Coalition of prominent community, civil and human rights organizations delivers open letter to President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr., in follow-up to Sept. 24 FBI raids against activists and issuance of grand jury subpoenas.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – http://prlog.org/11086818
PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 20, 2010 – WASHINGTON, D.C. (MWA-Net) – On November 19, 2010, a coalition of 45 national and statewide prominent community, civil and human rights organizations, including Muslimah Writers Alliance (MWA), delivered a jointly signed open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr., and the U.S. Congress, calling for an investigation and report on FBI activities that appear to be targeting legitimate political speech and assembly. (LETTER - SHORTCUT URL: http://tinyurl.com/letter-fbi-raids)
The coalition's letter is in follow-up to the Sept. 24 FBI raids targeting the offices and homes of 14 peace and anti-war activists in Minneapolis and Chicago. Raid victims were also served with grand jury subpoenas. It has been reported that the grand jury subpoenas target the activists for alleged material support of terrorism. On the same day agents also attempted to question activists in San Jose, California; Durham, North Carolina; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The raids come on the heels of a recent report by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the Inspector General documenting recent examples of the FBI monitoring activists engaged in protected political speech and not criminal behavior. This suppression of civil rights is aimed at those who dedicate their time and energy to supporting the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funded occupation and war.
"The September 24 raids serve as a wake-up call. We must not remain silent as the First Amendment rights of all Americans are increasingly jeopardized. We must take action now in turning back the tide, by demanding that the trend of intrusive government surveillance and prosecution of progressive activists for protected political activity stand corrected," stated MWA director, Aishah Schwartz.
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
November 22, 2010
July 04, 2010
THE SAUDI ARABIA CHRONICLES: Aishah Schwartz on the Women's Rights Movement in Saudi Arabia
As a result of her experiences in Saudi Arabia, Ms. Schwartz was later prompted to lend her support to the women's rights movement, spearheaded by Saudi women journalists, writers, human rights advocates, and scholars, such as Hatoon Al Fassi, Maha Akeel, Nimah Nawwab, Reem Asaad, Thuraya Arrayed, and Wajeha Al-Huwaider.
The first project Ms. Schwartz embarked upon supporting was spurred by news in the autum of 2006, of a proposal among officials within the Kingdom to remove a women's prayer space within the courtyard of the Grand Mosque in Mecca (in view of the Kaba). The proposal alarmed Ms. Schwartz, who subsequently set-out over a three-day period to develop a website, poster, online petition and press release (issued through Muslimah Writers Alliance (MWA), organized in January 2006), in support of an international campaign to ensure reversal of the proposal.
The Saudi Gazette announced, "Chorus Gets Louder", as news of MWA'S support toward ensuring a reversal of the proposal to remove the women's prayer space spread. The online petition swiftly gained nearly 2,000 signatures and Margot Badran, a Senior Fellow at the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., described the unified voice of Muslim women in Al-Ahram Weekly (a publication in Egypt) as, "the most striking example to date of concerted Islamic feminist global protest and one that authorities could not ignore." Within eleven days of the international outcry in opposition to removal of the prayer space, officials within the Kingdom announced that the prayer space would remain; as it does to this very day. Al-hamdulillah.
Muslimah Writers Alliance Director Welcomes News of Saudi Reversal to Eliminate Women's Prayer Area
Activist Aishah Schwartz on Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia
Will Forced Divorces Become Rule-of-the-Day in Saudi Arabia?
Muslimah Writers Alliance Joins Coalition of Activists Seeking Preservation of Women's Prayer Area at Mecca's Grand Mosque
Muslimah Writers Alliance Grand Mosque Equal Access for Women Project Online Petition
GMEA4W FLYER
http://muslimahwritersalliance.com/images/Flyer1.jpg
GMEA4W Website
A few short months later, in February 2007, Ms. Schwartz lent her organization's support to the Saudi women's guardianship reform campaign upon hearing news of the now settled forced divorce case of Fatima Azazz and Mansour Al-Timani; reunited after a prolongated media campaign and court battle.An online petition continuing the call for Guardianship Reform in the Kingdom remains live to this day.
