancestral homelands. The concealed spoon sets off the metal detector at the airport in […]

The winning entry in Amnesty International UK’s annual competition, in conjunction with the Observer and the NUS, is by Lauren Wilks of the University of Edinburgh Parents, family, friends – I left everyone because he was after me and my daughter,” says Tehmina, explaining how she came to leave Pakistanin 2002 and claim asylum in the UK. […]

The woman from India came to Indiana to visit family. Shortly after arriving, she discovered her mother had arranged a marriage for her, a not-uncommon practice in their culture. But this marriage would turn into a violent and degrading four-month ordeal. She was raped by her husband and forced to do nearly round-the-clock household labor, police […]