Ms. Schwartz also wrote an article in 2007 adding to her contribution on the women's rights movement in Saudi Arabia, published at Naseeb Vibes titled, "To Advocate or Abdicate: Muslimah Writers Alliance Stands in Defense of Islam."
In 2008 Ms. Schwartz's contribution to the women's guardianship reform campaign of Saudi Arabia was cited in a report issued by Human Rights Watch titled, "Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia".
In 2010 the campaign for guardianship reform, in conjunction with the rights of foreign nationals, continued as news broke of a pending June 29 visit by King Abdullah to the White House. Ms. Schwartz again lent MWA's support, to demonstrations that took place in front of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C., and in front of the White House, in association with the Comit'e de Soutien 'a Nathalie Morin,' of Canada, Muslims for Progressive Values and Responsible for Equality, and Liberty (R.E.A.L.), based in Washington, D.C.
"The women of Saudi Arabia continue in pursuit of much needed reform in the Kingdom's existing guardianship laws," stated Ms. Schwartz.
"Many people confuse reform with abolishment; the movement is not to dissolve guardianship, it is merely to improve the conditions of women suffering from uneven-handedness and to provide alternative recourse for those not benefiting from the protections that the law is intended to provide," Ms. Schwartz added.
MWA Joins Call to Action in Support of Saudi Guardianship Reform and Release of Nathalie Morin
CAMPAIGN ALBUM ONLINE
Human Rights Watch Cites MWA Director, Aishah Schwartz in Report on Saudi Arabia
MWA Director, Aishah Schwartz Welcomes Saudi Reversal in Al-Timani Forced Divorce Case
Muslimah Writers Alliance Petition Exceeds 1,000 Signatures in Support of Guardianship Reform in Saudi Arabia
Muslimah Writers Alliance Joins Al-Timani Attorney and Saudi Women Activists in Petitioning for Reversal of Forced Divorce
Muslimah Writers Alliance Petitions King Abdullah to Stop Forced Divorces
Forced Divorce Case Info
Muslimah Writers Alliance Forced Divorce Case Chronological Media Log (latter updates not added)
Spotted on the web:
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| Click on image to view full size. Published June 2011. |
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| Video: http://youtu.be/zsPlLYl6aaA |
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AISHAH SCHWARTZ ON GAZA.
2010 BIOGRAPHY OF AISHAH SCHWARTZ.
July 03, 2010
THE GAZA CHRONICLES: Muslimah Writers Alliance and Aishah Schwartz on Gaza
Join Muslilmah Writers Alliance in Asking President Obama to Support 'No Gaza Student Left Behind'
Sign the Muslimah Writers Alliance (MWA) 'No Gaza Student Left Behind' Petition Today!
GAZA STUDENTS: Border Crossing Media Double-Talk?
MWA Launches 'No Gaza Student Left Behind' Campaign
MWA Welcomes Return of Freedom Flotilla and GFM '09 Delegate David Segarra
Muslimah Writers Alliance Joins D.C. Mobilization Responding to Israeli Attack on Gaza Flotilla
MWA Joins Jewish Voice For Peace in Condemnation of Israeli Attack on Gaza Freedom Flotilla
MWA Joins International Advocates Calling for Safe Passage of Gaza Flotilla Cargo and Crew
Visa Secured: MWA Welcomes U.S. Visit of Palestinian Journalist, Mohammed Omer
MWA Commends Jewish NY U.S. Senate Candidate, Jonathan Tasini on Support of Gaza
MWA Rejects Ideological Exclusion as U.S. Delays Visa of Palestinian Journalist, Mohammed Omer
Rep. Brian Baird's OpenCongress Blog Gives Nod to Gaza Support from International Activist, Aishah Schwartz
MWA Commends Action of 54 U.S. Congressmen in Supporting End of Siege and Embargo on Gaza
GAZA UPDATE: MWA Director, Aishah Schwartz Echoes Baroness jennifer Tonge, "What are we doing to these people?"
VIDEO: Aishah Schwartz and Gaza Freedom Delegates in Gaza. Dec. 30, 2009 - Jan. 2, 2010.
http://gallery.me.com/angela7dreaming#100047
ARABIC Media Covering Gaza Freedom March Delegate, Aishah Schwartz
Initial report on Four-Day Gaza Siege Breaking Visit of International Activist, Aishah Schwartz
Aishah's Journey Continues...GAZA: Never Forget
MWA Director, Aishah Schwartz Among 100 Chosen to Join Gaza Freedom Solidarity March Departing from Cairo Dec. 29
MWA Director, Aishah Schwartz to Join Gaza Freedom March TODAY!
MWA Director, Aishah Schwartz and Gaza Freedom March Delegates Meet with Cairo's AlWafd Editor-in-Chief, Said Abd El Khalek
Gaza Freedom March Update: Activities in Cairo, Dec. 27, 2009
(Photos taken by Aishah Schwartz)
Egyptian Security Forces Detain Gaza Freedom
Gaza Freedom March Update from Cairo, Egypt and Delegate, Aishah Schwartz
Support the Gaza Freedom March - Send YOUR Letter Today, Insha'Allah!
June 26, 2010
June 25, 2010
Aishah Schwartz to Saudi Arabia: GUARDIANSHIP REFORM NOW!
PRESS RELEASE, PROTEST FLYER, AND TWO POSTERS HERE:
http://tinyurl.com/free-nathalie-morin
http://tinyurl.com/free-nathalie-morin
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH cited the work of Muslimah Writers Alliance in support of Guardianship Reform in the 2008 report, "PERPETUAL MINORS: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregaton in Saudi Arabia"
http://tinyurl.com/mwa-hrw-ksa
June 16, 2010
Muslimah Writers Alliance Launches 'No Gaza Student Left Behind' Campaign
Press Release
Sign the 'No Gaza Student Left Behind' Petition
http://tinyurl.com/sign-gaza-student-petition
Students of Gaza need your support! Can they count on you to intervene on their behalf in guaranteeing their right to free passage between Israeli and Egyptian borders to secure exit visas needed to fulfill their aspirations for a brighter future?
WASHINGTON, D.C. (MWA-NET) June 15, 2010 - Muslimah Writers Alliance (MWA) urges all citizens of conscience to support the right of students in Gaza to freely pass through Israeli and Egyptian borders for the purpose of securing exit visas allowing them to pursue scholarship and enrollment opportunities afforded to them by universities abroad.
"As a returning Gaza Freedom March (Dec. 2009-Jan. 2010) delegate, I can speak first hand as to the intelligence and aspirations of students in Gaza. I met them; spoke with them; and carried back in my heart the memory of their smiling faces and bright, hopeful, soul-searching eyes. Let us join together in ensuring that their hopes and dreams are not in vain," stated MWA Director, Aishah Schwartz.
Sign the 'No Gaza Student Left Behind' petition today via either of two links: http://www.petitiononline.com/4gaza/petition.html or http://tinyurl.com/sign-gaza-student-petition, then deliver a copy of the letter provided below to President Barack Obama (details below). AND PASS IT ON!
To endorse the 'No Gaza Student Left Behind' campaign contact MWA: http://biz.prlog.org/mwa-net/contact.html
AN OPEN LETTER TO U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:
NO GAZA STUDENT LEFT BEHIND!
June 15, 2010
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461
Email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Email: http://www.emailthepresident.com
Re: Supporting Students in Gaza Seeking Exit Visas in Pursuit of Higher Education
Dear President Obama,
The ongoing saga of Gaza scholarship-holding and international university-enrolled students waiting and losing hope of being able to secure exit visas that would allow them to fulfill their educational aspirations, is yet another heartless byproduct of the illegal siege and embargo on Gaza.
In a spring 2008 report, Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Unit Director, Khalil Shaheen, indicated that nearly 700 students had been unable to pass through either Egyptian or Israeli borders to secure exit visas needed to pursue the dream of a brighter future through educational opportunities offered abroad.
President Obama, you also stated in your January 2009 inaugural speech that without the privilege of having obtained a University education you would not be where you are today.
Now, as a result of the tragic events of May 31, 2010 when the humanitarian mission of the Freedom Flotilla from Turkey was deterred by Israeli gunfire, resulting in 9 fatalities, including one American, we have begun, at long last, to see an ease on the restrictions imposed by the Israeli blockade of Gaza, to include Egypt's opening of the Rafah border crossing to those with special needs, etc.
In a June 14 report European Union (EU) envoy Tony Blair recommended that the flow of humanitarian relief and people with special needs being allowed to pass through Israeli and Egyptian border crossings should be facilitated by the opening of at least one large-scale commercial traffic border.
Additionally, and also on June 14, the otherwise neutral humanitarian agency, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), explicitly stated for the first time that the blockade on Gaza was in violation of international law.
In its five-page report an ICRC spokeswoman stated, "The whole of Gaza's civilian population is being punished for acts for which they bear no responsibility. The closure therefore constitutes a collective punishment imposed in clear violation of Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law," including The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, ratified by Israel, banning collective punishment of a civilian population.
But it is not enough. If standing up for the rights of students in Gaza to pursue a higher education cannot be counted as humanitarian relief, then what is?
The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights both explicitly confirm the right of all people to freely travel to and from their own state; and guarantees the right of every individual to an education.
We call on you Mr. President to intervene on behalf of the students of Gaza, now, while the opportunity is ripe for inclusion of this issue on the current agenda of negotiations where lifting of the embargo on Gaza is concerned.
Students holding legitimate scholarship and university enrollment documentation have a right to guaranteed passage through open border crossings from both Israel and Egypt to secure exit visas to their future; and the future of Palestine.
In delivering your May 2010 University of Michigan commencement speech you stated, "When we don't pay close attention to the decisions made by our leaders; when we fail to educate ourselves about the major issues of the day; when we choose not to make our voices and opinions heard, that's when democracy breaks down. That's when power is abused. That's when the most extreme voices in our society fill the void that we leave. That's when powerful interests and their lobbyists are most able to buy access and influence in the corridors of Washington - because none of us are there to speak up and stop them."
So, Mr. President, we the people speak to you now.
It has been a year-and-a-half since your inauguration speech and a year since you addressed the global Muslim community in Cairo, Egypt. And I am sure you are well aware that within that period, as recent reports indicate, there is a sense of disappointment affecting us all.
While the list of options for lifting the embargo on Gaza continues to be ironed out, and humanitarian relief efforts between borders broadens, we hope you will embrace the opportunity to renew the faith placed in you by Muslims world-wide when you were elected as President of the United States.
The students of Gaza need your support. Can they count on you to intervene on their behalf in guaranteeing their right to free passage between Israeli and Egyptian borders to secure the exit visas needed to fulfill their aspirations for a brighter future?
In borrowing from the U.S. education policy otherwise known as, "No Child Left Behind", and in furtherance of the ideals you have previously so eloquently expressed in support of higher education, we implore you today to ensure that, "NO GAZA STUDENT IS LEFT BEHIND."
Sincerely,
SIGN PETITION HERE:
http://tinyurl.com/sign-gaza-student-petition
--------------
Aishah Schwartz
Founder & Director
Muslimah Writers Alliance
1808 Eye Street NW, Suite 147
Washington, D.C. 20006
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THE INDEPENDENT published a story on June 12, 2010 indicating the following: "Although Egypt opened the crossing in the wake of the lethal Israeli commando raid on a pro-Palestinian flotilla last week, apparently to escape some of the blame for the closure, it has restricted passage mainly to students with visas to study abroad, serious medical cases, and those with foreign residency or passports." NOTE: "students with visas" - THAT IS NOT APPLICABLE TO THOSE STUDENTS WHO HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET TO EITHER CAIRO OR JERUSALEM TO COMPLETE REQUIRED PAPERWORK OR SECURE VISAS.
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Sign the 'No Gaza Student Left Behind' Petition
Alternate link to Petition
http://tinyurl.com/sign-gaza-student-petition
DOWNLOAD HIGH RESOLUTION CAMPAIGN IMAGES:
FEMALE VERSION
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RELATED:
Obama Michigan Graduation Speech - Full Text & Video (May 2010)
Remarks by the President on a new Beginning - Cairo University (June 2009)
Inaugural Address of President Barack Obama (January 2009)
MWA PRESS ROOM
February 02, 2010
INTERVIEW: Professor Hatoon al-Fassi in Riyadh on Reversal of Al-Timani Forced Divorce
The BBC's Robin Lustig speaks to Professor Hatoon al-Fassi at King Saud University in Riyadh.
See also: MWA Welcomes Saudi Reversal in Forced Divorce of Fatima Azzar and Mansour Al-Timani
January 30, 2010
MWA Director, Aishah Schwartz Welcomes Saudi Reversal in Al-Timani Forced Divorce Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (MWANET) Jan. 30, 2010 – Breaking news from Saudi Arabia today brings the welcomed announcement that the Kingdom's Supreme Court of ruled on Jan. 29 in favor of overturning the forced divorce of Mansour Al-Timani (40) and his wife, Fatima Azzaz (36), opening the way for the pair, and their two children, to be reunited.
MWA launched the Say 'No' to Forced Divorce – 'Yes' to Reforms online petition drive in February 2007 in support of reuniting Mansour and Fatima, in addition to calling for reforms pertaining to the rights of women in the Kingdom. The petition reached 1,000 signatures within one month representing a global outcry from more than 40 countries, 56 foreign cities, 21 U.S. States and 45 U.S. cities in support of Mansour and Fatima's case.
The original legal action, filed by Fatima's half-brothers after the death of her father, claimed that Al-Timani misrepresented his tribal affiliation (or social status) when he sought permission to marry Fatima. Al-Timani denied the charge, and in the single court appearance Fatima was made aware of, she adamantly declared to Justice Ibrahim Al-Farraj, that she did not wish to be divorced from her husband.
Pending Friday's ruling, Fatima and her son had been living in a women's shelter. Had she returned to the guardianship of her brothers, she would have been forced into remarriage to another 'more suitable' man. Fatima told the Arab News in November 2007, "I'm leaving this place on one condition only: that I go back to my husband."
"Fatimah's case, and numerous other cases, are basically rooted in the right of the guardian to control life, marriage, and in our cases, education and travel," stated renowned Saudi poet and activist, Nimah Ismail Nawwab.
Nawwab further asserted, "Women all over the world are being harmed because of it [guardianship] and our local, legal decisions are being picked up by others and cited as precedents, creating a domino effect that is widespread and tragically timeless."
January 26, 2010
International Activist, Aishah Schwartz Commends Action of 54 U.S. Congressmen in Supporting End of Siege and Embargo on Gaza
On January 21, 2010, less than one month after a Dec. 29, 2009 report affirming that two lone U.S. Congressmen, Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Brian Baird (D-WA), whose year-long struggle in solidarity with more than 1.4 million Palestinians facing an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis, resulting from the Israeli imposed June 2007 siege and embargo of Gaza, followed by its 23-day air assault, ending January 18, 2009, resulting in excess of 1,300 deaths, were able to secure the signatures of an additional 52 representatives endorsing a letter to President Barack Obama, delivered by Ellison and Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), advocating for implementation of a variety of immediate relief efforts. The letter stipulated, among other things, the following:
Movement of people, especially students, the ill, aid workers, journalists, and those with family concerns, into and out of Gaza;
Access to clean water, including water infrastructure materials;
Access to plentiful and varied food and agricultural materials;
Access to medicine and health care products and suppliers;
Access to sanitation supplies, including sanitation infrastructure materials;
Access to construction materials for repairs and rebuilding;
Access to fuel;
Access to spare parts;
Prompt passage into and out of Gaza for commercial and agricultural goods; and
Publication and review of the list of items prohibited to the people of Gaza.
February 05, 2008
Strip Searched in Saudi Arabia!!
My stomache is still churning...wallahi...I could just vomit...strip searched...imagine how mortified this poor woman was!!! la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah - No questions asked, no investigation, instantaneous physical and emotional violation - wallahi I fear for these people on the Day of Judgment.
KSA: Coffee With Colleague Lands Woman in Trouble
KSA: Coffee With Colleague Lands Woman in Trouble
While waiting for an electrical issue to be resolved in the office where Yara and her business colleague had travelled for a business meeting, they passed by a coffee shop in the lobby of the office building. While sitting in the 'family' section of the coffee shop, Yara and her business associate were approached by members of the Saudi Commission for the 'Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice'. The two were swiftly detained. Yara spent several hours in the women's section of Riyadh's Malaz Prison, was strip-searched, ordered to sign a confession that she had been in a state of seclusion with an 'unrelated man' (business colleague), and prevented from contacting her husband for hours. There is no word as to the status of her detained business associate. (more)
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